(MENAFN– The Peninsula)

M Mazharul Haque
|
The Peninsula

Doha, Qatar: The visitors from GCC countries consisted of 43% of the total arrivals during the third quarter, while the share of other Arab countries was 7%, according to Qatar tourism (QT) figures.

The international visitors to Qatar increased by 26% during the third quarter compared to the same period last year, with the GCC continuing to account for the largest share, followed by Europe.

Arrivals from Europe accounted for 22% of the total visitor numbers, with 6% coming from the Americas, 20% from the rest of Asia and Oceania, and 2% from the rest of Africa.

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The average hotel occupancy was at 66% year-to-date through the third quarter, reflecting a 23% growth in demand since 2023, while room nights sold have risen by 26% compared to last year. Among the visitors, 39% entered the country through the land border, 54% through air, and 7% through sea.

The supply of keys in the five-star hotel segment was 19,324, which constituted an average occupancy rate of 60.5%, compared to the average occupancy rate in the third quarter of last year, which stood at 49.5%. The supply of keys in the four-star hotel segment was 7,430, which constituted an average occupancy rate of 66.6%, compared to the average occupancy rate in the third quarter of the previous year, which stood at 51.1%. The supply of keys in the 3-1 star hotel segment was 3,027, which constituted an average occupancy rate of 81%, compared to the average occupancy rate in the third quarter of the last year, which stood at 73.7%.

The supply of keys in the hotel apartments segment was 10,119, which constituted an average occupancy rate of 72%, compared to the average occupancy rate in the third quarter of the past year, which stood at 56.8%. The total supply of keys during the third quarter was 40,053, which constituted the total average occupancy rate of 65.9%, compared to the average occupancy rate in the third quarter of the last year, which stood at 53.7%.

Qatar continued to see record tourist numbers this year, having already welcomed more than 3.6 million visitors so far. According to statistics released by Qatar Tourism, the country saw 3.599 million visitors in the first three quarters of 2024.

This is 26.1% more than the numbers in the same period last year.

Qatar logged the highest-ever figure of four million visitors in 2023, up from 2.56 million in 2022, the World Cup year.

The visitor numbers have been witnessing strong growth for the last few years. The trend has continued after the slump in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. September 2024 saw 315,000 visitors, up 27% from 247,000 in September 2023.
Industry experts estimate the total number of visitors in 2024 to be around 4.5 million and rise further to 4.9 million by 2025.

The visitor numbers are usually higher in the last quarter of the year.

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