The Historic City of Doha in Qatar; Tourism as a Catalyst for a Sustainable Urban Regeneration

Heritage and tourism have become during the last two decades dynamic areas of development in the world. The idea of heritage is crucial to the critical decision-making process as to how irreplaceable resources are to be utilized by people of the present or conserved for future generations. In view of the importance of ‘heritage’ to the development of a tourist destination the emphasis on developing appropriate adaptive reuse strategies cannot be overemphasized. In October 1999, the 12th general assembly of the ICOMOS in Mexico stated, that in the context of sustainable development, two interrelated issues need urgent attention, cultural tourism and historic towns and cities. These two issues underscore the fact that historic resources are non-renewable, belonging to all of humanity. Without adequate adaptive reuse actions to ensure a sustainable future for these historic resources, may lead to their complete vanishing. According to the World Tourism Organization, natural and cultural heritage resources are and will remain motivating factors for travel in the near future. According to the experts, people choose travel destinations where they can learn about traditional and distinct cultures in their historic context. This paper focuses on the role of heritage tourism and its implications for urban regeneration in the context of Old Doha. Therefore, in order to use heritage wisely, it will be necessary to position heritage as an essential element of sustainability and resilience in a global environment, giving particular attention to heritage tourism. The research methodology is based on the case study approach. The Souk Waqif urban regeneration project in old Doha will be explored. A thorough onsite investigation will be carried out though observation and formal and informal discussions with the local and global tourists. The findings of this research is to propose an appropriate strategy for cultural heritage tourism in Doha and Qatar.