Hospitality in Qatar

The tentative signs of recovery in the global economy will come as welcome news for the tourism and airline industry which has been seriously affected by the economic events of the last two years. Many countries have seen a drastic reduction in the number of visitors to their shores for both business and leisure purposes. With tourism in the Middle East predicted to grow by up to 9% in 2010, Qatar remains firmly committed to creating a strong brand and identity on the worldwide tourism stage which is evident in the many infrastructure and leisure projects under construction to accommodate the needs of all.

The number of visitors to Qatar has been steadily increasing with over a million arriving in 2008. The government is committed to an investment of US$17 billion to improve and enhance Qatar's tourism infrastructure over the next five years. Together with Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), the aim is to achieve a 20% increase in the number of visitors to Qatar by 2012. Quality tourism including business, education as well as leisure will be strongly promoted.

In preparation, to accommodate the increase in business and tourist traffic, the New Doha International Airport, scheduled to open in 2012, will be 12 times larger than the existing Doha International Airport. Once completed, this will be the new home of award-winning Qatar Airways which operates a modern fleet of airbuses and Boeing aircraft from its Doha hub to over 83 business and leisure cities. With 50 million passengers estimated to travel through the New Doha International Airport, QTA will be actively targeting 5% of those travellers to stay an additional 48 hours in Qatar beyond their scheduled stopover.

Doha is also expanding and improving its existing port facilities for both passenger ships and cargo vessels. The QTA's introduction of new rules streamlining the processing of passenger visas means that Doha has now become a major destination for cruise ships in the Gulf. The existing port has modern and convenient docking facilities for as many as eight full-sized luxury cruise ships. International shipping will transfer to the new Doha Port, the construction of which will soon commence to the south of the city.

With Doha being the Capital of Arab Culture for 2010 visitors have an ever-expanding range of leisure, cultural and sporting attractions to visit not to mention the many diverse exhibitions that will be staged over the coming months. Of course no visit to Qatar is complete without a trip Souq Waqif with its myriad alleyways and a discovery awaiting around every corner.

Hotel classifications The many hotels and serviced apartments are all subject to a formal classification process and are awarded star ratings. These ratings are determined by standardised criteria laid down by the QTA with official procedures in place to ensure that these establishments maintain their individual star ratings. See Places to Stay and Alternative Accommodation in this section for a listing of classified hotels and serviced apartments.

Major announcements With many global brand hotels under construction, up to 21,000 additional hotel rooms are expected to become available by 2012 with 41 hotels slated for opening in the coming months. The Merweb Hotel Central Doha has now opened for business and Europe's oldest luxury hoteliers, Kempinski, will manage the impressive Kempinski Residences & Suites. The Al Wa'ab City Management has announced that world-renowned Oberoi Hotels and Resorts will build The Oberoi Hotel Doha which will feature 225 rooms and suites together for a distinctive luxury hospitality experience. Meanwhile the Marriott Renaissance Hotel together with the Marriott Courtyard are fast approaching completion along with the Marriott Executive Apartments.

Another exciting new project is the construction of Qatar's first luxury water park resort featuring a wave pool, a lagoon pool, 'lazy river' and huge water slides.