Qatar staged an exciting finish to the year with a host of activities for the whole family and new touristic experiences. As restrictions on public gatherings eased and borders reopened, the country hosted a slew of in-person events.
Qatar Tourism worked with stakeholders across the public and private sectors to host events and develop products and services catering to the needs of residents and visitors alike.
Qatar Tourism Chairman and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, HE Akbar Al Baker said that this winter, Qatar delivered a World Beyond to its citizens, residents and visitors.
We saw unprecedented levels of participation for our events and festivals, contributing to the success of the season. It is an encouraging sign as the country prepares to host millions of fans for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
He said they are especially delighted to see a large number of visitors from all over the region joined Qatar to share the exciting FIFA Arab Cup 2021™ matches and partake in the variety of events taking place at the same time. He said it was wonderful to see the enthusiastic response to the cornerstone events, such as the Qatar International Food Festival, Qatar Live, Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition and more.
Qatar International Food Festival
The first in the impressive line-up of events was Qatar’s longest-running food and beverage festival, Qatar International Food Festival (QIFF), which returned with its longest edition to date and ran for almost three weeks from 26 November to 17 December.
The festival took place at Al Bidda Park for the first time and hosted food trucks along the stretch of Corniche Road for eight days. Held after a hiatus of nearly two years, the festival attracted 224,356 visitors over a course of 22 days.
The festival combined culinary arts with exciting festivities to provide family entertainment for residents and visitors of all ages. Twenty-seven chefs from Qatar and abroad participated this year’s QIFF Cooking Theatre, Chef’s Table sessions and other events.
Qatar Live
Shortly after the launch of QIFF, the country staged Qatar Live, featuring ten renowned artists of the Arab world from 2 to 17 December at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC). Qatar Live provided a stage to Qatari, Kuwaiti, Syrian, Lebanese, Moroccan, Saudi, and Egyptian singers and bands.
To provide an inclusive experience to families, Qatar Live also hosted a Hot Wheels® Monster Trucks Experience from 8 to 11 December at Lusail Arena. It gave audiences an exclusive opportunity to see real-life versions of the famous Hot Wheels monster truck toys. The concerts as well as the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks shows had a total of 22,754 attendees.
Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition
Organised by Qatar Tourism and Qatar Business Events Corporation (QBEC), the 18th Edition of Heya Arabian Fashion Exhibition opened on 12 December and ran until 17 December at the DECC. The exhibition is the leading platform for modest and contemporary Arabian fashion.
The exhibition hosted around 130 brands – from high-street fashion to haute couture, luxury modest evening gowns and abayas, as well as accessories, cosmetics and perfumes by exhibitors from the GCC, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar and Turkey.
This year’s edition also endorsed ‘fashion for a cause’, in partnership with Education Above All (EAA) and the Al Shafallah Center for Persons with Disability, showcasing designs of talented Al Shaffallah students in the exhibition.
Qatar Balloon Festival
Qatar Tourism also formed a strategic partnership with Qatar Balloon Festival which returned from 9 to 18 December at Aspire Park. The festival featured 35 hot air balloons from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Poland, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Lithuania, Estonia, and Austria.
Sports Events
The sporting highlights from the winter season revolved around Formula 1 and the FIFA Arab Cup 2021™. For the first time, Qatar hosted a Formula 1 Grand Prix, with the inaugural night race taking place at Losail International Circuit. Shortly after, the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 brought together 16 teams from across the region and provided an opportunity to both competitors and spectators to experience the iconic stadiums that will host FIFA World Cup 2022™.
The Return of Cruise Tourism
Qatar is a rapidly emerging cruise destination with a steady growth in the number of arriving ships and passengers. Mwani Qatar and Qatar Tourism announced the return of cruise tourism in the country on 2 December when MSC Virtuosa made its first voyage to Doha, bringing around 4,600 visitors. The 2021-2022 cruise season is expected to be the biggest season yet, with 78 calls expected, including 11 maiden voyages, 11 turnaround voyages and ten ships staying overnight in Doha Port.
Numerous health and safety procedures have been put in place in coordination with stakeholders to ensure the safety of the community, starting from the moment the cruise ships arrive until they depart.
Qatar National Day
Qatar Tourism launched a new song to celebrate Qatar National Day 2021 by showcasing the country’s main attractions in a music video. The song follows four young girls as they embark on a tour of Doha, while singing This is Qatar! The song was written by Hessa Alneama, performed by Hind Al Naemi and directed by Salem AlTurk. Custom attire was provided by Qatari designer, Dee Designs.
Following the stringent hygiene and safety guidelines of the Ministry of Public Health, Qatar Tourism ensures that visitors from all over the world have a safe experience, while supporting its partners from the private sector in developing a diverse and rich annual events calendar that will energise the hospitality and retail sectors, drive domestic tourism and attract regional visitors year-round.
For updates and more information check out visitqatar.qa.
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