Qatar aims to add 105 new hotels and serviced apartments to its tourism offering ahead of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup – and aims to attract six million visitors a year by 2030.
The ‘Qatar Tourism Strategy 2030’ was unveiled at World Travel Market just over a year before the nation hosts the world’s largest international football tournament.
Qatar aims to grow its annual international visitor arrivals three-fold to reach six million by 2030, and quadruple visitors’ in-destination spend from 2019 levels by the same year. It hopes to achieve this by increasing the typical length of stay and “enhancing tourism product”, and has set a target for tourism to contribute 10% of the country’s GDP by 2030.
Part of this plan includes adding 105 hotels and serviced apartments. New properties will include Banyan Tree Doha; the Pullman Doha West Bay; the JW Marriott West Bay; and the Steigenberger Hotel.
It says the country’s transport facilities have also been improved to cater for all eight World Cup stadium’s being within 75km of each other. There will be tourist zones and fan villages.
Qatar said it is also committed to environmental protection with sustainability is “one of the key pillars of the Qatar National Vision 2030” and said the lack of internal flights for World Cup visitors will reduce travellers’ carbon footprint, and claims to be on target for “the first carbon-neutral event in tournament history”.