In a move to expand its international presence and focus efforts on growing markets, Qatar Tourism Authority announced the opening of new offices in Turkey and the United States.

The offices are positioned in Istanbul and New York and will open at the beginning of August. Qatar’s presence in these markets will raise strong destination awareness and strengthen QTA’s outreach to prominent travel trade partners and media with a drive towards visitor generation to consumers on the ground.

The opening of the Turkey office will build on collaboration between the two nations in the field of tourism, capitalizing specifically on a recent agreement which allows Turkish visitors to enter Qatar without a visa.

These opening were announced at QTA’s Q3 2016 Quarterly Marketing Framework Summit which was attended by personnel from existing international offices in France, Italy, UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia, S.E. Asia and Hong Kong with their newest counterparts and members of Qatar’s tourism sector. The year to date results were highlighted and the aligned approach for the forthcoming second half of the year was shared with attendees.

“New economic realities have underscored the importance of developing tourism products in Qatar that can attract and retain leisure visitors, and increase the average length of stay of business visitors,” said Rashed AlQurese, Chief Marketing and Promotion Officer. “QTA is actively engaged on many fronts to build a sustainable tourism industry and maintain visitor flow into the country.”

AlQurese explained that, in addition to expanding promotional activities abroad, the ongoing implementation of QTA’s festivals strategy in Qatar continues to show impact. “The Qatar Summer Festival, which continues through 1-31 August, has been designed to attract visits at a traditionally off-peak period in Qatar’s hospitality and retail sectors. ‘We have partnered with over 50 hotels to provide special offers to domestic and inbound tourists. Additionally, mall activations, cultural performances, concerts, and sports events will bring foot fall to the country’s various venues and stores.”

Marketing Qatar internationally entails close collaboration between public and private sector partners with hotels and other tourist facilities and services being key factors in the selection of the tourism products that QTA promotes globally. The quarterly summits allowed QTA’s international offices to interact with their counterparts in Qatar, whilst constantly familiarizing themselves with the destination latest developments and networking opportunities with Qatar’s private sector stakeholders, hoteliers and service providers.

Attendees at the summit also discussed Qatar’s representation at upcoming global tourism trade shows, which include Seatrade in Tenerife, TTG Rimini in Italy, World Travel Market in London, ITB Asia in Singapore and IBTM World in Barcelona.

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