The Qatar Tourism Authority’s intensive efforts to attract foreign visitors to the state are paying off.  The number of foreign visitors arriving in Qatar has increased by 7%  in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, according to a new report. This means the tourism authority’s efforts are on the right track.
The authority’s Mid-Year Tourism Performance Report for 2015 highlights a steady growth in the hospitality sector and confirms indications that Qatar could easily meet a target of 3mn visitors by the end of this year.
Overall hotel occupancy rates have grown from previous highs in 2014, even with the addition of 1,400 new rooms since the start of this year.
The GCC is Qatar’s largest source market. Arrivals from other GCC states grew substantially in the first six months of 2015, increasing by 16% compared to the same period in 2014. The growth was primarily dominated by an increase in visitor arrivals from Saudi Arabia, which grew by 25% in the first six months of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014. Most of this growth took place in March when visitor arrivals grew by 82% compared to March 2014.
Visitor arrivals from the UAE also grew during the first half of 2015 (by 7%) while arrivals from Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman essentially remained unchanged.
The largest growth in other primary markets, outside of the GCC, included arrivals from France (up 8%), China (up 7%) and the USA (up 6%).
According to the report, data for Qatar’s tourist accommodation stock now covers 100% of licensed hotels and hotel apartments in the country.
QTA began collecting performance statistics from hotel apartments for the first time in January 2015. For the first half of 2015 as a whole, all segments did well, with particularly strong performances in terms of occupancy by the 4-star and standard apartment segments. Hotel apartments data for the first six months of 2015 shows strong performance similar to hotel properties, with an average of 77% occupancy.
Since the start of 2015, 11 new hotels have opened their doors to guests, adding around 1,400 rooms in Qatar’s tourism accommodation stock. The new properties include five 5-star, one 4-star and five 3-star hotels. An additional 13 properties with approximately 2,500 rooms are expected to come online before the year’s end.
Many new attractions are to be unveiled in Qatar soon. And the periodical festivals being planned by the tourism authority will draw more foreign visitors to the state. The latest figures show Qatar’s vast tourism potential. It is on the way to become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Middle East. And full credit for that should go to the Qatar Tourism Authority.