Qatar Tourism Authority does not take responsibility for statements made in these articles. Further, these articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Qatar Tourism Authority.
Issue 106, February 2005: TTG Middle East and North Africa
Qatar's Changing Profile
With ambitious plans being actively implemented, Qatar is gradually fulfilling its potential as a high-quality tourism destination, discovers Anna Melis.
The rapid development of Qatar’s Tourism industry is being reflected by continuous changes in its skyline.
As provisions are made for the future influx in leisure visitors, the country continues to attract large numbers of corporate travellers. Between January and November 2004, Qatar’s hotels recorded a total average occupancy of 76 percent, compared to 68 percent during the corresponding period in 2003.
"Qatar is absolutely booming, to the point where people are struggling to come in on business because there are no hotel rooms available," said director of sales, Ramada Doha, Ian Lillie.
While visitors to the country are predominantly corporate at present, efforts are being made to diversify the visitor profile. An ambitious $15 billion tourism masterplan was launched in May last year and is being actively implemented. According to acting CEO, Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), Jan Poul De Boer, the plan aims to boost arrival numbers from the current 400,000, to one million per year, by 2010.
"Ideally, we’d like our market mix to be 60 per cent business and 40 per cent leisure, so we have the ambition to become a MICE, sports and stop-over leisure destination. We’d also like to be seen as a culture and heritage destination, hence the construction of museums. By doing this we hope to attract quality tourism and strike a more healthy balance," said De Boer.
Key feeder markets for the country are Germany and the UK, in addition to Italy and France. "We now have directors of Qatar Tourism Boards in Milan and Paris and we also plan to expand to Frankfurt and London, so as to target the whole European region.
"We are targeting Europe and Asia in a big way. QTA will attend its first exhibition in China this year. We’d like to tap into the Chinese and Japanese markets. However, the GCC market is still number one but this is driven largely by business and visiting relatives," stated De Boer.
The country is enhancing its MICE offering with the construction of a 4,000-person convention centre, which is due for completion in mid-2006. "We expect Doha to become a major international MICE destination," confirmed chairman, QTA, Akbar Al Baker.
With the country hosting the Asian Games in December 2006, it is also set to grow in stature as a sports destination. In preparation for the event, the country is redeveloping and upgrading all of its existing sporting facilities and is also developing a number of new venues.
One of these is Khalifa Sports City, which will feature a redeveloped Khalifa stadium, a new aquatic centre, a large sports hall and an additional indoor sports hall. "We will be developing more sports infrastructure so that we can continue to attract major international sporting events to Qatar," Al Baker commented.
"Qatar is becoming well-known as a sporting and MICE destination but I think there is also a burgeoning leisure segment. It is starting off as stop-over business and leisure business at the back of corporate business, where businessmen will bring their spouses and stay a couple of extra days, so I think it will bud from there," said general manager, Four Seasons Doha, Simon Casson.
In order to cater for the expected influx in visitors, a plethora of new projects are underway. "We expect that eight new four- and five-star hotels will open by mid-2006. Among them will be the best known international hotel chains – Hilton, Shangri-La, Four Seasons, Marriott, Rotana and Renaissance. These new hotels will increase hotel accommodation in the country by a massive 2,550 rooms," explained Al Baker.
Other larger-scale projects include the Pearl, a $2.5 billion real-estate development that involves the creation of a 40-hectare man-made island. The Pearl will encompass 7,600 residential units, three luxury hotels, numerous retail outlets and four marinas. The first phase is expected to be complete in 2006.Another recently-announced project is North Beach Resort. "The 32km² site, just north of the The Ritz-Carlton on the coast, will complement the Pearl of the Gulf and will have a number of new features such as a dedicated family entertainment district. This entertainment district will provide both day and night-time attractions for residents and tourists alike," said Al Baker.
Other emerging attractions include the Museum of Islamic Art, the Qatar National Library, and a Photography Museum.
Fundamental to the country’s tourism development is the meteoric growth of Qatar Airways. On course to service 70 destinations by the end of 2005, the carrier continues to receive an average of one new aircraft per month, while introducing a new route every two months.
To compliment this expansion, a new international gateway to Qatar is under construction. A ceremony to initiate construction of the new $5 billion Doha International Airport took place in January. The project will proceed in three phases, the first of which is due for completion in 2008. By the time the airport is fully developed in 2015, it will have an annual capacity of 50 million passengers.
"This will make Qatar a major hub in the Middle East. I mean from a strategic point of view it’s much more convenient than Singapore – it’s six hours to Europe and six hours to the Far East," said De Boer.
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