The tourism sector in Qatar is set to gain further momentum. Government and concerned agencies are continuously taking steps which will transform Qatar into a favourite destination for tourists across the globe.
Last month, Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Qunar.com, a Chinese online travel information provider and search engine, to promote Qatar as a tourism destination in China.
Signing the agreement comes as part of a host of web-based promotions and marketing activities to complement QTA’s on-the-ground efforts in China.
QTA’s other web-based promotional activities in China included the launch of the destination e-learning tool, Tawashin Mandarin as well as going live with Qatar destination promotion campaigns which have gone live on Sina Weibo and WeChat. QTA has three representative offices in China. Thanks to the promotional efforts spearheaded by the offices, as well as visa-free entry for Chinese citizens, which was introduced in August, supplemented by daily Qatar Airways flights to six destinations in mainland China, Qatar has already significantly increased its share of Chinese tourists.
The first quarter of 2018 saw a 27 percent increase in Chinese visitor arrivals to Qatar compared to the same period last year. Data analysis also shows that China is Qatar’s fastest growing source market.
Further expanding its network around the globe, QTA on friday annouced that it had opened a representative office in Mumbai, India.
The 11th in a network of offices in the world, the office is set to tap into one of the fastest-growing outbound tourism markets in the world, second only to China.
According to United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) estimates, the country will account for 50 million outbound tourists by 2020. And, the market for travel and tourism in India is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 7.23 percent during the period 2016-2021.
Qatar has become an increasingly accessible destination for Indian travellers, especially after Qatar waived entry visa requirements for Indian citizens last year.
Qatar and Georgia also signed MoU on cooperation in tourism sector. The MoU was signed by Hassan Al Ibrahim, Acting Chief of QTA, in the presence of Ambassador of Georgia to the State of Qatar Nikoloz Revazishvili.
The MoU envisages active cooperation by the two countries, particularly facilitating cooperation between tour operators and travel agents, encouraging private sector to invest in tourism industry and promoting the development and implementation of joint tourism projects. The proactive steps of authorities will make sure that the number of tourists will grow many fold in coming years.
