Qatar is one of the fastest growing countries in the field of tourism. According to the World Tourism rankings, more than 2.3 million international tourists visited Qatar in 2017. Qatar has become one of the most open countries in the Middle East due to its recent visa facilitation improvements, including allowing nationals of 88 countries to enter visa-free and free-of charge. [1]
Popular tourist attractions in Qatar include the following:
Doha
Al Rayyan
Zubarah, also referred to as Al Zubarah or Az Zubarah, is a ruined, ancient town located on the northwestern coast of the Qatar peninsula in the Al Shamal municipality, about 65 miles or 105 kilometres from the capital Doha. It was founded by Shaikh Muhammed bin Khalifa, the founder father of Al Khalifa royal family of Bahrain, the principal Utub tribe in the first half of the eighteenth century. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.
Tourism in Bahrain: Bahrain receives four million tourists a year. Most visitors are from Arab states of the Persian Gulf but there are an increasing number of tourists from outside the region.
Al Shamal is a municipality in the state of Qatar. Its seat is called Madinat ash Shamal and it is considered to be one of the major cities in Qatar, although the population is barely over 7,000. The seat's name translates to "city of the north".
Lusail is the second-largest city in Qatar after Doha, and the economic capital of Qatar, located on the coast, in the southern part of the municipality of Al Daayen. Lusail lies about 23 kilometres (14 mi) north of the Doha city centre, just north of the West Bay Lagoon, on over 38 square kilometres (15 sq mi) and will eventually have the infrastructure to accommodate 450,000 people. Of these 450,000 people, it is estimated that there will be 250,000 or fewer residents, 190,000 office workers and 60,000 retail workers.
Umm Salal Mohammed is a town in the municipality of Umm Salal in Qatar. The town has numerous farms, wells and a large water reservoir which is filled during the rainy season.
Since the early 2000s, Doha, the capital of Qatar has been undergoing an extensive expansion in its transportation network including the addition of new highways, the construction of a new airport, and the addition of the Doha metro. These projects are meant to keep up with the population's rapid growth, which has strained the country's current infrastructure.
Al Khor is a coastal city in northeast Qatar, located 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of the capital Doha. Considered one of Qatar's largest cities, it is the capital city of the municipality of Al Khor and Al Thakhira. Dating back to the 18th century, it is one of Qatar's oldest settlements. The name of the city, meaning creek in Arabic, emerged because the original settlement was built on a creek. Until the mid-1900s, it was known as Khor Al Shaqiq.
Al Khor, officially Al Khor and Al Thakhira, is a municipality in northeastern Qatar. Al Khor City, the municipal seat, is located on the northeast coast of Qatar, around 50 kilometres from the capital, Doha and is considered to be one of the major cities in Qatar. Al Thakhira is the second most significant settlement in the municipality after Al Khor City.
Protected areas of Qatar include:
Qatar Museums was founded in 2005 and is a Qatari government entity that oversees the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, MIA Park, QM Gallery at the Katara Cultural Village, ALRIWAQ DOHA Exhibition Space, the Al Zubarah World Heritage Site Visitor Centre, and archaeological projects throughout Qatar, as well as the development of future projects and museums that will highlight its collections across multiple areas of activity including Orientalist art, photography, sports, children's education, and wildlife conservation.
Barzan Towers, also known as the Umm Salal Mohammed Fort Towers, are watchtowers that were built in the late 19th century and renovated in 1910 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Jassim Al Thani. They are located at the southern side of the defensive system established at the end of the 19th century and start of the 20th century to protect the 'rawdat', a valley where precious rainwater is collected when it flows down from higher ground. In Arabic "barzan" means "high place".
Al Koot Fort most commonly known as the Doha Fort, is a historical military fortress located in the heart of Doha, Qatar's capital city. It was built in 1927 by Sheikh Abdulla bin Qassim Al Thani, better known as Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, who ruled Qatar from 1913 until 1949, after Sheikh Mohammed bin Jassim Al Thani, Sheikh Abdullah's brother, abdicated in favor of him. The fort was later converted into a museum.
Al Zubara Fort (Arabic: حصن الزبارة), also known as Fort Zubara(h), Zubara(h) Fort, Al Zubarah Fort, or Az Zubara(h) Fort, is a historic Qatari military fortress built under the oversight of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani in 1938.
Archaeology of Qatar as a field study began in 1956. Three major expeditions were carried out in Qatar throughout the mid-20th century, with the first being launched by a Danish team who began work in the 1950s. This was followed by British and French expeditions in 1970s and 1980s, respectively. Approximately 200 archaeological sites were discovered during these expeditions, with the most extensive being the coastal areas of Al Da'asa, Ras Abrouq and Al Khor Island. Artifacts such as flint tools, Ubaid and Barbar pottery and encampments were found on site.
Ras Abrouq is the northernmost extension of the Zekreet Peninsula, a stretch of land to the north of Dukhan in Qatar. It has a beach of the same name and various archaeological sites. Since the 21st century it has functioned as a tourist site.
Qatar is a peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, facing mainland Saudi Arabia to the south and surrounded elsewhere by the Persian Gulf. A strait separates Qatar from the island kingdom of Bahrain.
The flora of Qatar includes more than 300 species of wild plants. Qatar occupies a small desert peninsula that is around 80 km from east to west and 160 km from north to south. The climate is hot and humid with sporadic rain. Majority of the country is flat with an annual rainfall average of less than 3 inches. Arnebia hispidissim blooms yellow flowers annually in sandy soil. Glossonema edule has edible fruits with brownish-yellow flowers.
Zekreet is a village in north-western Qatar near Dukhan and about 80 km (50 mi) north-west west of Doha. Originally a sparsely populated area, Zekreet was built up in the 1940s after oil operations commenced in Qatar. This included the construction of a harbor for oil equipment and some small houses which eventually developed into a village. There are several visitor attractions and old ruins at the site including the Zekreet Fort, which is housed to the immediate north of the village.