As the one-year countdown to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 grows closer, Qatar Tourism has revealed its short-term goals for 2022, as well as a longer-term tourism vision.
The ‘Qatar Tourism Strategy 2030’ is leveraging the peninsula’s variety of existing experiences and capitalising on a wave of new hotels, theme parks, shops and major leisure projects that have recently opened or are set to launch in the lead up to the main event.
The strategy aims to grow annual international visitor arrivals three-fold to reach six million by 2030, potentially making Qatar the fastest growing destination in the Middle East for international visitors for the years until 2030.
Qatar Tourism aims to quadruple visitors in-destination spend from 2019 levels by increasing length of stay and enhancing tourism product, and for travel and tourism to contribute ten per cent of the country’s GDP by 2030.
As part of this, Qatar is adding 105 new hotels and serviced apartments to its already extensive portfolio of properties, as the country gears up to host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The new properties, including Banyan Tree Doha; the Pullman Doha West Bay; the JW Marriott West Bay; and the Steigenberger Hotel, will broaden the appeal of the city to a range of travellers whatever their budget, and enhance the visitor experience.
Moreover, there will be the first fully dismountable FIFA World Cup stadium.
Constructed from shipping containers with removable seats, the Ras Abu Aboud Stadium will provide an innovative blueprint for major tournament hosts in future.
The 40,000-capacity venue will be completely dismantled and repurposed after the event, with its parts used to create sporting facilities in Qatar and overseas.
The shipping containers used to build the stadium were originally used to transport materials to Qatar for the construction.
Take a look below as Breaking Travel News speaks to Berthold Trenkel, chief operating officer with Qatar Tourism, during World Travel Market to find out more about the new strategy: