The cruise tourism sector of Qatar has got a quantum boost with Doha coming up last week as a turnaround port. It was a significant occasion when on Wednesday, Costa Diadema, the fleet flagship of important Italian company Costa Cruises, docked at Doha Port for the first time, marking the first of 16 turnaround calls that the Dream-class cruise liner will make during the 2019-20 season.
Now from Doha, visitors can start and end their journey and have the opportunity to enjoy the five-star airline of Qatar and award-winning hospitality. The arrival of Costa Diadema comes after an agreement signed in September 2018 between QNTC and Costa Cruises to develop cruise tourism in Qatar. With a capacity of 4,974 passengers and over 1,200 crew members, Costa Diadema is the newest addition to the fleet of Costa Cruises introduced in 2014 and is the largest vessel flying an Italian flag at present.
Qatar has numerous advantages that make it a perfect turnaround cruise hub. The huge network of Qatar Airways over 160 destinations all over the world provides visitors numerous options to suit the cruise itinerary. For instance, last Wednesday, passengers from seven destinations in six European countries arrived in Doha in the morning on board flights landing within a span of less than two hours. Also, they enjoyed a speedy immigration system at the five-star Hamad International Airport. Running equivalent to the cruise season is a thrilling winter calendar of events featuring FIFA Club World Cup 2019 matches, music concerts by global artistes and numerous retail, travel and hospitality promotions that the cruise passengers will be able to enjoy during their stay in Qatar.
Tags: cruise tourism, Doha
