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A buzz has been building around Qatar as a business hub for some time, but is there any broader tourism potential? Lucy Taylor considers whether there’s more to Qatar than its booming capital city.
Bordered only by Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf, the compact state of Qatar, jutting out on a small peninsula, could easily be overlooked on a map.
But over the past decade the country has dedicated itself to seriously developing its tourism industry, and is now in a position to fight it out with the top few destinations in the Middle East.
According to information collected by global information publisher Euromonitor International, Qatar's future is looking bright.
The hotel sector is booming. By 2009, the state expects to increase its current 3000 room inventory to more than 10,000, with nearly 40 new hotels opening. Qatar Airways is one of the world's fastest-growing airlines, averaging close to 40% annual growth in both passenger numbers and revenue in 2006 - and its fleet is set to almost triple in size by 2018.
From 2000 to 2005, Qatar's gross domestic product (GDP) doubled from US $17.5 billion to more than $35 billion. And to top it all off, Qatar's travel and tourism growth is spearheaded by a government mandate, ensuring top-level support as the industry grows.
Needless to say, this has made the country an extremely attractive prospect for international investors, including hotel companies.
Send in the hotels
For a long time, Qatar has survived with a rather narrow portfolio of tourist accommodation, but now hotels groups are recognising the country's potential and are eager to establish a presence, as Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (QTEA) director of marketing and communications Daniela Grendene explains.
"The real challenge for Qatar has been the lack of sufficient hotel rooms, and the demand continues to grow," she says.
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company regional vice president, Middle East Pascal Duchauffour continues: "The vision of the government to build up a ‘knowledge economy' on a world class level has stimulated the growth of the nation's multiple infrastructure projects - highways, international airport, telecommunications, financial center, and so on - and taken it to world-class levels.
"This is a solid foundation and one of the key deciding factors in Ritz-Carlton being a part of Qatar's ongoing development".
Similarly, InterContinental Hotels Group vice president operations, UAE and Qatar Pascal Gauvin believes the momentum of the country's development efforts makes it a focal area for expansion.
"Besides being a major resource for oil and natural gas, Qatar is also becoming a key business and financial destination," he comments.
"The recent establishment of Qatar's Financial Centre will ensure the country's continued economic growth and development, while for the international business community it provides an exciting new window to access and share the opportunities this region offers. In addition, there is a massive push to develop the real-estate industry," notes Gauvin.
"For example the $2.5 billion man-made island development The Pearl. IHG is keen to establish the hospitality infrastructure to support the country's growth."
Coming soon
Qatar, or more specifically Doha, has a few household names already in situ; Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton and Mövenpick all have operating properties there.
