Residents enjoying the pleasant weather on the Corniche on the third day of Eid Al Adha yesterday. (Salim Matramkot) DOHA: With the rise in population of Qatar, there is a need to establish more recreation sites which people can visit especially during Eid holidays, citizens have told a local Arabic daily. Despite the presence of some tourist attractions and places for recreation in the country, Saad Hassan, a citizen, said the government should allow expanding these leisure destinations to various districts in the state to cater to the swelling population of the country. The Sealine beach resort used to be one of the favourite destinations of families during Eid, said Hassan but due to the increase in prices particularly cottages many families are shying away going to better hideaways outside the country. “It is therefore important to allow local businessmen to establish recreation spots to the interest of both citizens and visitors. Setting up tourist villages on beaches will offer people more choices, will benefit the economy, boost tourism and open doors for businessmen and investors,” he said. There are very few places to visit during Eid such as the Doha Park, Katara Cultural Village, Souq Waqif, besides the Corniche, Al Bidda Park and the Doha Zoo and because of this, people are lured by better destinations in neighbouring countries which results to the weakening of domestic tourism, he added. Khalid Al Atifa, another citizen, is of the same view saying more people are going to other countries because of excellent tourism atmosphere there. “There are some nice locations in the country to spend Eid holidays but they are not in good shape and need maintenance,” he said, adding the best places like Sealine beach resort and Katara are not affordable for all segments of the society. “Prices at Sealine beach resort are very high while restaurants in Katara offer very costly food.” Some citizens and residents alike have also observed sudden increase in prices in some outlets in leisure places because of lack of competition so they want the Consumer Protection Department to check the prices in these outlets. “Very few places, very high prices,” said Yousef al Mahmoud, another citizen, “so there is a need to establish alternative sites for leisure. Many people prefer beaches during Eid and there are a number of nice beaches in the country but the problem is they are unknown and hard to reach because of lack of signs and directions on roads.” In addition, the beaches are neglected and don’t have sufficient facilities and amenities. “If they put up restaurants and other facilities on these beaches, more families and tourists will visit them,” he said. The Peninsula

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