The tourism sector in Qatar is witnessing a remarkable recovery as the country welcomed more visitors from all over the world to attend major sporting tournaments and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. An expected about 1.5 million fans and visitors came to Qatar for the tournament.
Besides, Qatar received more than one million visitors from the beginning of the year until last August. The nation seeks 6 million visitors annually by 2030. Qatar is the fastest growing tourist destination in the Middle East and the country aims to boost domestic spending on tourist destinations by three to four times, the contribution of the travel and tourism sector to the gross domestic product from 7 percent to 12 percent and double job opportunities in the tourism sector.
Qatar Tourism’s strategy includes boosting the tourism value chain, growing local and international visitor demand and attracting inward investment.
The tourism body has launched several promotional campaigns. Most notably, a campaign to promote short vacation trips to Qatar and an educational campaign in cooperation with Qatar Foundation and Qatar University aimed at promoting Qatar as a centre for world-class education as well as launching a new platform for the brand under the title More Qatar, which aims to establish Qatar as a leading tourist destination, and one of the preferred options for frequent travelers in the Middle East. The campaigns are only part of the promotional initiatives launched by Qatar Tourism to support the country in its long-term strategic goal to attract six million visitors annually by 2030.
The World Cup offered a great opportunity to highlight Qatari expertise, particularly in developing multiple stadiums, transportation infrastructure, including airports and roadways and meeting facilities. The World Cup is a regional legacy and Qatar’s infrastructure is attracting companies and potential investors. There are a lot of things that have happened in the process of the tournament being accomplished. There are many firsts related to Qatar 2022, whether it is the most compact nature of the tournament, the first carbon-neutral World Cup, the most accessible tournament or the most secure and safe FIFA World Cup, especially for women.
The World Cup is a unique opportunity to achieve the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030. Over $220bn has been spent on basic facilities such as roads, bridges, ports, airports, subways, housing, tourism and free zones. This infrastructure will turn into big gains for Qatar as it will attract more foreign direct investment in the country in the long term, leading to further diversification of the Qatari economy.
