Tourism Breaking News
A Qatari delegation that includes representatives from the Qatar for Tourism, the Permanent Committee for the Management of Sea Ports and Qatar Ports and the General Authority of Customs, paid an official field visit to the tourist port of Barcelona in the Kingdom of Spain recently, where members of the Qatari delegation met with officials of the administration at the Spanish port and were briefed on the best practices, workflow mechanisms and services provided to visitors arriving on board cruises and the port’s security and safety systems..
The three-day visit is part of efforts to support the cruise tourism sector in Qatar, exchange expertise and experience, and enhance the operations and logistics required by the Qatar’s growing cruise tourism sector.
During the visit, the delegation discovered the terminal for ships and cruise ships, where the members of the delegation met with Spanish port officials and were briefed on the regulations in force, the volume of work and the levels of tourism activity witnessed by the port, while part of the visit program was devoted to reviewing the modern security and control measures and systems applied and coordination mechanisms between the various authorities operating in the port such as passports, customs, administration and security, and the procedures followed for ship reservations and how to set priorities.
The visit also included a joint workshop held at the port, which brought together members of the Qatari delegation and officials of the Port of Barcelona, during which they were closely acquainted with the entry and exit systems of passengers, as well as the integrated and innovative solutions that are used to overcome the problems that may face tourist flows in the port, which is one of the most prominent landmarks of the Spanish city. The workshop also included a comparison between the Spanish port and Doha port with regard to the procedures applied and their efficiency and effectiveness.
Commenting on the visit, Mr. Omar Al Jaber, Acting Head of Tourism Development at Qatar Tourism, said: “Qatar is now a leading global cruise tourism destination and one of the region’s most popular cruise routes. The current significant growth of the cruise tourism sector in Qatar is the result of constructive cooperation and continuous coordination with various partners and stakeholders. We are very pleased with this growth and the great momentum that the cruise sector is witnessing year after year. We concluded almost two months ago the 2023-2024 cruise season, and it was successful by all standards, both in terms of the number of cruise ships and the total number of visitors. This visit to Barcelona Tourist Port comes as part of the latest systems and services provided to cruise passengers in order to enhance the tourism experience for visitors to the Qatar at Doha Port.”
Doha Port has become a departure and return point for many international cruise ships, especially after the comprehensive development process that it underwent over the past few years, which included the establishment of a major passenger terminal, and can receive two giant ships at the same time and about 12,000 people per day.
The cruise tourism sector is currently a vital element of the tourism strategy implemented by Qatar Tourism, as it has continued to record strong growth rates over the past years, while receiving 73 ships during the 2023-2024 season.
