JEDDAH, 20 December 2002 — Saudi Arabian and other GCC residents with a valid iqama (residence permit) and those holding transit visas for Oman or Doha can now get their entry visas for Qatar on arrival.
“This does not apply to certain categories of expat workers including housemaids and laborers,” a top Qatari official said here on Wednesday night.
“Aside from these, nationals of 33 countries from Europe, South America, North America and Asia” can have their entry visas on arrival,” Ibrahim Yousuf Fakhroo, project manager of Qatar’s General Tourism Authority told reporters during a presentation on Qatar’s upcoming 21-day winter festival.
Dubbed “Ayyam wa layali carnival” (a carnival with a difference), the event is scheduled from Jan. 23 to Feb. 14. Fakhroo clarified that nationals traveling from the Indian Subcontinent have to obtain their entry visas in advance.
Fakhroo said the state’s first winter festival in which many countries would participate follow its successful inaugural summer festival in which visitors spent a whopping SR130 million. The first weekend of the summer festival was marked by entry of more than 2,000 people in 600 automobiles from the Kingdom, and the visitor turnout was up to 90,000 each day and exceeded 200,000 on the concluding day, he added.
Some 600 shops participated in the summer festival offering attractive discounts, he said, and hoped that the upcoming festival would have the participation of a similar number of shops and visitors.
Idrees M. Abdulmalik, district sales manager of Qatar Airways for the Western Province, said the airline offered package deals for the carnival. A package including return tickets from Jeddah and a three-day stay in a hotel in Doha with bed and breakfast would cost SR1,700.
The carnival will have activities for the whole family. Visitors can take a ride in a hot air balloon and get an aerial view of Qatar.
The balloons will be launched from near the Inter.Continental Hotel, Doha. A jazz festival on the Corniche, children’s fun fair, Arabic songs from leading artists including Mohammed Abdul, Ahlam and Ragheb Alame, an open air beach cinema screening latest Hollywood blockbusters, a cultural village depicting handicrafts and artifacts from various countries, and puppet and fashion shows are among the attractions. Qatar International Tennis Open at the Tennis Stadium and the Qatar Open Golf Tournament are also being staged during the event. Other sports attractions include bowling, cycling, football and weight lifting.
