QATAR: Qatar Airways Offering Free Luxury Hotel, Visa To Passengers Stopping Over In Doha

Qatar Airways has launched a unique stopover package in partnership with Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) to promote and market Qatar as a destination of choice for international travellers, offering transit passengers the opportunity to discover Doha with free luxury hotel stays and complimentary transit visas.

The unique offer is part of a broader campaign called +Qatar which looks to encourage all transit passengers to consider adding Qatar to their itinerary.

This unique offer from QTA and Qatar Airways allows passengers travelling through Doha to experience a taste of the Middle East for free.

Throughout the summer, the national carrier, with the support of QTA, will give passengers the chance to turn a layover into a stayover by offering four and five star hotel accommodation at no charge to those transiting through Doha.

The promotion invites all Qatar Airways passengers to add Doha to their vacation by taking advantage of a free one-night hotel stay from a selection of the country’s best four- and five-star hotels in Doha.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, said: “Qatar Airways is more than just a national flag-carrier for Qatar; we are proudly patriotic and want to share Qatar’s many exciting attractions with our passengers from around the world. This exclusive initiative provides the opportunity to add an extra element to our passengers’ existing travel plans with a complimentary hotel stay in some of Doha’s finest hotels.

We want to ensure that our passengers have a memorable experience every time they travel with Qatar Airways, and now, we’re going even further to make sure that we exceed their expectations.”

Chief Tourism Development Officer, Qatar Tourism Authority, Hassan Al Ibrahim, said: “It was a great source of pride for all of us in Qatar when we launched the transit visa last November. We have already seen a surge in stopover passengers, with a 53 per cent increase recorded in March 2017, compared to the same month last year.

With the launch of +Qatar today, we aim to convert a larger portion of the 30 million passengers passing through Hamad International Airport into stopover visitors. We are delighted to make Qatar more accessible to people from around the world and invite them to discover our country, our cultural heritage and our natural treasures.”

Passengers transiting through Doha can extend their stay to make the most of their journey taking in the sights of Doha with a completely free night courtesy of Qatar Airways and QTA or stay a little longer with a second night’s stay for a modest $50 booking fee.

Passengers can choose from hotels such as The Four Seasons, Marriott Marquis, Radisson Blu and Oryx Rotana.

The free hotel accommodation, available throughout the summer, will offer passengers the opportunity to explore Doha and experience city tours, desert safari adventures or a dinner cruise aboard a traditional dhow, giving visitors a taste of authentic Arabian hospitality, courtesy of Discover Qatar.

To be eligible for this offer, passengers simply book their flight on www.qatarairways.com, select ‘multi-city’ and choose their hotel once they receive their flight confirmation. The online transit visa application is also free and is eligible for those in transit between five and 96 hours.

This ground-breaking offer is available for all Qatar Airways passengers, both Premium and Economy, demonstrating the airline’s commitment to its brand ethos of ‘Going Places Together’.

To maximise their time in Qatar, visitors can explore additional stopover packages offered by Discover Qatar.

This unique offer with QTA has been launched by Qatar Airways' newly created destination management company, Discover Qatar, and is just one of many new initiatives that will be launched over the coming months to generate awareness of, and visits to, Qatar.

It was designed to kick off the newly launched campaign ‘+Qatar’ from Qatar Tourism Authority and is aimed at supporting the growing demand for tourism in Qatar.

This exciting and innovative announcement comes as the airline celebrates its 20th year of operations, marking two decades of growth, industry leadership and innovation.

This year, Hamad International Airport (HIA) was also ranked the Sixth Best Airport in the World by the 2017 Skytrax World Airport Awards, as well as having been named Best Airport in the Middle East for the third consecutive year, and recognised as having the Best Staff Service in the Middle East for the second year in a row.

Known for introducing industry firsts, Qatar Airways is one of the fastest-growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of 197 aircraft flying to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations across six continents. Exciting new destinations being launched in 2017 include Nice, Chang Mai, Dublin and Skopje.

Qatar Airways invites passengers to start planning their next trip with amazing discounts on flights across all cabin classes. With the airline’s Global Sales Campaign, which starts on April 26 and lasts through May 3, families, friends and couples can book flights to any destination across the airline’s network of more than 150 destinations across the globe, with validity to travel until June 21, 2017.

Travellers can now avail offer of up to 40% off on all-inclusive fares. To take advantage of this offer, travellers should visit their travel agent, any Qatar Airways sales office or qatarairways.com/travelnow.

Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer Ehab Amin said: “We are delighted to be able to offer our passengers such a wide variety of choice in choosing a destination. With this new promotion, passengers can easily choose where to go next with amazing offers across all of our cabin classes. Travellers are truly spoilt for choice with Qatar Airways’ extended network of more than 150 destinations.”

Recently the airline revealed its latest premium class product “Qsuite,” a fully transformable suite of seats that allows parties of two, three or four to create their own unique space within the Business Class cabin.

This game-changing patented design is set to transform the face of aviation and Business Class travel by bringing a First Class product to the Business Class cabin. Qsuite also features the first ever double bed in Business Class, another ground-breaking innovation brought to passengers by Qatar Airways.

The airline was named the World’s Best Business Class by Skytrax in 2016, and its home hub, Hamad International Airport, was also recently given five stars at the Skytrax World Airport Awards, as well as being named the World’s Sixth Best Airport.

Qatar Airways is one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, with a network of more than 150 destinations. The airline will add a number of exciting new destinations to its growing network in 2017, including Chiang Mai, Yanbu, Dublin, Nice, Skopje and many more, flying passengers on board its modern fleet of 195 aircraft.

QATAR: Hamad International Airport Among 10 Best Airports In The World

Hamad International Airport (HIA) has been acknowledged as the ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’ by the 2016 Skytrax World Airport Awards for the second consecutive year at a ceremony that took place during the Passenger Terminal EXPO in Cologne, Germany.

At the same time, HIA became the first airport in the Middle East to enter the World’s Top 10 Best Airports of the Skytrax World Airport Ranking.

HIA also won the award for Best Staff Service in the Middle East. The Skytrax World Airport Awards are the most prestigious recognition of quality for airports across the world.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “Being named the Best Airport in the Middle East for the second year running is a major accomplishment for Hamad International Airport, the home of Qatar Airways.

“To be announced as the first airport in the Middle East to be listed among the top 10 world ranking airports is a great honour, and is testament to the satisfaction that global travellers feel when they are going places through one of the most advanced, and passenger-focused airports, in the world.

We will continue working with all our passengers and our partners to ensure that Hamad International Airport remains among the world’s best.”

Attending the awards, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer of Hamad International Airport, stated: “It is a great privilege to be named the Middle East’s Best Airport by Skytrax for the second year running. More importantly we are delighted to see that within less than two years since HIA’s opening, our airport is considered among the top 10 best airports in the world, rising from position 75 in 2014 and reflecting HIA’s position as a leading international aviation hub.

“This prestigious accolade follows a year of significant milestones achieved by HIA: crossing the 30 million passenger threshold while offering award-winning passenger services and adding more space with the opening of concourses D and E.

“We are of course most grateful to our staff and partners, as well as the State of Qatar who continue to give us their strongest support in delivering a top quality passenger experience at all times. I would like to dedicate the Best Staff Service award to them for their outstanding teamwork.

“These awards are greatly motivational for us all and drive us to aim even higher. We pledge to continue improving our infrastructure and delivering an exceptional travel experience to all our passengers, who have graciously given us their vote of confidence.”

The World Airport Awards are the most prestigious accolades for the airport industry, voted by customers in the largest, annual global airport customer satisfaction survey. The survey and awards process is totally independent and guaranteed free of any airport influence or interference in final results.

The World Airport Awards are based on 12.85 million customer nominations across 110 nationalities of air travellers, and included 410 airports worldwide. The survey evaluates customer satisfaction across 39 key performance indicators for airport service and product - from check-in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security and immigration, through to departure at the gate.