SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT THURSDAY 28 JUNE 2018

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Qatar’s longest festival, Qatar Summer Festival (QSF), has returned with a lot of fun, enter-tainment and other irresistible retail and

hospitality offerings which are attracting people not only from within country but also from the outside.

Qatar Summer Festival (QSF) is a nation-wide festival that celebrates the country’s family entertainment, retail and hospitality offerings. Spanning more than two months during summer, the Festival invites visitors to colour their summer with attractive travel and hos-pitality packages to enjoy a wide variety of activities and cultural events across Qatar. This year QSF started on June 14 before Eid Al Fitr and is being held under the theme “Colour Your Summer”.

QSF showcases Qatar’s unique urban and family entertainment offerings; ener-gises hospitality and retail sectors during a typically off-peak period, increase private sector’s participation in diversi-fying Qatar’s tourism offering; and sheds a spotlight on Qatar’s sports offering.

“Over the years, QSF has grown to become synonymous with family-friendly activities, entertainment, hos-pitality and shopping offers that bring colour to everyone’s summer. In its fifth edition, we are particularly excited to add special activities for sports fans to enjoy the world’s most anticipated football tournament,” Mashal Shahbik, Director of Festivals and Tourism Events at QTA, said.

“The summer festivities, which this year extend from Eid Al Fitr to the end of August, form a key part of our efforts to energise the tourism sector through diversifying Qatar’s events calendar and tourist source markets,” she added.

Like past years, a number of col-ourful entertainment activities and hos-pitality offerings have been announced to celebrate QSF which will end on August 31, 2018.

QATAR FAN ZONE

As this year’s edition coincides with the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, QSF has partnered with the Supreme Com-mittee for Delivery & Legacy and Min-istry of Sports and Culture, to bring Qatar Fan Zone to Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena. The fan zone’s activa-tions kicked off on June 14 and continue until the World Cup final on July 15.

Entry to the Qatar Fan Zone is free, offering all residents and visitors an opportunity to keep up with the excitement surrounding the month-long Russia World Cup tournament in an atmosphere that emulates the World Cup vibes. In addition to live screenings of all matches, the zone will feature live entertainment and con-certs, a gaming and activation area, and more than 40 food stalls.

MUSICAL CONCERTS SPICE QFZ UP

Qatar Fan Zone at Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena has also added to its cul-tural offering a series of six free live con-certs between the evening match screenings of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia for all the visiting football fans and families to enjoy.

The series of performances kicked off on June 25 with Moroccan singer Hatim Ammor as the first star who took

the Zone’s stage before the kick-off between Morocco and Spain. The music concerts, organised by local enter-tainment business Social Studios, have brought some of the most loved music stars from across the Middle East, including North Africa’s world-renowned Cheb Khlaed. During the quarter finals of the World Cup, the music concerts will feature Iraqi singer Mohammed Al Fares and Lebanese artist, Ziad Bourji, on July 6 and July 7 respectively. During the following and final week of the month-long tour-nament, Kuwaiti Star Academy sen-sation Essa Almarzoug is set to take the stage on July 10 followed by his compa-triot star Ibrahim Dashti on July 11.

MALL ENTERTAINMENT & SHOWS

From the first to the fifth day of Eid Al Fitr Eid, QSF’s participating malls pre-sented special free entertainment shows for shoppers and families looking for some indoor fun. In addition, the fol-lowing shows will be performed three times a day on rotation at all partici-pating malls: The Fluffy Bears (20 minutes); Aladdin & The Genie (25 minutes); Beauty & The Beast Adventure Parade (30 minutes); Madagascar: A Musical Adventure (45 minutes); and Disney Princesses Parade (45 minutes).

QSF’s participating malls include Al Khor Mall, Al Mirqab Mall, B Square Mall, Doha Festival City, Gulf Mall, Hyatt Plaza, Landmark Mall and Mall of Qatar. Lagoona Mall is also partic-ipating with special World Cup activ-ities, allowing shoppers to watch the tournament’s matches live.

ENTERTAINMENT CITY

The QSF family favourite — Summer Entertainment City — opened its doors to the public on the first day of Eid Al Fitr. Spreading over the expansive ground floor of the Doha Exhibition & Convention Center, the City’s key fea-tures include the world’s largest bouncy

castle, an 18-hole mini-golf course, an ice skating rink, exciting rides, skill games, video games, as well as live entertainment shows.

Visitors to the City are also able to keep up with the World Cup excitement through while enjoying food, beverage and shopping options. It opens daily from 2pm to 11pm. An individual entry ticket costs QR15 and a day pass is QR150. Individual game prices range from QR10 to QR35.

SHOP & WIN

Retailers at 10 participating malls are offering up to 50% discounts and special promotions. For every QR200 spent at any of the outlets in QSF’s par-ticipating malls, shoppers can enter three raffle draws for a chance to win one of 27 exciting cash prizes worth QR2,000,000 or a Lamborghini Hur-ricane (2018 model) super car. The 10 Participating Malls include Al Khor Mall, Al Mirqab Mall, B Square Mall, Dar Al Salam Mall, Doha Festival City, Gulf Mall, Hyatt Plaza, Lagoona Mall, Landmark Mall

and Mall of Qatar The monthly raffle draws will be held on the last Thursday of June and July at Lagoona Mall and Mall of Qatar respectively. The final draw will take place on August 31 at Doha Festival City.

HOSPITALITY OFFERS

All throughout QSF, nearly 50 of Qatar’s five- and four-star hotels are providing a range of offers and discounts on brunches, beach and pool access, accommodation and spa treatments. To find out which hotel is offering what, guests can visit qatarsummerfestival.qa

QSF partner 5-Star hotels include Al Sultan Beach Resort, Al Rayyan Hotel Doha Curio Collection, Amari Hotel Doha, Banana Island Resort By Anantara, City Centre Rotana Doha, Holiday Inn Doha - The Business Park, Grand Hyatt Doha Hotel and Villas, Holiday Villa Hotel & Residence Doha, Doha Marriot Hotel, MarsaMalaz Kempenski, Mil-lennium Plaza Doha, Movenpick Hotel Doha, Movenpick Hotel West Bay Doha, Oryx Rotana Doha, Sharq Village & Spa Hotel, Double Tree by Hilton,

The St. Regis Doha, The Torch Doha, Al Aziziyah Boutique Hotel, Crowne Plaza Doha - The Business Park, Inter-Continental Doha, The Ritz Calton Doha, Warwick Doha, Hilton Doha and The Westin Doha Hotel.

The 4-Star hotels include Al Liwan Suites, Best Western Plus Doha, Century Hotel Doha, Corp Executive Hotel Doha Suites, Doha Palace Residence 2, Ezdan Hotel Westbay, Mercure Grand Hotel, Plaza Inn Doha Hotel, RetajAlrayyan Hotel, Safir Doha Hotel, Retaj Inn Marina Residence, The Avenue, A Murwab Hotel, The Royal Riviera Hotel, Zubarah Boutique Hotel, Sapphire Plaza Hotel, Diamond 1 Hotel, Doha Dynasty Hotel, Gulf Horizon Hotel, Hyatt Residence Doha Westbay, Liberty Suites and Radisson Blu Hotel.

MOBILE APP

This year, an all-new QSF Summer Pass mobile application is available offering a comprehensive guide for all the events and offers under QSF’s umbrella. The free app developed in partnership with local voucher provider MyBook, can be downloaded from all app stores and is available in both English and Arabic.

On this app, a special Summer Deals feature can be unlocked for a one-time fee of QR75 opening the door to a host of money-saving offers across enter-tainment centres as well as hundreds of cafes and restaurants. QSF Summer Pass users can also enjoy discounts at nearly 50participating four- and five-star hotels on room rates as well as offers for beach and pool access, spa treat-ments, and weekend brunch menus.

DOHA COMEDY FESTIVAL

Doha Comedy Festival will return with American superstar comedian Gabriel ‘Fluffy’ Iglesias set to bring roars of laughter to audiences at Qatar National Convention Centre, Al Mayassa Hall on August 17.

Thousands throng ‘Colour Your Summer’ events

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMohammed Salim Mohamed

SUPPLEMENT COORDINATORAhmed Eltigani Idris

CHAIRMAN Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDr. Khalid Mubarak Al-Shafi

DESIGNAbraham Augusthy

QA launches

services to Antalya,

Bodrum in Turkey

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Luxury hotels are domi-nating in Qatar’s hospi-tality market. Around 50 percent of hotel rooms in the country belonged to five-star hotels at the end

of 2017. Four-star hotels have the second biggest share in Qatar’s growing hospitality market which had over 22,900 rooms at the end of last year.

“Total supply of hotel room keys (not including hotel apartments) at year end was 22,921, contained within 98 properties. Of these, 49.7 percent were categorised as 5-star, while 37.6 percent were categorised as 4-star,” said a report by real estate consultancy firm DTZ Qatar.

Qatar’s hospitality market is unexpected to witness any drastic change in the near future as the dominance of four and five-star hotels is likely to continue. The supply of new properties in the country suggest that luxury hotels will continue their reign in the local market in coming years.

“Current supply is heavily weighed in favour of expensive luxury hotel establishments, however the recent opening of good quality mid-market hotels such as the Holiday Inn, Premier Inn and Mil-lenium Plaza have started to redress this balance,” said the report assessing the development during the first quarter of 2018.

“There are currently in the region of 17,000 hotel keys and serviced apartments at various stages of planning and construction in Qatar, with the majority expected to be delivered to 4-star or 5-star specifi-cations,” it added. The total number of hotels and hotel apartment devel-opments currently operating in Qatar was officially recorded at 122 in

Qatar Tourism Authority’ (QTA) end of year report for 2017. These prop-erties provide a total of 25,167 keys, including hotel rooms suites and hotel apartments.

With various measures taken by the authorities in the past, Qatar hos-pitality market is set to welcome strong inflow of tourists in the coming years. Qatar, in September last year, witnessed the launch of the Next Chapter of its National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030, which charts the next five years of the tourism sec-tor’s growth in Qatar.

The Next Chapter aims to attract 5.6 million visitors to Qatar annually by 2023, double the number which the country welcomed in 2016. It also aims to achieve a 72 percent occupancy rate across all hotel establishments, through a combination of increasing demand and diversifying the coun-try’s tourist accommodation offering.

Also by 2023, the strategy aims to have increased tourism’s direct contribution to Qatar’s GDP from QR19.8bn in 2016 to QR41.3bn, rep-resenting a direct contribution to the GDP of 3.8 percent compared to 3.5 percent in 2016. Qatar also announced the expansion of visa free entry to 80 countries and the intro-duction of the e-visa platform.

Ezdan Holding Group owned hotel, Ezdan Hotel West Bay, has realised significant occupancy rates in 2018 amid insecurities and chal-lenges hitting the local market. Also The Curve Hotel, an affiliate of the Group, has notched up above 75% in occupancy rate despite being a startup hotel, with less than one year since opening, Wael Al Telbani, Ezdan Hotels Group General Manager, said.

Al Telbani said that Ezdan Palace is the first of kind in Qatari

hospitality market, being a 100% Qatari established hotel, without any foreign supervision or intervention from global hotel brand names. Ezdan Palace headquarters in a stra-tegic location at the heart of Doha City and will be an landmark as soon as it opens. The hotel provides an array of high-end services that meet the demands of customers seeking quality services, with a capacity of 194 hotel rooms and suites, he reiterated.

Al Telbani pointed out to the huge development witnessed by Hotel Ezdan West Bay in terms of facilities and amenities including ceremony and event halls that had undergone revamping in compliance with international standards, as well

as other facilities in the hotel such as the swimming pools and restau-rants, children playgrounds, gym-nasiums, massage and spa centre and the exquisitely constructed lobby with different entrances.

It is worthy to mention that Ezdan Hotel chain is the largest hotel in the West Bay, with more than 3,000 hotel rooms and several other facilities such as the spacious event and conference centre, in addition to Ezdan Palace, the first five-star hotel owned by the Group. It also owns The Curve Hotel, which is located on a distinguished location on Doha’s Corniche with a capacity of more than 600 hotel rooms and a deluxe services and high-end facilities.

Discover Qatar, the d e s t i n a t i o n m a n a g e m e n t subsidiary arm o f Q a t a r

Airways, announced that it has launched a digital trans-formation project, and will implement innovative digital technology to enable Qatar’s growing inventory of hotel rooms and services to connect with global tour operators and travel providers on one digital platform.

The system provided by the technology company, Illu-sions, will allow global tour operators and passengers to have an enhanced and seamless journey when searching for and booking their perfect Discover Qatar experience. Additionally, as an inclusive project, it will empower all relevant and reg-ulated suppliers and service providers in the Qatari market to offer their products globally via the Discover Qatar system.

Discover Qatar is the first destination management company to use this unique exchange technology platform in the region, marking another

milestone for Qatar Airways. One of the major benefits of the new technology is that it offers the destination of Qatar immediate connectivity to more than 140 global travel partners already connected to the Illusions IWTX exchange platform.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “At Qatar Airways, we continue to raise the bar and innovate across all areas of our business as part of our five-star product offering. Discover Qatar’s technology is one of the finest destination management company digital solutions in the world, and will provide our travel partners and our pas-sengers with not only a flexible, reliable and scalable platform, but also access to the full range of services, experi-ences and accommodation that our beautiful country holds, in a seamless digital experience”.

“As the national carrier of the State of Qatar, we are very proud to be playing a key role in the growth of Qatar’s tourism industry. Qatar Airways is connected

to more than 30,000 travel companies globally, and this new technology will make every process easier for those global travel operators wishing to offer Qatar as a destination of choice to their customers. Through this initiative, we are looking forward to welcoming more tourists to Qatar, to experience our unique culture, warm hospitality and spectacular landscapes,” he said. Illusions Online Chief Executive, Faisal Memon, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Qatar Airways. Discover Qatar and the destination of Qatar itself are now able to connect their inventories to global partners, whilst also benefiting from dynamic connectivity to 90 percent of the world’s major hotel chains global inventory. With just four years to go until Qatar 2022, the introduction of this platform now is a major enabler for Discover Qatar in the provision of beds and ground services for that tournament to Qatar Airways customers globally”.

Luxury hotels lead hospitality boom

Qatar Airways and Hamad Inter-national Airport have secured top ranks in the study of the world’s best airlines and airports. Qatar’s national carrier came at the top

of ranking of global airlines with an overall score of of 9.08 in 2018 AirHelp Score report from AirHelp, a company that advocates on behalf of air travellers for compensation in cases of delays or cancellations.

“Thanks to their excellent on-time per-formance and claims processing, Qatar Airways soared to the top,” said the report by AirHelp. “Air passengers enjoyed the best expe-rience at Hamad International Airport, Athens International Airport, and Tokyo Haneda Inter-national Airport who were ranked top three. London Stansted Airport and Kuwait Interna-tional Airport, however, fell short landing toward the bottom of 72 airlines involved,” the report added.

Earlier in February this year, Qatar Airways was ranked as the most punctual airline in the Middle East and Africa in a report by travel data company OAG. The national carrier was ranked first for its punctuality by the report that measures On-Time Performance (OTP) for airlines and airports. The 2018 AirHelp Score marks the company’s sixth report since 2015. To assess airlines, AirHelp factored in delayed and canceled flights, thousands of public reviews and claim processing analysis. “Worldwide, airlines including Lufthansa, Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines, and South African Airways rounded off the top five,” said the report.

AirHelp’s data for airports cover 141 des-tinations. They factor in on-time performance, quality of service, and online consumer sen-timent, but its rankings heavily favor the first two criteria. The five airlines falling behind worldwide rankings with the lowest ratings included Air Mauritius, easyJet, Pakistan Inter-national Airlines, Royal Jordanian Airlines, and WOW Air.

The sixth annual survey uses data from the first quarter of the year to rank the 72 inter-national airlines for which the company had statistically significant data.

Overall rankings are based on three factors on-time performance, quality of service (gleaned from public reviews on an array of reliable websites), and a claims-processing score (which reflects how a company handles customer complaints).

“It is clear the US is in need of significant improvement, with overbooked flights and cancellations making national headlines month after month, and the consistent mistreatment of US consumers,” AirHelp CEO, Henrik Zillmer said. “It is no wonder most US based airlines and airports received poor ratings on the AirHelp Score. It is more important than ever for consumers to fight for their air passenger rights,” he added.

QA & HIA best airline and airport globally

Discover Qatar’s new digital platform gives good display of nation to tourists

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Katara Cultural Village is adding more attractions, including a high-tech plan-etarium, luxury shopping mall, exclusive shopping

facility for children and green hills, among others.

The Southern Expansion Project at Katara which is under way is scheduled to be completed in the last quarter of this year. This project, integrating culture and leisure consists 12 diverse buildings and a unique parking area overlooking the sea.

The buildings will house a chain of restaurants and cafes, libraries, exhi-bition hall, cinema and several cultural centres. The Southern Expansion Project also features a planetarium and Astronomical Observatory promising an amazing experience to visitors.

Occupying 2,240sqm area, the planetarium is expected to become one of the main attractions at Katara. Blending education and entertainment, it will offer a rare experience to visitors especially students, families and astronomy enthusiasts.

The planetarium hall, the main component of the building, will have a seating capacity of 200 people, four seats for the disabled and another four for the elderly. It will feature a huge 22-meter screen, equipped with state-

of-the-art digital projectors.A vast terrace overlooking the sea

will serve as a platform for events and activities. This project is expected to be completed in the last quarter of this year.

The Marina District at Katara is cur-rently finalising work on a maritime restaurant, comprising a main eatery and eight exclusive marine chalets. This project, which is now in the second phase, will provide matchless dining experience to visitors.

Katara Plaza is a luxury shopping

complex being built on an area of more than 38,000sqm, in partnership with Ali Bin Ali Group. Blending traditional and modern architecture, this shopping mall will gather leading global brands in fashion, luxury goods, accessories, perfumes, cosmetics, entertainment, watches and jewelry.

The project, in the final phase of construction, provides a perfect blend between architecture, technical inno-vation and maximum comfort.

Katara Plaza will host the first Evian

Spa in the Middle East and the second of its kind in the world, in exclusive partnership with water giant Evian. The Evian SPA is a luxurious interpretation of “health through water”, offering a refined spa experience. Katara Plaza will also have a children’s mall, a unique and pioneering experience in the region and an example of inno-vation and architectural genius. Its design portrays the form of two big gifts wrapped in red and gold. Katara Plaza will offer a rare experience, with its

landscapes and sandstone buildings, paved passages, arches and breezy walkways.

Katara Hills, a distinctive landmark and an eye-catching tourist destination at Katara, is expected to be completed in December this year. This project fea-turing gardens and green meadows, is divided into Northern and Southern Hills that are unique in design and boast many recreational facilities.

The gardens occupy an area of 361,500sqm and are designed in inno-vative and aesthetic style. The Hills reflect the diversity of plants and trees (3,300 trees) from different continents, grown in the Qatari environment, serving as a meeting point for cultures and civilizations, along with a spacious yard symbolising the universal mind.

Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, General Manager of Katara Cultural Village, said that the ambitious projects make Katara a global cultural and tourism hub, helping to strengthen com-munication between different cultures and peoples. “Katara’s strategy focuses on supporting art, culture, humanity, and consolidating national identity and her-itage. It also aims to utilise the facilities and buildings to create a suitable envi-ronment to nurture art and creativity to make Katara an Arab and global tourism hub.

As the Official Partner and Official Airline of FIFA, Qatar Airways is celebrating the kickoff of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia by bringing football fans from around the world to Russia to watch one of the most highly-anticipated events on the global

sports calendar.To celebrate the start of

the tournament, the award-winning airline has pro-vided its social media fol-lowers and football fans a unique opportunity with its #OnYourFeet challenge, an interactive social media contest where participants create a short video of themselves freestyling with a football and share their favourite tricks with the world. The winning contestants will receive two Business Class tickets to any destination on the award-winning airline’s global route network.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia has begun, marking an entire month of excitement as fans from around the world gather in Russia to celebrate their love for football. Whether you are a football enthusiast, dedicated to supporting your national team or even your favourite local team, the World Cup is a global event that unites us all, and we are thrilled to be supporting such a world-class sporting occasion.”The award-winning airline recently captured the excitement of the upcoming tournament by launching its new 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia campaign, featuring a re-recording of the classic song ‘Dancing in the Street’ sung by renowned singer and TV star Nicole Scherzinger. The upbeat TV commercial has seen tremendous global success, with more than 20 million views across the airline’s social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Last month, the carrier launched its ‘FIFA Fan Match’ social media contest. Participants were asked to describe themselves using five emojis for a chance to win tickets to watch the semi-finals in Saint Petersburg. The highly-engaging campaign was tremendously successful, with five lucky winners from around the world looking forward to attending the World Cup semi-finals match in Russia.

In celebration of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Qatar Airways, in collaboration with SC and Hamad International Airport (HIA), have transformed HIA into a fan zone, ensuring that the thou-sands of passengers travelling through it never miss a moment of the World Cup’s excitement. Dedicated football fans tran-siting through the airport will be able to watch the matches, which will be broadcast live in three beautifully themed viewing areas in concourses A, B and C, as well as in Qatar Duty Free’s (QDF) Marché restaurant. The three viewing areas have been designed to resemble a living room, a stadium and a majlis – a traditional Arabic seating area where guests are received.

Qatar Airways’ first direct non-stop com-mercial flight to Antalya touched down at Antalya

Airport on June 13, inaugurating the award-winning airline’s newest Turkish destination. The flight marks Qatar Airways’ seventh gateway into Turkey, and is the third new Turkish route for the airline in 2018. The seasonal service to Antalya will be operated by an Airbus A320 until September 30, 2018.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are delighted to launch direct services to Antalya, our seventh gateway into Turkey, only one day after we com-menced direct services to the Turkish resort city of Bodrum. These new routes reinforce and deepen the already strong ties that exist between the State of Qatar and Turkey. Antalya is a major destination during the summer leisure season, due to its prime location on the coun-try’s beautiful Mediterranean coast. We are delighted to now be able to introduce holiday-makers to beautiful Antalya and all it has to offer”.

Qatar Airways’ new twice-weekly service to Antalya offers

five-star comfort on its Airbus A320 aircraft, with 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy Class. The seasonal service will be operated every Wednesday and Sunday until September 30, 2018.

Qatar Airways’ twice-weekly flights to Milas-Bodrum Airport will be operated by an Airbus A320, featuring 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy Class. The seasonal service will be operated every Tuesday and Friday until Sep-tember 28, 2018.

Qatar Airways now operates flights to seven destinations in Turkey, with separate services to Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport (twice a day) and Istanbul Ataturk Airport (10 times a week), Adana Airport (three times a week), Hatay Airport (three times a week) and daily flights to Ankara. The award-winning airline launched direct services to Adana in Sep-tember 2017 and to Hatay in February 2018. The new twice-weekly services to Bodrum and Antalya increase the airline’s total weekly frequency to 82 flights a week between Turkey and the State of Qatar.

As well as enjoying the award-winning in-flight service on board, passengers travelling

to Antalya will also have access to Oryx One, Qatar Airways’ in-flight entertainment system, offering the latest blockbuster movies, TV box sets, music, games and much more.

DIRECT FLIGHTS TO MÁLAGA, SPAIN

The first Qatar Airways direct non-stop flight from Doha to Málaga touched down at Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport on June 13, where it was welcomed by a celebratory water cannon salute. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are truly delighted to launch direct services to Málaga, the jewel of the Costa del Sol and our third Spanish gateway. Málaga offers so much for holi-daymakers to enjoy, from its magnificent beaches to its spec-tacular Andalusian architecture. Qatar Airways’ new direct services to Málaga are timed perfectly to coincide with the summer holiday season, allowing us to connect more vis-itors to this unmissable destination”.

Qatar Airways’ new four-times weekly seasonal services to Málaga will be served with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner until September 16, 2018. Qatar

Airways currently operates direct double-daily flights to Madrid and Barcelona. The four weekly seasonal flights to Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport will be operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, featuring 22 seats in Business Class and 232 seats in Economy Class.

SERVICES TO MYKONOS IN GREECE

Qatar Airways celebrated the start of its new direct non-stop service from Doha to Mykonos on May 30 at Mykonos Interna-tional Airport. The newly-launched seasonal service to Greece’s most popular island will operate a four-times-weekly service from Doha. Mykonos is a world–renowned cosmo-politan island and a paradise in the heart of the Cyclades. The small island is known for its pic-turesque views and beautiful sandy beaches. Four weekly sea-sonal flights to Mykonos Inter-national Airport will be operated by an Airbus A320, featuring 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy Class. With the launch of Mykonos, Qatar Airways increased its flights to 58 times a week from Doha’s five-star Hamad International Airport to Greece.

QA launches services to Antalya, Bodrum in Turkey

Qatar Airways celebrates 2018 FIFA World Cup

Upcoming planetarium at Katara to boost tourism

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Angry Birds World, a one-of-a kind entertainment park, opened its doors for public at the Doha Festival City (DFC) early this month. The 17,000

square metre park, comprising an indoor space of 6,500 square metres teeming with thrill, transforming the classic bird-flinging game into a cluster of high-octane attractions is designed for every member of the family.

Inspired by the game played, the park offers visitors a heart-pounding experience with many attractions such as the Blast Bomb – a drop and twist tower that features free-fall motion from a height of 11 metres, or Red Alert where visitors are hurled into an exhil-arating 360-degree spin.

One of the park’s uniquely impressive attractions is the Big Tree. Standing tall and proud at 17 metres high, the enchanting structure will draw both children and adults into a fun, interactive experience, where they would learn the basics of science, improve their musical ability and develop their creative chops through a variety of edutainment offerings.

For adventure junkies, the tree also houses “Own the Sky”, a roller glider featuring a 106-metre zip line that allows participants to cut through the air at rip-roaring speeds. Additionally, visitors can also test their physical strength with “Fierce Flight” – an incredible ropes course challenge.

Furthermore, enthusiasts of the

Angry Birds GO! – One of the most downloaded games of its time – will definitely enjoy the real rush of adren-aline in the form of the world’s first indoor and outdoor multi-level karting track. The 261-metre race track features modern positioning system technology promising a thrilling race to the finish line.

Another action-packed attraction is the 1,300 square meter Trampoline Universe that challenges visitors to perform gravity-defying stunts over extreme trampolines comprising a bas-ketball court, foam pit and a kids’ court.

Commenting on the launch of the park’s first phase, Riad Makdessi, CEO of Trimoo (the company behind the park’s concept), said: “This opening rep-resents a very important milestone for Trimoo. As a company, we are driven by the motto of boundless experience. We always aspire to deliver more than just entertainment by utilising a novel approach to game design that allows us to create lasting memories for indi-viduals of every age.”

SimoHämäläinen, Senior Vice-Pres-ident, Brand Licensing at Rovio Enter-tainment, said: “We’re thrilled to be unveiling Angry Birds World, the first Angry Birds entertainment park of this magnitude – our flagship experiential destination where millions of our pas-sionate fans can immerse themselves in the wonderful world of Angry Birds. Our new world-class attraction based in the heart of Qatar is another clear demon-stration of the global appeal of the brand.”

Commenting on the first theme park opening at its Family Enter-tainment Complex, Kareem Shamma, CEO of Bawabat Al-Shamal Real Estate Company, the owner of Doha Festival City, said: “This new opening marks a significant milestone for Doha Fes-tival City, further underlining that it is a destination far more than just a mall.”

Angry Birds World at DFC a must-see for visitorsInspired by the game

played, the park

offers visitors a heart-

pounding experience

with many action-

packed attractions.

AMNA PERVAIZ RAO THE PENINSULA

The fifth edition of Qatar Summer Festival (QSF), being held under the theme “Colour Your Summer”, is attracting thousands of cit-izens, residents and visitors

to The Entertainment City at Doha Exhi-bition and Convention Centre (DECC) which has become a major attraction for children due to its exciting rides, skill games and others.

The Entertainment City’s key fea-tures include the world’s largest bouncy castle, an 18-hole mini-golf course, an ice skating rink, exciting rides, skill games, video games, as well as live entertainment shows. The food court has more than 40 outlets to indulge in and the Summer Shopping Souq has over 140 stores to explore.

Visitors to the City are also able to watch thrilling 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia matches on huge screens while enjoying food, beverages and shopping options. Individual game prices range from QR10 to QR35.

The Gold Pass for QR150 gives one an access to as many as 40 rides or activities as per visitor’s choice as well access to five VR games. The Gold Pass are also available online through Q-Tickets platform. This year, another facility — The Season Pass — has been introduced worth QR699 which is available for purchase online and at the venue. By buying this special pass, one will get a Gold Pass on daily basis with all its features. The Season Pass allows one person to enjoy unlimited visits to The Summer Entertainment City till its scheduled end on August 31.

The Season Pass is valid only for the person mentioned on the pass and it cannot be transferred and can also not be used by multiple people. “This year I see an increase in number of rides and the souq has played a better role in Enter-tainment City. kids have enjoyed their golden passes whereas we have enjoyed the souq,” a mother of two kids said.

When asked to comment on this year’s Entertainment City, another visitor said: “This year we had to delay our vaca-tions due to the exciting Qatar Summer Festival activities especially The

Entertainment City. It was an exciting experience though I think it is somewhat costly but Gold Pass option makes it cheap.”

Top five unique and worth-enjoying attractions being offered at Summer Entertainment City at reasonable price include ‘Football Fan Zone’ which offers amazing games for football fans at the price range of QR15-25; ‘Virtual Reality Park’ which offers thrilling 3D and 4D experience at QR20-35; ‘Mini Zoo’ fea-turing mini zoo with animals for children to enjoy at QR20-30; ‘Kids Driving School’ — a mini driving school where

kids can enhance their driving skills and learn a lot more about driving at QR25 and ‘Bounce Castle’ — tiny bounce castle for kids to have their best moments jumping around at QR25.

On asking parents about the top five unique attractions, one of the parent told The Peninsula: “These attractions have been the favourite part for kids. The favourite one was the Mini Zoo. They find it attractive to play around and enjoy with their favourite animals. Moreover, the Summer Entertainment City has always been a unique fun-station for kids and families during their

summer break,” he added. An amazing range of local shopping stalls are also part of the city featuring products from all over the world. The ‘Summer Shopping Souq’ will run until August 13.

Summer Entertainment City features unique activities which include Crazy Chicken-Digital Playground in which parents and kids can indulge in the exciting interactive fun experience with the projection screens that could only be imagined. Children of all ages are fas-cinated by amazing fun filled range of rides & activities.

Inflatable World within the City is a

huge hit with children. They can have a blast running, jumping and sliding their way to fun. Active Games includes a tre-mendous golfing experience in an indoor golf course. If golf is not your thing then no matter how old you get, Ice Skating will always be a magical experience. Children can experience Qatar’s largest soft play, Ocean Ball Pit & the Qatar’s Largest Mobile Trampoline Park.

Summer Entertainment City has wit-nessed the largest turnout every day since it opened its gates and is expected to be the most visited attraction this summer in Qatar.

Attractions galore at The Entertainment City