File photo used for representation only. Photo credit: Abdul Basit/ The Peninsula
Qatar witnessed a sharp rise in the arrival of visitors in August, signalling strong recovery in the tourism sector aided by easing of travel-related restrictions.
According to the latest report by the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA), as many as 62,114 visitors arrived in August this year, compared to just 3,019 visitors in the same month last year, registering manifold growth.
Strong growth was visible on month-on-month basis as 38,289 visitors arrived in Qatar in July, showing a growth of 62 percent.
Of the total arrivals, 47,925 came to Qatar by flights, 13,406 via land, while 783 visitors came via sea, the report said. High visitor arrivals also have boosted the growth of hotel industry. The occupancy rate of hotels also increased significantly during August this year.
The strong inflow of visitors is expected to continue in coming months as winter is a busy season in Qatar for tourism sector. High vaccination rate and easing of pandemic-related restrictions have encouraged people to make travel plans.
Qatar attracted visitors from across the regions with travellers from Asian countries accounting for highest arrivals during the month. Of the total visitors, 51 percent visitors were from Asian countries. According to the report, 31,529 visitors came from Asia (including Oceania) in August this year compared to 900 in the same month in the previous year.
Arrivals from the Gulf region constituted 34 percent in the total arrivals. The number of visitors from the GCC stood at 21,277 in August this year against 1,236 last year showing an increase of 1,621.4 percent. Travellers from other Arab countries represented 3 percent of the total visitor arrivals as 1,990 visitors came to Qatar.
The visitors from other African countries stood at 264 in August 2021.
The visitors from the European countries were 5,029 in August 2021 compared to 605 in same period last year, denoting a rise of 731.2 percent and 130.7 percent yearly and monthly. The travellers from this region were 8 percent of the total in August 2021. The visitors from the Americas stood at 2,025 in August 2021 compared to 163 in same period last year.
August proved to be a good month for hotel industry with number of guests increasing during the month. All category of hotels witnessed surge in occupancy rates.
The occupancy rate of two-and one-star hotels surged to 86 percent in August 2021 compared to 53 percent in August 2020.
Similarly, the occupancy rate of three-star hotels has jumped to 84 percent in August compared to 59 percent during the same period last year. Four-star hotels’ occupancy rates stood at 71 percent in August this year, rising from 62 percent in the previous year.
In case of five-star hotels, the occupancy rate has risen to 65 percent in August 2021 from 50 percent in August last year. The overall hotel occupancy rate rose to 67 percent against 53 percent in the previous year.
