Qatar is aiming to attract six million visitors annually by 2030, and experts say that developing a stronger digital tourism media presence is essential to achieving this target. Moza Abdulaziz al-Ishaq, a media personality and writer, has highlighted the need for tourism storytelling to move beyond traditional promotional methods and become a core element of the country’s digital strategy.

In a recent interview, al-Ishaq emphasized that Qatar’s technological advancements and growing position in the global market make destination storytelling a crucial factor in capturing tourist attention. She advocated for closer collaboration between specialised journalists and artificial intelligence (AI) tools, underscoring that AI should support editorial judgement and creativity rather than replace it.

Al-Ishaq proposed that a robust digital tourism media ecosystem should integrate professionals across journalism, photography, video production, data science, AI, and the tourism sector. She noted that Qatar’s existing digital and media infrastructure, combined with Qatar Tourism’s extensive library of visual and informational resources, provides a valuable foundation for this collaborative effort.

Today's travelers, al-Ishaq observed, seek more than basic information about destinations. They want to understand what experiences await, how a place will make them feel, and what stories they can carry home. In an environment saturated with images and advertisements, authentic narratives are becoming more effective than conventional promotional content.

“There is a shift from merely describing a place to helping audiences imagine experiencing it,” al-Ishaq said. She explained that past tourism coverage often focused on answering “What is there in Qatar?” while the evolving approach asks “Why do I want to be there?” However, she also stressed that technology alone cannot imbue a destination with meaning. That remains the task of skilled media professionals who transform locations into stories, events into experiences, and historical facts into personal narratives.

Al-Ishaq suggested that successful tourism journalism should preserve an element of discovery, encouraging curiosity rather than straightforward listings. For example, a story might introduce “a place in Qatar you haven’t seen yet” before revealing details through images, voiceovers, maps, or firsthand accounts. Such storytelling, she argued, can be more persuasive than direct advertising.

Qatar’s diverse offerings—including heritage, culture, sports, arts, nature, hospitality, and a year-round calendar of events—combined with rapid digital infrastructure development, position the country well to provide these compelling stories. The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 was cited as a case where technology enhanced guest experiences and elevated Qatar’s global image.

Al-Ishaq noted that competition between tourist destinations now hinges less on physical assets like museums or beaches and more on the ability to creatively tell stories and engage travelers at the right moments. This evolving dynamic expands the role of tourism media beyond reporting and information sharing to shaping national image, fostering emotional connections, and influencing travel behaviors.

She also called for nurturing creative talent, improving working conditions, and enabling experimentation within media organisations. Al-Ishaq proposed the establishment of a national platform to link media institutions, content creators, photographers, producers, and tour guides, supplying them with reliable data, updated tourism schedules, and rich visual content. Such coordination, she argued, would ensure tourism media outputs are timely, accurate, and professionally made.

With journalists providing context and credibility, and technologies such as AI, video, and augmented reality broadening storytelling methods, al-Ishaq concluded that tourism media could become a powerful ambassador for Qatar in the digital age. The goal, she said, is not simply increased content production but the creation of compelling stories that transform images into experiences, curiosity into travel intent, and viewers into visitors.