Touted as a world-class shopping event, Shop Qatar 2020 is expected to entice more tourists to visit Qatar with its well-curated shows, unbeatable shopping promotions and attractive travel and hospitality packages.
Opening on Tuesday, the fourth edition of Shop Qatar promises 25 days of colourful celebration of the country’s retail and entertainment offerings catered to both residents and visitors to explore and enjoy Qatar’s diverse retail offering including everything from luxury malls and high-end boutique venues to themed, entertainment-rich shopping centres, as well as authentic souqs and bazaars.
“With Qatar Airways and the Qatar National Tourism Council joining hands, this year in particular we have done global promotions to bring in more tourists with some packages including airline tickets and hotel accommodation,” Salam Al Shawa, Senior Vice-President of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Qatar Airways, said yesterday at a press conference held at Al Hazm to reveal the full details of this year’s Shop Qatar.
In line with Shop Qatar, it was announced that Qatar Airways Holidays is offering fly-and-stay packages to visitors from both Oman and Kuwait which include return flights, two nights (plus breakfast) at 5, 4 and 3-star hotels, and a free shopping transfer tour.
Tourists travelling to Qatar specially for the shopping festival will enjoy seamless experience and easy access as the Ministry of the Interior (MoI) is offering visitors a more streamlined application process through its new Visa Portal through which applications will be processed within 24 hours for those identifying Shop Qatar as the reason for their visit.
“January promises to be one of the most exciting months of the year with this whole exercise of entertainment, fashion shows, master classes, and concerts. It is going to be a really world-class shopping event,” said Al Shawa, adding there are other events that will coincide with the festival such as the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2020, the 30th Doha International Book Fair and the third Aspire Lake Festival.
She added this edition of the festival “has been escalated and we have taken it to another level and hopefully every year it will be even more world-class shopping. We are trying to make it really an international event.”
Qatar Airways is one of the official Shop Qatar 2020 partners which also include the Ministry of Commerce, Katara Hospitality and The Ritz-Carlton Doha, Alfardan Automobiles-BMW, Vodafone, Qatar Television and Al Hazm.
Launched in 2016, Shop Qatar was aimed at enriching the country’s tourism offering while positioning Qatar as a major shopping destination in the region.