Foreign tourist arrivals to Qatar soaring, reveals top hotelier

Ritz-Carlton, Doha general manager Carlo Javakhia (3rd from left) with some of his team members. PICTURE:Shaji Kayamkulam

Doha has been attracting an increasing number of foreign visitors as several tourism destinations started witnessing a recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, a leading hotelier said. "In many countries, we see already that tourism is back to 2019 levels and Doha is getting traction in international markets, and we can see that based on our bookings that we are getting as well," Ritz-Carlton, Doha general manager Carlo Javakhia explained. “We see new bookings from Germany, the UK, and from different markets for leisure purposes,” he told a recent media briefing to mark the hotel’s 20th anniversary scheduled Wednesday.The Ritz-Carlton, Doha is a five-star, Katara Hospitality-owned property in West Bay Lagoon, and features the largest chandelier in the Middle East Ritz-Carlton, Doha is a five-star, Katara Hospitality-owned property in West Bay Lagoon, and features the largest chandelier in the Middle East. The Viennese Baakowitz chandelier located at the hotel’s lobby was assembled by three people within a week’s time. With over 2,000 individual crystals, it is 7.5m in height, 3.5m in diameter and weighs 1.2 metric tonnes. The hotel hosts a total of 264 chandeliers throughout its premises. Javakhia noted that Ritz-Carlton, Doha has been awarded the VIP hotel for the FIFA Arab Cup, set to take place from November 30 to December 18 in Qatar. “We're in close partnership with FIFA and with local authorities and we understand as a hotel, as a brand, what exactly the high-end clientele needs, and we are always on our toes, that is one of the reasons why we are the primary choice when it comes to VIP delegations,” he said. Javakhia cited the collaboration between Qatar Tourism, Qatar Airways, and Discover Qatar, saying it has put the country on the map as a destination “and we see results coming very positive”. “We have clients who are just coming to celebrate their wedding anniversary and spend seven, eight to 10 days and 10 nights in Doha. They truly come for leisure so people understand in international markets that Qatar as a country can offer more than they knew in the past." He underlined the key role that the Hamad International Airport (HIA) plays in attracting foreign visitors saying that the country “has all the required infrastructure in order to grow the tourism sector”.