When I think about Qatar’s connection to the sport, then Qatar Airlines’ & Qatar Foundation‘s FC Barcelona sponsorship comes to my mind. Unlike in the UAE, Qatar has only one serious golf course the Doha Golf Club.
This makes hard to turn the country into an ideal golf tourism destination. The ‘regular’ leisure travel spending generated only 30.1% of direct Travel & Tourism GDP in 2013 (QAR11.1bn). In 2014 the share of direct contribution of Travel & Tourism’s to the GDP was: 1.8%. It is really marginal.
Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) although admits that in spite of the impressive 13.5% growth in the past 5 years, tourism is in its early stages of development. The country attracted more than 2.8 million visitors in 2014.
In this situation would like to change the developers of the Qatar International Golf Club (a member of Qatar Foundation). The new golf club will be in the heart of Qatar’s Education City, Doha, have been unveiled today in Shanghai at the Golf Business Forum.
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The project comprises an 18-hole championship golf course, an innovative 6-hole championship course, a 9-hole par-3 course all designed by two-time major winner Jose Maria Olazabal. In addition to these golf courses, golfers will find also:
- High-tech driving range and practice facilities,
- A center of excellence,
- Public park.
An interesting service of the Qatar International Golf Club is the female-centric practice facilities to be able to attract more Muslim women. By the way, if we are talking about female golfers, it would be great to know what will they offer to women to feel welcomed, respected and comfortable.
Fortunately, it seems to me that they take sustainability seriously. Since the beginning they are cooperating with the Golf Environment Organization, GEO to achieve a sustainable and eco-friendly golf course.
To become a real golf tourism destination, Qatar should build additional golf courses and to be able to compete with golf clubs of the region: Abu Dhabi, Dubai or Ajman.