Latest news with #UnitedNationsTourismOrganization
Tourism Breaking News
05-05-2025
- Business
- Tourism Breaking News
Qatar welcomes more than 1.5 million visitors in first quarter of 2025
Post Views: 130 Qatar's tourism sector kicked off 2025 with strong momentum, welcoming more than 1.5 million international visitors from January to March, driven by an integrated tourism strategy that combines major events, strategic partnerships and diverse tourism experiences that meet the aspirations of different visitors. Visitors from the GCC (36 per cent), followed by visitors from Europe (28 per cent) and Asia and Oceania (20 per cent) led the way, reflecting Qatar's growing position as an attractive tourist destination in regional and international markets. Visitor arrivals were distributed by air (51%), land (34%) and cruises (15%), highlighting the effectiveness of Qatar's diverse reach strategy. Eid Al Fitr 2025 recorded the highest tourist arrivals during the festive period in the past three years, with 213,500 visitors arriving over an eight-day period, an increase of 26% compared to 2024, and visitors from the GCC constituting 49% of the total visitors, recording an annual increase of 18%, while hotel occupancy reached 77%, recording an annual growth of 10%. This growth was accompanied by strong performance across the hospitality sectors, with average hotel occupancy reaching 71% and 2.6 million hotel nights sold, reflecting a significant increase in demand driven by key events such as the Qatar Web Summit, Doha Jewellery & Watches and Qatar International Food Festival. H.E. Saad bin Ali Al Kharji, President of Qatar Tourism and Chairman of Visit Qatar, said: 'The achievements of the first quarter of 2025 reflect the strength of our long-term strategic approach to developing the tourism sector. By deepening collaboration locally, regionally and internationally, we continue to diversify target markets, enhance visitor experiences, and cement Qatar's position as a vibrant year-round tourism destination. We are delighted to welcome 1.5 million visitors in the first quarter and look forward to welcoming more visitors throughout this year.' The State of Qatar affirmed its regional leadership in the tourism sector, by hosting the fifty-first meeting of the United Nations Tourism Organization Regional Committee for the Middle East, where discussions focused on harnessing Qatar's strengths in the fields of sports, innovation, and infrastructure to drive sustainable tourism regionally. As part of its commitment to responsible development, Qatar is moving forward with the project to transform Khor Al Udeid into a premium desert tourism destination, which is based on the Tourism Master Plan, combining environmental conservation with nature-inspired experiences. To enhance the visitor experience, Qatar Tourism launched the 'Taste of Qatar' initiative in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health and Ipsos, with the aim of setting benchmarks and developing the country's food scene to meet the aspirations of both residents and visitors. Major events that promote the sector and elevate the global landscape Doha Jewellery & Watches 2025 welcomed around 30,000 visitors and saw the participation of more than 500 luxury brands from Qatar and abroad. Sales of the exhibition exceeded QAR 246 million, a growth of around 10 per cent compared to last year. The first-of-its-kind Ras Brouq desert event attracted more than 55,000 visitors over 60 days, while Visit Qatar's Sealine Season attracted more than 48,000 visitors. The Qatar Shopping Festival 2025 also recorded records of more than QAR 120 million in sales, an increase of 50% over the previous year, and prizes worth QAR 2.5 million were distributed. The fourteenth edition of theQatar International Food Festival attracted more than 360,000 visitors, with the participation of 180 restaurants, including 28 international restaurants, while the 'Eat First' festival welcomed more than 100,000 visitors, in the old Doha Port. Continuous growth of cruise tourism The 2024/2025 cruise season saw 87 ships received (a growth of 19% compared to the previous season), including 5 additional ships that made their first voyages to Doha Port, and 13 departures and closings. The number of cruise visitors during this season exceeded 360,000, an increase of 4% compared to the previous season. Transfer passengers – starting or ending their journey in Qatar – accounted for more than 10 per cent of total visitors, reflecting the country's growing position as a major hub for cruise tourism in the region. Global promotional campaigns promote awareness about the destination Qatar continues to strengthen its global position in the tourism sector through a combination of media campaigns and global engagements in priority markets. In the first quarter, Qatar had a prominent presence at global platforms such as FITUR 2025, the Berlin International Travel and Tourism Exchange and the Mumbai Outbound Travel Show. In addition, Visit Qatar has strengthened its pause campaigns through media and marketing campaigns and expanded its media reach targeting key markets. Regionally, media campaigns played a pivotal role in enhancing engagement and attracting visitors, particularly from the GCC, which accounted for 36% of total international visitors in the first quarter. Three key initiatives have had a strong impact, including the 'Hala Bal Jar Al Ghali' campaign during the holy month of Ramadan, the interactive TV show 'Have fun and win', and the Eid al-Fitr campaign 'Eid Activities on Us'. These efforts have contributed to enhancing cultural communication and encouraging travel during key periods, contributing to record numbers of visitors during Eid Al Fitr 2025.
Shafaq News
10-04-2025
- Shafaq News
Balnakan: A Kurdish village shines globally (Photos)
Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, Iran announced the selection of eight villages, including one in Kurdistan province, as part of a global initiative recognizing outstanding rural destinations under the United Nations Tourism Organization's 2025 program. According to Iranian media, Seyed Mostafa Fatemi, Director of Domestic Tourism at the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts, said that the selected villages including Balnakan in Kurdistan, were based on the UN Tourism criteria for health standards, tranquility, cultural preservation, and completion of tourism infrastructure. Fatemi highlighted the religious and traditional aspects of Balnakan village in Kurdistan, noting its unique features as part of the evaluation process. He added that the selected villages secured high rankings based on cultural, historical, natural, and tourism attractiveness in previous assessment phases. The final documentation for the selected villages must be completed and submitted to the UN Tourism Organization by September 28.
Saudi Gazette
14-02-2025
- Business
- Saudi Gazette
Al-Khateeb participates in UN Tourism Regional Commission meeting in Doha
Saudi Gazette report DOHA — Saudi Arabia, represented by Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb, participated in the 51st meeting of the Regional Commission for Middle East of the United Nations Tourism Organization, which was held in the Qatari capital, Doha. Al-Khateeb pointed out that the tourism sector in Middle East has witnessed continuous growth in recent years, placing the region at the forefront of the global tourism recovery journey. He said the Middle East region received more than 95 million international tourists in 2024, recording an 11% growth over pre-pandemic levels, which indicates the unique tourism components that the region enjoys, and the sector's ability to overcome regional and international added that Saudi Arabia had contributed to this positive performance over the past year. Saudi Arabia received nearly 30 million international tourists in 2024, recording a growth rate exceeding 69%, compared to 2019, according to figures issued by the United Nations Tourism said Saudi Arabia made great efforts during its presidency of the Executive Council of the United Nations Tourism Organization to enhance the role of tourism and achieve sustainability globally.'Over the past two years, these details have been the pillars of Saudi Arabia's presidency of the Executive Council of the United Nations Tourism Organization, and today we look forward to continuing this approach, to transform the tourism sector into an engine of social and economic growth, and a starting point for building sustainable economies based on prosperity and improving the quality of life of our peoples.' Minister Al-Khateeb Arabia will host the twenty-sixth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations Tourism Organization, scheduled to be held from November 7 to 11, 2025, which is the first General Assembly to be held in the Kingdom at the United Nations level, which confirms Riyadh's pioneering role in stimulating growth and enhancing international cooperation in the tourism sector.
Tourism Breaking News
13-02-2025
- Business
- Tourism Breaking News
51st UN Tourism regional committee meeting for ME concludes in Qatar
Post Views: 78 The fifty-first meeting of the United Nations Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Regional Committee for the Middle East, hosted by Qatar Tourism, concluded in Doha and saw the participation of tourism ministers, senior officials and experts from various countries in the region, as well as the leadership of the United Nations Tourism Organization. During the meeting, they reviewed the reports of the United Nations Tourism Organization on the performance of the sector during 2024-2025, in addition to discussing future policies and plans aimed at developing sustainable tourism and enhancing regional cooperation in this vital sector. In addition to the ministerial sessions and official meetings, the 'Sports Tourism and Tourism Industry after the World Cup' conference discussed the impact of major sporting events on tourism in the Middle East, their role in the development of sustainable tourism, as well as the role of technology in enhancing the sports tourism experience. Qatar Tourism's hosting of this meeting reflects Qatar's growing position as a regional and global hub in the tourism industry, and its prominent role in advancing sustainable tourism development, in light of its successes in hosting major international events.
Iraqi News
12-02-2025
- Business
- Iraqi News
Iraq wins the position of Vice President of the Middle East Committee of UNTO
Baghdad - INA Iraq achieved a remarkable achievement today, Wednesday, by winning the position of Vice President of the Middle East Committee of the United Nations Tourism Organization. The correspondent of the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported: "Iraq participated in the fifty-first meeting of the Regional Committee for the Middle East of the United Nations Tourism Organization, in the presence of a number of Arab tourism ministers and tourism sector officials in member states." He added, "Iraq achieved a remarkable achievement by winning the position of Vice President of the Middle East Committee, in a step that reflects the progress witnessed by the Iraqi tourism sector and its growing role at the regional and international levels." He continued, "The Iraqi delegation, headed by Nasser Murad Ghanem, Chairman of the Tourism Authority, and including Jabbar Manloon Al-Gharibawi, Director General of the Department of Tourism Facilities, and Ali Yassin, Director of the International Relations Department, held intensive meetings with their counterparts from Arab countries to enhance joint cooperation in the tourism field, and presented souvenirs to the participants, including copies of the blog "Baghdad, the Capital of Arab Tourism for the year 2025", the Baghdad Tourist Guide, and carpets decorated with pictures of Iraqi historical and archaeological sites, in addition to medals bearing the logo of Baghdad, the Capital of Arab Culture and Tourism." He continued, "This achievement is an important step to enhance Iraq's position on the regional and international tourism map, especially with its preparations to host the events of "Baghdad, the Capital of Arab Tourism for the year 2025", which represents a great opportunity to highlight Iraq's rich cultural and historical heritage."
