Qatar Daily News

Chairman of the Qatar Tourism Authority Ahmed Abdullah Al Noaimi said Wednesday he expects the tourism sector to contribute generously to the country’s national income within four to five years from now.

Al Noaimi pointed out that the QTA is currently cooperating with the World Tourism Organization (WTO) to establish a new system to be specialised in calculating the tourism sector’s revenues and how much they contribute to the national income.

Doha has become a major destination for the cruise ships in the Gulf. The cruise agencies now regard Qatar as a regular port of call on the Middle East maritime routes because of new visa rules.

The new visa procedure allows Qatari authorities to process all visas in four to seven working days in advance before the ship’s arrival. On the day of arrival, while passports are gathered and collected, passengers can directly disembark and begin exploring Qatar immediately.

Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority is keeping pace with all cruises coming to Qatar, ensuring that all procedures go smoothly and welcoming passengers at the port with a display of traditional Qatari hospitality. 280 passengers from the American ship Silver Wind were warmly welcomed at the Doha port, yesterday.
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The Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (QTEA) accorded a warm welcome to passengers of a cruise making a stopover in Qatar.

Passengers from the Deutschland, a tourism ship cruising in the Gulf, were the first to take advantage of the relaxation of entry procedures, and to have an eased arrival in Qatar.

The 400 passengers and 260 crew members were greeted on their arrival on ground with the true Qatari hospitality. Enjoying the traditional Qatari band, tourists could admire a falcon, while sipping Arabic coffee and tasting dates. One German couple said: �We will ever remember our first steps in Qatar, and we are eager to see more of this charming country.�

Organized by Gulf Adventures, the tour agent of this cruise, tourists have been offered a desert safari to Khor Al Odeid, the unique inland sea surrounded by sand dunes, a visit to the Museum of Islamic Art and an extended tour of the capital, including Souq Waqif. Golf addicts could as well appreciate an early round at Doha Golf Club.
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A strong bilateral relations between Qatar and Italy in terms of tourism is expected to rise as the Italian delegation laid the first stone of cooperation during their brief visit in Doha. Aside from expanding bilateral economic relations with Qatar, the delegation was in Doha to start a profitable cooperation in line with tourism industry.

The members of the Italian delegation headed by Michela Vittoria Brambilla, Under-secretary of State in Charge of Tourism, presented Italy’s huge number of ongoing and future tourism projects to prospective investors during the seminar called ‘Italy meets Qatar’ yesterday at the Sheraton Doha.

“The responsibility for tourism given to me by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is a great challenge I have to rise to, since tourism is one of the pillars of our economy and has to be enhanced on all levels,” said Brambilla, as she addressed around a hundred members of the audience belonging to Qatari companies, locally based travel agencies and media. Brambilla earlier met with Qatar Tourism Exhibitions Authority Chairman Ahmed Abdullah Al Nuaimi to discuss tourism concerns.
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