Qatar is a place with exceptional opportunities, especially for women who look for a new beginning here. Women are just as capable as men in achieving whatever they want and this is an ideal place to explore possibilities, says Qatar’s first female commercial dune bashing driver.

Jo Sullivan, a British expatriate living in Qatar for a year, sees the country as a wonderful place with extraordinary opportunities and amazing people. She is already an entrepreneur running a licensed Destination Management Company.

“As Qatar’s industry and commerce sector continues to mature, there will be even more opportunities, especially in the run up to 2022. I have never felt restricted, hindered or unsafe here and I would encourage anyone thinking of coming here to embrace the opportunity,” she told The Peninsula.

Sharing her story behind becoming the first female commercial dune bashing driver, Jo recommends anyone who wishing to drive in the desert should learn it.

“I will not run an event or activity until I have tried it myself and worked out the details of how it is going to run. So when we registered as a tour company, I needed to know where our drivers were taking our guests and coincidentally a training centre ‘Doha 4x4’ introduced a commercial licensing course initiated by Qatar Tourist Authority,” said Jo.

"As a licensed tour guide I signed up, went along and completed the course only to find out I happened to be the first woman in Qatar to do so. It was a great course and I highly recommend training for anyone wishing to drive in the desert,” she added.

The company Murex Activities and Tours — which Jo runs with a business partner — offers a portfolio of tours such as various city tours, a northern Qatar tour, trips to the desert, camps stays, dhow trips as well as activities to teach people more about Qatar and local heritage. It includes range of things like falcon activity, an oud fragrance activity, an Islamic tour, souq walks, a rababah making activity, souq photowalk and Arabic food — classes for photography and Arabic cookery — and several other activities.

Also through “Coming Up In Qatar”, a Facebook page that provides live feeds and cultural information about Qatar.

“My aim is that everyone who comes here can say they have learnt something about Qatar that they can take away and share with the world. I would like to everyone to know that Qatar has something for every traveller,” said Jo.

Source: The Peninsula

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