Tourist cruises coming to Qatar under study by Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority

Delegates from Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, accompanied by representatives from the Customs and Ports Authority and from the Ministry of Interior recently attended a regional meeting in Dubai.

QTEA attended a three day meeting aimed at negotiating the methods and procedures for cruise ships with other tourism authorities from the Gulf, in particular Dubai, Oman and Bahrain.

These meetings reviewed the joint procedures for tourism ships regarding visas, passports and other related issues, to be adopted by every country from the Gulf where cruises boats will make a stopover.

Throughout the visit, QTEA attended presentations done by key professionals from the cruise ship industry to get a detailed overview of cruises in the Middle East, and to discuss associated opportunities and methods to overcome possible obstacles.

This visit gave also a get-together opportunity to Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority to discuss with major tour operators and cruising companies the possibility to add Qatar on the cruising map during their trips in the Middle East.

On the occasion of this visit, Mr Salman Mohammed Al Hammadi, Head of Licensing and Classification Tourism Activities at Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, commented: "This procedure represents a new way of putting into practice our strategy to ask people stay 48 hours in Qatar. The fruitful meetings we had will enable Qatar to attract new travelers to Qatar, and make them discover our culture and our unique landscape. Qatar will become a not-to-be missed stage on the Middle East maritime routes."