Qatar’s traditional hospitality and authentic experiences have become immensely popular with cruise visitors. Qatar is an inspiring land of peace, security and authentic Arabic hospitality that gives every tourist an unforgettable experience. From calm beaches to amazing landscapes, cultural landmarks, heritage sites and pristine deserts, Qatar has something special to offer for every traveller.
Qatar already provides a state-of-the-art cruise terminal and aims at building a strong relationship with international cruise lines. With Qatar’s push to cement its position as a preferred tourist destination, the cruise tourism sector is witnessing a strong growth with thousands of tourists visiting the country aboard 14 cruise ships since the start of the season on October 2. The season, which will continue until May 2019, is set to be the busiest one since the development of the cruise tourism sector in Qatar as more than 140,000 visitors in 43 cruise ships are expected to dock at Doha Port, according to National Tourism Council.
The National Tourism Council and Mwani Qatar recently welcomed the German mega ship AIDAPrima on its maiden voyage to Doha. The arrival of AIDAPrima follows on an agreement signed between NTC and AIDA Cruises earlier this year, on the sidelines of the Qatar-Germany Business and Investment Forum. According to the agreement, the mega ship is due to arrive in Qatar eight times between December 2018 and April 2019, bringing about 26,000 passengers to Qatar’s shores.
The partnership with AIDA Cruises is the second successful collaboration with a German cruise line, coming after the collaboration with TUI Cruises, which brought its mega ship Mein Schiff 5 eight times to Doha last season. In addition, the NTC and the Mowasalat also signed a memorandum of understanding recently to develop tourism transport and enhance transport and communication services to cope with the rapid growth in the cruise tourism sector and to support NTC’s efforts to develop the tourism sector in general.
Qatar welcomed over 65,000 cruise passengers last season, a 39 percent increase from the 2016/17 season. The majority of passengers were German and Italian. This notable growth is supported by the Doha Port Redevelopment Project, which will convert the port at the heart of the capital’s cultural district into a permanent cruise terminal and tourist destination in its own right.
In another first, residents will be able to go to Oman and Kuwait from Qatar from cruise ship with their cars. A 145 metre-long cruise ship ‘Grand Ferry, which is a first-of-its-kind service in the Gulf region, is expected to start its service in two weeks. Hospitality is the essence of Qatari culture and cruise tourism sector in Qatar has entered into a new age in the midst of development and modernisation and in the run-up to 2022 FIFA World Cup.
