QTA promotes local traditions and customs in Kuwait
Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), along with the Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Heritage, Qatar Museum Authority, and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy 2022, represented the State of Qatar in the fifth edition of the Gulf Heritage Village Festival in Kuwait.
The festival is being held every year in Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Cultural and Heritage Village, which aims to preserve the Gulf heritage by hosting relevant competitions and exhibitions.
Spanning over thousands of kilometres, the village is a unique site having its own cultural and historical characteristics.
It features historic museums, competitions and awards, entertainment shows, old popular bazaars, children games, and restaurants and cafes.
An artificial lake was built inside the village to highlight the marine heritage of the people in the Gulf. Camel riding and old car shows are among the activities offered by the village.
Heritage competitions are being organized on a daily basis in the village’s outskirts under the patronage of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait, including camel, falcon, horse, bird, and goat competitions. Winners in these competitions are awarded with valuable prizes.
The Gulf’s National Heritage Festival aims to enhance the Gulf/Khaleeji heritage. A stand space for every GCC country, including Qatar, was established in the village allowing these states to showcase their local arts and popular heritage.
In addition to antiquities, handicrafts, and folk art, the Heritage Festival hosts horse and camel races, falcon competitions, archery contests, and other popular competitions.
"QTA is participating in the Gulf’s Fifth Heritage Festival as part of its endeavour to promote Qatar as a world tourism destination with deep cultural roots, particularly that QTA believes that heritage plays a key role in preserving the national identity by helping to improve the state of both individuals and community," said Rashed Al Qurese, Chief Marketing & Promotions Officer of QTA.
"Through its participation in this event, QTA also seeks to stress the importance of formulating a unified tourism strategy for the GCC countries, as well as activating initiatives aimed to deepening the cooperation among GCC countries in tourism-related activities."
By taking part in this event, QTA seeks to introduce Qatar's traditions and authentic hospitality to festival visitors thus promoting Qatar as an international tourism destination that takes pride in its culture and heritage roots.
In October 2014, QTA participated in the First Constituent Meeting of the GCC Tourism Ministers Committee, during which an independent unit to promote inter-Gulf tourism was established. The ministers then stressed the importance of adopting a unified Gulf tourism strategy and activating tourism integration initiatives.
QTA seeks to promote the tourism sector in Qatar in various ways, including the opening of new representative offices in key tourism markets.
Within this context, QTA recently opened two offices in Jeddah and Riyadh to expand its promotional activities in the GCC countries.
Figures QTA recently released showed that the tourism industry in Qatar continued to grow in 2014, benefitting from new investment and promotion.
Key indicators of the tourism sector demonstrated improvement and growth from the previous year.
Qatar hosted more than 2.8 million visitors in 2014, with 40% of them coming from the GCC countries. Since 2009, the number of international visitors to Qatar increased by 91%, with a yearly average increase of 13.9%.
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