KUWAIT: For proximity and similarity in climate and culture, the Qatar Tourism Authority wooed the Kuwaiti and expatriates community here to consider visiting Qatar this summer. Abdullah Mallala Al-Bader, Director of Tourism at the Qatar Tourism Authority, led a group of hoteliers and tourism site executives on a GCC road show which started in Saudi Arabia last week. He noted visiting Qatar these days will benefit visitors, as they will be provided with the most accurate information about Qatar and the places to visit, especially as Qatar nowadays is undergoing rapid development and changing dramatically.
"The reason for our road show is to promote Qatar as a tourist destination, especially this summer and for the two big Eid holidays to come. We are very close to your country and we have similarities in scenery, culture and climate. Qatar is booming and we have new areas to offer almost every month. Come and discover it yourself," he said. Kuwaitis were a huge number of the 161,549 tourist arriving in Qatar during the first quarter of 2012. According to Al-Bader, in 2011 alone visitors from the GCC countries, including Kuwait, accounted over 800,000 tourists. "At least 72 percent of the total of 845,000 GCC visitors we received last year came via business related travels, but sports related and touristic travelers are also rising tremendously. The number is growing rapidly, and there are Kuwaitis and other nationalities visiting Qatar almost every day."
He said Qatar has indeed risen dramatically as a global sports destination, after being awarded the honor of hosting the 2022 World Cup. "This is significant, as we continue an upward trend which already started in 2011 with the Asian Football Cup and Arab Games which saw many visitors from the region just to see world-class sporting events." But according to Al-Bader, Qatar is more than just a sports tourism venue.
"Our country is very rich in culture. We are not just proud of our sea, the sun and our landscape but we also claim that our country is one of the best destinations to ponder when it comes to education and experiencing traditional Arab hospitality. We have the best shopping malls, five star hotels and lots of adventures await our visitors," he added.
Al-Bader, who was armed with more than 25 years of administrative, management and strategic experience at the highest levels in government, finance, sports management and marketing before being appointed as Director of Qatar Tourism Authority, said Qatar is also gaining momentum in hosting several international exhibitions and conferences. He said Qatar is also a natural gateway between the East and West. He mentioned the 2030 vision, where Qatar will continue its economic gains without sacrificing their rich cultural heritage.
"We want development and economic gains, but we won't sacrifice our rich culture and environment. They are part of us, and culture is one of our priorities in the 2030 vision," he reiterated. Al-Bader, who also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the United States, noted huge development projects are up and realizing almost every month.
"You imagine the huge projects underway brought by the World Cup. They are really huge. We have been adding lots of hotels, and many of these hotels are now operating. But there are many more to come and are under construction. About 80 more hotels are coming up in the next one or two years," he added. Al-Bader will steer Qatar's dynamic domestic and international tourism strategy into the next decade and align it with the Qatar National Vision 2030. The next stops for the Qatar tourism road show will be in Oman, Abu-Dhabi and Dubai.
© Kuwait Times 2012
