- Transit visa stay in Qatar extended from 48 to 96 hours.
- Qatar Ministry of Interior, Qatar Airways and Qatar Tourism Authority combine to make the change.
The Qatar Ministry of Interior, Qatar Airways and Qatar Tourism Authority have combined to expand free transit visa stays in Qatar from 48 hours to 96 hours.
The rule change means that the 30m annual Qatar Airways passengers can now far more effectively plan a stopover in the Middle Eastern country.
The rule change is a clear bid to improve the nation as a destination rather than merely a stopover for those in transit.
The new transit visa structure now allows passengers, with a minimum transit time of five hours in Hamad International Airport, to stay in Qatar for up to 96 hours without the requirement to apply ahead of time for an entry visa.
The change is directed at helping to improve the local economy through an influx of spending from those travellers who may have previously spent just one night in the airport prior to flying on to another destination.
The Qatar transit visa is free of charge and available and issued at the sole discretion of the Ministry of Interior.
Qatar Airways Group chief executive, His Excellency Mr Akbar Al Baker, said: “Qatar Airways serves millions of people from around the world as they journey across our network of more than 150 destinations.
“Whether travelling for business or leisure, we want to enrich the journey of all of our passengers and are restructuring our fares to reflect this initiative and to promote stopovers to travellers.
“We are excited to offer our passengers the opportunity to taste the cultural highlights that the city of Doha and the State of Qatar have to offer.
“We are thankful to the Ministry of Interior and the Qatar Tourism Authority for helping us to create a journey that includes discovering Qatar, an experience that will stay in their hearts and minds forever.”
The development, announced on the eve of World Tourism Day (September 27), is the third in a series of enhancements that Qatar has made to facilitate entry into the country for visitors.
It follows on from two other key decisions to make travel in Qatar easier: firstly, a process to quicken the entry of tourists arriving on board cruise ships; secondly, an agreement with VFS Global, which will see the development of a new, faster and more transparent tourist visa application mechanism.
UNWTO secretary-general Taleb Rifai said: “Promoting visa facilitation is a priority for tourism development worldwide and a key element in the competitiveness of tourism destinations.
“We congratulate Qatar for announcing, very auspiciously on the occasion of the World Tourism Day, a new milestone change in the country’s transit visa scheme.
“This is the third significant travel facilitation announcement from Qatar in the space of just one month.
“We are very pleased to see that the work conducted by UNWTO with Qatar on visa facilitation is yielding results and trust that these will certainly result in an increase of visitors to Qatar.”