50% jump in Indian arrivals to Qatar

Visit Qatar and Qatar Airways join hands for ‘Stopover in Qatar’, which promises a journey of a lifetime packed into a miniscule. The stopover packages offer five exciting options at over 100 hotels for travellers embarking on their journey on Qatar Airways’ network of over 170 destinations.

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Beyond the conventional boundaries of space and scale lies Qatar – in all its opulent splendour. Whether it’s the traditional camel races or a jaw dropping queue of luxury cars at the next red light or a drive through sand dunes that you take to witness the most magical sunset from the beach, the travel itinerary for Qatar comes with many upgrades. Foregrounding this rich kaleidoscope of culture, heritage, and a colossal skyline, Qatar Tourism is pulling all stops to become the top tourist destination in the Middle East.

Taking the excitement a notch up, Visit Qatar and Qatar Airways recently announced the launch of ‘Stopover Flight Packages in Doha’ to promote Qatar as premier tourist destination in a joint effort. In a press conference chaired by H.E. Saad bin Ali Al Kharji, Chairman of Qatar Tourism, and Engr Badr Mohammed Al Meer, CEO of Qatar Airways Group, The ‘Stopover in Qatar’ package was unveiled. Al Kharji said, “It is imperative to highlight that in 2023, the number of travellers and hotel room nights for stopovers in Qatar more than doubled compared to 2022 as a direct result of Qatar Airways flying to over 177 international destinations. January 2024 witnessed another remarkable achievement with over 700,000 visitors, setting a new monthly record, we are continuing this growth, with the aim of welcoming six million annual visitors by 2030.”

Qatar sees India as its key source market, standing second to Saudi Arabia. Philip Dickinson, Tourism Marketing and Promotion Sector, Qatar Tourism, shares, “We welcomed 420,000 visitors from India in 2023, an increase of 50 per cent on 2022, making it our second largest source market.”

With improved direct connectivity and flight frequency, it aims to attract more Indian travellers. Dickinson adds, “We are appealing to a lot of Indian travellers as we are such a short flight away. We have Qatar Airways, IndiGo, Air India, Vistara and newly announced Akasa Air – all flying directly from India. So, perhaps not so much demographic rather segments like leisure (holidays and VFR), M!CE, weddings, cruise and bleisure – either point to point or stopover.”

The stopover packages offer five exciting options at over 100 hotels for travellers embarking on their journey on Qatar Airways’ network of over 170 destinations. All stopover packages include 24-hour check-in facilities, so guests can make the most of their time in Qatar and can be tailored to add-on options, including airport assistance, transfers and a range of tours and experiences to enhance their stay, such as City and Desert Tours.

As Dickinson puts it, the tourist attractions are just “too many to mention”. There are amazing new waterparks. One can also indulge in a wide range of hotels, culinary outlets, and shopping malls.