Qatar agrees first big tourism data and analytics partnership with Vodafone

The Gulf state will work to improve its visitor experience as it prepares to host the Fifa World Cup in 2022

Vodafone and Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC) are to work together on big data and analytics to realise the Gulf state’s tourism ambitions.

A Memorandum of Understanding will see Vodafone’s Big Data and Advanced Analytics solution implemented by Qatar.

It is the first time Vodafone Qatar has provided an external organisation with its own internal big data solution, tailored to their needs.

Qatar is gearing up to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup and sees tourism as a vital to diversifying is economy and “building bridges” with the wider world.

QNTC’s chief operating offer Berthold Trenkel said: “Vodafone’s Big Data and Advanced Analytics solution will complement our own business intelligence platform, giving QNTC unique insights into tourists’ behaviour, including visitation patterns and trends by nationality and traveller type.

“Through this data, we can learn where visitors like to go, when, how long they spend at a particular site and their preferred itineraries.

“By harnessing such data, we can identify opportunities to improve the ways that we promote Qatar and its rich attractions, ultimately increasing visitor satisfaction and driving growth for the whole tourism sector.”

QNTC said it wanted partner that could provide deep insights into tourist behaviour.

Vodafone will deliver real-time, anonymised, aggregated data, compliant with Qatar regulations and global best practice.

The platform works by analysing and aggregating telecommunications data based on user geolocation.

QNTC said it will be able to segment tourist data with a level of detail previously unattainable, to understand the different types of tourists that visit Qatar and how they choose to enjoy their stay.

These insights will help QNTC support tourist attractions and service providers as they look to diversify to increase visitor numbers and ensure guests have the best experience.

Vodafone Qatar chief operating officer Diego Camberos said: “We are delighted that QNTC will be the first organisation to avail our Big Data and Advanced Analytics offering in Qatar.

“By sharing the technology and expertise in digital innovation that we have built up over a number of years, we can fast track delivering organisations’ needs in this area, which is far more cost-effective than having to build these technological tools on their own.

“This will be the first of many examples of how Vodafone Qatar can assist private and governmental entities to use the immense opportunities of Big Data to accelerate their digital transformation.”

Prior to the pandemic, Qatar tourism was seeing impressive growth with over two million visitors recorded in 2019.

The sector is estimated to represent a total contribution of 10.4% and an estimated direct contribution of 5.2% to Qatar’s non-oil-related GDP.