Tourism & Culture

Qatar’s tourism sector is gearing up for expansion in anticipation of a major influx of tourists for the six-week 2022 FIFA World Cup, with the event expected to attract close to 1m visitors. In the build-up to the tournament, investment is being channelled into the development of tourism-related infrastructure to accommodate visitor traffic, and provide avenues of entertainment and sightseeing. In 2016, following the slump in global oil prices, the government identified tourism as one of several priority sectors to be expanded in pursuit of diversification, and a high-level taskforce was created to drive its growth. The strategy revision process began in April 2017, and the economic blockade led by Saudi Arabia and several other Arab nations imposed in June 2017 gave it new impetus and momentum. This chapter contains an interview with Hassan Al Ibrahim, Acting Chairman, Qatar Tourism Authority; and Sohair Wastawy, Executive Director of Qatar National Library.