Jan. 19--CALL FOR MORE HOTELS IN DOHA: To accommodate the projected growth in visitor traffic, the Qatar Tourism and Exhibition Authority said the capacity of hotels in Qatar needs to increase from the current 4,300 rooms to 29,000 rooms by 2012. The country anticipates an increased number of tourists to the city to experience its cultural sites and sports events.

OMAN ISSUES VISA RENEWAL POLICY: From this month, hoteliers and travel and tour operators will be responsible for repatriating visa changers who get stranded on the UAE-Oman borders of Al Buraimi and Khasab. This is a new policy introduced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Oman.

FOUR SEASONS DOHA WINS ACCOLADE: The Four Seasons Hotel Doha has recently been named second Best Hotel in the entire Middle East and Africa region by the Gallivanter's Guide Readers Awards. The hotel's spa was also named as the third Best Spa worldwide. The Conde Nast traveler magazine has also placed the hotel on the Gold List of Hotels for 2009.

OVER 1.5M TOURISTS VISITED SHARJAH IN 2008: The UAE emirate of Sharjah received 1.53 million tourists in 2008, up from 1.45 million the previous year, a five percent increase, the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority has reported. This increase in tourism pushed the overall occupancy in Sharjah's hotels to 86 percent in 2008, up from 85 percent in 2007.

DUBAI ATTRACTS MORE ASIAN TOURISTS: According to new figures from the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), tourists from Asian countries such as India and Iran are patronising Dubai hotels in growing numbers, while Europeans still dominate the registers, THe National has reported. Figures showed there is 11 percent increase of Asian tourists compared to the previous year. The report added that the number of Arab visitors from the GCC has declined by 15 percent.

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