Qatar eyes 15% rise in Indian tourists in '18 post visa waiver

Qatar is expecting 15 per cent growth in travellers from India this year especially as the Arab country has made visa free entry for Indian nationals.

"India is our number one source market with 3,33,708 people from the sub-continent visiting Qatar in 2017. In the first quarter of this year we have already witnessed 15 per cent growth with 1,10,000 visitors from India. For the whole year we are expecting a similar growth of 15 per cent over last year," Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) chief marketing and promotion officer Rashed AlQurese told PTI here.

Qatar waived entry visa requirements for Indian citizens last year.

Indian nationals do not require any prior visa arrangements and can obtain a visa waiver upon arrival to Qatar upon presentation of a valid passport with a minimum validity of six months and a confirmed onward ticket, he said.

The waiver will be valid for 30 days from the date of issuance and entitles its holder to spend up to 30 days in Qatar, during either a single trip or on multiple trips, he added.

"We expect free visa will boost tourism in the country and encourage more people from India to visit the Arab country. Qatar is a perfect alignment of cosmopolitan sophistication and rich culture, which will interest Indian tourists," AlQurese said.

He said, Qatar is positioned an affordable premium destination for Indian target audience, where one can get value for their money.

He said, Qatar is also an easily accessible and short duration destination for Indians with 174 weekly direct flights Qatar Airways, Indigo Airlines, Jet Airways and Air India Express.

In India, AlQurese said, QTA is focusing on the leisure segment for extended weekend, fully independent travellers and family segment.

"We are also looking to tap the growing wedding and meetings, incentives, conferences, events (MICE) segment," he added.