Photo by Abdul Basit/ The Peninsula
Doha: Signs of travel recovery are seen in Africa and the Middle East and Qatar is leading the show in the region with a significant increase in issued tickets.
In a report by travel data experts at ForwardKeys, Qatar is recognized as the most recovered destination in the Middle East, securing the top spot with a +7% increase compared to pre-pandemic levels.
"Looking at the issued tickets for international arrivals in the Middle East in Q2 this year, it’s Qatar which is the soaring falcon demonstrating a 7% increase compared to pre-pandemic levels," the report indicated.
Next in line are Egypt and United Arab Emirates, landing on the 2nd and 3rd position with -27% and -29%, respectively.
The report also marked UK as the largest origin market for the Middle East with shares of 12.8%, which is considered to be performing well compared to 2019, while US leads the recovery with a +15% increase compared to 2019.
VP of Insights at ForwardKeys, Olivier Ponti further said in the report: “Looking specifically at Qatar, we see a +76% increase for arrivals from the UK, compared with 2019, and remarkably we see a +105% increase of arrivals from the US to Qatar compared with 2019. Considering all the challenges the tourism sector has faced recently, this is an encouraging feat for Qatar ahead of the FIFA World Cup in November.”
Apart from an increase in arrivals to the country, Qatar also bagged another feat with its award-winning airport as it scored the second spot among the most resilient airports in the Middle East with a +7% increase compared to 2019.
According to Africa Market Expert, Shingai George: "This trend was aided by Doha maintaining most air services during the pandemic and Qatar Airways adding more routes from their Doha hub."
The top spot is occupied by Egypt's Hurghada International Airport.
Qatar Tourism recognized the positive results and shared the report on social media.
On Twitter, Qatar Tourism said: "Looking at the issued tickets for international arrivals in the Middle East in Q2 of 2022; we are delighted to announce that Qatar is leading the Middle East sector, demonstrating a 7% increase compared to pre-pandemic levels."
