H E Akbar Al Baker
Doha: Chairman of Qatar Tourism and Group CEO of Qatar Airways H E Akbar Al Baker said that the tourism sector of Qatar is witnessing a remarkable recovery during the current period, pointing to the acceleration of this recovery as the county welcomes more visitors from all over the world to attend major sporting tournaments, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
In a statement to QNA on the occasion of the Qatar National Day (QND), Al Baker said that Qatar received more than one million visitors from the beginning of the year until last August, indicating that its goal is to triple the number of visitors by 2030 to 6 million visitors annually, which makes Qatar the fastest growing destination in the Middle East.
He said that domestic spending in tourist destinations is increasing by 3 to 4 times, ennhancing the contribution of the travel and tourism sector to the gross domestic product from 7 percent to 12 percent, as well as doubling job opportunities in the tourism sector while continuing efforts to enhance Qatar’s position as a leading global destination for service excellence.
Al Baker noted that QT launched several promotional campaigns. Most notably, a campaign to promote short vacation trips to Qatar and an educational campaign.
Al Baker pointed out that QT is proud to honour it as one of the most prominent leaders of the tourism industry in the world, as it received 20 awards amid expectations of receiving more awards, and it also won 13 international digital awards, which is a testament to the success of the digital transformation journey through which it seeks to modernize its digital assets and to launch innovative and personalized data-driven experiences.
He stressed QT’s continuation of strengthening its world-class digital system, as well as the content it provides to its visitors, saying that they are currently developing the QT website, re-launching and developing the calendar of events, integrating a search engine for offers into their website, and launching regularly updated versions of Qatar Now guide.
Al Baker said that the Service Excellence programme at QT is currently working on developing a comprehensive master plan in preparation for 2023 and beyond to highlight the best resources that Qatar can offer in culture and nature, develop all-terrain vehicle activities across the desert, carry out further development and improvement of Qatar’s beaches, transform them into world-class beaches.
He added that an impressive group of events, initiatives, and destinations are expected to open during the year 2023 and beyond, as well as a calendar full of events in the coming year, as it provides entertainment activities suitable for all throughout the year, while during the year there are activities that last for more than 300 days.
Al Baker indicated that next year cruise sector will witness more prosperity for the cruise sector, and it is reaching new heights, thanks to the opening of the new passenger terminal in Doha Port, which can receive two giant cruise ships.
He pointed out that the cruise sector in Qatar has great growth potential, and Qatar has also become a luxury destination for regional cruises, as the total number of visitors arriving on board cruises reached 100,500 visitors during the years of 2021-2022, in addition to 34 cruises, and the next cruise season is scheduled to start on January 15.
