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Tribune News Network
Doha
IN 2017, Qatar welcomed nearly 59,000 visitors from German-speaking markets, representing an 18 percent increase on the previous year and 12 percent of all European arrivals.
And, 2018 is already off to a strong start recording an average 84 percent increase in visitor arrivals from German-speaking markets in January and February compared to the same period last year, said a Qatar Tourism Authority press release on Thursday.
These increases can be linked to the sharp rise in cruise arrivals and more visitors availing of the free 96-hour transit visa.
Once again, Qatar returned to the Internationale Tourism B'f6rse - ITB in Berlin, Germany to showcase the country as the most open in its region, welcoming the world to experience unique offerings in sports, culture, family entertainment and business.
The Qatar delegation, consisting of 23 tourism sector partners including some of the country's leading hotels, local tour operators and other tourism service providers, is present at Europe's biggest travel show being held from March 7 to 11.
Qatar's pavilion at the ITB Berlin was opened on Wednesday, and visited by Qatar's Ambassador to Germany HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman al Thani.
Rashed AlQurese, chief marketing & promotion officer at QTA commented,"Since our last presence at ITB Berlin in 2017, Qatar has taken big strides in developing its tourism sector to further diversify the country's visitor source markets and products to create a seamless journey to, from and within Qatar. Together with our industry partners at the Bourse, we are working to provide German-speaking trade with an effective 'one-stop shop' for conducting business with our tourism sector."
He added,"We are particularly pleased to see our new strategy yield promising results in visitor growth from European markets and Germany in particular."
Thanks to Qatar's recent visa policy changes, German, Austrian & Swiss citizens can now enter Qatar visa free. The visa waiver is valid for 180 days from the date of issuance and entitles its holder to spend up to 90 days in Qatar, during either a single trip or on multiple trips. In addition, the five-star national carrier, Qatar Airways has 35 direct flights connecting Doha to five major cities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland every week.
