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Qatar

60 hotels available for quarantine in Qatar as 85,000 people book for return in March

Published: 23 Mar 2021 - 04:25 pm | Last Updated: 01 Nov 2021 - 09:27 am
Photo by Abdul Basit © The Peninsula

Photo by Abdul Basit © The Peninsula

The Peninsula

Doha: Discover Qatar (DQ) continues to ensure returning travellers to Qatar are quarantined in a safe environment having taken bookings in March for 85,000 guests in 60 hotels and Mekaines locations. The monthly number of returning guests is more than double the number who quarantined in November as additional available quarantine facilities become available. 

“While capacity continues to grow, guests are recommended to book early to secure the property and budget of their choice,” a press statement said. 

“The stringent hotel quarantine requirements continue to protect Qatar and its residents while relieving the burden on medical staff and facilities by safeguarding against any COVID outbreaks. The flexible model of quarantine without the need for a hard border closure has assisted the local economy by allowing daily life to continue while taking sensible precautions,” it added. 

Discover Qatar’s Welcome Home hotel quarantine package prices start from QR 2,300. Included are three meals per day on a full board basis, a PCR test and one way transfers from HIA on arrival. Guests can choose from over 60 hotels that suit their budget across three, four and five star properties while two and three bedroom villas are available for larger families. This compares favourably to other countries where no hotel choice is available, or the pricing is fixed. Mekaines packages start from QR 1,820 and include a mobile phone with a sim card, Wi-Fi, full board and new bedding for every arrival. 

The Discover Qatar call centre now has over 55 dedicated Arabic speakers, increasing to 95 in early April, all providing 24/7 support while the Arabic version of the Discover Qatar website is undergoing final trials and is expected to be completed in April. 

Refunds are also being swiftly handled with almost 13,000 Welcome Home refunds with a value of $12m processed so far and only a small number being validated with the hotels to confirm eligibility still pending. Close to 50,000 Mekaines refunds have been processed to the value of $11m with any outstanding requests due to be fully actioned by early April. 

According to Qatar’s travel and return policy, people coming from the green list countries are required to undergo home quarantine while those arriving from countries not mentioned in the green list must undergo hotel quarantine. Quarantine packages have to be purchased from the Discover Qatar website and the list of countries is updated periodically and is available on the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) website. The MoPH had also recently announced that fully vaccinated citizens and residents of Qatar are now exempt from quarantine requirements after travel abroad for a period of six months. 

Qatar Airways currently operates more than 950 weekly flights to over 130 destinations across the globe. Many cities will be served with a strong schedule with daily or more frequencies.