Creative industries tourism in qatar: economy diversification through arts and heritage development

Purpose - The objective of the research is to analyze both policy and practice in creative industry development in the State of Qatar for the purposes of economic diversification.Methodology - Policy documents of major government stakeholders, the author s direct professional experience with Qatar Tourist Authority activities, and a literature review including non-peer-reviewed grey literature (newspapers and websites) on creative industry development in Qatar were consulted.Findings - Heavily reliant on a resource-based export economy (oil and gas), the Qatar Tourism Authority, Qatar Museums Authority, and Qatar Foundation for Science and Community Development as part of the National Vision Strategy 2030 have all embarked on a multi-pronged developmental plan to establish and foster both traditional native creative industries such as calligraphy and handicrafts and intangible heritage activities (desert Bedouin encounters) as well as modern industries such as film, book production and translation, and fine arts. With few internationally recognized tourist attractions outside of the Museum of Islamic Art, Education City, and Souq Waqif, Qatar s tourism industry has struggled to define its overall vision.Contribution - This contribution adds to the evidence base of both successful and unsuccessful projects designed by resource-rich developing nations to diversify economic activity through creative arts tourism as a means of servicing both the business and leisure travel sectors.