QATAR ROCK ARTS: RE-CONSIDERATION ΑND PROSPECTIVES OF QATAR CULTURAL HERITAGE TOURISM MAP

Qatar possesses numerous cultural tourist attractions such as museums, archaeological sites and heritage attractions. The question posed by this paper: How to boost Qatar Rock Art sites through re-consideration of the current cultural tourism map?. These Rock Art sites provide audience with a great opportunity to interact with values, rituals and symbols of one of the oldest communities who lived on this area of the Arabian peninsula. The paper provides a historical overview of Jabal al-Jusāsiyyah Rock Art site, and examines how representative is Qatar Rock Art on Qatar Tourism Authority media, digital and printed media. Support is given by a first undertaken questionnaire presented to Qatar University students about this Rock Art. It concludes that Rock Art sites are neither presented nor advertized on Qatar tourist map and there is lack of statistics and analysis of tourists types, practices and motivations to visit Rock Art sites in Qatar. Here we propose that Rock Art sites is a chance to include them in cultural tourism, which would lead to the diversification of income sources, therefore, be compatible with the sustainable development in the State of Qatar.