Life-size photo frames installed at eight landmarks in Qatar have started attracting visitors as the country joins other nations in celebrating World Tourism Day (WTD) 2016.
Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has come up with a social media competition that invites residents to take pictures at these locations and upload them on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtags #WTD2016 and #ShowcaseQatar.
The competition, which runs until Saturday from 10am to 10pm daily, is also giving away instant prizes such as perfumes, display items, toys, and souvenirs, among others to participants.
“They must have at least an Instagram or Twitter account for them to join the contest,” said one of the WTD staff, who was assisting visitors in one of the landmarks.
She added that people from different walks of life – bachelors, professionals, as well as children and their parents – are taking part in the five-day QTA celebration.
The start of the competition yesterday saw many residents queueing at booths at Souq Waqif, Katara – the Cultural Village, Museum of Islamic Art Park, and Aspire Zone.
QTA has also installed photo frames at ‘East-West/West-East’ installation art by American artist Richard Serra located at the Brouq Nature Reserve near Zekreet, Al Zubarah Fort, the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum and Imam Mohamed ibn Abd Al Wahhab (Grand) Mosque.
At Souq Waqif, many, workers among them, were surprised to get instant prizes after uploading their pictures on Instagram.
Part of the competition is to promote Qatar’s tourist destinations, mainly to its residents, in this year’s WTD celebration with the theme “Tourism For All – Promoting Universal Accessibility.”
It aims to foster awareness in various countries on the importance of tourism.
“We are also expecting residents to visit locations outside Doha such as the Al Zubarah Fort, it maybe far from Doha it is going to be really fun,” the staff noted.
WTD was established by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation to celebrate tourism’s social, economic and cultural value, QTA noted.
The annual celebration also aims to raise awareness about the various ways tourism enriches the lives of people across the world.
QTA finds the WTD 2016 celebration significant and timely as the country prepares to host it next year under the theme “Sustainable Tourism – A Tool for Development.”
In a press statement, QTA’s public relations and communication director Saif al-Kuwari said residents of a country are often unaware of its tourist attractions.
He hopes that both longtime and new residents in Qatar will take this opportunity to explore and discover ‘something new’ about its tourism treasures and “share it with the world.”