Qatar’s stopover initiative, encouraging transiting travellers to stay a minimum of 24 hours, has welcomed more than 10,500 stopover visitors in January.  

Visitors who availed the stopover programme in January rose nearly 58% on the same month last year. Travellers opting for the stopover more than doubled between April 2024 and January 2025, rising 165% annually. 

The Discover Qatar Stopover programme, relaunched in August 2021, drove growth in hotel bookings, too, with over 100,000 room nights sold this year, doubling from the previous year. Discover Qatar is the destination management arm of Qatar Airways Group. 

Packages start from $14 per night at standard 3- or 4-star hotels and rise up to $83 per night at 5-star luxury hotels. 

“Qatar Stopover Programme is central to positioning Qatar as a leading global destination, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030,” said Discover Qatar senior vice president Steven Reynolds. 

The growth of the stopover programme has been attributed to a combination of financial support from Visit Qatar coupled with strong demand driven by marketing campaigns. The US, UK, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands are the initiative’s top global source markets.

Travel trade has also bolstered the programme, with strong contributions pouring in from Australia, South Africa, Iran, Saudi Arabia and New Zealand. 

Qatar welcomed more than 5 million international visitors in 2024, up 25% over the previous year. Visitors from the GCC made up 41% of last year’s international traveller pool, followed by Europe (23%). Hotel keys totalled 40,405 by the end of 2024, according to Qatar Tourism data. 

“The hospitality sector emerged as a standout performer, supported by a well-structured events calendar that sustained visitor inflows,” Anum Hassan, head of research – Qatar at ValuStrat said, in a recent report. 

“Annual occupancy rates remained above 66% even during the typically slower summer months, showcasing Qatar’s strategic efforts to position itself as a year-round destination,” Hassan added, in Qatar Real Estate Research Review 2024/2025 Outlook report. 

ValuStrat said that new hotel openings in 2025 include Swissotel Corniche Park Towers, Andaz Hotel West Bay, The Doha Edition and Corinthia Hotel, collectively helping introduce more than 1,100 hotel keys to the market this year.