Qatar is to achieve an ambitious target of 7mn tourism arrivals by 2030 on the back of major events the country is hosting beyond 2020, a new report has shown.
It was announced recently that Doha would host the 2023 World Aquatics Championships. The FIFA World Cup 2022 is also due to take place in Qatar in the preceding year and construction on a number of stadiums, transport networks and hotels is in progress, said BMI Research in a report.
“We believe Qatar is on track to achieving its tourism arrivals targets. Our current forecasts put total international arrivals at just over 4mn in 2020, up from 3.1mn in 2016. This growth will also provide a valuable boost to tourism related expenditure and hotel industry value,” it said.
In BMI’s view the “outlook” for Qatar’s tourism industry is highly positive. The country is hosting several high profile global sporting events over the next decade and as well as boosting investment
in supporting infrastructure.
“These events will also help to grow Qatar’s reputation as a holiday destination in the competitive Middle East region, where countries such as the United Arab Emirates already have a well-established tourism industry. Supporting the growth of tourism is the extensive hotel and accommodation sector, which focuses particularly on lucrative luxury and business travel. The quality budget to mid-range sector is less developed and it is this sector which is expected to see rapid growth moving forward as the country prepares to welcome an influx of foreign visitors,” BMI said.
Qatar continues to improve its accessibility for visitors from outside the Middle East region by expanding the number and range of international flight connections, BMI said.
Recent reports suggest national carrier Qatar Airlines may soon launch the longest direct flight in the world when it starts direct flights between Doha and Auckland, New Zealand. This follows the launch of a direct flight route to Los
Angeles in January 2016.
A number of new hotels are under development in Qatar, including by leading global
hotel groups.
BMI said hotel developers would need to prepare for new grading and classification systems coming into effect from January 2016, which will provide properties with an official star rating based on a range of criteria including quality of service and environment sustainability.