Tourism in Qatar not up to the mark
I think it's safe to say that this news article isn't telling us anything we didn't already know, but it got me wondering - what things do you think Qatar should develop in order to bring the country's tourism "up to the mark"?
Source ::: The Peninsula
A majority of Qatar residents feel that the country's tourism is not up to the mark, according to a survey conducted by Al Sharq daily.
In the online poll conducted by the Arabic daily, 75 percent of the respondents said that the internal tourism in the country is not growing much. 18 percent said that they were satisfied with the tourism here while seven percent remained neutral to the issue.
The country is witnessing much development in the tourism sector through the boom in hotel and residential complex according to Shaheen Al Subaie. "But other infrastructural developments like water theme and children's park are very less. Themed parks like Disney attract lots of tourists to other countries in the region."
The authorities have done a good work with the zoo but more such places needs to be opened up according to him. The hotel prices here is reasonable but more such places need to be opened up.
Abdul latheef Al Mana said the tourism of the country has increased. "The current developments are attracting more and more people. The over crowding in souq areas now was not seen few years ago," he said. "Qatar needs to develop its costal area. The country has an excellent coastal belt which many countries long to have. This should be given a special importance and exploited in a good way."
Historical sites are almost neglected according to him. "These places should be given special emphasis. The traffic in the city should also be brought under control as it would have heavy impact on tourism." He applauded the high airfare as it helps to keep all in the country itself the daily reported.
your wish is my command... voila!!! :P
I wish there were no tourists!
Now theres an opportunity for unique holidays in Qatar! Bachelor bagging in Ras Laffan! That will certainly bring the tourists flocking in - specially the germans! For the more discerning tourist we could offer ' shop whilst you shoot holidays ' offering well heeled tourists the opportunity to shop in Louis Vuitton in the morning and bag bachelors in the afternoon yah! OMG! I must call Conde Naste immediately! yippeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Sounds fabulous! Hic! Yes a large one coming up!
I love you too Marhabtain. Dunno what Gin that was i just grabbed it from hubby's bar to shut you up. Now leave Tallg's thread alone. :P
Mwah! Mwah and Mwah again! Hic! hope its gordons! xxx
Lift the "family day" policy. How can "single" tourists enjoy Qatar's mall if such a stupid policy is in place?
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy....Martin Luther King
Marhabtain, here a bottle of gin for you. Now go back to your corner and drink that up ! :P
How about organising 2 week package holidays for spinners at the intercon! Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Sounds fabulous! Hic!
is make it affordable and fun to go out and have a pint or two with friends. As it is, there are very few places that I've found where you can go dressed very casually (cargo shorts, t-shirt, sandals) and sit down with friends for a pint. Something like sports bars you find in the US.
If you don't want to dress up to go out your options are very limited.
The driving here is an issue as well. Anyone thinking of coming to Qatar for fun will probably do a little research and if they run accross "reviews" where anyone describes the driving here, they might think twice about visiting.
Easing up all the visa 'hassles' will attract more people. Alot of my relatives and friends would like to come and see Qatar. But since they holding 3 rd world country passport and i am not their direct relative so i cant sponsor them. They end up going somewhere else ...
They have the money they want to come and stay with us. It is just sounds stupid buying a visa through the hotel if you have relatives to stay with.
talking of internal tourism, did you catch the last statement of the article?
A respondent to the survey said, but was not quoted, -
'He applauded the high airfare as it helps to keep all in the country itself.'
So if we can't get the buggers to come, we'll make it difficult for those already here to go elsewhere!
:D
Peace
"Deaths in the Bible. God - 2,270,365
not including the victims of Noah's flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, or the
many plagues, famines, fiery serpents, etc because no specific numbers
were given. Satan - 10."
But there is no news about it, no detail of when (if) it will open etc.
Did you Google it first?
baldrick - you haven't seen the huge Cultural Village project they're building out past the InterCon? It's massive. Looks like there's an Roman amphitheatre there! I'm sure you must have seen it.
Oryx: Agree with you comlpetely about Green...thts why I was talking abt those quaint tropical islands...n yeah backwaters too...
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Lead me not into temptation....I can find it myself!!
I almost forgot, what about a heritage village. I thought they were building one out at West Bay, but nothing in sight just yet?
Did you Google it first?
Winn lots of people come to visit family and friends who live here...they would stay longer if there was more to do.
But when i go on hols the last thing i want to see is sand... i want Green Green Green
"In the online poll conducted by the Arabic daily, 75 percent of the respondents said that the internal tourism in the country is not growing much."
They are talking internal tourism - i.e. what the people already here are doing, and 75% of us are not happy. If we are not happy, how on earth do they expect to get anyone to visit here and be happy?
I agree we need more beaches available and not just through hotels. The archeological sites need sprucing up and better advertising. Desert trips are a must for visitors, especially inland sea (which I still have to do myself). Sure, sports related stuff - they spent the money for the games so make use of the facilities. Shopping ain't an option as most stuff can be bought cheaper elsewhere, unless they set up a free trade zone / DF shopping plaza, and until NDIA is up and runnig they won't even attract hub traffic as facilities at the current airport are pretty dire.
Live theatre, shows, bands, etc would be nice - would save us all going to Dubai! What we don't want is the drunken yobs that Dubai attracts!
Just my 2c
Did you Google it first?
Supernurse...I understand the point about Sun n sand n all..
But talking for myself, if I wanted a beach holiday, I wouldnt think of Qatar at all...with all those beautiful tropical islands all over the world at as much or lesser cost!
I would go to part of the world where i can happily sit n sip beer on ANY beach, without thinking of offending something!! n yeah...i woudnt dream of spending a beach holiday in Qatar between May-Sep.
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Lead me not into temptation....I can find it myself!!
logicsays - The Museum of Islamic Art is touted to become a big draw, maybe not on a par with the Louvre but big nonetheless. It's due to open in December (it was due to open 2 years ago, but they seem pretty confident it will actually open this time!).
Oryx - Agree about the Camel racing, and the same applies to many other things. Advertising of events here is very poor. And the souqs are being extended, aren't they?
beach resorts yeah.......thats what we need
i think the old souq area is great they should make it bigger....
also they should publicise the darn camel races at Shahaniya in English.... loads would like to see that.
Weather, Winn, Weather.......
Beach resorts and Five star hotels can be found all over the world, why would anyone come to Qatar to see them?
IMHO,they'll do better to focus on Heritage tourism, renovating old forts, re-creating history by setting up unique architectural monuments, transforming a part of the city( or creating a city) to a section that would have the 'Arabian charm' in its art, architecture, commerce and flavors. Medieval Sea-side fishing towns, old souqs n so on...Also something like a tribute to the old Arabian adventurers who ventured out in small ships/dhows...heard that Dhow making was a craft that carried a lot of significance those days...
Taking it a bit further, they can even make a theme park for 1001 nights!! ;)
End of the day, as long as they have the petro-dollars flowing in, they can afford not to care a h oot about tourism!!
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Lead me not into temptation....I can find it myself!!
Yes! Utilise the beaches! That is one thing that Abu Dhabi doesn't have, beautiful beaches that is!
Beach resorts needed!!!
May be Qatar can build another Louvre ..
"The best way to predict the future is to create it".
As I see it, currently the only reason you'd come to Qatar for a holiday is if you were happy to pay for a 5 star hotel and lounge around on their beach all day. There are only a few things to tempt people out of their hotels - shopping malls, souqs, corniche, desert trip.
As it stands at the moment spending 3 or 4 days here is basically enough to see everything. There needs to be more to see and do.
I disagree with the the statement that the hotel prices are reasonable. In a country which offers the tourist so little compared to other countries I think the prices are high.
just eat another pie
I definitely agree more beach resorts would be good, though not necessarily just 5 star ones.
As for organised desert tourism, shopping tourism and sports event hosting I think Qatar is doing pretty well on all these fronts already.
Qatar has no enough beach resorts, this is something Qatar can work on, more 5 start beach resorts
Oragnised desert tourism is another area
Shopping tourism .. more malls, more brands or free zones to promote shopping as a tourism activity
Sport events hosting
Conventions tourism
and the list goes on and on ..
"The best way to predict the future is to create it".