Qatar Tourisms Phil Dickinson, head of global trade sales, spoke to Travel Bulletin about building on the tourism of the World Cup, and upcoming consumer campaigns.
"Our strategy is quite clear - we welcomed 2.1 million visitors in 2019, and we plan to triple this, with 6 or 7 million by 2030. Part of how we're supporting this goal is through ease of accessibility. We have dropped PCR test requirements and travel from the UK remains visa-free."
On the growth that the World Cup brings, Dickinson explained: "We've got so many more hotel products opening in Qatar, including new resort properties suitable for the UK winter sun market. There are plenty of value-for-money, competitive prices that will appeal to the travel trade."
"Our campaign 'Experience the World Beyond' ran consistently throughout the last year and now we've just wrapped up on the 'Feel More' campaign - the sequel campaign. We're hoping to launch that in December, running until Q1 next year.
"The whole idea is to promote how consumers can immerse themselves in the authenticity of the country, highlighting our points of difference to our neighbours, with our rich cultural side, history and our family orientation.
"The other fun campaign will take place during the World Cup, with Pirlo, the Italian footballer. The campaign, 'No Football, No Worries', will show our viewers that beyond football, Qatar is full of other fun things to do."
On Qatar's plans to engage with the trade, the destination's head of global trade sales added: "We've launched a brand new agent training portal Qatar Specialist Programme in-house with a development company. This is full of interactive, informative modules for agents. When completed, agents will gain certification and become part of the community that learns first-hand about fam trips, competitions and newsletters.
"We also have our ongoing partnership agreements with the tour operators, selling the destination."
Read more from Travel Bulletin's live coverage of WTM 2022 here.
