Qatar Tourism has highlighted the peninsula’s new major tourism projects including the cruise terminal that is currently under construction.
The Grand Cruise Terminal – which will be located in central Doha near the Museum of Islamic Art and Souq Waqif – will give passengers a “spectacular view on arrival of the West Bay Skyline,” the governmental body said.
Once completed, the terminal will be able to host two megaships at one time and offer various attractions including an aquarium and art gallery.
Qatar Tourism also said that an “exciting calendar of events” for tourists – including tourists from the U.S. – is underway as the country prepares to host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
“We are continuing to expand our tourism offer and are excited to introduce guests to the best of Qatari hospitality. In 2019, 190,000 cruise passengers visited the destination, and among them over 5,000 were U.S. travelers,” said Chief Operating Officer of Qatar Tourism, Berthold Trenkel.
“The U.S. market is an increasingly important market for our inbound tourism, and we want to raise awareness about the extensive developments that are well underway and introduce visitors from around the world to the very best of Qatar,” he added.
Qatar Tourism said that over the past 18 months Qatar has launched new tourism experiences, restaurants, theme parks, and football stadiums. It is also adding over 100 hotels and hotel apartments to its portfolio of properties.
Among the recently opened hotels is the Banyan Tree Doha, a five-star luxury property designed by Jacques Garcia. Other hotel openings on the horizon include the Pullman Doha West Bay, the JW Marriott West Bay and the Steigenberger Hotel.
Qatar Tourism said that it’s en route to its mission to welcome six million visitors a year by 2030.
The governmental body also noted that it launched the Visit Qatar mobile app earlier this year, as part of its digital transformation strategy. The app uses cloud-based Adobe Experience Manager capabilities to deliver a “rich and data-driven, curated experience for users.”
According to a press release, Qatar has also implemented a new streamlined set of measures designed to make traveling to Qatar as easy as possible, while maintaining the necessary precautions to continue to protect against the spread of COVID-19.
Qatar’s vaccination program has already seen over 80.9 percent of the population fully vaccinated, Qatar Tourism said.
“The ‘Qatar Clean’ program, launched in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health, enforces the highest standards in hygiene and cleanliness, with rigorous procedures in place to ensure the safety of customers. With 100 percent of Qatar Tourism-licensed hotels ‘Qatar Clean’ certified, the program is being expanded to restaurants and rolled out to other sectors including transport, retail and culture,” Qatar Tourism wrote. “The measures include social distancing, frequent sanitization of surfaces, and touchless payments, to ensure a safe experience in hotels, shopping malls, and the country’s health clubs and salons.”
In order to travel to Qatar, U.S. travelers must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with vaccines that are approved for use by the Ministry of Public Health, and travel at least two weeks after they have received their final dose.
