The Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has said that the country’s easier visa facilities have started attracting more foreign tourists over the past 11 months, according to Gulf Times.

Based on QTA’s records, the number of stopover passengers entering the country has increased by 34% between January and November compared to the corresponding period in 2016.

Speaking to Gulf Times, an employee of a Moroccan restaurant estimates that around 20% of their customers now are foreign visitors, mostly from Europe and Asia.

“Previously, we got a lot of customers from the blockading countries. But this time, starting from a few weeks before the onset of winter, we’ve been receiving many people of British, Chinese, American and other nationalities who don’t live here,” she noted.

Different restaurants and coffee shops at Souq Waqif have also been getting a growing number of foreign customers.

Qatar recently received Mein Schiff 5, one of the many cruise ships scheduled to make calls at Doha Port in the 2017-18 cruise season. The German vessel can carry more than 4,000 passengers.

Qatar had recently become the most open country in the region after waiving entry visas for citizens of 80 nationalities free of charge, besides implementing an extended 96-hour transit visa for airline passengers.

The tourist e-visa facility for all nationalities is also expected to entice many visitors from different countries globally, including those from the Asia Pacific.