Wego Champions Doha as Key Stopover for South Asia's Travellers

Qatar National Tourism Council is teaming up with global travel search engine Wego to invite outbound travellers from South Asia to stop and stay in Doha before continuing to their final destinations.

QUICK FACTS FOR THE MEDIA:

The average flight time from Malaysia and Singapore to Qatar is eight hours.

Skytrax ranked Qatar Airways as one of the best airlines in the world in 2018. The airline connects Qatar's capital city of Doha to more than 150 destinations across six continents.

Qatar is the most open country in the Middle East and the 8th most open in the world,according to the UNWTO Visa Openness Rankings.

Qatar has become one of the top ten safest countries in the world in recent years,with low crime rates making it comparable to the safety travellers would also expect to find in places like Singapore and Switzerland.

DOHA,Qatar,Jan. 16,2019 -- Earlier today,Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC) announced a new partnership with award-winning travel search engine Wego to attract 225 million travellers from 15 countries to choose Doha as a stopover destination for two or three days before continuing on to their final destinations. The two organisations are putting a strong emphasis on travellers from South Asia,as 37 million of the target visitors hail from Singapore and Malaysia.

Wego Champions Doha as Key Stopover for South Asia's Travellers

"Many Singaporeans and Malaysians are flying with Qatar Airways and stopping in Doha when heading further West. Our partnership with Wego aims to encourage the transit passengers to venture out of the airport and add Doha as a stopover destination on their itinerary," explains Rashed AlQurese,Chief Marketing and Promotion Officer at QNTC. "Partnering with Wego as one of the top travel aggregators in Singapore and Malaysia,QNTC aims to drive even more tourism arrivals into Qatar from this region."

"Doha shows significant potential in terms of likely interest from South Asia's travellers," says Wego Co-founder Craig Hewett. "Compared to other similar destinations in the region,Qatar offers authentic experiences that celebrate the country's rich heritage and fascinating culture. Doha is home to a variety of top-ranked restaurants,cultural tours,museums,shopping experiences and more. We believe it could be the best travel spot in the Middle East and outbound travellers from Singapore and Malaysia should get to know this place,especially if they're booking on Qatar Airways."

Hewettadded,"We are thrilled to partner with QNTC to help international travellers book passage to their final destinations by stopping over in Doha first. This will surely become a valuable piece of the puzzle when booking on Wego."

According to one of the most recent reports by hospitality and travel data provider Olery,Qatar continues to improve its hospitality ranking,rising to the top of the list of Middle East destinations. In Qatar,hotel rooms ranked high,receiving a score of 8.9 out of 9. This puts the country at the top of the chart. Qatar also received high marks in the rankings of cuisine (8.9),service (8.9) and facilities (8.5).

Reportsindicate that Qatar has become one of the top ten safest countries in the world in recent years,with low crime rates making it comparable to the safety travellers would also expect to find in places like Singapore and Switzerland.

Qatar is also the most open country in the Middle East and the 8th most open in the world,according to the UNWTO Visa Openness Rankings. Qatar Airways connects Doha to more than 150 destinations across six continents and Hamad International Airport holds the 2018 title of 'Best Airport in the Middle East' from Skytrax. The nation ranks first in healthcare in the Middle East and number one in the Arab world in terms of environmental and sustainable policy.

About Wego

Founded in 2005,Wego is headquartered in Dubai and Singapore with regional operations in Bangalore and Jakarta. The company provides award winning travel search websites and top ranked mobile apps for travellers in Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Wego harnesses powerful yet simple-to-use technology that automates the process of searching and comparing hundreds of airlines,hotels and online travel agencies. It lets shoppers quickly find the best deals and places to book,be it through an airline or hotel directly or via a third party aggregator.

About Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC)

Qatar National Tourism Council's mission is to firmly establish Qatar on the global map as a place where cultural authenticity meets modernity,and where people of the world come together to experience unique offerings in culture,sports,business and family entertainment.

QNTC's work is guided by the Qatar National Tourism Sector Strategy (QNTSS),which seeks to diversify the country's tourism offering and increase the sector's contribution to Qatar's economy by 2030. In 2017,the Next Chapter of QNTSS was launched,charting the next five years (2018-2023) of the tourism sector's growth.

In 2018,QNTC launched the country's first global integrated campaign under the tagline: 'Qatar. Qurated for you.' Curating requires professional and expert knowledge to select,organise and present unique experiences. As such,the 'Qurated' campaign plays on the word's definition. It uses the destination brand's iconic Q to underscore the country's focus on delivering visitor-centric experiences.

Since launching QNTSS,Qatar has welcomed over 10 million visitors. The economic impact of the tourism sector in Qatar is becoming increasingly visible with 2016 estimates showing a total (direct and indirect) contribution to Qatar's GDP of 6.7% (www.visitqatar.qa).

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