Qatar Tourism and Visit Qatar commenced their participation at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2025, one of the region’s premier travel and tourism events, by announcing two major developments on the opening day.
In a significant boost to Qatar’s cruise tourism segment, Qatar Tourism, in partnership with Celestyal Cruises, announced the dual-ship deployment of the MS Celestyal Journey and the MS Celestyal Discovery for the Winter 2025 cruise season.
The announcement was made in the presence of Eng. Abdulaziz Ali Al-Mawlawi, CEO of Visit Qatar, Mr. Omar Al Jaber, Chief of Tourism Development Sector, Mr. Chris Theophilides, CEO of Celestyal Cruises.
As part of this partnership, the MS Celestyal Journey will operate its cruises across the Arabian Gulf with Doha serving as its main homeport, while the MS Celestyal Discovery will make regular calls at Doha Port as part of its regional itineraries. Together, the two ships are expected to bring more than 25 calls and over 40,000 visitors to Doha during the upcoming season.
This expansion builds on the success of Celestyal’s previous season, which saw over 14,000 passengers arrive in Qatar’s capital, and marks a major step in growing Qatar’s stature as a premier cruise hub in the region.
In addition, Visit Qatar signed a MoU with Huawei, the multinational technology corporation. The agreement, signed by Eng. Abdulaziz Ali Al-Mawlawi, CEO of Visit Qatar, and Mr. Bin Li (Bruce), President of Huawei, will see both entities collaborate on an integrated marketing strategy targeting GCC countries, China, and Europe.
Huawei will provide access to its Digital Marketing Platform to support data-driven tourism planning, alongside delivering a comprehensive 360-degree visitor engagement experience through Harmony Atomic Cards, Huawei Wallet, Petal Maps, and AI-powered travel tools. The partnership builds on the successful launch of the Visit Qatar HarmonyOS Atomic Service and underlines a shared vision to foster smart, sustainable tourism in Qatar.
These announcements underscore Qatar’s strategic approach to diversifying its tourism portfolio, leveraging innovation, strategic partnerships, and market expansion to position the country as a leading tourism destination in the Middle East.
