Eid Al Fitr Celebrations 2016 concluded its nation-wide activities Sunday, 10 th July after five days of festivities drew crowds in the thousands to ‘capture joy’ at popular venues across Qatar, including malls, sports arenas and museums.

The celebrations are one of several organised by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) and its partners to showcase Qatar’s offerings as a family destination and build a diverse annual events calendar. This helps further energise the hospitality and retail sectors and drive domestic tourism and attract regional visitors, especially during off-peak periods.

“Festivals and events are one of several avenues through which QTA works on diversifying Qatar’s tourism offering. Other avenues include cruise tourism and business events tourism,” said Rashed Al-Qurese, Chief Promotions and Marketing Officer at QTA.

Malls were packed with families eager to take advantage of the indoor festivities in the form of roaming entertainment, as well as stage performances exclusive to each of the participating malls such as Alice in Wonderland (City Centre Doha), Sleeping Beauty (Dar Al Salam), The Little Mermaid (Ezdan Mall), Snow White (Lagoona Mall), Iftah Ya Simsim (Hyatt Plaza), Kids Circus Show (Al Khor Mal) and Dora’s Friendship Fiesta (Gulf Mall).

“Estimates of attendance show a highly successful festival and we look forward to building on this success for the upcoming Qatar Summer Festival which is just three weeks away,” said Mashal Shahbik, Director of Festivals and Tourism Events at QTA. “We thank our partners at the malls for helping us enrich the indoor entertainment offering, and our partners at Qatar National Theatre and Souq Waqif for providing fantastic performances; and at Katara for drawing large crowds to their spectacular fireworks display despite the heat.”

The Celebrations’ other attractive offers included free tours of the Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani Museum’s; horse riding sessions at Al Samariyah Equestrian Centre; aerial paragliding tours at Sealine Beach by the Qatar Air Sports Committee’s along with a wide variety of entertainment options which took centre stage as well at Aqua Park, Al Dosari Zoo and Game Reserve, the Pearl- Qatar and Aspire Zone Foundation.

The Festival also included two QTA-sponsored theatrical performances. Tar Al Wazir, an Arabic comedy about social issues in Qatar and the GCC played at Qatar National Theatre while the children’s play The Hunter and the Pirates showed at Souq Waqif ‘s Al Rayyan Theatre.

With the 2016 Qatar Summer Festival (QSF) scheduled to kick off in just three weeks, the festivities will continue in Qatar. QSF, running from August 1 st – 31 st , is expected to drive up visitor numbers with a range of new attractions, special hotel rates, cultural events and special offers on renowned retail brands.

A highlight of QSF will be the return of Entertainment City, a single stop destination for family entertainment at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center. The venue will feature a range of new and exciting gaming and entertainment options for children and adults alike, as well as a food court.

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