Saturday, May 18, 2024
In 2023, Qatar welcomed over 4 million visitors, experiencing a remarkable 58.4 percent increase from the previous year. By the first four months of 2024, the visitor count had already surpassed 2 million.
Tourism plays a crucial role in job creation, necessitating ongoing infrastructure improvements to accommodate rapid expansions in sectors like transportation, agriculture, and construction. This was highlighted during the session “From the Gulf to the World: The Future of Tourism.”
The FIFA World Cup 2022 significantly boosted the region’s tourism by showcasing Arabian culture and Gulf heritage to a global audience, thus drawing visitors and sparking interest in the unique culture of the Gulf region. This led to increased tourism investments, higher visitor numbers, and the development of new tourist attractions.
Officials emphasized the tourism sector’s resilience, noting its capacity to adjust to economic and geopolitical shifts and to recover quickly from crises. Despite various challenges, global tourism has significantly recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, with travel reaching 88 percent of pre-pandemic levels globally and surpassing those levels in the Middle East.
The importance of collaboration among Gulf countries was discussed, including the creation of a unified GCC Tourist Visa and the launch of the “Double Discovery” campaign by Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which aim to enhance the visitor experience.
Qatar’s dedication to sustainable tourism, highlighting initiatives for wildlife and environmental conservation, such as the protection of Whale Sharks and the Arabian Oryx.
Saturday, May 18, 2024
Saturday, May 18, 2024
Saturday, May 18, 2024
