What Qatar Tourism does

Qatar Tourism (operating as Visit Qatar) is the official government tourism authority of the State of Qatar, responsible for planning, regulating, and promoting tourism at the national level. Headquartered in Doha with 51-100 employees, the organization serves international tourists, travel trade professionals, business event organizers, and domestic tourism businesses requiring licensing and certification. It is fully owned by the State of Qatar, aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030, and was previously known as the Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC).

The organization's core platform comprises the Visit Qatar website (qatartourism.com) and Visit Qatar mobile app for destination information and itinerary planning; the Hayya Platform for digital visa and entry-permit processing (originally built for the FIFA World Cup and now operating as the central entry system); an E-services portal handling tourism business licensing, Holiday Homes registration, and legislation dissemination; and the Qatar Calendar Widget for third-party event-listings integration. Certification and workforce programs include Qatar Clean (hygiene standards), the Service Excellence Academy, Qatar Experience (light vehicle transport training), Beach Expert Training, the tiered Tour Guide Training Programme Series, and the Qatar Specialist Programme for travel trade. Sub-brands span Qatar Host, Taste of Qatar (culinary tourism), and the Qatar Tourism Awards, which is co-run with UN Tourism.

As a government authority rather than a commercial entity, Qatar Tourism does not sell directly to consumers — visitor-facing digital services are free, and monetization comes from licensing fees on tourism businesses, Holiday Homes registration, and state appropriations. Distribution runs through digital self-serve channels, an international network of overseas offices targeting key source markets, the Hamad International Airport and Doha Port as physical gateways, a 106 tourism hotline, and a Travel Trade Platform serving tour operators and destination management companies. Notable commercial relationships include MSC Cruises, Mwani Qatar, the Saudi Tourism Authority, UN Tourism, Qatar Youth Hostels, and Qatar Museums.

Name

Qatar Tourism

Legal name

Visit Qatar

Website

https://qatartourism.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Qatar Tourism (Visit Qatar) is the State of Qatar's official government tourism authority, responsible for promoting, regulating, and licensing the country's tourism sector. It serves international visitors, travel trade professionals, business event organizers, and tourism businesses through digital platforms, licensing services, and workforce development programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

National Tourism Organization / Destination Marketing Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591)

akta.pro primary industry

Tourism Trade & Services Exports Development (BPADAMAO)

Keywords

• Destination marketing services
• Tourism licensing portal
• Visa processing platform
• Travel trade resources
• Hospitality training programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Doha

HQ country

Qatar

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Qatar Tourism is the official national tourism organization of the State of Qatar, responsible for promoting Qatar as a destination, regulating and licensing tourism businesses, processing visitor visas via the Hayya Platform, and delivering workforce training and sector recognition programs (including the Qatar Tourism Awards, Service Excellence Academy, and Tour Guide Training). It operates the Visit Qatar website, mobile app, and Travel Trade Platform as primary service channels.

Product overview

Qatar Tourism operates a multi-channel platform serving as Qatar's official tourism organization. The core offering is the Visit Qatar website (qatartourism.com) and Visit Qatar mobile app, which provide comprehensive destination information, itinerary planning, and event discovery. The Hayya Platform handles digital visa and entry permit services. Supporting services include the E-services portal for business licensing, Qatar Clean certification for hygiene standards, and multiple training programs under the Service Excellence Academy (including Qatar Experience, Beach Expert Training, and the Tour Guide Training Programme Series). The Travel Trade Platform serves industry professionals with sales resources, the Qatar Specialist Programme, and the Venue Finder tool. The Qatar Calendar Widget enables event listings to be embedded externally, while the Visit Qatar Toolkit provides marketing assets. The Qatar Tourism Awards recognizes sector excellence in partnership with UN Tourism. Taste of Qatar represents the culinary tourism sub-brand. These products collectively form a tourism management ecosystem spanning visitor services, industry training, business licensing, and destination promotion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Qatar Clean: Initiative launched to ensure maximum safety for all travellers and residents.
• Qatar Host
• Qatar Experience
• Taste of Qatar
• Qatar Tourism Awards

Products and services

• Visit Qatar Website Official tourism website and portal for Qatar, providing destination information, travel planning tools, itinerary builders, event calendars, and booking resources for international visitors. Available in English and Arabic.
• Hayya Platform Digital platform for visa applications, travel authorizations, and entry permits for tourism, business, and other purposes, reducing border processing delays for international travelers.
• Visit Qatar Mobile App Mobile application for iPhone and Android providing on-the-go access to Qatar tourism information, things to do, attractions, and trip planning tools for travelers.
• E-Services Portal Electronic licensing and service portal enabling businesses, event-organizing entities, hotels, and other tourism stakeholders to access relevant services digitally.
• Qatar Clean Certification Certification initiative launched to ensure maximum safety for all travelers and residents through hygiene and cleanliness standards for tourism establishments.
• Service Excellence Academy Specialist training program for tourism industry professionals, developing skills to create memorable experiences in Qatar's tourism and hospitality sector.
• Qatar Tourism Awards Annual awards program recognizing excellence across Qatar's tourism and hospitality sector, developed in partnership with UN Tourism and evaluated by an international panel of experts.
• Qatar Specialist Programme Training program cultivating Qatar travel expertise for travel trade professionals, providing insider knowledge, skills, and credentials to elevate trade offerings.
• Tour Guide Training Programme Series Workforce development initiative with tiered pathways including youth camps (ages 8-12), youth programme (ages 13-17), and professional licensing for adults, with successful participants receiving official tour guide licenses.
• Travel Trade Platform Dedicated platform for travel industry professionals providing exclusive insights, sales resources, trade events calendar, and access to the Qatar Specialist Programme.
• Holiday Homes Licensing Service Licensing and management service for holiday home accommodations in Qatar, enabling property owners and operators to register and operate legally.
• Venue Finder Tool and service for finding and booking suitable venues for business events, conferences, exhibitions, and meetings in Qatar's top-tier infrastructure.
• Qatar Calendar Widget Embeddable digital widget allowing external websites to display Qatar's comprehensive listing of events, festivals, exhibitions, and international conferences.
• Visit Qatar Toolkit Asset and resource toolkit for partners and travel trade professionals to showcase Qatar's attractions and experiences to their customers.
• Taste of Qatar Culinary tourism initiative showcasing Qatar's food culture, dining experiences, and culinary attractions to visitors.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• UN TourismcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026Partnership for Qatar Tourism Awards programme, now in its fourth edition. UN Tourism collaboration brings international credibility and methodology expertise to Qatar's tourism development framework. The initiative has attracted interest from European and GCC nations seeking to replicate Qatar's approach.
• Croatia (via UN Tourism)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026Croatia has requested insights into Qatar's tourism development methodology, demonstrating international interest in replicating Qatar's successful framework. Croatia is one of several European nations seeking to learn from Qatar's approach.
• Qatar Youth HostelscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2026Partnership for Tour Guide Training Programme Series targeting citizens and residents across multiple age groups. Fourth consecutive year of collaboration offering tiered pathways including youth camps (ages 8-12), youth programme (ages 13-17), and professional licensing for adults (18+).
• Qatar MuseumscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2026Partnership for Tour Guide Training Programme Series aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030's Human Development pillar. Collaboration enables comprehensive training for tour guide professional licensing.
• Qatar-Azerbaijan Joint Business CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 November 2025First meeting held in Doha co-chaired by Qatar Chamber Board Member Dr. Mohammed bin Jawhar Al-Mohammed and KOBİA Chairman Orkhan Mammadov. Council aims to strengthen economic ties and explore cooperation across sectors including tourism, technology, agriculture, energy, logistics, and food industries.
• Saudi Tourism AuthorityflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 9 November 2025Strategic MOU signed on November 9, 2025, to enhance tourism sectors through cooperation in promotion and collaboration. High-level officials participated in the signing ceremony focused on developing international tourism efforts and sharing best practices between the two Gulf nations.
• Mwani QatarcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 November 2025Mwani Qatar manages The Terminal at Doha Port where cruise operations are conducted. Port facilities have been developed to support cruise tourism growth, hosting MSC Cruises vessels for the 2025/26 season.
• MSC CruisescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 November 2025MSC Cruises operates MSC Euribia for Qatar's 2025/26 cruise season, making 22 scheduled calls at Doha Port until May 2026. Partnership positions Qatar as a prime cruise destination in the Gulf region.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Tourism New Zealand: New Zealand's national tourism organization, a government-funded body responsible for international marketing and trade engagement. Comparable mandate of destination promotion, trade training programs, and digital platform operation.
• VisitBritain: The British tourist authority, a state-funded national body promoting inbound tourism to the UK. Comparable in operating overseas marketing offices, running trade engagement programs, and leveraging digital content platforms.
• Brand USA: The United States' national destination marketing organization. Closest functional analog as a public-private national tourism promotion entity focused on inbound visitor attraction, international trade engagement, and destination branding.
• Saudi Tourism Authority: Saudi Arabia's official national tourism authority responsible for promoting the Kingdom as a destination under Vision 2030. Closest functional peer: a state-owned tourism marketing and development body targeting similar Gulf and international source markets, with whom Qatar Tourism signed an MOU in November 2025.
• Visit Bahrain: Bahrain's official tourism promotion authority under the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority. Comparable scope as a Gulf national tourism body with licensing, marketing, and event functions, operating in the same region.
• Visit Dubai (Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism): Dubai's official tourism body, also a government entity promoting the emirate internationally and supporting trade/events. Closest competitor in the Gulf for visitor share, mega-events, and aviation-hub tourism.
• Singapore Tourism Board: Singapore's statutory board for tourism development, promotion, and regulation. Highly comparable as a small geography maximizing visitor value through regulated licensing, event attraction, and digital destination services.
• Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi's government authority overseeing tourism promotion, cultural heritage, and sector regulation. Highly comparable mandate — licensing, destination marketing, event attraction — operating in the same Gulf competitive set.

Others

• UN Tourism (UNWTO): The United Nations World Tourism Organization, a strategic partner of Qatar Tourism on the Qatar Tourism Awards. Included as an adjacent ecosystem organization rather than a competitor; relevant for benchmarking methodologies and international standards adoption.

Regional players

• Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (Oman): Oman's government tourism authority, a regional peer promoting inbound tourism in the Gulf. Comparable in scope as a national tourism body targeting culture, nature, and heritage tourism, though smaller in scale than Qatar.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/qatartourismqa
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/QatarTourism
• Facebookfacebook.com/VisitQatar
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/qatartourism
• Instagraminstagram.com/visitqatar/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Qatar Tourism