THE ongoing Qatar Summer Festival (QSF) seeks to encourage family tourism to the country and to promote it as the perfect family holiday destination. The event will continue until September 27 this year.
“We welcome all citizens, residents and visitors from the region to Qatar Summer Festival 2014, where they can enjoy dozens of wonderful entertainment activities, games, and festivities that Qatar Tourism Authorities and its partners will offer over almost two months,” says Rashed Al Qurese, director of marketing and promotions at QTA. “This is part of our efforts to activate tourism offerings and products across Qatar, QTA seeks to increase hotel occupancy rate during the slow summer season, and the activities will take place not only in Doha, but also in Al Wakra and Al Khor, where several events have been organised,” adds Al Qurese. The festival is in line with the Tourism Sector 2030 Strategy, which QTA launched in February to serve as the road map for the development of the tourism industry in Qatar and to guide QTA in its efforts to promote Qatar as an international tourism destination with deep cultural roots.QTA expects that a large number of people will visit Qatar this summer in light of its GCC-wide promotional campaign. The entertainment and cultural activities that will be offered within the festival will help show visitors what Qatar has to offer all year long and demonstrate to partners how such events can attract tourist attention.The Qatar Summer Festival includes the following activities: • Family Fun, an integrated entertainment city with various fun-filled and exciting games and rides at the Doha Exhibition Centre; • Fountain Fun, in the corniche across from Al Murjan Restaurant, where dancing fountain shows are presented every evening; • Adventure Fun in Al Khor where visitors can enjoy outdoor activities such as bike riding, kayaking and other games, the tickets for which can be purchased from the tent outside Al Khor Mall; • Flash Fun in Al Wakra where families can enjoy the inflatable Aqua Park on the beach.QTA is also organising a Shopping Fun activity until September 13 in the Pearl Qatar, the Mall, City Center, Hyatt Plaza, and Al Khor Mall where shoppers can enjoy special discounts and raffle draws on prizes worth of millions of riyals and including eight Audi cars. The festival concludes with a Disney On Ice show at the Qatar National Convention Center.Tourist data shows that about 380,000 people visited Qatar during the first quarter of 2014, with more than half of them visiting from the GCC countries. Visitors from the region and the world in the first quarter totalled 387,022, representing a 9 per cent year-on-year increase.Arrivals from the GCC countries rose by 5 per cent, with Saudi Arabia being the largest single source of visitors with 188,000. Arrivals from Kuwait rose by a staggering 42 per cent. The average hotel occupancy rate rose from 68 per cent to 75 per cent, and the total revenue at four- and five-star hotels increased by 5.4 per cent, reaching a total of QR999.4 million ($274.3 million) for the quarter. Some 125 hotels currently under construction are expected to provide addition 21,812 hotel rooms. Link for the Qatar tourism figures Q1 2014 vs Q1 2013: