In preparation for the soft opening of Hamad International Airport – Qatar’s brand new airport on 1st April 2013 – a series of advanced passenger trials have been taking place at the new facility. More than 1,000 men, women and children have gone through the trials to test the operations of passenger facilities from check-in and immigration to aircraft boarding and arrivals.

Continuing Qatar’s current period of development in the lead up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Souq Waqif Boutique Hotels is a new collection of six five star hotels, has opened in Qatar’s capital city Doha. The hotels are situated within the Souq Waqif, a popular tourist attraction and the only traditional Souq remaining in the Gulf.

Qatar is fast becoming one of the world’s most renowned sporting destinations, playing host to recent guests Manchester United who swapped icy UK temperatures to train in the sun at Doha’s Aspire Academy this week. Manchester United flew to Doha shortly after their draw against Tottenham to prepare for Saturday’s FA cup fourth round match against Fulham.

The Qatar National Convention Centre, which was named Middle East’s Leading Exhibition & Convention Centre by the World Travel Awards 2012, has just celebrated its first anniversary in the company of Heads of State and delegations attending the United Nations Conference on Climate Change.

The subsidiary of Qatari sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority is taking a 20% stake in Heathrow operator BAA in a £900 million deal which will further diversify its interests in infrastructure.

Qatar has recorded one of its strongest years yet in terms of visitor numbers, with travellers from the Gulf Cooperation Council region pushing strong hotel occupancy rates, according to new statistics released by the Qatar Tourism Authority. The year 2011 saw a massive jump in the number of visitors from the gulf GCC region, with 50 per cent more than the previous year.