QATAR: More And More Chinese Tourists Are Flocking Qatar, Thanks To Qatar Tourism Authority And Visa Free For Chinese Tourists

Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) office in Beijing, along with the other two QTA offices at Shanghai and Guangzhou, has achieved great success during the first quarter of this year in attracting more tourists from China to Qatar.

The managing director of the office, Jiajing, told reporters in Beijing that 15,158 Chinese tourists visited Qatar during the first three months of this year, a 68% rise over the same period last year.

He said this figure was for tourists only and did not include those going on business.

The huge success is attributed to the efforts exerted by QTA offices in China to promote Qatar as a new destination for traditional Arab heritage.

He pointed out QTA offices in China have printed and distributed a brochure in Chinese and used popular Chinese social media and chat applications such as Weibo and WeChat to promote Qatar as a promising destination.

Besides, local media representatives and social media influencers were invited to visit Qatar.

Travel agents were also invited to tour Qatar so they could better market the country to their Chinese clients.

QTA Beijing office managing director stressed that Qatar is expected to be a favourite destination among Chinese travellers, in particular as they do not require an entry visa and given visa free on arrival.

As part of the strong friendly relationships between China and Qatar, Peking University School of Foreign Languages, Department of Arabic Language and Culture, has celebrated the passage of 120 years.

Its establishment which also coincides with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relationships between the two countries.

Wu Bingbing, deputy director of the department and professor of the Qatar Chair, said Qatar has extended generous support to the department and donated $10mn as an endowment to create the Qatar Chair.

The department uses the annual profit of $500,000 to further expand and improve its studies and researches in the field.

He said also that the department has fruitful co-operation with Qatar University and other universities at the Education City, Qatar.

Some Chinese students come to Qatar to study Arabic, and others are research scholars and their number is steadily increasing.

Qatar Chair is not only concerned with Arabic language studies but also covers Middle East studies.

Bingbing stressed that the graduates have good opportunities to work for the government and other major private companies as the Chinese interests are steadily increasing in the Middle East and it helps bring about more understanding among the Arab world and China.


Tourism Observer

QATAR: Hotels To Improve Environmental Standards

Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC) has urged hotels in Qatar to seek environmental sustainability certification to comply with the new hotel classification system being implemented by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA).

The move is being made to enhance the quality of operations amid the increasing number of hotels in the country.

QGBC communications head and sustainability consultant Hamoda Youssef said: “In the new classification system regulations of QTA, there are a number of environmental sustainability requirements under the mandatory criteria such as energy consumption and waste segregation, in addition to those that fall under the rating criteria.”

He added: “Operational expenses are increasing and at the same time the market is slowing down. There will be rise in the number of rooms for World Cup 2022 which will need up to 60,000 rooms, so the competition is increasing.

“To keep your quality you have to be intelligent and in our opinion utilizing sustainability certification system is the right answer to maintain quality and optimize operation cost,” he said.

He cited Green Key, a leading sustainability certification entity which has certified more than 2,600 hotels in 55 countries using various criteria such as staff engagement, environmental management, guest information, water and energy, food and beverage, waste administrative indoor environment, green area, green activities and corporate social responsibility.

“It’s not just environmental sustainability but the overall aspect of the establishment is looked into which makes it heavily aligned with QTA’s new classification system - from mandatory requirements to rating and scoring criteria,” he said.

Guest room requirements, smoking policy, business centres, staff training and development, environmental sustainability requirements, water filtering and landscaping are among the mandatory requirements he mentioned.

“Having certification system in place will not only help you get those additional points, but also going through a certification process will help you achieve the mandatory requirements,” he said.