Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has embarked on a promotional road show spanning six cities across the Gulf  to endorse Qatar as the ideal destination for Eid holidays.

'The GCC Roadshow 2012' kicked off from Al Khobar in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia on May 26 and will move on to Riyadh, Kuwait, Muscat, Abu Dhabi and finally concluding in Dubai on May 31.

QTA’s tourism strategy during the road show will aim to promote Qatar’s authentic heritage and rich past while highlighting its focus on building the future through creativity and innovation by promoting the five major pillars: Meetings, Sports, Culture, Leisure and Education, said a senior official.

“We are conducting these roadshows to educate the GCC on the potential of Qatar being an ideal destination for people to celebrate Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha,” remarked Abdulla Malalla Al Bader, the director of tourism at QTA.

Qatar, he said, has made significant investments domestically and internationally to encourage cultural, sport, and leisure tourism to complement business tourism industry in the country.

The government has made significant investments to develop Qatar’s tourism infrastructure over a 5 year period, including the construction of new hotels, resorts and other tourism facilities.

Qatar is a hosting venue for many international sporting championships in tennis, golf, athletics and football. Plans are being put in place to build world-class stadiums for the 2022 Football World Cup.

The iconic Museum of Islamic Art, designed by IM Pei, has put Qatar’s capital city of Doha firmly on the cultural scene in the Middle East.

The other major projects scheduled to open in the near future include the Qatar National Convention Centre, which boasts 40,000 sq m of hitech exhibition space and the New Doha International Airport, which at completion will be able to handle 50 million passengers.

“Qatar is fast becoming one of the emerging destinations in the world travel, thanks to our strategy to highlight the range of activities on offer in Qatar. Qatar has everything a high end traveler needs – stunning hotels, cultural icons and many leisure activities,” said Al Bader.

“The roadshow is to promote Qatar as a premier business and upscale leisure destination to MICE (meetings, incentive, convention, exhibitions) professionals,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service