What about our Summer Festivals ?

Qatar is often described in travel books as a sleeping ,boring place . When ten years ago we happened to arrive in Doha we  were pleasantly surprised to see that there was a month long summer festival in the malls .Folk groups ,circus ,play area for the kids . But almost nothing in the last five years or so ...Unfortunately - it seems that this year there won't be any festival either .
I found an article harshly criticizing  this practice.

"While neighbours have been actively promoting their tourism attraction in the country, Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has remained silent for months and has not announced any plans for the summer or Ramadan for those not planning trips abroad.

And at a time when schools are closed for summer and kids looking for pastimes. A lot of families are not travelling abroad this time because of the short gap between school holidays and Ramadan. The Arab Spring has affected travel to countries in the region that were usually considered attractive tourist spots.

 I’m convinced that most people working with QTA are on a holiday or spending their summer out of the country because they haven’t lined up any events or programmes for summer here. There are no activities being organised by malls, hotels and other establishments during a season when people have the time and would like to have some fun and relax."

  There are so many kids in Qatar .Local ones and expats . They all deserve some entertainment in the summer months.