22 Apr 2018 – 8:59
The Peninsula
DOHA: Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Qunar.com, a Chinese online travel information provider and search engine, to promote Qatar as a tourism destination in China.
Rashed AlQurese, Chief Marketing & Promotion Officer at QTA and Yongcan Son, Overseas Business Director at Qunar.com signed the MoU on the sidelines of the China Outbound Travel & Tourism Market (COTTM) which recently concluded in Beijing.
QTA’s signing with Qunar.com marks the second big deal QTA seals in Beijing this COTTM. It comes as part of a host of web-based promotions and marketing activities to complement QTA’s on-the-ground efforts in China.
QTA’s other web-based promotional activities in China included the launch of the destination e-learning tool, Tawashin Mandarin as well as going live with Qatar destination promotion campaigns which have gone live on Sina Weibo and WeChat.
QTA has three representative offices in China. Thanks to the promotional efforts spearheaded by the offices, as well as visa-free entry for Chinese citizens, which was introduced in August, supplemented by daily Qatar Airways flights to six destinations in mainland China, Qatar has already significantly increased its share of Chinese tourists.
The first quarter of 2018 saw a 27% increase in Chinese visitor arrivals compared to the same period last year. Data analysis also shows that China is Qatar’s fastest growing source market.
