Qatar's Tourism Sector Growing By Over 147%, Says UN Official


(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Joel Johnson | The Peninsula

Doha, Qatar: The leisure industry in Qatar continues making strides driven by global investments and state-of-the-art infrastructure facilities. tourism in Qatar has been growing by more than 147 percent, followed by countries such as Albania, El Salvador, and Saudi Arabia, an official remarked.

In an exclusive interview with The Peninsula, The UN Tourism Executive Director, Natalia Bayona (pictured), stressed that this data is“impressive” as it leads the way through emerging destinations.

“It's impossible to talk about tourism without public and private investments,” she said, noting the international events including Web Summit Qatar, the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and last year's fifth UN Conference on Least Development Countries boosted the tourism sector and diversified its economy.

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The executive, who visited the country this week for Qatar Tourism Awards 2024, emphasised that Qatar has received over $1bn Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in tourism industry from the UAE, Thailand, and Australia among others.

She highlighted that promoting sustainable tourism is important, saying that it is one of the vital economic sectors in the world.

The official underlined that UN Tourism is working with global leaders and governments to create new investment frameworks and incentives by bringing more sustainable technologies to the region.

Bayona noted that UN Tourism is working on a technical cooperation project related to innovation and technology.

“We are meeting the authorities from the Qatar Tourism National Board so that we can assure that for next year, we can work on artificial intelligence, startups, and innovation. We have been working with the Qatar Foundation on projects related to education. Educating people is the only way to sustain this sector.”

Bayona underscored that today's world is“hyper-connected” and the younger generation needs to seize the opportunities offered to them by Qatar. The UN Tourism Executive Director said that an AI startup competition will be launched soon for young talents to showcase their skills in the region and beyond.

Bayona also accentuated the three components bridging Qatar and the rest of the world in reinforcing the leisure market: air connectivity, powerful events, and hospitality of the citizens.

She further said that's an opportunity to promote the country's brand, values, gastronomy, local communities, and history.

“With the openness of the country, there are a lot of foreigners living here. There are many Qataris who want global events to be organised here to attract more tourists,” Bayona added.

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The Peninsula

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