Manama: Flexible rules and regulations should be introduced to promote tourism in Qatar, a local daily has said.

“The most important thing Qatar needs to promote tourism is flexibility in rules and regulations,” Khalid Al Sayed, the editor-in-chief of The Peninsula, wrote in his editorial on Tuesday.

“Since these rules are not made by the tourism authority, there is a need for close coordination between various departments and ministries. How will tourism grow if foreigners cannot get visas to visit the country, if small operators cannot open businesses in this sector due to the huge capital required and if the Ministry of Economy and Commerce and Municipality have strict rules? Is it possible to organise exhibitions here without overcoming lots of restrictions and regulations? These are the real issues Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) needs to address,” he said.

On Sunday, QTA Chairman Isa Al Mohannadi said that $45 billion would be spent to develop tourism in Qatar as part of the National Tourism Strategy 2030.

“We do not have the details of how this $45 billion will be spent,” Al Sayed said. “There is no doubt this amount can build a lot of infrastructure but I do not think what we need is projects.”

“We have huge conferences and other events on a regular basis where the government and public sector companies are spending millions of dollars to bring delegations and for their five-star accommodation. Does this generate revenue?

So let us think of improving the system before spending millions of dollars. We must all open our hearts and minds and listen to others instead of just focusing on buildings and infrastructure. Tourism is more about human being than numbers and buildings.”

In his speech at the launch of the National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030, Al Mohannadi said that the impact of tourism on the country’s GDP is to double by 2030, to reach 5.1 per cent, up from the current 2.6 per cent to 5.1 per cent. The number of visitors should jump from 1.2 million in 2012 to 7 million in 2030.

Qatar will be hosting the handball world championships in January 2015 and the football world cup finals in 2022.

Both global events, to be organised for the first time in the Arabian Gulf country, will largely boost the numbers of visitors.

Around $140 billion are expected to be spent ahead of the football World Cup on infrastructure and construction projects that include several stadiums, a new airport, roads, railways and bridges interconnected by subsea tunnels.