Turkey, particularly Istanbul, has started attracting more Qataris again this year, a number of travel agencies in Doha have said.
“The demand for Turkey is coming back,” Alpha Travel general manager Khaled Rustom said, citing that bookings to the country is picking up since early this year.
He noted that travellers from Qatar now find Istanbul as a safe destination compared to the previous year when it faced some political and security challenges.
Turkey is one of the most popular tourist destinations globally for its history and archaeology, nature and the outdoors (as well as beaches), and other unique offerings.
“Turkey’s appeal as a destination is back on track,” said a travel agent from another leading agency.
He noted that bookings to Istanbul had decreased substantially last year compared to the previous year (2015), but “now it starts to normalise.”
Some travel agents noted that Schengen countries such as France, Italy, Germany and Switzerland have remained popular tourism destinations for Qataris during this period. Azerbaijan (Baku) is also picking up with more bookings before Ramadan.
A number of destinations in the region remained popular to Qatar travellers, with Kuwait receiving more visitors than Dubai, based on Alpha’s records.
“This year, we are seeing a high demand for Kuwait because many people go there for shopping, it has become a shopping destination,” he said.
“Most of them are ladies, they find better deals there and that is something interesting we noticed from January to May this year,” said Rustom.
Morocco is also becoming a popular destination for Qataris because of its Arabic culture, he observed. “They visit Morocco more often now. They like its traditional culture, and it has tourism facilities as well,” he pointed out.
There is also a growing demand for European cruises among Qataris because of “good value for money.”
Among expatriate families there is a growing interest to travel to other countries such as Georgia (mostly Filipinos) and other destinations that do not require visas.
“There is always good percentage of families travelling for leisure. Middle income and above they go for leisure,” Rustom noted.
Travel agencies are seeing a recovery early this year with more people from Qatar travelling to different countries for various purposes, but mainly for leisure.
A travel agent said their bookings dropped by 60% to 70% last year, a reason for them to come up with new strategies to attract more customers.
He expressed optimism that people in Qatar will find ways to travel and spend their vacation elsewhere especially with cheaper air tickets and other promotions.
He noted that travellers from Qatar now find Istanbul as a safe destination compared to the previous year when it faced some political and security challenges.
Turkey is one of the most popular tourist destinations globally for its history and archaeology, nature and the outdoors (as well as beaches), and other unique offerings.
“Turkey’s appeal as a destination is back on track,” said a travel agent from another leading agency.
He noted that bookings to Istanbul had decreased substantially last year compared to the previous year (2015), but “now it starts to normalise.”
Some travel agents noted that Schengen countries such as France, Italy, Germany and Switzerland have remained popular tourism destinations for Qataris during this period. Azerbaijan (Baku) is also picking up with more bookings before Ramadan.
A number of destinations in the region remained popular to Qatar travellers, with Kuwait receiving more visitors than Dubai, based on Alpha’s records.
“This year, we are seeing a high demand for Kuwait because many people go there for shopping, it has become a shopping destination,” he said.
“Most of them are ladies, they find better deals there and that is something interesting we noticed from January to May this year,” said Rustom.
Morocco is also becoming a popular destination for Qataris because of its Arabic culture, he observed. “They visit Morocco more often now. They like its traditional culture, and it has tourism facilities as well,” he pointed out.
There is also a growing demand for European cruises among Qataris because of “good value for money.”
Among expatriate families there is a growing interest to travel to other countries such as Georgia (mostly Filipinos) and other destinations that do not require visas.
“There is always good percentage of families travelling for leisure. Middle income and above they go for leisure,” Rustom noted.
Travel agencies are seeing a recovery early this year with more people from Qatar travelling to different countries for various purposes, but mainly for leisure.
A travel agent said their bookings dropped by 60% to 70% last year, a reason for them to come up with new strategies to attract more customers.
He expressed optimism that people in Qatar will find ways to travel and spend their vacation elsewhere especially with cheaper air tickets and other promotions.
