Qatar Tourism has entered an agreement with Cruise Lines International Association to promote the Gulf state as a cruise destination, according to a report in Doha News.
The move means Qatar Tourism is now set to become one of the headline sponsors of the CLIA Selling Cruise Day taking place in the UK’s Southampton on November 4, 2020 as well as the sponsor of the annual CLIA Cruise Forum in December 2021. The partnership will see CLIA promote Qatar to its community of cruise liners, travel agents and stakeholders overseas.
“This partnership is part of Qatar Tourism’s ongoing strategy to diversify the tourism sector in Qatar, and attract new customer segments,” said COO of Qatar Tourism Berthold Trenkel.
“Cruise is an important pillar of our tourism strategy – we have signed a number agreements already for the coming season – and Qatar has made serious investments into cruise infrastructure such as the new cruise terminal that will be ready to welcome visitors for the FIFA World Cup 2022,” Trenkel added.
The latest developments come as the Gulf state slowly begins to reopen as a destination for tourists after months of Covid-19 restrictions left the travel industry reeling in economic difficulties.
CLIA UK & Ireland Managing Director Andy Harmer said the company is “very excited to welcome Qatar Tourism to the CLIA family”, described the partnership as an indication of building positive momentum for the cruise industry as it becomes increasingly popular in the region.
“We’re all looking forward to seeing ships start visiting the exceptional facilities of the Doha port and its surroundings again,” said Harmer.
The latest partnership means Qatar Tourism is now hoping to surpass 2019 cruise tourism numbers starting from November. In 2019/2020, Qatar welcomed 207,000 cruise visitors to Doha.
