Qatar Tourism Authority yesterday announced that it was in preparations to launch a new festival that will focus on Qatar’s burgeoning retail sector. Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has confirmed plans to introduce a new addition to Qatar’s calendar of festivals and tourism events during 2017, said a press release.
The new festival, which will be announced in December, will focus on Qatar’s burgeoning retail sector, which has proven to be an important part of tourism spending in Qatar. The new festival is part of QTA’s strategy to grow and diversify Qatar’s tourism offering, particularly in the area of family and urban entertainment. The festival will be organised by QTA, in collaboration with public and private sector partners, to reinforce Qatar’s position as a preferred family vacation destination within the GCC region.
According to figures from Qatar’s Tourism Satellite Account – a system approved by the United Nations for establishing the impact of tourism on a country’s economy - shopping represented a bigger portion of tourism spending in 2014 than hotel bookings or food and beverage, bringing QR6bn to the country’s economy.
