Travelers now have easier access to a Qatar visa in a full out bid to promote tourism in the country.
Qatar’s rapid growth and development, while keeping its authenticity and heritage, has made it a popular travel destination for those who want to experience the traditional within the comfort of the modern. Obtaining a Qatar visa used to be, not to say an obstacle, a process of several procedures that people usually want to avoid when travelling for fun. To make it easier for travelers and attract more tourism to the country, the Ministry of Interior and Qatar Tourism Authority, together with 3rd parties like Qatar Airways, are constantly looking for ways to make visitors’ stay in Qatar easier.
The latest development on the road to providing foreigners with easier access to Qatar, the country will now grant air passengers with five or more hours of layover in the country a four-day transit visa, without any charge. All one have to do to obtain the transit visa, is to show proof of further travel to the immigration desk at the Hamad International Airport. They are granted to anyone, regardless of country of departure or nationality.
The transit visa is the third of its kind the Qatar Tourism Authority announced this month. The QTA announced earlier that they have launched a new set of procedures that will facilitate the entry of sea travelers docking in Doha.
The MSC Fantasia
With the new policy, passenger and crew information details on board a cruise ship headed for Qatar will be shared with the country’s immigration offices 48 hours ahead of their arrival. This way, officials will have all the information needed, as well as the time, to process transit visas ahead of time.
Qatar is anticipating the arrival of the first cruise liner with over a thousand passengers to dock on its ports this year. The MSC Fantasia will be the first large cruise ship to arrive in Qatar, in December, with some 3,900 passengers and around 1,500 crew members.
The QTA and MOI are also promoting internal tourism, encouraging people already living in the country to get out and explore everything Qatar has to offer.
In an initiative announced on the World Tourism Day, the QTA launched a nationwide competition, where residents compete for a weekend at at one of the country’s elite hotels. To enter the competition, you need to take a photograph through eight life-size frames set out across major landmarks around the country, and post them to your social media with the hashtags #WTD2016 and #ShowcaseQatar.
The competition will continue until Tuesday, October 1, so you still have time to enter the draw. Gather your friends and play tourist in your own country this weekend.
