Tourism Authority to tap German-speaking markets

The familiarisation trip included a workshop, organised by FVW, a leading travel magazine in Germany.
The workshop brought Qatari industry representatives together with their German counterparts in a discussion that explored what the destination offers to German visitors.
“This is the biggest German-speaking delegation we welcome in Qatar to date, a testament to the shared belief everyone present has in the uniqueness of our country’s tourism offering, and its relevance to the German market,” QTA’s chief marketing and promotion officer Rashed al-Qurese said.
Visitor arrival figures indicate that nearly 11% of Qatar’s European visitors in the first three quarters of 2017 were from German-speaking markets, according to QTA.
“We expect this portion to grow further over Qatar’s cruise tourism season, during which we are welcoming numerous German and European cruise liners,” al-Qurese added.
FVW editor-in-chief Klaus Hildebrandt said members of the delegation were deeply impressed with the development of the destination and the quality of the hotels visited.
He noted that the highlights of the excursions were clearly the evening at Souq Waqif and the stunning Museum of Islamic Art.
“What I really enjoyed were the constructive and open discussions between representatives of QTA and the tourism communities from Qatar and Germany,” Hildebrandt said.
“We all share the conviction that Qatar truly has the potential to play a more important role as a leisure destination that offers high-quality stay and authentic cultural experiences,” he pointed out, as he thanked QTA, the hotels involved and Qatar Airways for supporting such event.
QTA is working closely with partners across German-speaking markets, through its representative office in Berlin.
The office opened in 2015 and has seen growing interest in the destination since then, on both the leisure and business events fronts.