A top-ranking official of QTA told the Gulf News that there will be an issuance of new law in Qatar this month, in order to give Qatar Tourism Authority or QTA more power to establish infrastructure before the 2022 Football Cup scheduled to be held in Doha.
The QTA's Director of Tourism Abdullah Mallala Al Badr, stated that this law will give them more powers to hold events and give permission to build new hotels. This is his statement while he is in the capital for a recent event to promote Qatar as a tourist destination within the GCC.
He also states that the Qatar Development Bank will finance the these tourism-related projects of non Qatari and Qatari investors.
The Qatar Tourism Authority plans to grow the tourism industry in Qatar by 20 percent for the next five years. Last May, they held some road shows in the Eastern Province Saudi Arabia that include Al khobar, besides Riyadh, Muscat, Kuwait, Dubai and Abu Dhabi to promote Qatar as an ideal destination for the Eid Al Adha and Eid Al Fitr.
QTA wants to project Qatar as an ideal place for sports, meetings, leisure, education and culture.
Al Badr said that Qatar has everything a high end traveler needs such as the stunning hotels, many leisure activities and cultural icons. He also added that last 2011, Qatar received 845,000 visitors from the GCC and the tourist arrivals for the first quarter of this year from the GCC had 22 percent increase, year-on-year.
He also said that the Qatar's government has made valuable investments to develop its tourism infrastructure over a five year period which includes the constructions of new resorts, hotels and other facilities for tourism. And there are plans to build word-class stadiums for the Football World Cup in 2022.
Al Badr added that Qatar is preparing for a robust economic future and tourism will play a major role in creating a sustainable and diverse economy. The rapid growth in the tourism industry in Qatar and infrastructure will only solidify the position of Qatar as an upcoming business destination in the Middle East.
