Qatar has been steadily cementing itself on the global tourism map by leveraging a strong focus on various leisure activities being offered across the country, an official of Raffles and Fairmont Doha has said.
The country’s entire hospitality sector is fully-committed to supporting Qatar Tourism’s aim to increase the number of visitors to 6mn by 2030, according to managing director Christian Hirt.
“Hotels in Qatar, including the Raffles and Fairmont brand, are working closely with Qatar Tourism, which has been a wonderful and supportive partner in spreading the word about the country’s hotel industry,” Hirt told Gulf Times in an interview.
Hirt also pointed out the need to further promote the “diverse and interesting experiences” that Qatar is offering to visitors.
“We have great museums and we need to further develop other activities like ‘the whale sharks of Qatar’ and activities for the younger generation, such as kite surfing, among others.
“The desert and inland sea are beautiful, and a lot can be developed around this, so all of these will help make this destination even more attractive in the future,” Hirt emphasised, citing some of the wide range of leisure activities in the country, which would-be visitors could explore at the Visit Qatar website when booking trips here.
According to Hirt, Qatar’s hotel and hospitality industry has witnessed “a significant amount of development” in the past years.
“This is very important because a lot of hotels here will focus on marketing not only of their respective facilities but also the marketing of various destinations in the country, which translates to added value.
“There is amazing infrastructure here. There is a strong focus on leisure facilities right now,” Hirt pointed out, citing the rise of different touristic destinations in Lusail and West Bay, among other areas across the country that would help drive leisure tourism into Qatar.
He said, “If we all work together towards achieving the goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030 to bring up the tourism number to 6mn, the mega projects that were delivered and that are still being built will all help to drive leisure tourism to Qatar.
“As for the World Cup, Qatar would gain a great reputation of being not only a wonderful host but having the right infrastructure for other mega events that could be hosted by the country in the future.”
On the role of Raffles and Fairmont Doha in Qatar’s tourism sector, Hirt reiterated: “We are bringing a lot of innovation. In general, the overall focus was on innovation, and there was a lot of creativity that went into this project.
“Certainly, across the board, this is a destination that will drive significant awareness in the future, not only for Raffles and Fairmont as a brand but particularly for Qatar. The Raffles and Fairmont will be one of the most iconic hotel destinations in the world and I think this would be very beneficial to the country’s tourism industry.”
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