QTEA welcomes The New York Times naming Qatar as the Cultural Destination of the Year

The newspaper's widely read week-end edition, also ranked Qatar as destination number 9 in the "Where to go in 2009" list describing Doha as a new arts capital in the Middle East.

The award follows a year rich in outstanding cultural events, with the opening of the Museum of Islamic Arts, the first performances of the new Philharmonic orchestra and the announcement of the Tribecca Film Festival coming to Doha in November 2009. Qatar is recognised as having international significant cultural attractions including the biggest Islamic art collection in the world and Qatar's first Philharmonic Orchestra, playing both classical western masterpieces and innovative Arabian composers.

As the only GCC country ranked in the 44-destination list, Qatar is described as the "arts hub" of the Middle East, combining tradition with modern creativity. The report also highlighted the contemporary arts gallery in the traditional Souq Waqif.

Mr Ahmed Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, commented:

"We are delighted that our cultural pride shared with an open-mind has been recognized internationally. Qatar doesn't want to be an entertainment destination, rather an outstanding cultural destination, where Arab culture can dialogue with other civilizations. Qatar is a place where people see things differently, where citizens embrace new ideas and welcome visitors as honored guests and dear friends. And being this cultural bridge makes Qatar really different. That's the unique Qatari appeal to our culture and traditions: we are proud of our rich past, but do not lock it up behind a static show window. We make all of our traditions alive, by getting them interconnected with the modern world and other cultures.We are looking forward to welcoming with warmth these new travelers in 2009."

The Islamic Art Museum is a new driving force for the country as a cultural destination as it becomes a world renowned symbol for Qatar. It is part of a larger tourism strategy for Qatar to become a world-class destination. In addition to the Souq Waqif renovation, a Heritage village is soon to be open and new museums are under way, such as the New National Museum of Qatar and the Museum for Contemporary Arab Art.

The investment increase of $17bn over the next five years on tourism infrastructure is making Qatar even more attractive to visitors. This includes the construction of luxury hotels, resorts and other leisure facilities, totalling a 400% increase in hotel capacity up to 29,000 luxury rooms by 2012. 80,000 hotel rooms, all range included, will be available by 2016.

The QTEA has a very practical and achievable strategy: targeting an increase of 20% of new travellers in the next five years, by attracting 5% of passengers travelling through the Doha International Airport - and then from the New Doha International Airport - and asking them to stay an extra 48 hours in the country past their initial scheduled time, totaling 2.5 million travellers.

The Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority is to become one of the main ambassadors for Qatar worldwide, representing an upscale destination, known for its independent spirit, its progressive orientation towards the world, while having preserved its traditional essence of hospitality and warmth.