18 June 2017

Kuwaitis and Omanis have been invited to stay for free at some Qatari hotels over the upcoming Eid holiday, according to Saudi Arabia-based Arabic newspaper Okaz.

“Dearest Omanis and Kuwaitis Eid al-Fitr Mubarak, it is our great pleasure to invite you during your holiday to #Qatar and stay #complimentary with us in #zubarah #hotel” said one Facebook advertisement by Qatar’s Zubarah Hotels & Resorts.

“Hospitality is simply an opportunity to show love and care for our valued guests. Looking forward to welcome this coming Eid our guests coming from Oman and Kuwait,” another post related to the promotion added.

The hotels in Doha aim to counter the sharp fall in bookings after governments of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Egypt banned their citizens from travelling to Qatar as part of moves to sever ties with the Gulf Arab state.

The majority of Gulf tourists to Qatar were from Saudi Arabia prior to the recent rift, tourism and hospitality specialist Saad Al Matarfi told Okaz, and this will lead to a huge drop in hotel occupancy in Qatar during the Eid holiday, which is usually a peak season for bookings in Doha hotels.

Click here to follow our Zawya Special Coverage on the Qatar-Gulf rift

© Zawya 2017