The flourishing tourism between Qatar and Germany has got a further boost with rise of cruise tourism. Every year cruise ships bring around 30,000 German tourists to Qatari shores.
The emerging cruise tourism in Qatar is complementing the already strong flow of tourists between the two countries. Around 60,000 people from Qatar visit Germany annually.
“We have about 30,000 cruise ship visitors per year now from Germany. Cruise ships have mostly German passengers on board who are coming from October to April,” Hans-Udo Muzel, Ambassador of Germany to Qatar told The Peninsula. “Every week a German ship is passing by, and the ship has around 2,500-3,000 people. Qatar is a hub for business for health travel, pleasure and tourism,” he added.
The cruise season 2019/2020 has begun in October. Arrival of German mega ship, Mein Schiff 5 at Doha Port’s new cruise passenger terminal on October 22 marked the beginning of the new season. A total of 3,350 visitors arrived aboard German luxury ship who were accorded a grand welcome at the port. Cruise tourism has added new dimension to tourism sector of both countries.
“Cruise tourism is a big boost to tourism between Qatar and Germany. Most of the cruise ships are either from Italian cruise lines or German cruise lines,” Daniel Schemske, Deputy Head of Mission, at the Embassy of Germany, said. Tourist inflow in the country is likely to increase further helped by measures taken by government and other stakeholders in Qatar’s growing tourism sector.
“Qatar has done a lot over the past years in terms of strengthening its tourism facilities and infrastructure. A lot of new amazing sites have been created. The National Museum of Qatar, Katara and Souq Waqif are wonderful places, Msheireb is very interesting example for smart city, which is an amazing site as well,” Schemske said. “Tourism will become more and more important in Qatari economy. We at the embassy try to provide platform for travel agencies to meet, do business and bring more tourists from Germany to Qatar,” he added.
Air connectivity between Qatar and Germany is very strong. Qatar Airways has 35 flights per week from Doha to Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart.
The newly opened temporary terminal in Doha Port will support the country’s strategy to develop cruise tourism. Cruise passengers transiting through Doha Port’s new temporary terminal will experience the same level of services and facilities as Hamad International Airport including seamless immigration and customs, foreign exchange, taxi and bus stands, Duty Free Shops, café , waiting areas for cruise passengers and staff as well as city tours and other tourist information services.
