Tourism

Qatar opts for PPP to build beachfront tourism project

By Pramod Kumar

May 23, 2025, 7:51 AM

Qatar Tourism chairman Saad Al-Kharji said Qatar is only issuing new hotel licenses for beach, waterfront and resort properties — Qatar Tourism chairman Saad Al-Kharji said Qatar is only issuing hotel licenses for beach, waterfront and resort properties

$5.5bn resort and theme park
Target to increase FDI
Hospitality leads real estate market

The Qatari government is seeking collaboration with private companies to develop a beachfront tourism project, which will reportedly include a theme park.

The QR20 billion ($5.5 billion) Simaisma project will house the Land of Legends theme park, resorts and a golf course, Qatar Tourism chairman Saad Al-Kharji said at the Qatar Economic Forum this week.

Details of the public-private partnership scheme will be unveiled later this week.

Qatar introduced a PPP law in 2020 to support privatisation, primarily focusing on the healthcare, education and hospitality sectors.

Al-Kharji said Qatar was only issuing new hotel licenses for beach, waterfront and resort properties.

Tourism is a major target for foreign direct investment. Qatar attracted 5 million visitors in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 25 percent. The country aims to reach 6 million visitors per year by the end of the decade.

The hospitality sector emerged as the standout performer in Qatar’s real estate market in 2024, “supported by a well-structured events calendar that sustained visitor inflows”, Anum Hassan, head of research for Qatar at real estate consultancy ValuStrat, told AGBI in February.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the estimated total hospitality stock was 40,405 keys, according to Qatar Tourism, two-thirds of which were four and five-star hotels. Only 7.5 percent was classified within the one to three-star segments.

Valustrat forecast that new hotel openings are expected to add more than 3,500 keys to the market in 2025.

Al-Kharji said this week that the goal is to focus future development on high-end coastal experiences that support Qatar’s luxury tourism strategy.

Qatar has announced $1 billion in incentives to encourage local and international business investment. Under the programme, it will cover up to 40 percent of local expenses for five years.

Earlier this year Qatar passed three laws to deal with bankruptcy, PPPs and commercial registration, as part of a wider bid to attract more foreign investment.

The country is working to secure $100 billion in FDI by 2030. However, in 2024 it attracted only $2.74 billion through 241 projects.