Doha, Qatar: Qatar must focus on “direct marketing” when it comes to the leisure industry to witness a higher ratio of real estate projects, an official explained.
Promoting tourism directly to regions in Europe or Asia would benefit the country in terms of more visitors and execution of active foreign investments said Abdul Rahman Al Najjar (pictured), CEO of Kate Real Estate Group in an exclusive interview with The Peninsula.
“We need to work hard with the government and private sectors to achieve this feat,” he said by adding that the authorities are committed to establishing a GDP of 7 to 12 percent by the year 2030.
Qatar Tourism officials have said that the country expects nearly 6 million visitors by the decade-end. However, the organisation reported over 2 million tourists during the first half of 2023, which constituted air travelers 51 percent, land by 37 percent, and sea by 12 percent respectively.
The real estate expert said that albeit the authorities are concentrating on exhibitions and events, which is a fine way of attracting tourists, it would be beneficial to market directly to reach the estimated figures.
Al Najjar lauded the country’s trajectory growth that witnessed rapidly growing investments.
“Real estate is one of the major sectors catering to Qatar’s economic drive. There are opportunities for businesses to grow in the finance, banking, education, and health sectors among others,” he said.
However, the industry expert notes that the increasing projects depends on the government expenditures by saying that “As they are willing to spend more money, numerous projects will be flowing in, which means there will be a good market for us.”
Al Najjar remarked that the sporting tournaments hosted by the country played a key role in drawing global businesses.
“We witnessed a gradual growth in the real estate sector from 2006 after Qatar hosted the Asian Games. Since then, flourishing investments and businesses were seen throughout the region. The current demand for the market is also the same with the FIFA World Cup held last year.”
He also elucidated that the best option recommended is a longer period of investments for a stable outcome.
“It is always beneficial to go long-term rather than a short period and an investor must plan for five or six years, understanding the market so well,” Al Najjar added.
As tourism becomes an important gateway for investments in a wide spectrum of areas such as real estate, Qatar is optimistic about boosting its GDP growth.
