Doha, December 17 (QNA) - HE Chairman of Qatar Tourism and Group CEO of Qatar Airways Akbar Al Baker said that the tourism sector in the State of Qatar is witnessing a remarkable recovery during the current period, pointing to the acceleration of this recovery as the State of Qatar welcomes more visitors from all over the world to attend major sporting tournaments, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
His Excellency added in a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on the occasion of the Qatar National Day (QND), the State of 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, in addition to increasing domestic spending in tourist destinations by 3 to 4 times, increasing 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.
His Excellency indicated that to achieve this ambitious goal "Qatar Tourism seeks to boost the entire tourism value chain, grow local and international visitor demand, attract inward investment, and drive a multiplier effect across the domestic economy." He referred to the inauguration of Fuwairit Kite Beach, which is a natural lake with very favorable conditions for kitesurfing, in addition to the opening of West Bay Beach and the Darb Lusail Festival, the newest walkway in Qatar, in addition to the launch of the Service Excellence Academy in Qatar Tourism (QT), a nationwide competition to design the iconic limousine that will become an essential part of the visitor experience in Qatar.
He said that they also witnessed earlier this year the return of the 18th edition of the Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition (DJWE) last May, with the participation of more than 65 exhibitors, including 500 world-famous brands on the international level, QT has continued its participation in international exhibitions and markets such as the Travel Trade Show in Mumbai and the World Travel Market in the British capital London, to promote the State of Qatar as a leading tourist destination.
Qatar Tourism has also recently trained more than 33,000 employees who deal directly with visitors locally through the Qatar Host program and at the international level, it has trained more than 700 global partners in the travel industry through the Qatar Specialist program to introduce them to various tourism experiences offered by Qatar and issued more than 3,500 licenses for holiday homes for about 9,500 rooms since the launch of the initiative last year.
He pointed out that QT launched the Summer in Qatar campaign, which included 15 offers and a promotional package for tours and tourism experiences for visitors coming from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, in addition to a variety of special entertainment offers and events that meets the aspirations of all family members, and hosted the first holiday festival of its kind in the country, which took place last May, where residents and visitors were greeted with a group of distinctive family entertainment experiences.
Chairman of QT explained that the QT promotional campaign Experience a World Beyond has begun to bear fruit and continues to succeed, highlighting Qatar as a unique and welcoming tourist destination for families, pointing out that the campaign recently won the award for Middle East's Leading Marketing Campaign 2022, in the 29th edition of the World Travel Awards (WTA) ceremony in Jordan, and the award for the best marketing campaign in the world during the closing ceremony of the 2022 World Travel Awards in the Sultanate of Oman, and the promotional film for the campaign won first place in the "tourist destination (city, region, or country)" aspect at the 11th Zagreb Tour Film Festival.
He noted that QT launched several promotional campaigns. Most notably, a campaign to promote short vacation trips to Qatar and an educational campaign in cooperation with Qatar Foundation (QF) and Qatar University (QU) aimed at promoting Qatar as a center for world-class education, as well as launching a new platform for the brand under the title More Qatar which aims to establish Qatar as a leading tourist destination, and one of the preferred options for frequent travelers in the Middle East, indicating that these campaigns are only part of the promotional initiatives launched by QT to support the country in its long-term strategic goal, which is to attract six million visitors annually by 2030.
With regard to the awards received by QT, Al Baker pointed out that QT is proud to honor 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.
In the same context, 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.
His Excellency said that the Service Excellence program 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 Qatars beaches, transform them into world-class beaches, and enhance the experience of Souq Waqif and Doha Port, and develop a comprehensive desert safari guide program and training and certifying guides specialized in this type of trip.
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, including festival performances Qatar Live, shopping shows, festivals, and sporting events, as well as seasonal and festive celebrations.
He 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, pointing 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 15, Jan. adding that they already have more than 100 confirmed visits to cruise ships and 12 brands, and are expected to receive about 300,000 visitors and reservations exceeding 300 hotel nights.
HE Akbar Al Baker affirmed that QT places sustainability in mind and is keen to integrate sustainability into its policies so that it can attract travelers wishing to preserve the environment, referring to its initiatives and partnerships with the Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC) and its efforts in the digital transformation, which has been of particular importance to the wise leadership in Qatar for a long time which is in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030), which is considered environmental development one of its main pillars. Therefore, QT works closely with its partners in the public and private sectors to achieve this vision.
His Excellency noted that Qatar has maintained its leadership in the list of the safest countries in the Middle East and ranked first as the safest destination in the Middle East since 2017 and the safest in the world five times during the same period.
Al Baker concluded his statement by saying that they hope that the hospitality and authentic Qatari hospitality won the admiration of millions of visitors who came to Qatar last month and that they enjoyed the rich heritage and culture of the State of Qatar, QT's main priority has been to provide an unforgettable tourism experience for visitors to Qatar at every stage of their visit, from interactions with customer service and information staff - who have been trained by QT - to their stay in hotels and holiday homes licensed by QT.
Al Baker said that since Qatar is the first Arab country to host the FIFA World Cup, QT is proud of its great contribution to adding another achievement to Qatar's permanent legacy and track record, affirming that the State of Qatar has a lot to offer to all categories of travelers.
Therefore, I looks forward with great enthusiasm to creating more tourism products that can highlight Qatar's tourism potential, the beauty of its natural scenes, and the unique experiences it provides to its visitors, Al Baker concluded. (QNA)