Touching down in the capital city, one of the first things you notice is how everything in Doha appears to be covered in a light layer of reddish dust, kicked up by the constant and omnipresent construction that has been a part of life there for the past several years.

On our first night in Doha, we cruised around the Pearl (a man-made luxury island) in a traditional Arabian fishing vessel. From my perch on the dhow boat (no doubt a tourist’s best bet for views of the skyline), I could see gleaming buildings like Aspire Tower scrape the sky; the back of Katara Cultural Village and the mysterious “Eyes of Doha” on the Museum of Islamic Art; and the sprawling waterfront Corniche. Rising from the rubble of construction sites around the city are several of the world’s most luxurious five-star hotels, including our own, the Westin Doha Hotel and Spa. Sparkling white government buildings that evoke a Taj Mahal-esque blend of beauty and power line the busy streets. The interstate that guides visitors from the airport to the city-center and back had just been manicured, now lined with beautiful pink flowers and lush greenery uncharacteristic of an arid desert town. But perhaps most stunning of all: all of this architectural and landscaping mastery has been developed only in the last 10 to 12 years. In a land as old as Mesopotamia (literally), this surge of modernity is nothing short of sensational. Plenty of changes continue to color Qatar’s national landscape in anticipation of a spike in international visitors in the coming years.

As it turns out, there’s good reason to expect this spike in visitors, in spite of sociopolitical unrest. This August, Qatar Tourism Authority, Qatar’s Ministry of Interior, and Qatar Airways announced that they will be providing “visa-free entry for citizens of 80 countries,” according to the airline. This comes just a couple months after members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—regional neighbors Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, and Egypt—imposed a sweeping air, sea, and land blockade on Qatar over unsubstantiated allegations tying Qatar to global terrorism efforts. On the list of 13 demands proposed to end the blockade, the GCC has commanded Qatar to shut down Al Jazeera, a leading Middle Eastern news source and a champion of free press, headquartered in Doha. Seeing as they are unwilling to comply with these demands, the blockade remains in place as Qatar strengthens its ties to other Islamic states such as Turkey and Iran (who don’t support the blockade), and focuses its efforts on none other than bolstering its tourism industry.

Though the blockade has surely affected Qatari life, to an outsider, Doha feels nothing like a city in crisis. Ever since the announcement of the blockade in June 2017, visual shows of patriotism have become as ubiquitous in the city as hard-hatted-men with jackhammers—which is to say they are everywhere. In particular, one image of the current Emir (Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani), sketched by Qatari national Ahmed bin Majed, has spread like wildfire, screen-printed onto everything from pillows to baby bibs. While stuck in Doha’s notorious traffic, there’s plenty of time to admire the sketch in the form of larger-than-average bumper stickers found on the backs of every other car on the road, or blown up 10 stories high and plastered on the windows of the city’s many high rises. Stores, restaurants, and homes are adorned with the Emir’s portrait alongside the valiantly flapping purple and white Qatari flag. The people of Doha who I got to know during my visit—those who overfed us delicious Palestinian, Moroccan, and local Qatari cuisine; those who went to great lengths to show us their city by car, boat, and dromedary—shared a distinctly gentle and kind spirit. Magnified by the people’s ability to come together in a time of uncertainty to offer a peaceful, respectful tribute to their leaders, it was that spirit that seemed to extend to the whole city.

Perhaps surprising, Qatar’s stunning increase in foreign visitors is projected to be a direct outcome of the blockade. Like the cunning child who miraculously winds up with double dessert when they were meant to be punished, Qatar has turned its attention from its neighboring states—long the primary contributors to Qatar’s tourism industry—to elsewhere around the globe, ushering in a new era of globalism for the Gulf. While Qatar was meant to feel isolated by the blockade, its calculated roll-out of the free visa program can essentially reverse the effects by inviting visitors from all over the world who would not otherwise think to visit the Arabian peninsula. In the west, for example, Qatar is known principally as a stopover spot for folks on their way to other parts of Asia and Africa, but it’s not yet popular as a destination itself. This is surely a symptom of the ways in which this region is portrayed (if at all) in western media. With the addition of the free visa waiver program, however, tourism experts predict that Qatar will likely become the new Iceland—hardly a blip on the global travel radar up until very recently, and now a top tourist destination, with Instagram bragging rights to boot. It’s never been easier for westerners to expel their preconceived notions and stereotypes of the Middle East, and Doha is an ideal first stop on that journey.

And while there’s no shortage of points of interest in and around the city of Doha that will attract visitors from the west—think: UNESCO World Heritage archeological sites like Al Zubarah Fort; shopping in the bustling, traditional Souq Waqif; art and other cultural spoils at Katara Village; and dune-bashing on a desert safari to the Inland Sea—a few progressive updates would be welcomed in Doha before the onslaught of foreign visitors, such as a comprehensive metro system, which is currently in the works, and LGBT+ equality, which is not. (That being said, compared to many of its neighbors, Qatar is a relatively liberal and safe destination for members of the queer community.)

In general, however, we know that blind globalism has its drawbacks; it’s influenced by western ideals that don’t often translate along cultural lines. The global practice of copying and pasting regional values into different cultural contexts without regard for local customs or needs has caused more problems than it has solved, be them financial, social, political, or a blend of the three. But for now, Qatar’s tourism authority appears to honor tenets of diversity and cultural authenticity, keeping rampant westernization at bay. Instead of turning Doha into the next New York or London, the Tourism Authority has outlined their intentions to position Qatar “as a hub to discover—where cultural authenticity meets modernity… where people of the world come together to experience unique offerings in culture, sports, business and family entertainment.”

Ahead of World Cup 2022 in Doha, the city is expected to see a massive influx of tourists due to these several factors. This means that the nonstop construction and industrial development in a city whose skyline has already seen dramatic changes over the last several years will not cease yet. As a traveler, there’s something oddly exhilarating about visiting a city that you know will be completely transformed the next time you come visit; to be in a space, unsure of what the future holds, but knowing that the ground you stand on will soon be home to one of the world’s most important metropolises. It made me wonder what it must have felt like to be in New York at the turn of the 20th century, or Beijing 30 or 40 years ago. How electrifying, to visit a place with ancient roots and a limitless future.