No need to avoid Sudan airspace as it is still open: al-Baker

Qatar Airways does not have to avoid Sudanese airspace because of the situation in that country, Group Chief Executive HE Akbar al-Baker has said.

“The airspace of Sudan is not closed, only the airport there is closed. The airspace is open,” al-Baker told Gulf Times yesterday.

Qatar Airways is not flying to Khartoum now because of the airport closure, he said.

Al-Baker, also Qatar Tourism chairman, said the country has set a target of 6mn foreign visitors annually by 2030.

“I think (this year) we will not be too far away from the target we have,” he said.

Asked whether there was a lull following Qatar staging the FIFA World Cup 2022 in November and December last year, al-Baker said, “If you look at statistics of the Fifa events that have taken place, it has always been three to four months of quietness following the Fifa tournament. So, we are not unique.

"Because of FIFA we built so much infrastructure in the hospitality industry and of course now it is our job to make sure that in the coming months we are making sure that occupancy rates go up."

He insisted that every World Cup host has the same lull after the tournament and that hotels were still 65-70% full.

Al-Baker said Qatar is expecting a huge influx of visitors in the coming months as the country is staging many events including the Expo 2023 Doha.

“We are working in every direction. We are trying to promote health tourism, education tourism and MICE in Qatar. We have some great health care facilities and world class educational institutions with campuses in the country.”