Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) organised mega familiariation visits for 350 travel professionals from various global markets this year as part of efforts to increase awareness of Qatar’s tourism offering among international travel trade.
The travel professionals, including tour operators, travel agents and travel media from the United States of America, Italy, Finland, and the United Kingdom received a first-hand and authentic destination experience of Qatar. The Finnish group visited Qatar during the annual congress for the Association of Finnish Travel Agents, bringing 100 business and leisure travel agents and tour operators to the country.
These initiatives have evolved from extensive promotional efforts during 2016, which saw QTA hold 76 workshops and roadshows in key priority markets. “After completing an extensive outreach programme in 2016, we are delighted to see even greater interest in Qatar as a tourist destination, with hundreds of travel professionals coming to us, and experiencing the country’s authentic tourism offering first hand,” said Hassan Al Ibrahim, Chief Tourism Development Officer at QTA.
“We were particularly pleased to receive a request from the Association of Finnish Travel Agents, as we have not targeted Finland previously. This shows that the prominence of the Qatar destination brand is resonating in secondary markets, and travellers from an increasing number of countries are expressing curiosity about what Qatar offers,” he said.
Al Ibrahim added that QTA is focusing on promoting new policy developments which make visiting Qatar easier.
This includes the introduction of the free 96-hour transit visa which is available to passengers travelling on Qatar Airways and transiting through Hamad International Airport for a minimum of five hours.
During the final quarter of this year, QTA will host 40 prominent tour operators, travel agents and media from Germany, along with media and planners specialising in MICE tourism from various key global markets.
