Packing ‘journey of a lifetime’ into a miniscule yet magnificent stopover, the luxury line-up of hospitality offerings and exciting events make it a year-round tourist destination.
Lipla Negi
Smashing the conventional boundaries of space and scale, Qatar is consistently redefining luxury travel itinerary of all budgets. Offering a rich kaleidoscope of culture, heritage, luxe hotels and colossal skyline, the country is pulling all stops to become the top tourist destination in the Middle East.
Keeping heritage at the heart of its cities with camel racetracks, spice souks, while foregrounding its futuristic approach with technology, innovation and spectacular architecture, it is stopover that is sure to leave you spellbound.
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 His Excellency Saad bin Ali Al Kharji, Chairman, Qatar Tourism, and Engr Badr Mohammed Al Meer, CEO, Qatar Airways Group, ‘The ‘Stopover in Qatar’ package was unveiled.
Al Kharji said, “It is imperative to highlight that last year, 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 the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Philip Dickinson, Tourism Marketing and Promotion Sector, Qatar Tourism, shared, “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. He added, “We are appealing to a lot of Indian travellers, as we are 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 such as Leisure (holidays and VFR), M!CE, Weddings, Cruise and Bleisure—either Point to Point or Stopover.”
With its diverse offerings, travellers are surely in for a fulfilling experience that is exciting as well as exceptional. As Dickinson asserts that the tourist attractions are just ‘too many to mention’. “There are amazing new waterparks like the recently opened Meryal Waterpark and Desert Falls Water and Adventure Park; theme parks such as Winter Wonderland and Doha Quests. One can also indulge in a range of hotels options, culinary outlets, shopping malls, world class museums, beach clubs and desert adventures to name a few.”
The year-round calendar of events is dotted with sporting events, concerts, food festivals and shopping extravaganzas. So, it does not matter how short or long your stay is, you discover a new side to Qatar each time.
Our focus is on segments such as Leisure (holidays and VFR), MICE, Weddings, Cruise & Bleisure
People
Philip Dickinson, Tourism Marketing & Promotion Sector, Qatar Tourism
A premium getaway
Visit Qatar and Destination Qatar’s 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.
