Qatar has ambitious plans to become the Middle East’s upmarket cultural destination and a budget to match. Leisa Tyler reports
Has there ever been a rags to riches tale like this? In the late 1970s Qatar was considered one of the poorest nations in the world. The tiny thumb-like peninsula poking out of Saudi Arabia’s gut largely relied on fishing and pearling for its meagre income until the 1930s, when Japanese cultured-pearls flooded the market and sent Qatar’s economy into an unstoppable nosedive.
Although home to significant oil fields and a vast pocket of natural gas, Qatar made little of its potential prosperity until the years following independence from the British Protectorate in 1971. Within two generations the country has transformed its fortunes on the back of its natural resources, now having one of the highest per capita incomes in the world.
It has also emerged as one of the most liberal and forward thinking states in the Arab world. Although still strictly Muslim (alcohol is banned and relationships between non-married couples are strictly prohibited), Qatar’s current emir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in the UK and has fostered cordial relations with the West.
His government is currently spending $130 billion on making Doha the centre for knowledge and research in the region. Much has already been accomplished, Doha’s Education City, for example is a 1,000-hectare site hosting outpost campuses of a number of Western universities and a $5.7 billion state-of-the-art medical research centre; not bad for a country that only built its first school in 1952. The emir has also funded the al Jazeera satellite TV network, helping to revolutionise media coverage across the Arab world, and introduced the Doha Debates – where major world figures discuss topics relevant to the world today. A recent example focused on the question of whether or not torture of prisoners should ever be condoned.
But Qatar has even bigger, plans for itself; plans involving a place as the World’s next major tourism destination.
This ambition is brought home to me with a bump as I find myself approaching a near-vertical sand dune at high speed. ‘My grandfather lived in this desert in a tent and rode camels,’ shouts Imad Nasr over the thumping beats of P. Diddy before flattening the accelerator of his week-old Nissan 4WD and driving straight up the dune. ‘But don’t worry,’ he adds, as we reach the top and slide back down, ‘My generation, we learned how to drive cars instead.’
The ever-confident Nasr, P. Diddy and I are heading to Khor Al Udeid, an inland sea snuggled between Saudi Arabia and Qatar and whose attractions are part of a package offered by Gulf Adventures – a newly opened travel agency offering tours of Qatar’s sites. Khor Al Udeid is impressive – surrounded by towering sand dunes that on the Saudi side give way to the cragged peaks of sunburnt mountains – no wonder it is one of the country’s biggest tourist attractions. ‘Weekends are so crowded you can barely find a space to park,’ says Nasr. I believe him, although the day we visit ours is the only car.
Nobody lives at Khor Al Udeid now, although there are a few relics of the fishing villages that once dotted the nearby shores. There are also no roads, and the only way to get here is in a 4WD vehicle.
The site has been nominated for a Unesco World Heritage listing, and the Qatari authorities are hoping such an accolade will help kick-start its nascent – bordering on non-existent – tourism industry.
Khor Al Udeid excepted, Qatar is rather short on attractions. It lacks the buzz of nearby Dubai, the monuments of Iran or Syria, the nightlife of Lebanon or the coastline of Oman. In fact, it lacks almost anything to occupy visitors for more than a day or two.
The government intends to change all that. It has allocated $15 billion towards tourism alone, and has devised a plan to help make this one of the Gulf’s most desirable locations.
Recently reopened after being completely rebuilt, Souk Waqif is Qatar’s other main tourist attraction. The bazaar, atmospheric with rammed earth walls and winding alleyways is jammed with curios, spices, sheesha cafes and even a couple of falcon shops, selling birds prized by Bedouins for their hunting prowess.
More ambitious still, however, are Qatar’s plans to create high-end cultural attractions. Top of the list is the long-anticipated Museum of Islamic Art, designed by Cantonese-born IM Pei – impressively perched on the edge of the city’s sweeping Corniche. It will soon be joined by another three attractions, including the Photography Museum by Spain’s Santiago Calatrava, the futuristic National Library by Arata Isozaki, and the completely redeveloped National Museum, where historical and geological objects will be on show.
Those culture-seeking visitors will touch down at a state-of-the-art new airport, scheduled to be complete by 2015. Specifically designed to handle the new Airbus A380, the terminal will have an annual carrying capacity of 50 million people and rival Singapore’s Changi with retail and leisure facilities. Then, of course, there is Qatar Airways – the most tangible evidence of the emirate’s grand plans. Just 10 years ago the airline had a fleet of four aircraft, now it has 57 and annual growth of 35-40 per cent. It is also extremely well-regarded by passengers, offering some of the best incentives for business and first-class passengers, including a dedicated terminal at Doha’s Airport.
The immense facilities built for the 2006 Doha Asian Games are being converted into sporting facilities for the public, including the transformation of one of the venues into a massive entertainment centre.
Then there are the hotels, with currently more than 40 five-star properties under construction. On the list are a W, a second Four Seasons, Hilton, Shangri-La and Renaissance. Ritz Carlton recently opened its second property in the city. Sharq Village is an opulent resort and spa that takes its inspiration from a traditional Qatari village and is a destination in itself. Hyatt is close behind, currently building a similar property at the West Bay.
And there is more. Qatari Diar’s Lusail development will cover 35sq km of waterfront and will house 200,000 people in considerable luxury, with golf courses, spas, parks and a marina on their doorsteps. The Pearl Qatar, meanwhile, is a man-made island currently under construction off the coast of Doha Bay. When finished, the 400-hectare island, that from above looks like some sort of prehistoric fish, will contain 7,600 homes, three luxury hotels, several shopping complexes and four marinas. Further up the coastline, flanking an undeveloped stretch of beach, the North Beach Resort will host 10 resort hotels, two golf courses and 3,000 villas.
Doha is a seemingly endless construction site and the city is being transformed at an almost unbelievable speed with around 90 skyscrapers currently under construction.
The question remains, though, will people come? Raki Phillips, an American expat living in Qatar, probably sums up many visitors’ feelings when he says: ‘Most people who come to Qatar are probably not going to be planning to come back particularly rapidly.’
There is a gameplan to change all that, as Jan Poul de Boer, a Dutch national and acting CEO of the Qatar Tourism Authority, explains. ‘Qatar doesn’t need tourism, but it wants tourism,’ he says. ‘The government wants to diversify its investments, and integrate Qatar into the international community.’
Not just any tourists will do, however. The aim is to focus on niche markets: sport, conferences and stop-over leisure tour-ists; sophisticated travellers who will not expect the country to compromise on its ethics.
‘This is an Islamic country with Islamic values. If not being able to get a drink outside their hotel puts people off, then so be it,’ says de Boer. ‘Qatar isn’t a poor country and it really doesn’t need to water down its ideals and values just to make a few pennies.’
Nearby Dubai has proved how quickly a place can go from having virtually no tourists to becoming an internationally recognised destination. Doha could do the same, but, adds de Boer, the intention is not to become Dubai MkII.
‘We’re not striving to be like Dubai.
We realise we don’t have the scenery of other destinations so are limited in what we can offer. We don’t mind that. Our aim is to push ourselves higher, to offer something a bit classier. We want to be seen as the Switzerland of the East, not a place that is one size fits all.’
How to get there
Qatar Airways operates regular flights
www.qatarairways.com
More on developments
Lusail
www.qataridiar.com
Pearl-Qatar
www.thepearlqatar.com
Qatar Tourism
www.qatarembassy.net
Where to stay
Ritz Carlton Sharq Village
www.ritzcarlton.com
Millennium Doha
www.millenniumhotels.com
