Qatar is targeting Asia for tourism

Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) is making its final preparations for a promotional roadshow through Asia, scheduled to kick off mid-October. QTA and leading members of the tourism industry will travel to Asia to strengthen ties and boost awareness of Qatar’s tourism offerings to professionals in the travel trade. The cities on the roadshow include Seoul, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur, with the campaign finishing just before ITB Asia in Singapore.

The Asian roadshow comes on the back of a successful tour which took place in Europe earlier in the year. The slogan of the campaign, “Experience 48 hours in Qatar: Our Business is Your Pleasure”, embodies the mission to promote Qatar as destination for meetings and incentive travel, as well as stopover travel on long haul flights between Asia and Europe or the Americas. The promotional roadshow is a new initiative launched by Qatar Tourism Authority to promote Qatar as a premier business and upscale leisure destination to MICE (meetings, incentive, convention, exhibitions) professionals.

Mr. Ahmed Al Nuaimi, Chairman of Qatar Tourism Authority, points out the importance of the Asian market to Qatar’s tourism strategy, emphasizing the special relationship between the State of Qatar and Asia. “Qatar and Asia enjoy a friendly alliance which is strengthened through strong business relationships and strategic partnerships. We are partners in business and in trade, with both our private and public sectors making mutual investments in each other – from energy to shipbuilding, and real estate to infrastructure. Our partnerships are based on a long-term vision for sustainable economic development.” QTA’s tourism roadshow aims to build on these business partnerships, boosting tourism between Asia and Qatar.
Mr. Al Nuaimi noted the rising number of outbound tourists from the Asian markets, and confirmed QTA’s expansion plan to these countries. Mr. Al Nuaimi added that Qatar is considering raising its presence in the Asian market through participation in annual exhibitions and other tourism exchanges, which reflects the importance of attracting this market for inbound tourism.
The campaign in Asia will is well timed as it takes place a few months ahead of the Asian Cup 2011, which will take place in January in Doha, allowing for visitors to schedule their travel itinerary well enough in advance.
Qatar Tourism Authority will be accompanied by a distinguished delegation from the hospitality, culture, sports and leisure sectors in Qatar. To further this promotional campaign, each of these cities has daily direct flights on Qatar’s national carrier, Qatar Airways, the first 5-star airline in the Middle East.
Qatar has made significant investments domestically and internationally to encourage cultural, sport, and leisure tourism to complement business tourism industry in the country. The government of Qatar has made significant investments to develop Qatar’s tourism infrastructure over a 5 year period, including the construction of new hotels, resorts and other tourism facilities. Qatar is hosting venue for many international sporting championships in tennis, golf, athletics and football. The iconic Museum of Islamic Art, designed by I.M. Pei, has put Qatar’s capital city of Doha firmly on the culture scene in the Middle East. Other major projects scheduled to open in the near future include the Qatar National Convention Centre, which boasts 40,000 square meters of state-of-the-art exhibition space and the New Doha International Airport, which at completion will be able to handle 50 million passengers.