The recently formed Qatar General Tourism Authority (QGTA) unveiled plans for its first countrywide summer tourism promotion, dubbed Qatar Summer Wonders. The month-long event will run between July 15–August 15, 2002, and will center around three of the state’s leading malls: City Center, The Mall and Landmark Mall.
“Visitors and Qatar residents alike will find these malls, and the streets of Doha, humming with fun, entertainment, heritage displays, food promotions, sporting events, movies and shopping discounts,” said Sheikh Sultan Bin Jassem Al-Thani, QGTA chairman.
Among the Summer Wonder events are a classic car show, a photography exhibition and an entertainment/sports arena. Sports events scheduled include a BMX rally, skateboarding, weightlifting, billiards and snooker tournaments.
“This is the first step in an ongoing campaign aimed at promoting Qatar as a single-added value package,” said Sultan. QGTA chairman added that his authority acknowledged Qatar has a challenging task ahead in establishing the Gulf state as a family leisure and business travel destination.
“This is a very important and strategically correct time to launch Qatar’s tourism industry on a wider scale. We believe the key to success will be making Qatar a more international exciting destination for families and business travelers. This is especially important, as other countries in the region are also aggressively chasing tourist dollars. The good news is that Qatar, which is fairly new to the tourism industry, has little to lose but much to gain and huge desire and political will to develop this sector,” he concluded. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
