RESERVATIONS Find a Restaurant in Your City
  • Atlanta
  • Baltimore
  • Boston
  • Chicago
  • Dallas
  • Denver
  • Houston
  • Las Vegas
  • Los Angeles
  • Miami
  • Minneapolis
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Philadelphia
  • Phoenix
  • Portland
  • San Diego
  • San Francisco Bay Area
  • Seattle
  • Washington, D.C.
Overview
The Basics
Attractions
Travel Health
Climate

City Guide

Popular City Guides

Qatar Travel Guides

Overview:

The barren peninsula of Qatar extends into the Persian Gulf, bordered on the landward end by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Its area may be very small, but the independent emirate is exceedingly wealthy, with one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, thanks to its oil and gas resources.

For most of the 20th century Qatar was a British protectorate, gaining independence in 1971, after which it became embroiled in territorial disputes with its neighbours and suffered civil strife, with the Emir being ousted by his son in a coup.

In 1989 the country started issuing tourist visas, heralding a new era of opening its doors to visitors. Tourism, despite the establishment of glitzy hotels, has still to take off in a big way, hampered as it is by the risky security situation in the Middle East. The perception still is that Qatar labours under a high threat of indiscriminate terrorist attacks against western visitors. However, with the awarding of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar, the country is in the process of overhauling these perceptions, as it prepares to invigorate its tourist infrastructure and begin to welcome foreign visitors on a mass scale.

Whether visiting Qatar for business or pleasure, most travellers use the capital Doha as their base. Formerly a quaint and busy pearl fishing village, Doha is today one of the most important cities, and a major trading centre, in the Middle East. It has a large British and American expatriate population (the Al Udeid air base was headquarters for the US invasion of Iraq in 2003), which has moulded the city into an interesting blend of eastern and western culture and architecture.

Tourists tend to spend their time on the Doha Corniche, a palm-fringed public promenade that extends for four miles (7km) along the seafront, lined with five and six-star resort hotels, restaurants, shops, beaches and recreational areas. A short boat ride from the Corniche is Palm Tree Island, a great escape full of fun family amenities and a first-cl


More about Qatar

JustLuxe.com Luxury NEWS >