Ahmed Al Mutawa
Doha: The Qatari Forum for Authors organised a lecture entitled ‘Tourism and the Environment’ to commemorate World Tourism Day (WTD) which falls on September 27 each year.
The lecture was organised in cooperation with the Friends of the Environment Center. The lecturer Ahmed Al Mutawa spoke about the importance of tourism and the environment in the State of Qatar, saying that the concern for the environment is not new to the Qatari society as the grandparents and then the current generation paid attention to it.
The Qatari environment combines the desert and marine environment at the same time, as the wild environment becomes rich in the winter season and the marine environment in the summer.
Qatar is distinguished by the presence of distinguished golden sands along the beach, and these sands are unique in terms of their cleanliness, density and strategic location. Also, due to the presence of the Arabian Oryx, for which Qatar has been famous for since a long time.
The Oryx arouses the curiosity of foreign visitors to see it in its original environment. The lecturer praised the efforts of the competent authorities, especially the Ministry of Municipality and Environment in protecting rare animals and natural reserves.
The Qatari environment, he added, is also rich in islands, beaches, clean water, and coral reefs that attract visitors and those interested in either fishing or enjoying the beautiful scenery, and all activities related to the local environment have become part of the country’s heritage and culture.
Al Mutawa explained that the environment is highly interconnected with tourism, as tourism has become a priority and is considered the most important source not only for being a supportive sector for the economy, but also as a way to introduce local heritage and culture.
He said that the interest in domestic tourism has increased, especially after the coronavirus pandemic, which imposed restrictions on travel and forced many people to visit local tourist areas in Qatar, which calls for further promotion of this type of tourism, especially with the availability of strong and distinctive infrastructure.
Regarding the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on tourism, he said that it was an additional incentive for more interest in domestic tourism.
The Qatar National Vision 2020-2030 tries to address a set of challenges, the most important of which is economic and social development and environmental protection and its development.
He added that in every tourism or environmental project, programmes must be prepared based on specific pillars and clear steps be taken to make people know more about these places such as publishing brochures that contain the necessary information. Also, he said, there should be more focus on infrastructure development in coastal areas.
