SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT THURSDAY 29 DECEMBER 2016

Travel & TourismThe Pearl-Qatar’s Medina Centrale for pedestrians-

only during weekends

Qatar Airways launches daily flights to the Seychelles

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THE year 2017 is fore-cast to be Doha’s busiest year in terms of the opening of new hotels and properties.

According to a latest report, over 40 hotel projects and more than 11,000 rooms are in the pipeline, which are expected to be added in the Qatar’s hospitality sector very soon.

The report titled ‘The Doha Hotel Construction Overview’, prepared by ‘Top Hotel Projects’, reveals that Doha is the third busiest city in the Middle East and Africa for hotel construction, behind only Dubai (133 projects) and Riyadh (47 projects).

Doha’s busiest year for hotel openings is forecast to be 2017 with 14 new properties entering the market, including: Pullman Doha West Bay (468 rooms), JW Marriott West Bay (297 rooms), Hilton Garden Inn Doha Al Sadd (225 rooms), and Millennium Plaza Doha (232 rooms).

Francois Kassab, Chief Oper-ating Officer, Millennium & Copthorne Middle East & Africa, behind the Millennium Plaza Doha development opening early 2017, said: “We currently have three properties in Doha and believe the city has great potential to grow its hospitality sector.”

“According to the Qatar Tourism Authority, three million people visited Qatar in 2015, and they are aiming to attract four million tourists per year by 2020,” Kassab added.

“The plans are part of the country’s efforts to boost tour-ism sector’s contribution to GDP over the next decade, supported by $40-45bn worth of

investment under its National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030.”

He further added that Qatar is working to position itself as a world-class hub with deep cul-tural roots, by creating a high profile product that will appeal to all market segments from cul-tural tourists and families to sports fans and business travellers.

“We are confident that by offering a range of different brands – Millennium, Millen-nium Plaza, Copthorne and Kingsgate – we can cater towards these different market segments.”

The five-star Millennium Plaza Doha will open as part of the new Barwa Al Sadd devel-opment. Kassab said: “Barwa Al Sadd is set to be an exciting new addition to the city for both vis-itors and residents. Millennium Plaza Doha will be the only hotel within the development, offer-ing an ideal base for business and leisure trips as well as for

residents looking for a central location for business meetings.

Meanwhile, amid stiff com-petition with the opening of several new hotels across the city, the hospitality industry is expecting a surge in business after the summer holidays with an expected rise in the number of guests and business tourists.

Hotels are expecting more than 75 percent occupancy rate in the coming months. Visitors from other GCC states dominate tourist inflow in Qatar.

Although business has expe-rienced an increase from September-end, December, Jan-uary, February and March are usually the busy months for hotels in terms of occupancy due to pleasant weather, say indus-try sources. Most cultural and business events take place dur-ing these months, attracting more visitors to the country.

The April-September sea-son is considered lean as hotels receive lesser number of guests. However, better occupancy rates during the Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha holidays help them offset their losses to some extent. “Hotels in the city have a better occupancy rate during winter. New attractions and entertainment events attract tourists to the country during this season.

“We receive more guests from other GCC states,” a senior official of the Gulf Paradise Hotel said. “Even during summer, Qatar Tourism Authority has taken steps to promote tourism and help hotels increase their occupancy rate,” he said.

According to the Ministry of Development Planning and

Statistics, four-star hotels had 72 percent occupancy and three-star hotels 62 percent last December. The occupancy rate of five-star hotels was 64 per-cent and one- and two-star hotels saw an occupancy rate of 69 percent during the period.

The occupancy rate was between 55 percent and 65 per-cent in June and July last year. Data shows that occupancy rate for April this year fell by 8 per-cent to 64 percent from the corresponding month last year.

A total of 1.28 million visi-tors came to Qatar during the first five months of this year — a rise of 21 percent compared to the first four months in 2015.

Around 1.05 million people visited Qatar between January and April this year. They included 598,702 visitors from other GCC states, over 294,980 from other Asian countries, including Oceania region, and 199,170 from Europe.

Hotels in Qatar have been witnessing a steady increase in the number of business tourists as Doha emerges as a top busi-ness destination with corporate guests occupying more than 60 percent of hotel rooms.

“Definitely, hotel occupancy goes up coinciding with confer-ences in Doha. How much occupancy increases depends on the nature of the conferences. Only one or two hotels would benefit from local events or smaller meetings,” said a spokesperson at the Grand Hyatt Doha.

The number of hotel rooms in Qatar is expected to reach about 23,000 by end of this year, with a 27 percent annual growth.

2017 to be Doha’s busiest year in hotel opening

Qatar is working to position itself as a world-class hub with deep cultural roots, by creating a high profile product that will appeal to all market segments from cultural tourists and families to sports fans and business travellers.

High hotel occupancy rate spurs tourism

Despite the addition of sev-eral hundred new hotel rooms over the last one

year, Qatar’s hotel market occu-pancy rate is forecast to close at 66 percent in 2016, which is still higher compared to the occu-pancy rates in some GCC cities that are also heavy reliant on the corporate segment, a latest report on the local hospitality sector reported.

The market performance of serviced apartments have remained relatively stable show-ing strong resilience during tough times when compared to the hotel segment, according to a quarterly report titled: ‘Doha Q3 2016 Review’ released yes-terday by Colliers International, a leading global real estate serv-ices company.

The country has witnessed an influx of more than 1,500 keys over the last one year, pri-marily in the 5-star segment. However, no new supply was introduced into the Doha mar-ket in Q3 2016.

While significant supply is expected to enter the 5-star and 4-star segments over the next few years, delays are typically expected in Doha, which leaves more time for the market to absorb the new supply. Branded supply is expected to increase by a CAGR of 19 percent from 2016 to 2018. Providing an overview of the Qatar’s hospitality sector market outlook, the report stated: “The serviced apartments concept continues to evolve and appeal to a wider target audi-ence. Its strong resilience and limited presence in the market will appeal to hospitality devel-opers and investors.” “Doha Downtown is home to several key demand generators includ-ing the Corniche, Souq Waqif,

Qatar National Museum and Msheireb downtown. The latter is currently undergoing a QR20m regeneration project to add retail, residential, museums and hotels to the area. In addi-tion, the upcoming Doha metro, which is expected to be com-pleted by 2020, will host several stations in the Downtown area” the report added.

On the supply front, it said that the market currently is dom-inated by 5-star hotels. The announced future hotel supply contains a significant share of 4-star hotels amounting to 48 percent of the total pipeline, fol-lowed by the 5-star segment with a share of 44 percent.

Commenting on the per-formance of hotel sector, the report noted that during the third quarter of the currently year (Q3 2016) saw a substantial drop in both occupancy and Average Daily Rate (ADR) resulting in a 25 percent decline in revenue per available room (RevPAR).

Transient corporate demand has declined during this period, mainly due to a decrease in cor-porate travel in the summer months. Thereby leading to many hotel operators to imple-ment a volume based strategy. Overall RevPAR decline for the Downtown area is expected to be marginally lower than the overall Doha market.

The Msheireb project is expected to have a positive impact on the Downtown area, including a potential diversifi-cation of the client base. Once the upcoming Doha Metro oper-ational, it is expected to facilitate easy access to places of interest such as Souq Waqif, the Cor-niche and the Qatar National Museum, increasing footfall significantly.

Ooredoo Named as “Best Executive Team”

at Arab Best Awards

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Pics: Salim Matramkot & Abdul Basit / The Peninsula

CHAIRMANSheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDr. Khalid Al-Shafi

ACTING MANAGING EDITORMohammed Salim Mohamed

SUPPLEMENT COORDINATORAhmed Eltigani Idris

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DESIGNAbraham Augusthy

PRODUCTIONViswanath Sarma

IMAGE PROCESSINGMohd Sajad Sahir

TypesettingDeepak John

Ooredoo has success-fully conducted tests on one of the first-ever 5G trial systems, positioning

Qatar as one of the onlycountries in the world – and the first in the GCC region – to achieve this incredible technical milestone.

Thanks to an ongoing part-nership with technology leaders Huawei and Nokia, Ooredoo has successfully demonstrated 5G capabilities on the Ooredoo Supernet within Ooredoo’s 5G laboratory, completing trials for speed and latency, and achiev-ing incredible speeds of up to

35.46 GB per second – which would make it the fastest mobile data service in the world today.

Ooredoo’s success in trialling 5G technology provides the first regional example of the poten-tial and performance of theupcoming fifth-generation wireless broadband technology,

which is based upon the emerg-ing standards.

The company has also prom-ised to demonstrate the power of this new 5G technology with Nokia in the coming days, including a demonstration of next-generation virtual reality and robotic applications.

In addition, the results from Ooredoo’s trials will be shared with global partners, to contrib-ute to the international agreements on standards and spectrum that will be necessary to support the global launch of 5G services. Ooredoo’s trial results willalso help the devel-opment of 5G-ready equipment and devices. Talking about the breakthrough, Waleed Al Sayed, Chief Executive Officer, Ooredoo Qatar, said: “Ooredoo worked hard to complete this important technological breakthrough ahead of our country’s celebra-tions for Qatar National Day, so

that we could share this remark-able achievement with our people and the world. Qatar con-tinues to break new ground in the technology and services we are making available for our people, and Ooredoo is proud to be playing its part as a data expe-rience leader, offering the best networks and services for our customers.” The full commer-cial launch of 5G services from Ooredoo is still some time away, since 5G-ready devices and tech-nology are not available anywhere in the world today. However, by achieving this tech-nological breakthrough, Ooredoo

is positioning itself in the top quadrant of data operators in terms of network quality and potential.

This is the latest in a host of Supernet successes for the com-pany, as Ooredoo continue to invest in ensuring the best data and net-work experience for its customers. Ooredoo continues to enhance Qatar’s mobile, Wi-Fi and nation-wide Ooredoo Fibre networks on the Ooredoo Supernet, as well as providing a host of self-service and self-care facilities accessible through the Ooredoo app, Oore-doo website and network of Self-Service Machines (SSM).

Ooredoo reached another his-toric milestone in November, successfully passing the mile-

stone of more than 300,000 homes connected to the nationwide Oore-doo Fibre Network.

This incredible achievement was recorded on November 20, 2016, and marks another important step for Qatar’s progress to becoming one of the best-connected nations in the world.

Earlier in November, a new report from Arthur D. Little showed that Qatar is one of the world’s lead-ing fibre nations, with 99 percent of

households in areas covered by Ooredoo Fibre. Ooredoo’s achieve-ment in connecting more than 300,000 homes is another stage in ensuring every household in the country enjoys the full benefits of the Ooredoo Supernet.

Waleed Mohamed Ebrahim Al-Sayed, Chief Executive Officer, Ooredoo Qatar, said: “We continue to strive to ensure that Ooredoo pro-vides the best data experience for everyone in Qatar, and the success of Ooredoo Fibre is one of the key pillars of our Supernet strategy.” “Enabling ultra-fast internet speeds of up to 1Gbps and provid-ing access to a world of 4K entertainment, Ooredoo Fibre is proving to be one of the most pop-ular services ever offered in Qatar, and we continue to expand and enhance the network to meet the growing demand,” he added.

The success of Ooredoo Fibre in reaching homes across the nation has stimulated the rapid take-up of IPTV, 4K and other smart services in Qatar,

with Ooredoo enjoying the highest proportion of 4K television customers of any operator in the world.

Ooredoo’s nationwide roll-out

of fibre also supports the Qatar National Vision 2030, enabling the development of a knowledge-based economy built upon a strong infrastructure foundation.

Ooredoo celebrates one million followers on social media

Ooredoo has announced that it has-surpassed the “one million followers” milestone on its social

media pages, as the company continues to offer a diverse range of content to fit its customers’ digital lifestyles.

The milestone, which will be cele-brated with its users on the company’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, is another important step for Ooredoo, as more and more customers look to get in contact and find out the latest news and offers via their mobiles.

According to a region-wide study by Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) and Doha Film Institute (DFI) (Media Industries in the Middle East, 2016), Qatar has the highest percentage of peo-ple reading news online daily at 42%. Ooredoo has responded positively to this change in customer behaviour, provid-ing more online and self-service features every month.

Ooredoo Qatar’s Facebook profile continues to grow, with more than 712,000 likes, followed by Ooredoo Qatar’s Twitterprofile with 386,000 fol-lowers, and Instagram with more than 68,000.

Fatima Sultan Al Kuwari, Director, Community and Public relations, Oore-doo commented: “The demand for self-service, 24/7 information is grow-ing daily. Our customersare increasingly online and want access to our portfolio and latest news instantly, whether via our Ooredoo App, our website, or social media pages. We endeavour to continue to develop these platforms as a one-stop-shop for our customers, and passing this social media milestone dem-onstrates that we are heading in the right direction.”

“As well as the latest offers and serv-ices, we use our social media pages to cover our diverse sponsorship and CSR work, as well as use the platforms to lis-ten to our customers and get to know what they truly want. Thank you to eve-ryone who has supported us and followed Ooredoo online, without you all we could have not reached this amaz-ing milestone,”she added.

As part of Ooredoo’s push to create a seamless online experience, in 2015, the company introduced a dedicated customer service profile on Twitter (@OoredooCare), to provide quick and effective feedback to customer’s online, as well as revamped its dedicated cus-tomer forum, The Ooredoo Community (community.ooredoo.qa).

Most recently, in response to online complaints over explicit content avail-able via social media sites in Qatar, Ooredoo launched an Online Safety Campaign to ensure that parents and children know how to combat explicit content and stay safe when using their computer.

Ooredoo received another major award early this month, with the senior management team

winning the “Best Executive Team Award for the Telecom Sector” at the Arab Best Awards 2016.

The Arab Best Awards is a new event designed to celebrate leader-ship and excellence in three main areas – government and leadership; business excellence; and sports, social and community contribution.

Hosted in Marrakesh, Morocco on November 27, the award ceremony brought together leading executives and senior government figures from across the Arab World. General Sec-retary Mohammed Mubarak Al Mohannadi opened the awards with a speech praising the winners for their

on-going efforts in improving lives and opening opportunities across the MENA region.

Ooredoo received the award for the decisive management style that has seen the company transform itself over the past three years since the launch of the Ooredoo brand in 2013. In particular, the company was rec-ognised for its data experience leadership across its footprint in the Middle East, North Africa and South-east Asia.

Ooredoo today offers 4G services in eight markets around the world, supported by incredible content and easy-to-use apps. As a result, more people today enjoy the Internet with Ooredoo than ever before. The award was received by Sheikh Saud Bin

Nasser Al Thani, Group CEO, Ooredoo, who attended the event in a delega-tion that included Waleed Al-Sayed, Deputy CEO, Ooredoo Group.

Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al Thani, Group CEO, Ooredoo, said: “We are pleased and proud to receive the ‘Best Executive Team Award’, as a recogni-tion of the hard work and clear vision that Ooredoo has delivered over the past few years. We have succeeded in establishing data experience leader-ship across our markets, and are pushing ahead of our competitors to

offer the best networks, content and technology that we can. I dedicate this award to our hard-working colleagues in Ooredoo operations everywhere, and give our customers a firm com-mitment that this award will push us to greater heights.”

Ooredoo’s consolidated total cus-tomers stood at 133 million at the end of September 2016, reflecting the com-pany’s impressive growth in recent years.

The “Best Executive Team Award” is the latest in a string of impressive commendations received by Ooredoo in 2016, which have included four top honours at the CommsMEA Awards in Dubai, including “IPTV Service of the Year” and the “Network Optimization Award”; 21 International Business Awards (IBAs), including ‘The People’s Choice Award’ in the telecommuni-cations category; “Telecoms CEO of the Year” for Waleed Al-Sayed at the CEO Middle East Awards; and “Best Operator Network” at the 2016 Tele-com World Middle East Awards.

Ooredoo achieves major 5G breakthroughSuccessful 5G test positions Qatar as one of the only nations in the world to have 5G trial System.

Ooredoo fibre connects 300,000 homes in new record Ooredoo reaches historic milestone in record time, further positioning Qatar as one of the best-connected countries in the world.

Ooredoo named as 'Best Executive Team'at Arab Best Awards

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A new high-tech parking facility opened at Souq Waqif last month which provides a range of facili-

ties including a multiplex with five cinemas.

The double-storey underground parking facility will contribute a lot to address the shortage of parking space in the crowded souq area and the Doha

Corniche. A project of the Private Engi-neering Office, the new parking facility is located in the western side of Souq Waqif and has a capacity of 650 cars at one time.

It is divided into three major sec-tions occupying a total area of 68,000 sqm, Faisal Abdullah Al Dosari, Head of Projects Section at the PEO told the

media on the sidelines of the opening ceremony. The parking lots are distrib-uted over two underground floors each, with special parking spaces for the dis-abled and the elderly. Each of the two floors has entry and exit points from Msheireb and Falcon market sides.

The upper surface of the parking (24,000 sqm) is allocated for festivals, public events and auctions, said Al Dosari, adding that it is provided with 40 outlets offering various services. There are also 38 stores that will be offered to the owners of shops in Souq Waqif for rent.

A unique attraction of this parking facility is a multiplex with five cinemas that have a capacity of 50 to 100 peo-ple each. The complex will be open by the second quarter of next year.

State-of-the-art technology has been used in this facility including auto-matic fire extinguishing system and cameras connected to the Traffic Department for monitoring entry and exit of cars.

The system also allows motorists to use their parking ticket to identify the

slot where they have parked their car, in case they forget, said Al Dosari. There are also special signboards to locate empty parking lots. The facility has ten elevators, two of which serves the cin-ema complex. The project was completed in 17 months which is a major achievement, considering the crowd-ing in Souq Waqif and traffic jam in the area, said Al Dosari.

Motorists are not allowed to park their cars for more than 24 hours. They will be charged QR3 each for the first four hours, QR4 each for five hours and above. The maximum charge per day is QR70 and a fine of the same amount will be imposed if parking ticket is lost.

Director of the old markets at Souq Waqif, Mohammed Al Salem praised the project saying it is a valued addition to the market and provides quality serv-ice that the market needs.

“It is going to help us solve many challenges we were facing during peak hours in particular during festivals and weekends,” he added.

Walid Jamaan Khamis, manager of Al Rayyan Car Parking Management Company which operates the parking facility said it has signboards and 12 kiosks for paying fees, besides payment devices available with the employees. Customers can also use their ATM cards to pay the fees, he added.

Doha Port wel-comed MSC Fantasia — the first ever mega cruise ship to

arrive in Qatar. The giant ship carried over 3,000 pas-sengers and 1,300 crew members on its maiden voy-age to Qatar and is scheduled to make a total of six calls to Doha throughout the 2016/2017 cruise season.

At 333 metres in length and 66 metres high, MSC Fantasia is one of MSC Cruises’ most modern ships and measures the equivalent of three football fields. The on-board experience is designed to meet the needs of a wide range of guests and boasts a diverse choice of sports and entertainment facilities — from tennis and basketball courts, a mini-golf course, a jogging track and gym to an aqua park

complex, Formula 1 simula-tor and 4D cinema.

Qatar Ports Management Company- Mwani Qatar, the exclusive operator of the state’s commercial and tour-istic ports, has provided all means to ensure the success-ful docking of the giant ship and offered the best services to passengers.

“Qatar’s cruise tourism industry continues to grow from strength to strength, thanks to the support and collaboration from stake-holders across the value chain. This year, we have focused on creating a sup-portive framework to allow the industry to flourish in the coming years, including measures to facilitate and streamline the entry of cruise passengers to Qatar. Next year, we will see further infrastructural development as the country embarks on

the redevelopment of Doha Port into a permanent cruise terminal,” said Hassan Al Ibrahim, Chief Tourism Development Officer at Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA).

Gianni Onorato MSC Cruises’ CEO said: MSC Cruises is committed to sup-port the developing the cruise industry in this region and we are seeing a growing demand from our guests as

they seek new and exciting winter cruise destinations. The addition of Doha to our itineraries will further enrich our offering to help guests discover the rich culture and heritage of Qatar as well as the wide range of modern leisure activities that Doha has to offer.”

Capt. Abdulla Al-Khanji, CEO of Qatar Ports Manage-ment Company, Mwani

Qatar, said: “MSC Fantasia’s maiden voyage to Qatar is the fruit of years of close col-laboration between key members of Qatar’s devel-oping cruise tourism industry. Along with our partners at the Ministry of Interior and Qatar Tourism Authority, we are making great strides towards ensur-ing that Qatar becomes a key port of call on all cruise itin-eraries that cover this region. We hope that the new meas-ures put in place to facilitate the docking of such mega ships and smooth disembar-kation of large groups of passengers, provide a seam-less tourist experience for everyone on board.”

New measures have been taken to facilitate the dock-ing of mega ships and smooth disembarkation of large groups of passengers in order t o p r o v i d e a

seamless tourist experience for everyone on board, Mwani added. The Museum of Islamic Art, Souq Waqif, Katara and Msheireb Muse-ums were among the famous tourist spots the cruise pas-sengers visited.

Mwani noted that the current cruise season is set to witness the arrival of cruise ships visiting Qatar for the first time. Other ships making their maiden calls to Qatar this season include Azamara Journey, Crystal Esprit, Thomson Celebration and Silver Whisper.

This cruise season, which began in October 2016 and continues until April 2017, is expected to bring an esti-mated 50,000 visitors to Qatar. Compared to last sea-son, this marks an increase of over 1,000 percent in the number of cruise passengers visiting the country.

Doha Port welcomes MSC Fantasia

At 333 metres in length and 66 metres high, MSC Fantasia is one of MSC Cruises’ most modern ships and measures the equivalent of three football fields. The on-board experience is designed to meet the needs of a wide range of guests and boasts a diverse choice of sports and entertainment facilities — from tennis and basketball courts, a mini-golf course, a jogging track and gym to an aqua park complex, Formula 1 simulator and 4D cinema.

High-tech parking facility opens at Souq Waqif

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With the cooler monthsupon us,The Pearl-Qatar through its master

developer United Development Company (UDC), has announced that it will once again turn Medina Centrale into a pedes-trian-friendly district during weekends to boost visitors’ enjoyment of the Island’s vibrant towncentre.

The decision to make Medina Centrale, a vehicle-free zone will be effective from December 1, 2016, starting 2m on Thursday afternoons until Saturdays at midnight and will last throughout the winter sea-son. It will enable visiting families, to enjoy the cool out-doors and stroll around in safety while taking in the beauty of

Medina Centrale’s unique blend of residential, shopping and lei-sure experiences.

On weekends, residents and visitors will be encouraged to make use of the six parking blocks conveniently allocated around the area, providing more than 3,000 public parking spaces which give direct access to Medina Centrale.

To smooth and help facili-tate an ease in pedestrian movement, golf carts are equipped to transfer people to and from the parking lots and around Medina Centrale, in addition to the valet parking services.

Medina Centrale has been witnessing an increased footfall particularly in weekends, since the opening of retail outlets including banks, pharmacies,

car showrooms, real estate agents and especially popular restaurant brands, the cinema complex and supermarket.

Later this year, UDC is set to open its most recent offering in Medina Centrale, Souq Al Medina, an indoor shopping complex, which will soon be welcoming an eclectic mix of retailers.

Medina Centrale, is a unique blend of residential, shopping and leisure experiences, influ-enced by the charming ambience of the Mediterranean. A traditional design cleverly combining the nostalgic old-look style with modern convenience, Medina Centrale boasts over 160 retail stores and 40 restaurants and cafés all sit-uated in this vibrant Pearl community.

With the advent of win-ter, The Pearl-Qatar’s Porto Arabiahas set

itself on a mission to heat up public and retail areas with a series of musical roaming parades which arebeing held for four consecutive fridays throughout December from 7 pm to 10 pm.

Porto Arabia, the thriving cosmopolitan heart of The Pearl-Qatar, is hosting two sets of musicians, mascots, jugglers and mime performers covering the whole 2.5-kilometre world long-est retail waterfront boardwalk. Different themes and costumes are being featured each week, making the shows and perform-ances all the more exciting for The Pearl’s residents and visitors.

The parades will visit Porto Arabia’s restaurants and retail stores in addition to the board-walk, therefore boosting weekend shopping and dining experiences while creating per-fect photo and video opportunities for tourists and families. UDC, master developer of The Pearl-Qatar is known to intricately plan its events around

joyful seasons and national occasions that draw great inter-est from visiting crowds of locals, expatriates and foreign tourists. Theseevents are usu-ally held in the Island’s lively retail hubs of Porto Arabia, Medina Centrale or Qanat

Quartier, to attract footfall as well as provide a well-rounded atmosphere of enjoyment all year round as well as during weekends and special occasions.

The epitome of French Rivi-era living, and home to The

Pearl-Qatar's main harbor, Porto Arabia combines elegant towers and townhouses in a spectacu-lar location set around a colorful waterfront – La Croisette – a lively pedestrianized concourse lined with fine shopping and dining.“Souq Al Medina”,

The Pear l-Qatar’s latest indoor shopping

complex, has recently wel-comed its first batch of retailers comprising of an eclectic mix of shopping and dining outlets and coffee-shops. The Souq is strategically located in the vibrant district of Medina Centrale, pleasantly catering to the tastes of residents and visitors within its modernly designed internal shopping arcades.

The first occupants include the popular Al Jazeera perfumes, fast food eaterie-sMister Pizza and Hot Dogtyalong with healthy and flavorful popcorn shop Let’s Popcorn and authentic Turk-ish restaurant Hasan Kolcuoglu. These brands join more than 74 outlets now operational in Medina

Centrale.Souq Al Medina is alsoset to welcome a larger number of diverse commer-cial shopsin the coming period including coffeeshops, restau-rants, fashion and accessory stores, perfumeries as well as a medical facility Queen Med-ical Center. Some of these confirmed brands are Crepe & More, Shater Abbas and the Kuwaiti Triangle restaurants, French bakery and coffeeshop France Delice, Tamima, Blackout Concept for watches, Ajmal Perfumes and Dnata Travels among many others within a total area of 19,000 square meters.

Medina Centrale has been witnessing an increased foot-fall, and as such it was earlier announced that it would become a car-free environ-ment during weekends to boost visitors’ enjoyment of the Island’s vibrant towncen-tre in the cooler months.

The Pearl-Qatar’s Medina Centrale for pedestrians-only during weekends

“Souq Al Medina”welcomes its first retailers

Musical roaming parades heating up Porto Arabia

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Visit qatarairways.com

Qatar Airways has rounded off its 2016 global route expansion on a high note with the launch of daily flights to

the idyllic islands of the Seychelles – the 14th new destination on the airline’s route map this year and the third in Africa.

Flight QR678 touched down at Seychelles International Airport today to a welcome ceremony attended by airport and govern-ment officials, together with local dignitaries. Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer, Dr. Hugh Dunleavy led a high-profile del-egation on the inaugural direct flight from the airline’s opera-tional hub in Doha.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr.

Akbar Al Baker, said: “Our aim is to provide our passengers with greater choice and variety when selecting their holiday destina-tions. We are sure that the Seychelles is going to be a popu-lar option with many travellers from Europe and the Middle East looking for an exotic island geta-way. With this new service, holidaymakers can seamlessly

connect to the Seychelles via our state-of-the-art home and hub in Doha, Hamad International Airport.”

The destination comprises 115 tropical islands in the western Indian Ocean, located off the east coast of Africa. Its airport is located on the island of Mahé near the city of Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles. Visitors can expe-rience the Vallée de Mai Nature Preserve on the island of Praslin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Seychelles National Botanical Gardens on Mahé, or, of course, enjoy the white sand beaches the islands are known for.

The Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine Mr. Alain St Ange, said: “We are happy to have Qatar Airways, the world’s five-star airline, fly to Seychelles. The array of scattered islands with their lush green natural land-scapes, white sandy beaches, and turquoise blue sea promise visi-tors the adventure of a lifetime.

“The new services will add important value to the thriving tourism industry with huge poten-tial to boost traffic from Europe and further expand the emerging Middle East and East Asia’s trav-elling markets amongst others.”

Minister St Ange added: “Qatar Airways, which is an award-win-ning airline, will give more choices to passengers travelling to and from our beautiful islands in terms of service, airfares, transfer air-port experience as well as routes.”

The Seychelles is key to Qatar Airways’ global network expan-sion strategy and its continuing growth in Africa. The airline cur-rently operates to 23 African gateways, including the recently launched service to the Namibian capital of Windhoek, which joined the airline’s route map in Septem-ber 2016.

Qatar Airways’ 2016 route expansion has included Adelaide, Atlanta, Birmingham, Boston, Hel-sinki, Krabi, Los Angeles, Marrakech, Pisa, Ras Al Khaimah, Sydney, Windhoek, Yerevan and now the Seychelles. The airline

plans to launch an array of excit-ing destinations in 2017, including Auckland, which will be the world’s longest commercial flight, Canberra, the airline’s fifth desti-nation in Australia; Dublin, Ireland; Las Vegas, the airline’s 11th destination in the United States; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; San-tiago, Chile; Medan, Kualanamu International Airport, the airline’s third destination in Indonesia; and Tabuk and Yanbu, the 9th and 10th destinations in Saudi Arabia.

The Doha to Seychelles flight schedule offers an attractive 08:50

morning arrival and 19:25 evening departure so travellers can take full advantage of their time on the islands.

Passengers planning a geta-way to the Seychelles are encouraged to plan a stopover in Doha, with a new transit visa scheme offering visitors a free transit visa for up to 96 hours on your way to or from your final destination. Combine a quick visit to Doha, with its historic sites and five-star shopping and resorts, with a Seychelles dream holiday – only available to Qatar Airways passengers.

Qatar Airways has marked its sev-enth anniversary in Melbourne, Australia, by announcing plans to

introduce its superjumbo A380 aircraft to Melburnians from 30 June 2017 in order to meet rising passenger demand.

The 517-seater A380 aircraft will increase Qatar Airways’ current daily capacity by 44 per cent on this route to meet the growing travel and trade demand, connecting Melbourne-based passengers and freight to more than 150 destinations globally.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Execu-tive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “As we continue to grow apace in Australia, we have seen a clear need to inject additional capacity on the Mel-bourne service. We are delighted to introduce our A380 aircraft to Mel-bourne after seven years of operation to the world’s most liveable city. Well-travelled Melburnians will find our seamless and quick connections via Doha’s Hamad International Airport a great and easy travel option. And our expansive European network provides plenty of homecoming options for one of Australia’s most culturally diverse cities, which is home to many families from European heritage including the United Kingdom, Italy and Greece.”

Melbourne is the original home for Qatar Airways in Australia, with the air-line adding services to Perth, Sydney and Adelaide thereafter. The airline first started flying to Australia’s second larg-est city on 6 December 2009 with a 259-seater B777 aircraft. With the intro-duction of daily A380 services, capacity on the Melbourne route will have increased two-fold since 2009.

The A380 aircraft features a luxu-rious and exclusive First Class Cabin with ultra-wide seats, which recline into a flat bed, two-passenger table exten-sion dining, and designer sleeper suits,

flight slippers and amenities. Passen-gers travelling in Qatar Airways’ award-winning Business Class can also enjoy direct aisle access with the 1-2-1 seat configuration and a suite of enter-tainment options including on-board Wi-Fi, keeping them fully connected while up in the air.

In addition, passengers in First and Business Class can relax and socialise at the on-board lounge located on the upper deck of the superjumbo.

The 517-seat capacity is spread across twin decks in a tri-class config-uration of eight seats in First Class, 48 seats in Business Class and 461 in Econ-omy Class, featuring world class amenities and first rate services that set it apart from other aircraft. Passengers travelling from Melbourne to London and Paris can enjoy the Qatar Airways A380 experience throughout their jour-ney to these two European destinations.

Economy Class passengers also

benefit with the added spaciousness of the A380, with higher ceilings on the main deck, a wider seat configuration and design to offer more legroom plus contoured headrests. When transiting through Qatar Airways’ hub, Hamad International Airport in Doha, passen-gers travelling from Melbourne can enjoy a comfortable and efficient tran-sit. The luxurious and modern airport has more than 40,000 square metres of retail space and restaurants includ-ing more than 70 retail and 30 food and beverage outlets, as well as a 25-metre swimming pool, gym, hotel and spa. Premium passengers can also enjoy resting in two award-winning lounges – the Al Safwa First Lounge and the Al Mourjan Business Lounge. The former is the first world’s first airline lounge to be accorded the Seven Star First Lounge Award by the Seven Stars Luxury Hos-pitality and Lifestyle Awards, famed as the ‘Oscars of Luxury’.

For travellers who would like to turn their transit into a stopover expe-rience, they can also take advantage of the new 96-hour transit visa offered in partnership with the Qatar Tourism Authority. Transiting passengers can explore the various highlights Doha has to offer – from the world-renowned Museum of Islamic Art to the Katara Cultural Village or desert safaris to bus-tling and cosmopolitan city scape.

In addition to capacity increases in key cities, Qatar Airways continues to expand its global reach. In 2016 alone, Qatar Airways also launched services to Adelaide (Australia), Atlanta (USA), Birmingham (UK), Boston (USA), Hel-sinki, (Finland), Los Angeles (USA), Marrakech (Morocco), Pisa (Italy), Ras Al Khaimah (UAE), Mahé (Seychelles), Sydney (Australia), Windhoek (Namibia) and Yerevan (Armenia).

Based on annual rankings of airlines worldwide, Qatar Airways has been announced as the Best Airline in the World, by AirHelp World-

wide, based in New York City. Qatar Airways captured the number one spot over 77 other airlines ranked by Air-Help internationally. Using data collected from worldwide travellers who look to AirHelp for support, the rankings indicate which airline tops the charts in helping travellers when an issue arises.

Qatar Airways is renowned for its customer service and Arabian hospi-tality; striving to make every trip a memorable one. Qatar Airways’ on-board service features sophisticated meals designed by celebrated chefs, up to 3,000 entertainment options and Wi-Fi via Oryx One and some of the most spacious seats in the air.

Likewise, Qatar Airways’ luxurious service in the air is complemented by exceptional ground staff across its glo-bal network, all Qatar Airways’ lounges and at customer service centres worldwide.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Exec-utive Akbar Al Baker said: “Qatar Airways’ Best Airline in the World award from AirHelp is truly an honour and a credit to the thousands of men

and women that work for Qatar Air-ways around the world. Qatar Airways staff are dedicated to delivering the highest levels of service, which brings passengers back to Qatar Airways again and again. At Qatar Airways, we believe that your trip – be it a holiday with your family or business travel with col-leagues – begins the minute you travel with Qatar Airways.”

"As passengers worldwide see cus-tomer service being diminished by many major airlines, they are instead being driven to choose carriers that offer more than just a seat from A to B. An airline such as Qatar Airways, who understands the importance of putting the customer first, is setting the bar high and is an example for the rest of the industry of how to put the customer experience at the forefront of the air-line product,” AirHelp Chief Executive Officer Henrik Zillmer said.

Qatar Airways has received a number of accolades this year, includ-ing Skytrax’s Best Staff Service in the Middle East, World’s Best Business Class 2016 and Best Business Class Airline Lounge as well as Best Business Class from Business Traveller Awards. Last month Qatar Airways was awarded three prestigious honours at the 2016 Travel Weekly Magellan Awards held in New York.

Qatar Airways launches daily flights to the Seychelles

Explore the Seychelles’ dazzling white-sand beaches and stunning palm-fringed coastline with Qatar Airways.

QA to fly A380 to MelbourneCurrent daily capacity will increase 44 percent to cater to robust inbound and outbound travel demand.

Qatar Airways celebrates seven years of service to Melbourne.

Melbourne - Doha Daily Flight Schedule:Doha (DOH) - Melbourne (MEL)QR904 Departs: 20:50 Arrives: 17:20 (+1)Melbourne (MEL) - Doha (DOH)QR905 Departs: 22:05 Arrives: 05:25 (+1)

Qatar Airways ranked Best Airline in the World by AirHelp Worldwide

Seychelles – Doha Daily Flight Schedules:

Doha (DOH) to Seychelles (SEZ)QR678 departs: 02:40 arrives: 08:50Seychelles (SEZ) to Doha (DOH)QR679 departs: 19:25 arrives: 23:30

Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer, Dr. Hugh Dunleavy (pictured left) is welcomed by Seychelles Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine , Mr. Alain St Ange (right), after the touchdown of the airline's inaugural flight to the Seychelles.

8

Mall of Qatar, a brand new shopping concept with 500,000 sq. m of innova-tive shopping, top-notch recreation and remarka-

ble leisure options, officially opened its doors to the public.

On December 10, Mall of Qatar wel-comed visitors who came to experience its offerings during the soft opening. Media personnel were among the first to be welcomed by Mall management, who held a special breakfast for them at AlRayyan Hotel, before embarking on a tour of the premises and its anchor tenantsincluding beauty, fashion, department stores, homeware, and restaurants.

Ahmed Al Mulla, CEO, said: “After working towards a goal for many years, seeing it come to life is one of the most incredible experiences – and I am grate-ful to the entire team responsible for this momentous occasion. Mall of Qatar marks a new era of shopping in Qatar- merging shopping and entertainment

at our regional super mall.”“We are pleased to announce that

the Mall is 99% leased- and 92%are cur-rently in the fit-out phase. We are opening over 220 stores on our first day, which is 60% of the gross leasable area,”Al Mulla Added

At Mall of Qatar, MOQ Live, a free entertainment program took visitors on an incredible adventure on the world’s first 360-degree in mall revolving stage. The stage is locatedat MOQ`s dazzling Oasis, a 5,000 sq. m lush, green, land-scaped entertainment arena featuring dancing interactive fountains and water-falls and hosting all year long shows.

Al Mulla concluded : “Mall culture plays a large role in Middle Eastern, and especially GCC society. We are pushing the boundaries and elevating the Mall experience with our brand new, and innovative offering. Today, we are set-ting super-regional standards for shopping malls, and bringing the con-cept of retailtainment to life.”

The media expressed their delight

at the Mall offerings during their tour of the retail outlets culminating in a delightful experience at NOVO Cinema, Xtremelandand a lunch at the Cheese-cake Factory.

Mall of Qatar captures the imagina-tion of the entire nation as it opens the doors to 500,000 sq. m of innovative

shopping concept with top-notch rec-reation and leisure options. This capital destination premieres the world’s first resident troupe – offering mall-wide entertainment with 52 weeks of spec-tacular headline shows on a 360-degree custom developed revolving stage, as well as a multilevel Family

Entertainment Complex integrating an international edutainment concept, advanced gaming machines and enthralling rides.

The Mall’s encompassing experience completes with a 19-screen Megaplex inclusive of IMAX’s revolutionary laser projection and 12 channel immersive sound system on the region’s largest screen, 28 meters wide by 15 meters high. The cinema also features the lat-est 4D projection technology screen, VIP screens, an 8-lane bowling alley, and in-theatre gourmet food services.

Situated next to the award winning Al Rayyan FIFA 2022 stadium, the nation’s mall will be a jewel in Qatar’s National Vision 2030. Visitors will be dazzled by the 500 varied retail, dining and café options, conjointly with the 5-star AlRayyan hotel operated by Curio, a collection by Hilton, as every section of the Mall, from its distinctive facade to its exciting interiors, holds an element of surprise that will engender an expe-rience like no other.

Landmark Group, the region’s leading retail and hospitality conglom-

erate, brings the best fashion, home and food choices, to the newly opened Mall of Qatar, with the launch of 19 stores at the iconic destination.

The Mall of Qatar will host a mix of Landmark Group’s home grown and franchise brands including Centrepoint, Max, Iconic, Reiss, New Look, Koton, Steve Madden, Carp-isa, Ecco, Kurt Geiger, Pablosky, Emax, Sports One, Shoexpress, Candelite and Carluccio’s. Each of these brands have been an integral part of Qatar’s flourishing retail and hospitality land-scape, and a key favourite of the Qatari consumer — high-lighted by the Group’s loyalty customer database of over a million in Qatar.

Landmark Group will also be introducing fashion and food concepts — Lipsy, Zafran

and GRK Fresh for the very first time in the country. Lipsy, the UK fashion brand brings a young and vibrant collection of statement party dresses, shoes and jewellery to the res-idents of Qatar. Zafran, a home grown casual dining restau-rant, offers contemporary Indian cuisine, and GRK Fresh

brings a unique twist to clas-sic Greek food, with fresh flavors, in a quick service format.

Santosh Pai, COO Land-mark Group, Qatar said: “Qatar’s growing market is a vital part of our plan to expand our footprint in the region. Mall of Qatar will be significant addition to the country’s retail landscape. Strategically located next to the award-winning Al Rayyan FIFA 2022 stadium, the Mall of Qatar is poised to attract tourists and discerning shop-pers from across the city and the suburbs. We are delighted to be anchor tenants at the mall which is destined to be a hub for fashion and lifestyle retail in Qatar. We have also taken care to ensure that our offer-ings align with the evolving customer expectations, and are certain that both tourist and residents will appreciate the concepts that we are launching.”

LG Electronics, a global leader and technology innovator in consumer e l e c t ron i c s , ha s announced the opening

of its first-ever premium brand shop in Qatar. The new LG store located at Mall of Qatar opened doors to public recently. Located on the first floor, shop no 006, in Qatar’s largest shopping destina-tion – Mall of Qatar and spread across 310 sqm, the new show-room will serve as a one-stop destination for customers, hous-ing an expansive line-up of LG’s latest and innovative consumer products. Conceptualised with an intuitive layout, the outlet is spe-cifically designed to showcase LG’s cutting-edge technology from across different business units including home appliances, home entertainment, mobile communications, IT and residen-tial AC, providing a fully immersive hands-on experience. A complete portfolio of LG Electronics

premium range of products will be showcased within dedicated areas in the showroom.

“Consumer satisfaction is key for us at LG Electronics and our first flagship brand showroom is an embodiment of our commit-ment to our customers in Qatar. This is further testament to our commitment to give every cus-tomer a holistic experience into our complete line-up. This mile-stone would not have been possible without having a long-term trustworthy partner like Video Home & Electronic Centre - Jumbo Electronics, whose team and management have been instrumental in LG’s leadership in Qatar,” said Yong Geun Choi, President, LG Electronics, Gulf.

LG also announced its plans to bring to the new showroom its premium Signature line-up in the first quarter of 2017. The LG Sig-nature line-up, including 4K OLED TVs in home entertainment and TwinWash washing machines in

home appliances is expected to meet the evolving demands of consumers in Qatar. LG Signature products bring together the com-pany’s best technology and best designs under a single name, where each product stays pure, sophisticated, and true its essence.

Commenting on the occasion, Sajed Jassim Mohammed Sulaiman, Vice-Chairman & Man-aging Director, Video Home & Electronic Centre - Jumbo Elec-tronics, said, “The opening of the first LG premium brand shop in Doha is yet another indication of the robust retail sector Qatar has to offer. As LG expands, we will continue to ensure LG’s premium products are accessible and enjoyed by the avid Qatari con-sumer and we look forward to the next chapter for the brand in Qatar.” LG aims to recreate unique experiences in Qatar by giving customers the opportunity to connect with the brand and the product.

LG opens premium brand shop at Mall of Qatar

Officials at the opening of the first-ever premium brand shop of LG Electronics at Mall of Qatar.

Visitors throng to see Mall of Qatar grandeur

Landmark opens 19 stores at Mall of Qatar

The Mall of Qatar will host a mix of Landmark Group’s home grown and franchise brands including Centrepoint, Max, Iconic, Reiss, New Look, Koton, Steve Madden, Carpisa, Ecco, Kurt Geiger, Pablosky, Emax, Sports One, Shoexpress, Candelite and Carluccio’s.

9

Aimed at enriching country’s tourism offering and posi-tioning Qatar as a major shopping des-

tination in the region, an all new “Shop Qatar” festival is set to begin here. The first edition of the festival, focusing on the retail sector in the country, will kick-off in January.

The month long event, under the slogan ‘A Brand New Tradi-tion’, will offer discounts on popular brands, cash prizes worth up to QR4m, special offers on flights and hotel bookings, and a colourful schedule of entertainment activities.

The festival, which will be held from January 7 to February 7, 2017, was announced

yesterday by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) and festival partners including, Mall of Qatar, Qatar Airways and Ezdan World. Retail outlets around the coun-try will be providing discounts of up to 50percent on a range of consumer goods including clothes, electronics, cosmetics and accessories for men, women and children. In addition to Mall

of Qatar, Ezdan Mall, Hyatt Plaza, Al Khor Mall, Lagoona Mall, Gulf Mall, Landmark, Dar Al Salam Mall, The Gate and The Pearl-Qatar will also participate in the festival activities.

“Shop Qatar will shed light on Qatar’s rich offerings in retail sector, with luxury malls and high-end shopping promenades, and celebrate it with Qatar’s

residents and visitors,” said Rashed Al Qurese, Chief Market-ing and Promotion Officer at QTA. “Figures from 2016 show that festivals are an important tourism product, especially as we have seen increases in visitor arrivals during the festival months. Qatar received largest number of visitors in March 2016 that coincided with the food

festival. So we anticipate that a festival during the winter months has an even bigger chance of attracting visitors. Shop Qatar is also timed to fall within mid-year holidays for potential visitors in neighbouring countries,” he said.

Among the various other activities, the event will also fea-ture local products designed by students of Virginia Common-wealth University in Qatar and other local designers.

Meanwhile, any flights to Qatar from within the GCC region booked on Qatar Airways for festival period will be avail-able with a 25percent discount. In addition, Qatar Airways’ Priv-ilege Club members will receive double Q-miles on their book-ings during Shop Qatar. Visitors can also take advantage of a range of accommodation offers when booking through Expedia.com and Booking.com.

Shoppers who spend QR200 at participating outlets can enter a weekly raffle draw at Mall of Qatar for a chance to win cash prizes worth up to QR4 million. Draws will be held on the first three Fridays of the festival, with 15 cash prizes ranging from QR 10,000 to QR 300,000 to be won each week.

The draws will culminate in a mega-draw on the final day of the event where a jackpot prize of QR 1,000,000 will be up for grabs, in addition to 14 other cash prizes ranging from QR 20,000 to QR 120,000.

The event will also show-case, Cats, the longest-running show on Broadway, two con-certs featuring Arab and Khaliji singers and the Doha Comedy Festival apart from in-mall entertainment and roaming mall shows. Added to this, Ezdan World has joined in the festival with its Magical Festival Village, bringing in 400 shopping out-lets, dozens of cafes and restaurants, theatrical plays and much more.

Under the patronage of its Chairperson, H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar Museums

(QM) and Hamad International Air-port (HIA) unveiled two iconic sculptures designed by renowned Iraqi artist Dia al-Azzawi for passen-gers to enjoy while flying in and out of HIA airport.

Titled Flying Man, Dia al-Azza-wi’s unique sculptures will now join the growing and outstanding collec-tion of paintings and installations by local and international artists at the airport.

The sculptures are based on the story of Abu Firnas, a historical fig-ure from the Islamic world who was an early pioneer in experimenting with flight. Through these sculptures, al-Azzawi aims to create a monument to celebrate travelling in the modern age. Thetwo tall cylinder sculptures are inspired by the pillars that appeared in Mesopotamia, an ancient region, in the third century B.C.

The airport installation comes at the same time as a major retrospec-tive exhibition of the work of Dia al-Azzawi, which has opened simul-taneously in Qatar at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art and QM Gal-lery Al Riwaq in Doha, until 16th April 2017.

Khalid Yousef Al Ibrahim, Chief Strategic Planning Officer at Qatar Museums, said: “At QM, we continue to deliver our promise of creating cul-tural experiences outside of our museums for everyone to interact with and enjoy. We are proud of our commitment of adding world-class art by local, regional and international artists to our exquisite collection already on display at HIA to inspire the millions of visitors and residents

who fly through the airport each year.“Dia al-Azzawi is a significant,

leading artistic figure and also a long standing friend of Qatar Museums, and we are proud to showcase his work at HIA.”

Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer of Hamad International Airport said: “The Fly-ing Man sculpture by artist Dia al- Azzawi has found the perfect home at our airport as both the sculp-ture and our state-of-the-art terminal represent the celebration of travel. The impressive proportions of the installation allows both arriving and departing passengers at HIA to enjoy the sculpture.”

QM has worked with local, regional and international artists for over six years to commission and acquire artworks for key locations in and around Hamad International Air-port. The art comprises a mix of site-specific creations as well as pieces which have been carefully

selected for the airport. Currently on show at the airport are works by four Qatari artists including Amal Al Raban, Ali Hassan, Mubarak Al Malik and Salman Al Malik, in the Oryx and Al Maha lounges.

Public Art is a central programme in QM’s mission to push the bounda-ries of the traditional museum model and to offer cultural experiences in public spaces. The art installed at Hamad International Airport supports this goal as well as the pillars of Qatar’s National Vision 2030 of edu-cation and engagement with Qatari society.

‘Shop Qatar’ festival from January 7

Qatar Museums unveils new art installation at HIA

10

Qatar Tourism Author-ity (QTA) has achieved a number of accom-plishments during the current year as part of

its ongoing keenness to attract a largest number of tourists wish-ing to explore the State of Qatar and its rich components that meet their aspirations.

This year’s National Day is being marked while all perform-ance indicators for tourism industry show remarkable improvement and growth while is intensifying its efforts to attract more visitors from the region and the world and pay a partic-ular attention to boot ties with investors and partners in order to diversify tourism products in Qatar and enhance its interna-tional presence.

A latest report on the tour-ism sector’s performance revealed that the State of Qatar received during the first nine months of this year 2.18 million visitors, of whom more than a million visitors were from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) while Saudi Arabia topped the list of GCC countries of visitors in Qatar and international mar-kets. In 2016, the number of Saudi tourists rose by 7% com-pared to the year 2015.

In a qualitative step to pro-mote the country as a world-class stopover destination, QTA in collaboration with Qatar Airways and the Ministry of Inte-rior has announced the implementation of a revised, free-of-charge tourism visa scheme for passengers transit-ing through Doha.

As part of its continued efforts to represent the State of Qatar internationally, QTA has took part in the first joint meet-ing between undersecretaries of tourism and culture ministers in the Gulf Cooperation Council, which was held in the GCC Gen-eral Secretariat headquarters last week in Riyadh.

QTA was also keen to partic-ipate in a number of regional and global promotional tourism fairs at, such as the IMEX in Frankfurt, the Arabian travel market and the World travel market in London.

QTA was also keen to partic-ipate in a number of regional and global promotional tourism fairs at, such as the IMEX in Frankfurt, the Arabian travel market and the World travel market in London.

QTA has inaugurated its pavilion at the International Tourism Bourse (ITB) Berlin 2016, the largest exhibition to travel in Europe, which show-cased Qatar’s tourism accommodation options with many leading international and local hotel brands.

QTA also participated in the World Travel Market (WTA) in the United Kingdom as part of its efforts to highlight the natural, historical and cultural features that abound in Qatar and to pro-mote awareness of British travel experts and policymakers on the tourist characteristics of Qatar. The event witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) between Qatar and Georgia to promote bilateral tourism cooperation.

QTA has also unveiled the Qatar Destination Brand aimed at consolidating the image and promotional efforts of stakehold-ers in Qatar’s business events sector, focusing on the world-class facilities and attractions that underpin Qatar as a leading choice for business events.

QTA has as well inaugurated new representative offices in key world tourism markets such as Istanbul and New York and hosted ‘Qatar Day’ in Milan, Italy, an event to introduce key Italian tour operators, travel profession-als, and travel media to Qatar’s tourist offerings.

In the first quarter of 2016, QTA hosted a tourism market-ing summit, which brings together senior QTA head office executives, representatives of QTA’s five overseas offices and private sector stakeholders to review their plans and market-ing strategy for the year.

In conjunction with the Glo-bal Industry Development Network (GIDN), QTA also hosted a group of international associ-ations in Qatar, showcasing not only the best of what Qatar has to offer in hosting business events, but also defining those associations to potential local partners such unions a series of networking events and meetings.

QTA as well took part in par-ticipated in the preparatory meeting of the GCC agents responsible for tourism held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, to dis-cuss ways to strengthen

cooperation between the GCC countries in tourism sector, and also the second meeting of GCC Ministers responsible for tour-ism aimed at developing comprehensive vision and strat-egy on joint action in the field.

With regard to developments in the field of marine tourism, QTA, in coordination with the Ministry of Interior and Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar), have announced new measures to facilitate the disembarkation of cruise passen-gers and their entry for a seamless tourism experience.

QTA also announced the conclusion of an agreement with German cruise liner TUI Cruises to include Qatar in its itinerar-ies. Seven cruise ships with up to 17,500 visitors will berth in Qatar during the 2017/2018 season.

In addition, QTA launched a new training programme to develop professional tour guides for Qatar aimed at developing human resources working in the tourism sector and to raise effi-ciency in the local market to offer tourist with an enjoyable expe-rience, along with a training course designed specifically for tour guides working with cruise passengers in order to address the unique needs of guiding shore excursions.

During the cruise season, which began in October and con-tinues until April 2017, 32 cruise ships are confirmed to call at Qatar’s ports with an expected 50,000 passengers on board.

Qatari film “The Essence of

Qatar” earned the gold medal at the New York International Film Festival 2016, which honors the world’s best TV and films.

The short film produced by QTA offers a comprehensive cin-ematic experience and scenes for the cultural heritage and tourist landmarks of Qatar.

QTA has also organized a training course for its partners in the private sector about the sustainability of business events within the framework of its ongoing efforts to strengthen the State’s ability to attract and host exhibitions, conferences and international meetings, and in order to explore the latest trends and keep abreast of best prac-tices in this area.

QTA also introduced a new hotel grading and classification system to ensure ratings are more fair and transparent. QTA guides hoteliers through the process of implementing required changes needed for their hotels to maintain their star ratings and is working collabo-ratively with hotels to ensure they make the improvements at a reasonable pace and with min-imum disruption to their business.

Within the diversification and development of tourism activities, products and services in Qatar, QTA has organized the 2016 Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha Festivals, which attracted thou-sands of visitors and residents to several locations around the country, including shopping malls, museums, sports and cul-

tural facilities.QTA also spotted a huge suc-

cess for the 2016 Qatar Summer Festival of Qatar concluding on 31 August, which has attracted hundreds of thousands of visi-tors while Qatar Entertainment City has alone attracted 140, 000 visitors from around the region to enjoy the performances and the advantages offered by Qatar as family travel destination. (END)

Qatar received the largest number of visitors in March as QTA organized in partnership with Qatar Airways the 7th edi-tion of the Qatar International Food Festival (QIFF) to celebrate culinary culture which received record-breaking 200,000 visitors.

As Qatar celebrated this year’s National Sport Day, QTA has concluded agreements with 47 members of the hospitality industry to offer Qatar’s resi-dents and visitors health packages.

QTA invited all Qatari citi-zens and residents to join the celebrations of the World Tour-ism Day (WTD) 2016 celebrated under the theme of “Tourism for All - promoting universal acces-sibility” to explore famous landmark attractions.

Through a combination of special rates from tour opera-tors, discounted packages from hotels, as well as a QTA-organ-ised social media competition, people all over Qatar will have the opportunity to celebrate the global event.

Second season of ‘Magical Festival Village’ on the anvil

Bringing in more than 200 games, global plays, circus performances and much more, the second season of “Magical Festival Village”

is set to open at Katara soon. Ezdan World Company is gearing up to launch the village, with the support of the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) and in conjunction with the coming Tourism Festival.

The new season will include var-ious activities and events along with more than 200 games, parades and shows targeting all segments of vis-itors including children, adults, families and tourists.

The village plans to take advan-tage of its 1,200 seats theatre to showcase four global plays, as Alice in Wonderland, Aladdin, Snow White and World of Oz. The village will offer free art shows for 25 minutes and a main festive show for 40 minutes for its visitors, in addition to two inter-national Circus performances and other 15 diverse activities. The village will also have more than 29 new and sophisticated virtual reality (VR) games, the first of its kind in Qatar and the GCC. Visitors can enjoy highly advanced contents where all human senses overlap in reaction to VR games. An area of 1,500 sqm has been

allocated for the village’s VR games, allowing gamers to enjoy the actives in such large space.

“Next season will bring about a dense programme full of recreational activities and high-tech games, some of which are brought to Qatar for the first time. We expect an exponential increase in visitors by up to 50% com-pared to the first season, which has also seen a great success, opening up vast prospects to propel the village into fame as the first entertainment, shopping and tourism project of such huge size and significance in Qatar,” said Abdul Aziz Al Mohannadi, Gen-eral Manager, Ezdan World Company.

“For the new Season, we have added more attractions that will undoubt-edly gain the admiration of the public and enhance the popularity of the Vil-lage. The number of games and shows has amounted to about 200, with the main ones being “Space Trip”, Royal Horses, the Gyroscope, and “Sky View” which contains 18 compart-ments accommodating 72 person, in addition to being the first of its kind in Qatar in terms of size and lighting,” he said.

The Village provides a unique space dubbed “Ladies Boulevard” to house global luxury clothing brands that offer interesting shows for ladies.

The “Magical Festival Village” is built on an area of about 50,000 sqm within Katara Cultural Village, and comprises about 400 retail outlets, including 357 commercial stores, 20 kiosks, 19 cafes and 20 restaurants of about 500 seats in overall.

The Village features a unique European countryside architectural design, its corridors and boundaries are decorated with colourful back-grounds. Ezdan Holding Group had recently announced the acquisition of up to 70% of the “Magical Festival Village” project, and the Group’s sub-sidiary “Ezdan World” will manage the project.

QTA: Promoting country as tourist destinationQatar received during the first nine months of this year more than 2.18 million visitors, of whom more than a million visitors were from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) while Saudi Arabia topped the list.

11

Irfan BukhariThe Peninsula

Qatar’s efforts ofmoving from petro-chemical economy to a diversified economy are bearing fruits as tourism sector is wit-

nessing sustainable growth with every passing day.

The month of December brought temperature down but not the pace of social and cul-tural activities. Multiple colourful activities including Darb El Saai - a yearly exhibition to celebrate Qatar’s National Day - and Qatar International Boat Show (QIBS) attracted tourists from regional countries along local residents.

Following set practice, the National Day festival started this year too with the opening of Darb El Saai, an exhibition which

showcases each and every col-our of Qatari life as well as educates the visitors on coun-try’s cultural heritage and history.

Though Qatar announced, on December 14, the cancellation of its National Day celebrations to show solidarity with the people of Aleppo, the activities sans cel-ebrations continued at Darb El Saai until December 18.

Statistics speak louder than words: There has been a steep increase in the number of visi-tors from GCC, as the total number reached, from the begin-ning of the year until October 2016, 1,157,811 visitors, register-ing an annual increase of 5.1% compared with the total number of visitors from GCC during last year until October 2015 when only 1,102,095 visitors arrived in Qatar. The difference is about 55 ,716 v is i tors f rom

the beginning of the year. These figures were revealed in the 34th edition of Qatar Monthly Statis-tics issued by the Ministry of Development Planning and Sta-tistics. The center of attraction: Since the opening of Darb El Saai, it became the main center of attraction for Qataris and others. From pavilions of ministries and other governmental organiza-tions to food outlets, horse and camel riding to cultural dresses, dances and dishes, police train-ing for kids to antiquities, planting lessons to awareness on counterfeit products, free vacci-nations to lessons on civil defence, mobile library to story-telling sessions; the exhibitions offered dozens of lovable activ-ities to tourists and residents to enjoy with.

Activities at Darb El Saai, the most popular venue of the National Day celebrations kicked

off on December 8 in the pres-ence of a huge crowd including citizens and expatriates as well as women, children and fami-lies. The Police College pavilion, a new addition, featured a video for children providing informa-tion about the police college laws, its history and offers activ-ities and competitions for children focusing on police rules and uniform.

Health tourism: The stalls of Ministry of Public Health not only provided medical facilities and information to locals but also contributed in promoting med-ical tourism by showing medical excellence of Qatar’s hospitals to visitors from other countries. The enclosure of the Ministry of Pub-lic Health attracted thousands of visitors offering them not only quality information on healthy lifestyle but also various free medical tests and vaccinations while some visitors also got themselves registered as organ donors.

Two main organisations of the Ministry of Public Health - Hamad Medical Corporation and Primary Health Care Corpora-tion - through its stalls educated children in particular on healthy lifestyle with various engaging activities meticulously designed to attract them. The people strug-gling against obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol were seen sitting in the queues for their turn to consult doctors at another stall of the Ministry.

Promoting healthy living, a number of activities at “Yalla Natural” stall at Darb El Saai including planting education,

healthy cooking sessions, smoothie bikes and green reci-pes attracted hundreds of children and elders.

As digitalisation of knowl-edge and information and the growing popularity of social media posing serious threats to centuries-old book reading habit, National Reading Campaign per-formed a laudable job at Darb El Saai to instill feelings of love for reading in today’s children. With mobile library, puzzle contests and storytelling sessions, Qatar Foundation’s initiative “National Reading Campaign” pulled crowds and tried to revive dying habit of reading books in chil-dren and elders alike.

Easy entry procedures woo more tourists: The world’s larg-est privately-owned residential yacht, “The World”, docked at Doha Port on October 18, mark-ing the beginning of cruise season (2017) in Qatar. Since the launch in 2002 the floating city has visited more than 900 ports in more than 140 countries while sailing on a continuous world-wide itinerary at a maximum speed of 18.5 knots.

This cruise season, which lasts until April next year, has 32 ships registered to arrive at Qatar’s shores, representing a threefold increase on last sea-son’s figures. Over 50,000 passengers are expected to arrive aboard these ships. “The World” is home to 165 residences with patrons from 45 countries living on board as it sails around the world, staying in most ports for several days. The luxury cruise ship’s passengers were the first

who availed of Qatar’s new entry procedure, which has quickened the disembarkation of tourists arriving on board cruise ships.

Qatar welcomed the second cruise ship on October 31 with the arrival of luxury cruise ship "Azamara Journey" at Doha Port. With 724 tourists aboard, the ship was on a ten-day voyage in the Gulf region. Under the new pro-cedure, a passenger manifest containing passport details of passengers and crew is shared with immigration officials 48 hours before the ship’s arrival. This allows immigration officials to process all relevant informa-tion and clear passengers for entry before the ship docks.

In the first week of Decem-ber, Doha Port welcomed "MSC Fantasia" — the first ever mega cruise ship arrived in Qatar. The giant ship carried over 3,000 passengers and 1,300 crew members on its maiden voyage to Qatar and is scheduled to make a total of six calls to Doha throughout the 2016/2017 cruise season.

Another tourist-puller in December was Qatar Interna-tional Boat Show According to organizers a large number of vis-itors from GCC countries attended the event. Following the show’s remarkable success, that has attracted more than 50,000 visitors from 88 countries since 2013, QIBS 2016 witnessed the participation of major manufac-turers and exhibitors. QIBS contributes to supporting the tourism and exhibitions sector in Qatar, attracting investments to the country.

Tourism & cultural heritage blend at Darb El Saai

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