Tourism Breaking News
Qatar Tourism has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mowasalat Karwa to innovate and enhance the tourism experience for visitors coming to Qatar via cruises. The MoU aims to enhance coordination and cooperation between the two parties in the field of cruise tourism, which in turn is an integral part of the National Tourism Strategy that seeks to make Qatar one of the leading tourist destinations in the world. The MoU outlines the joint cooperation between the two organizations to maintain the continuity of communication with transparency, optimize cost, and provide the necessary support for the success of the upcoming cruise season. Qatar Tourism will provide Mowasalat Karwa with data and statistics related to the tourism sector to facilitate their cooperation, and will send advance notice of the arrival times of ships and cruise ships, enabling effective planning of transport services.
The MoU was signed by H.E. Mr. Saad bin Ali Al Kharji, President of Qatar Tourism, and Mr. Fahad Saad Al Qahtani, CEO of Mowasalat Karwa.
H.E. Saad bin Ali Al Kharji, President of Qatar Tourism, said: “Cruise tourism is a key pillar in supporting Qatar’s national tourism strategy and contributing to Qatar’s position on the global tourism map. Qatar Tourism is working continuously with its key partners to ensure an exceptional tourism experience for visitors to Qatar. Transportation plays an important role in enhancing this experience, and we are confident that our partnership with Mowasalat will contribute to the success of the current cruise season.”
Mr. Fahad Saad Al Qahtani, CEO of Karwa, said: “We believe in the importance of transportation for visitors and its impact on the competitiveness of tourist destinations. Tour operators in Qatar market the services and tours they offer during their participation in major international markets; to keep pace with the development of the tourism sector in Qatar, we believe that it is very important to provide smooth, convenient and safe transportation for visitors. As we enter into another agreement with Qatar Tourism, we are committed to providing the utmost service excellence at all levels, including quality, safety measures, cleanliness and maintenance of our vehicles, and the service of our experienced and dedicated staff.”
The cruise season has seen a significant increase in the number of international visitorsDuring the past years. The current season is scheduled to run until April 2024 and will host 81 cruises and nearly 350,000 visitors, doubling the number of cruise visitors compared to last season.
During October 2023, Qatar welcomed 4,525 cruise visitors thanks to Qatar’s exceptional attractions and diverse events, such as Winter Wonderland, Qatar Airways MotoGP Grand Prix and Expo 2023 Doha. Eight ships are expected to arrive in Doha in November.
Doha will be the departure and return point for many international cruise ships such as the Norwegian ship “Dawn” and the ship “Luganville”. Several other vessels will also continue to offer partial transformation flights from Doha, including the Min Schiff 2, MSC Vertiosa and the Italian cruise ship Costa Tuscany. Qatar is expected to receive 8 cruises in November 2023.
