In the run up to the World Cup Football championships to be held in November this year, Qatar is busy lining up events and activities to promote tourism beyond the World Cup. Its latest move is to partner with a global kite flying event.

Qatar Tourism has become the official Tourism Partner of the Global Kitesports Association (GKA) Kite World Tour for three years, with a new world-class kite beach resort set to open in the northeast of the country later this year, says a press release by Qatar Tourism, adding that Qatar Tourism will become title sponsor for events held in Qatar.

Not just the destination, but Qatar Airways has also joined hands and become the Kite World Tour’s Title Partner and Official Airline. ‘‘The exciting partnership combines the skies and the seas to celebrate one of the fastest growing and most exhilarating new sports,’’ says the press release.

The announcement was made at the site of an upcoming state-of-the-art kite beach resort in Fuwairit, a coastal village north of Qatari capital Doha with excellent kitesurfing conditions thanks to consistent winds, ideal ocean water and powder-soft sands that is set to open later this year.

“Kitesurfing is a travel sport where adventure seekers compete in beautiful destinations across many continents around the world. At Qatar Airways, we are proud to support this growing sport and become the preferred airline for athletes and fans travelling to GKA events all around the globe including Qatar, our home country, to experience something new and exciting,” says Akbar Al Baker, chairman of Qatar Tourism and chief executive of the Qatar Airways Group.

“There’s no better partner for the Kite World Tour than Qatar Airways, which shares our passion for travel, sustainability, exploration, creativity, adventure seeking and competition. Qatar is quickly becoming the global heart of sport, and we are excited to bring our World Tour opening and Finals to this epicentre in 2023,” says Jörgen Vogt, secretary general of the Global Kitesports Association.

The press release says that the partnership is the latest milestone in Qatar’s journey to becoming a recognised leader for global sports tourism, adding that Qatar has an ambitious strategy to welcome more than six million visitors a year by 2030. ‘‘Hosting major events, such as the Formula 1 Grand Prix, the annual ATP and WTA tennis tournaments, along with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, are central to this goal,’’ it adds.

To kick off the new partnership, Qatar Airways will visit Tarifa, Spain, in June for the Qatar Airways Big Air World Championships. The 16-day event is the first of its kind in kite sports – and will include the Qatar Airways GKA Awards ceremony and the Visit Qatar Kite Expo.