Targeting Indian tourists, Qatar opens office in Mumbai

Targeting Indian tourists, Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has opened a representative office in Mumbai. More than 110,000 Indian travellers visited Qatar in the first quarter of 2018. Qatar has become an increasingly accessible destination for Indian travellers, especially after Qatar waived visa entry requirements for Indian citizens last year.

“The decision was taken in view of the rapid growth of India’s outbound tourism market in recent years, coupled with QTA’s intensified efforts to diversify and grow visitor source,” said QTA’s Chief Marketing and Promotion Officer Rashed AlQurese. “The steps taken to make accessing Qatar easier are particularly targeted at visitors seeking to experience our country’s luxury hospitality and unique cultural offerings, all while benefiting from the convenience of relatively short flights,” AlQurese added.

Qatar Tourism Authority has about a dozen offices worldwide including in Moscow, Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, the US, China, Russia, the Gulf Cooperation Council markets and South East Asia.

QTA’s office in Mumbai will oversee a wide range of promotional initiatives, including workshops, sales visits, travel agents destination training, partnerships with tour operators, familiarisation trips, media campaigns and other innovative activities to boost Qatar as a leisure and business tourism destination.

The Qatar Airways has 100 weekly direct flights connecting the capital Doha to thirteen major cities across India and 67 flights from India to Qatar by major airlines like Air India Express, Indigo Airlines and Jet Airways. Indian nationals can enter Qatar visa-free, for 30 days’ stay, which can be extended by another similar period.