With ever-growing number of attractions, Qatar has become a favourite destination in the region for tourists from around the world. The growth of Qatar’s tourism sector is founded on concrete steps taken by government and Qatar Tourism Authority in last few years. Even unjust blockade imposed against Qatar in June last year has failed to affect the trend.
The recent figures released by QTA regarding latest cruise season also paint the same picture as they indicate that a total of 65,675 visitors arrived on Qatar’s shores during 2017/18 season, marking a 39 percent increase compared to the previous season.
“To us cruise tourism is one of the most important sectors that will help us excel and grow as a destination. “The probability of people visiting the destination is 16 times higher that they visit Qatar on a cruise ship and they enjoy their experience,” Hassan Al Ibrahim, Acting Chairman of QTA, said.
The visitors were on board 22 cruise ships, 14 of which were mega-ships. The cruise season, which ran from October 2017 until April 2018, witnessed five maiden voyages to Doha, made by MSC Splendida, Mein Schiff 5, Crystal Symphone, Europa 2 and Crystal Serenity.
The data collected by QTA shows that most visitors aboard cruise ships this season were European, with the largest portion being German (44 percent, 20,275 visitors). Italian and British visitors formed the second and third largest groups respectively. In addition, more than 1200 Brazilians came to Doha on board various cruise ships.
QTA also conducted visitor satisfaction surveys throughout the season, which showed that 94% of cruise visitors were satisfied with their overall visitor experience. The same percentage confirmed they would recommend Qatar as a destination for family and friends.
QTA’s projections show continued growth in the cruise tourism industry over the coming years. With the completion of the Doha Port redevelopment, and the associated capacity increase which will allow the port to receive two mega-ships at once, Qatar is expected to attract 500,000 cruise tourists by 2026.
The number of tourists visiting Qatar is not limited to only cruise ships as the vacationers from across the world are choosing Qatar as a destination of choice to spend leisure time with quality. Recently, Director of Qatar Tourism Authority’s offices in China has said that number of Chinese tourists to the State of Qatar in the past four months reached about 20,000, a rise of 68 percent over the same period last year.
