Tourism in Qatar

Boosting tourism A range of visa measures announced by Qatar Tourism (QT), formerly known as Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC) and Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), have been widely welcomed by tourism industry professionals, as well as the country’s hospitality and retail operators. The introduction of the free, 96-hour transit visa and +Qatar (an initiative to promote Qatar as a stopover destination by QT and Qatar Airways) has resulted in bringing close to 200,000 visitors to Qatar. In August 2017, Qatar introduced visa waivers for citizens of more than 80 countries. Since inception, at least 275,000 visitors have entered Qatar visa-free. In September 2018, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) ranked Qatar as the 8th most open in the world in terms of visa facilitation in its '10 Most Open Visa Countries in the World'. In addition, Qatar was ranked number one in the Middle East and number eight globally in business environment by the World's Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019. In 2021, Qatar retained its position as the second safest country in the world by Numbeo, the world's largest database of user contributed data. Qatar offers a wide range of authentic tourism experiences, in addition to hosting close to 80 sporting events annually, and will be the first Middle Eastern country to host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM and the 2023 FINA World Swimming Championships. Tourist arrivals As with the rest of the world, Qatar's tourism industry was heavily impacted by the COVID–19 pandemic in 2020. However, the country is now opening its borders to visitors again. On 5 January 2021, at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt restored diplomatic relations with the country and reopened land, air and sea routes. Due to the lifting of the blockade and visitor entries opening to GCC citizens in January 2021, visitation by nationals from Saudi Arabia and the UAE increased significantly, by 193% and 208% respectively, between Q3 2020 and Q3 2021. Other smaller increases were seen from Indian (+18%) and Nepalese (+90%) nationals. Declines continued to be seen across the rest of Qatar’s top 15 visitor arrival nationalities. Visitor arrivals were significantly down at the end of Q3 2021 (-52%) in comparison to Q3 2020, due to border closures beginning in March 2020 in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, and only beginning to reopen in August 2021. Hotel and hotel apartment performance Occupancy (Occ), average room rates (ARR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR) all continued to outpace 2020 monthly averages in Q3 2021, across all non-quarantine accommodation facilities. Since the beginning of March 2021, occupancy rates have constantly outpaced those of 2020. Average occupancy year-to-date (YTD) September 2021 is 62%, representing a 14% increase in comparison to the same period in 2020. Room key supply across Qatar’s hospitality sector has increased by 4% in September 2021 in comparison to the end of September 2020. Overall, occupancy increased by 14% year-to-date (YTD) between Q3 2020 and Q3 2021. Similarly, Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) has increased by 13% and revenue per available room (RevPAR) has increased by 29%. Cruise industry Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic that distrupted the the 2020–21 and 2021–22 season, Qatar saw a record number of cruise tourists in the 2019–20 season, which began in October 2019 and concluded in April 2020. It was the busiest season so far with over 186,000 passengers and 61,000 crew arriving on 74 ships, showing a growth of 121% and 66% respectively over the previous season. QT and Mwani Qatar, the organisations responsible for managing the country’s shipping terminals and seaports, announced the return of cruise tourism trips and the launch of the 2021–22 cruise season. At least 78 cruise liners will make maiden calls to Qatar between December 2021 and April 2022, according to QT and Mwani Qatar.

The 2021–22 cruise season is expected to be the busiest, with the arrival of around 78 cruises. This includes 11 cruise ships making maiden voyages to Doha, 11 turnaround voyages, and 10 ships that will dock at Doha Port. With the opening of the permanent passenger terminal at Doha Port, QT and Mwani Qatar expect to witness a growth in cruise visits in the coming period, particularly in the lead-up to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM . Over the past few years, QT has established a number of strong relationships with international cruise operators as well as with other specialists involved in the industry. This has proved to be of great importance as Qatar will be benefitting from cruise ships during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM, as a means of providing additional accommodation for fans and visitors over the period. A minimum of 6,000 rooms on cruise ships will be contracted for the 2022 tournament. Cruise passengers can also avail of the new transit visa. As part of the new operating procedure – which includes the use of enhanced technology and close collaboration between cruise operators and security officials – a passenger manifest containing the passport details of passengers and crew will be shared with immigration officials 48 hours prior to a ship’s arrival in Qatar. This will allow the authorities to process all relevant information and clear passengers for entry before the ship's berthing, enabling travellers to disembark within minutes and begin on-shore excursions. QT’s projections show continued growth in the cruise tourism industry over the coming years. With the completion of the Doha Port redevelopment, and the associated capacity increase, which allows the port to receive two megaships at once, Qatar is expected to attract 500,000 cruise tourists by 2026. Next Chapter On World Tourism Day 2017, held annually on 27 September, Qatar launched the Next Chapter of its National Tourism Sector Strategy 2030, which charts the next five years of the tourism sector’s growth in Qatar. The next chapter aims to attract 5.6 mn visitors to Qatar annually by 2023, double the number which the country welcomed in 2016. It also aims to achieve a 72% occupancy rate across all hotel establishments, through a combination of increasing demand and diversifying the country’s tourist accommodation offering. According to travel solution provider TravelSupermarket, visitor arrivals in Doha are projected to grow by 104% by 2025, making it the fastest-growing tourist destination among major cities worldwide. The city is expected to see more than 4.51 mn visitors in 2025. Tourism is expected to play a greater role in Qatar’s economy as the sector’s share of the country’s GDP will be nearly QAR133.5 bn in 2028, reports the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). Travel and tourism investment in Qatar may exceed QAR14.5 bn, or 4.2% of total investments in the country, in 2028. m

Qatar Tourism (QT) In November 2018, The Amir, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani issued Decision No 74 of 2018 establishing Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC), cancelling QTA and the government committee to coordinate conferences and events. In 2021, Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC) was renamed Qatar Tourism (QT) QT promotes Qatar as a destination around the world, through its destination branding, international representation and participation at trade shows, and by developing a rich calendar of festivals and events. QT is growing internationally with representative offices in London, Paris, Berlin, Milan, Singapore and more cities. In 2014, Qatar launched the Qatar National Tourism Sector Strategy (QNTSS), which seeks to diversify the country’s tourism offering and increase the sector’s contribution to Qatar’s economy by 2030. Chaired by Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, HE Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, QT works in partnership with public and private stakeholders to achieve this mission by planning, regulating and promoting a sustainable and diverse tourism industry while perpetuating Qatar’s culture. For more information, visit visitqatar.qa or qatartourism.com