Qatar has developed the country as a tourist destination and a sports and events hub over the past decades. It has an ambitious strategy to create new tourism assets, strengthen the country’s infrastructure and diversify the tourism offerings. The country offers everything from desert adventures to immersive art exhibitions, exquisite dining experiences and much more.
Situated at the crossroads of the East and West and as a pioneering state Qatar has welcomed innovation and development across diverse sectors. Qatar’s hosting of the Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) shows its rising prominence as a tourism and events hub. The exhibition, returning after a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is being held outside its base in Geneva for the first time in its illustrious century-old history.
GIMS Qatar will be hosted every two years in Doha, providing an unrivalled opportunity for brands to present their latest technologies, innovative ideas and concepts, and inspire the next generation.
The country is emerging as a global tourist destination, drawing in millions of visitors and tourists every year. A growing number of people are coming to Qatar for business, tourism and work because of fast-paced economic development over the past two decades. Tourism has been identified as one of five priority sectors integral to diversifying Qatar’s economy and increasing private sector participation.
Qatar Tourism revealed recently that the nation welcomed over 2.56 million visitors from January until August 25, 2023, exceeding the full-year arrival figures witnessed in 2022 and marking a 157 percent increase over the same period last year.
The country is working to simplify visa policies to send a message that it welcomes the world. The new visa policies have resulted in Qatar becoming the most open country in the region and the eighth most open in the world, according to visa openness rankings released by the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) in August 2018. This high ranking reflects a string of visa facilitation measures introduced by the nation, including allowing nationals of 88 countries to enter Qatar visa-free and free of charge.
Besides, the country sees the involvement of international investors as critical to the development of a tourism industry. Therefore, it has a dedicated Investment Promotions Unit to facilitate foreign investments.
The FIFA World Cup last year was the high point of travel to Qatar, when around 1.5 million people came to Doha from across the globe. The tournament resulted in massive infrastructure development in Qatar, which would continue benefiting the country in years to come.
