The Qatar Summer Festival (QSF) 2016 kicked off yesterday with an array of entertainment activities, games and rides at the Entertainment City, Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC), welcoming a large number of visitors.
Mascots wearing unique and colourful costumes, as well as groups of entertainers, greeted the visitors with traditional performances at the opening of the Entertainment City.
The QTA-organised event brings families and children to the 29,000sq m venue in West Bay, nearly twice the size of the previous City last year.
Cultural performances such as the Qatari sword dance and the sound of traditional musical instruments also welcomed the crowd in the well-lit City followed by a series of shows on stage inside the hall.
“We thought we will not have lots of guests for the opening but we were surprised in a good way as lots of people came to the DECC,” said QTA’s Festivals and Tourism Events director Mashal Shahbik who joined other QTA officials at the festival opening.
“I think they are waiting for the Entertainment City to open and we hope they will enjoy and not go out disappointed,” she said.
Shahbik expects the number of visitors to increase from 200,000 last year, citing a bigger venue with 11 zones that offer numerous indoor entertainment activities until August 31.
The first day of the festival saw several children lining up at water rides, video games, interactive and life-size games, and thrill rides while parents enjoyed a variety of dishes in the food court.
Participating malls and other venues such as The Pearl-Qatar also started welcoming visitors with sales and shopping promotions, which give residents and visitors a chance to win major prizes at weekly draws such as Jaguar cars and cash.
A shopper gets one raffle coupon for every purchase worth QR200 at Lagoona, Landmark, Gulf, Ezdan, Al Khor, Hyatt Plaza, City Center Doha and Dar Al Salam malls, as well as The Pearl-Qatar.
QTA has set up dedicated zones at malls for children who want to take part in art and drawing activities for this year’s “Colour Your Summer” theme.
Shahbik said the number of participating hotels and hotel apartments has doubled this year compared to the previous festival.
“From the figures you will see that we had a good campaign last year, and this year we are building on the success and hopefully next year we’ll have more,” she added.
These establishments are offering various promotions for residents and visitors who book using the festival’s code ‘QSF2016’.
Guests are entitled to offers such as pay for two nights, stay for three at hotels, and pay for five nights, stay for six at hotel apartments.
Besides free daily breakfast, they can also request for a late check-out until 5pm and free transport to and from Hamad International Airport.
Children can eat for free when accompanied by parents (maximum of three children per family).
The annual festival aims to showcase Qatar as a family destination and boost the hospitality and retail sectors during the summer, according to QTA.