Qatar Tourism (QT) has opened its first representative office in Tehran, the capital of Iran.
The office is QT’s 13th global opening, and will lead “various promotional activities, including tour operator partnerships, travel agent destination training, media visits and campaigns”, the tourism authority said in a statement.
Both countries follow Islamic calendars and have synced holiday seasons, allowing visitors from Iran to travel to Doha. More so, there are weekly direct flights from the Iranian cities of Tehran, Mashhad, Shiraz, and Isfahan to Doha, facilitating travel. Qatar could also serve as a stopover retreat for Iranian travellers set to continue to farther destinations.
The Persian Gulf country aims to attract over six million international visitors annually by 2030. The tourism authority’s office in Iran is the latest addition to its international network of rep offices worldwide, spanning from markets such as Australia, India and China to the US.
Chief operating officer of Qatar Tourism, Berthold Trenkel, said: “Qatar Tourism’s choice in the location of its latest office opening is a testament to the decades-long cultural and trade ties between the two countries. Iran is one of 15 target markets identified by Qatar Tourism as a primary source for tourists looking to relax, rejuvenate and soak in some culture.
“Opening a representative office in Iran will help support Qatar Tourism’s strategic goals to increase the number of visitors to Qatar by threefold, increase spending by 3 to 4 times, and grow the GDP contribution of the tourism sector to 12 per cent by 2030.”