Qatar to set new tourism law ahead of World Cup

A new tourism law is set to be issued by the Qatari government this month to enable Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) to create more infrastructure ahead of the 2022 Football World Cup in Doha. QTA plans to grow Qatar’s tourism industry by 20% in the next five years with a raft of new tourism related developments including new hotels and infrastructure. Last month, it held road shows in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, namely Al Khobar, as well as Riyadh, Kuwait, Muscat, Abu Dhabi and Dubai to endorse Qatar as the ideal destination for Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha. In the first quarter of 2012, tourist arrivals from the GCC climbed by 22 per cent, to 845,000 year-on-year. “Qatar has everything a high-end traveller needs — stunning hotels, cultural icons and many leisure activities,” said QTA’s director of tourism, Abdullah Mallala Al Badr. “In 2011, we received 845,000 visitors from the GCC. The first quarter this year, saw tourist arrivals from the GCC jump 22%, year-on-year,” he added.