Research Report: Sustainable Tourism Development in Qatar - UK College

This report provides an overview of sustainable tourism development in Qatar. It begins by defining sustainable tourism and its importance, emphasizing its role in balancing economic growth with environmental and cultural preservation. The report includes a leaflet on Qatar's sustainable tourism initiatives, highlighting eco-friendly locations such as Villagia Mall, Doha Corniche, and the Museum of Islamic Art. It also discusses various approaches to tourism planning and development in Qatar, advocating for an integrated and interactive approach. The report further examines the environmental impact assessment process, emphasizing the need for careful analysis and mitigation strategies. Finally, it concludes with a discussion of sustainable tourism strategies, including community involvement and responsible marketing. The document is contributed by a student to be published on the website Desklib which provides all the necessary AI based study tools for students.

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Sustainable Tourism Development
Unit 7
Level 5
Unit Code D60/1/1746
Unit Type: Core
Name of Course Moderator: Dr Joanna Volgaropoulou
UK College
Research Report
Name of Student
Date of Submission
Word Count: 4500
Content Page

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Title Page 1
Table of Contents 2
Introduction 3
Task 1 3
Task 2 8
Task 3 12
Task 4 12
Task 5 14
Conclusion 17
References 18
Introduction
It is the form of tourism that maintains a balance between the tourism business, the
environment, the economic, social and cultural aspects of developing tourism for

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revenues in a location. Sustainability is important because it is the method by which
the biodiversity of the tourist location is preserved. The purpose of sustainability in
tourism is to ensure that the natural reserves and the local culture are preserved for
the future generations even as it is used for economic purposes by the current
generations to increase an employment for the area and for the local ecosystems
that have to be preserved. What sustainable tourism does is to help to maintain the
biodiversity, increase the employment opportunities of local people, bring an inflow of
revenues to the local economy and develop sustainable measures for the local
environment. It also provides the funds necessary for the preservation of the natural
habitat of the local life forms in the area. Sustainable tourism helps to educate the
tourists and the local communities about reserving the natural environment, and
natural habitats of different life forms while understanding the importance of
preserving the natural resources of the local environment. It brings in an inflow of
earning and has a low impact on the environment even as visitors come and go from
the location. It can be said to be a type of tourism that meets the present day needs
of tourists which is why they travel to the locations and also manages the host
environment creating more opportunities for sustainable tourism for the future.
Sustainable tourism helps to retain the advantages of economic and social
progression while lowering the negative impact on the natural, historical and tourist
attraction environment. It balances the needs of tourists with the needs of the tourist
environment. When tourism is sustainable the impact is neither negative not is it
permanent and can be reversed if the impact is negative. (GDRC,2018)
Task 1: Leaflet on Qatar Sustainable Tourism
Qatar Sustainable Tourism
Modern Qatar

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Qatar has entered with a competitive advantage in the 21st century. It no longer is
only a member of the oil producing states of the Middle East. The leadership of Qatar
is progressive and has a vision for the progress and the prosperity of the country.
One of the most important priorities of Qatar today is sustainable tourism. Innovative
capabilities have been developed Qatar has been modernized economically, socially,
in sports and in tourism. More and more people are encouraged to visit Qatar for a
social and a cultural exchange between peoples.
Qatar Image
This is a well known publication that shows the stages of progress that Qatar has
made by planning its own path to modern times. IT records the history of Qatar from
the time it was a region of pearl fisher and Bedouin tribes roaming the deserts. While
preserving the cultural and the historical heritage of the country Qatar is one of the
modern states that have made strides in liberalization and gross domestic happiness.
Sustainable Tourist Locations in Qatar

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Some of the sustainable tourist locations in Qatar that have been developed and
which are eco friendly are: Villagia Mall, Doha Corniche, Museum of Islamic Art,
Souq Waqif and Katara Cultural Village. The images are given below to show the
care with which the tourist locations have been made sustainable.

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Qatar has a large tourism industry. From 1989 foreigners were permitted to travel to
Qatar to visit the country. It opened up Qatar and its rich local culture for the global
tourists to experience. Doha is the capital of Qatar. Doha has also been modernized
keeping the natural environment intact. It is one of the major tourist attractions in
Qatar. There are mainly sustainable locations to visit in Qatar but some of the top
sustainable locations of Qatar are described below.(Qatar Gov,2018)

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The first sustainable tourist spot is the Golden Mosque it is a marvel as a piece of
architecture that does not deplete the natural environment in any way despite the
millions of people who visit it every year. It is a traditional minaret mosque and the
people are encouraged to visit to understand the ancient architecture of Qatar which
is considered to be a part of historical Islamic art. Qatar’s per capita income is one of
the highest in the world which provides a large budget for architecture sustainable
tourism efforts and infrastructure development. The country’s prosperity can be seen
by the way that the country treats each tourist as a valued guest in Qatar and makes
it a lavish and enjoyable stay for them which encourage many to return to Qatar with
families and children to enjoy the lavishness and luxury for short vacations.
It is advisable to go for a tourist vacation to Qatar through travel guide as need to
arrange the vehicles, food and the camel rides inc areas where vehicles still cannot
ply. There are sand dunes in their natural surroundings which is an added attraction
of tourist just the way they were in ancient Qatar.
Al Ruwais is another attraction which is a city in the Qatar peninsula. It has a natural
view of the peninsula which has been left untouched. There is a small fishing village
which has been there from time immemorial and the local dhow boats are still in use.
There are Al Jassiya carvings which every tourist needs to see in Al Ruwais. There is
a collection of 900 petroglyphs in Al Ruwais which is a major tourist attraction. These
carvings are 250 years old and were closed to tourists but the Government has
understood the worth of knowledge being shared and it is open for visitors who visit
Qatar as tourists or archaeological educators and researchers.
Another important tourist attraction is Al Wakra which is between Doha and Um Said.
Al Wakra is also a small fishing village but it has recently developed from the inflow of
tourism revenues into an established town. The town is full of historical mosques,
museums, beaches and is a perfect place for a vacation. The Al Wakra museum is
considered to be one of the best in Qatar.
Al Zubarah is one of the oldest locations in Qatar. It is in the north west of Qatar and
is about a 107 miles from Doha. It is a gulf location and the houses are made of mud
and mortar. This is the traditional Qatari house with limestone added. The houses are
coral styled in Al Zubarah and do not get washed away in the rain.( Canavan,2014)

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Task 2: Different Approaches to Tourism Planning and Development in Qatar
When tourism is planned there are specific goals that have to be set and the
methods have to be determined by which the objectives of the planning will be
achieved. There are various types of approaches that are used in sustainable tourism
planning such as:
 Integrated approach
 Interactive approach
 Collaborative Approach
 Bottoms Up Approach
 Boosterism
The types of tourism planning and development that have been in used in Qatar so
far are:
 Product-market Options
 System Approach
The success of the tourism planning was measured in terms of the economic impact
that the planning had achieved in the tourism sector. If the economic impact was
positive then the tourism planning has been a success. It is only when the tourism
focus in Qatar changed to sustainable truism that the social and the cultural heritage
impact was also measured.
Illustration (1) Tourism Planning, Source: Angelfire, n.d
The four stages of planning that should be used by Qatar are shown below:
Nature: in this initial stage Qatar needs to set the objectives for planning sustainable
tourism in the country.

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Approach: The approach needs to be selected in the second stage where an
interactive approach would suit Qatar in which collaboration with overseas tourist
partners is forged.
Implementation of the Plan: While implementing the plan the different aspects that
need to be implemented one after another are segregating different types of tourists,
using system components, the type of market it is targeting and the products that it
will offer and strategic options that will be sued to make the planning a success.
Outputs: The outputs of the plan will be the collaboration with the communities, and
partners.
Outcomes: The measurement of the impact of truism planning in Qatar should be
done by measuring the impact socially, economically and environmentally.
(GDRC,2018)
The nature of planning and development in sustainable tourism planning is to
achieve the goals and the objectives of the plan. It is mainly concerned with the
anticipating the changes in the tourism industry globally and the changes in
regulations so that the promotion of sustainable tourism can be done smoothly in a
systematic manner. The purpose is to create an orderly sequence of stages by which
the plan can be implemented.
Good planning will generate income, employment and make sure that the resources
are preserved for future use. In Qatar it is important to revitalize the tourism sector
not for revenues but for activity in the region where more people will visit Qatar. The
tourism plan has to be aligned to the total development plan of Qatar where the total
resources can be measured and planned. The local conditions and means need to
met first before the destination is marketed overseas and to neighboring countries.
When tourism is developed it needs to start by taking the local government and the
central government into consultation along with the public and private sector
collaborations. It is a developmental option that is the responsibility of the
government at the center, and the local government. The development objectives
have to be communicated to all levels of government and a clear understanding must
be created before the implementation of the plan can start.( Larsen,Guiver,2013)
The consensus for planning and implementation must be achieved at the national,
regional and the local government levels. The aims of the plan should include:
 Employment Opportunities
 Economic diversification of earnings
 Public Sector support Redevelopment of locations

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 Conservation of locations
 Recreational Opportunities
The 2 main objectives for Qatar in planning sustainable tourism should be:
 The distribution of activity in the tourism sector
 Increase in the tourism expenditure and earning
The purpose is to increase the economy of the country by ensuring that the tourists
have the spending power to spend in the country because of the types of tourist
attractions that are available for the visitors.(Malhado et al,2014)
In studying the approaches that would be suitable for Qatar boosterism is not suitable
as it not provide any sustainable solution for tourism. The type of tourism planning
that Qatar should initiate is a supply oriented tourism that is sustainable, it deals with
the construction of infrastructure for the tourism sector which already exists, the
satisfy the need and the means of tourists the facilities need to be improved based
on feedback. It should be based on the principle of market demand orientation where
the focus is on the number of tourists that will visit.
An interactive approach with the systems approach will be best suited for Qatar’s
sustainable tourism. The components of the system approach need to be separated
which will lower the level of complexity while planning and implementation. Illustration
(2) shows the complexities of the planning and the implementation including the
types of environmental issues that need to be taken into account.(Mycoo,2014)

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Illustration (2) The different types of environment in tourism, Source: Angelfire, n.d
The internal environment is made up of:
 Policy
 Planning
 Marketing
 Organizing
 Financial
 Human variables
The outer environment is made up of:
 Economic conditions
 Natural conditions of the destination
 Social conditions
 Cultural environment
 Technological environment
 Competing destinations
The operating environment which is what manages the tourism sector in Qatar
should be made up of:
 The tourists
 The supply chain
 Capital
 Labor
 Land
 Technology Power
 Materials
 Competitors
The macro-environment according to illustration (2) is made up of:
 Socio cultural conditions
 Macro economic conditions
 Global political conditions
 Technology variables at a macro level
 Geographical variables at a macro level
For any type of tourism strategy to be successful the community participation, the
participation of the local government is essential. Both need to be involved if the
tourism measures planned and implemented are to be a success and the decision
making processes should include the community and the local government levels.

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Tourist impacts can only be measured if the community agrees to make a local
location a tourism spot and if the local governments are willing to provide the facilities
and the amenities to the tourists. The measurements can only be taken to see if the
implementation of the tourism plans has been successful is when the economic,
environment and the social impact measures can be monitored and analyzed.
(Oohalata,2013)
Task 3: Presentation
Qatar has been taken tourism seriously since foreigners were allowed to enter
Qatar in 1989 as a result the tourism sector has flourished and drawn many people
from different parts of the world to the owners of Qatar.