Doha
02 November 2016

Qatar welcomed 2.18 million visitors* in the first nine months of 2016, including 1,087,846 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nationals, according to Qatar Tourism Authority’s Tourism Performance Summary for the third quarter of 2016.

746,598 visitors from Saudi Arabia arrived in Qatar between January and September this year 2016; an 8% increase compared to the same period last year. 17 % increase in visitors from United Arab Emirates whereas 3 % and 2 % is noted respectively in regards from Bahrain and Kuwait.

Third quarter of 2016 has seen an increase comparing to first two quarters due to two Eids celebrations events and Qatar Summer Festival throughout month of August, a traditionally off-peak season according to a report released by Qatar Tourism Authority.

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.

Hotel occupancy and average room rates were lower compared to the same period in 2015 with an average of 61% across all hotels and hotel apartments through the end of Q3 2016. The decline comes after a 7.1% net increase in the number of available rooms.

Average room rates across all hotels and hotel apartments was 491 QAR, and revenue per available room was 300 QAR. Consistent with usual trends, the highest ARR and RevPAR levels continue to be recorded by the 5-Star and Deluxe Hotel Apartment segments.

QTA is continuing efforts to attract regional and international visitors, through placing special emphasis on working with investors and partners to diversify Qatar’s tourism products. Efforts include broadening QTA’s international presence, particularly in markets that are expected to increase the arrivals to Qatar in the coming years.

Qatar Tourism Authority has opened two more offices in Istanbul and New York which brings to total of eight representative offices in various region around the globe.