The growth momentum in touris arrivals witnessed in Qatar in the previous months is expected to continue into the last quarter of this year, according to Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA).
The start of the cruise season and the new transit visa scheme are among the factors set to propel the growth in visitor numbers.
According to QTA, “Upward trends in visitor arrivals in recent months tend to reflect optimism as a further growth rate is expected in the final quarter of the year.”
“This will be driven in part by the beginning of the cruise season - which will bring approximately 30 ships to Qatar’s ports between October 2016 and April 2017. Additionally, QTA’s collaboration with the Ministry of Interior and Qatar Airways to facilitate visitors’ entry to Qatar is expected to further improve arrival trends in the near future,” it added.
According to QTA’s Tourism Performance Summary for the third quarter (Q3) of 2016, the country welcomed 2.18 million visitors from January to September, including 1,087,846 GCC nationals. According to the report, visitor arrivals growth during the third quarter (Q3) of 2016 has increased in comparison to Q1 and Q2. This reflects, in part, the impact of the two Eid Celebrations in Qatar events and the Qatar Summer Festival.
Hotel occupancy and average room rates, however, were lower compared to the same period in 2015 with an average of 61 percent across all hotels and hotel apartments through the end of Q3 2016. The decline comes after a 7.1 percent net increase in the number of available rooms.
Average room rates (ARR) across all hotels and hotel apartments was QR491, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) was QR300. Consistent with usual trends, the highest ARR and RevPAR levels continue to be recorded by the 5-Star and Deluxe Hotel Apartment segments.
