FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is expected to bring 1.5 million visitors to the country which will increase the demands in the tourism and hospitality sector.
Qatar witnessed a huge rise in the arrival of visitors from GCC and Arab countries in December, showing strong recovery in the tourism sector aided by easing of travel-related restrictions.
According to the latest report by the Planning and Sta-tistics Authority (PSA), 146,934 visitors arrived in December last year, compared to just 8,524 in the same month in 2020, registering manifold growth.
This showed a strong growth on year-on-year basis registering a surge of 1623.8 percent.Of the total arrivals, 87,702 came to Qatar by flights, 33,089 via land, while 26,143 visitors came via sea. High vaccination rate and easing of pandemic-related restrictions have encouraged people to make travel plans.
The strong inflow of visitors is expected to con-tinue in coming months as the country hosts several events which will boost the tourism sector. Qatar attracted visitors from across the regions with travellers from GCC countries accounting for highest arrivals during the month of December 2021. Arrivals from the Gulf region constituted 30 percent of the total arrivals.
The number of visitors from the GCC stood at 44,612 in December last year against 1,769 in the same month in 2020, showing a surge of 2,421.9 percent.
Travellers from other Arab countries repre-sented 10 percent of the total visitor arrivals as 15,175 visitors came to Qatar from this region in December 2021 compared to 749 in December 2020 recording a rise of 1,926 percent on year on year basis.
Aiming to become a world-leading tourism destination, Qatar is targeting to attract over six million international visitors a year by 2030. Tourism and travel are a crucial component of Qatar’s future and its economy.
The Qatar National Vision 2030 sets out a roadmap to become an advanced society capable of maintaining a high standard of living for our people.
Visitor arrivals measure non-residents travelling to Qatar on a short-term basis for all purposes. It includes arrivals at borders under different 15 visa classes, including all busi-nesses and leisure visa types excluding work visas.Of the total visitors, 28 percent were from Asian coun-tries.
According to the report, 41,195 visitors came from Asia (including Oceania) in December last year compared to 4,510 in the same month in the previous year.
The visitors from other African countries stood at 2309 in December 2021. The visitors from the European countries were 33,682 in December 2021 compared to 1,150 in same period in 2020, denoting a rise of 2828.9 percent and 68 percent yearly and monthly during the review period.
The travellers from this region were 23 percent of the total in December 2021. The vis-itors from the Americas stood at 9,961 in December 2021 com-pared to 6,587 in December 2020.
The International Horticul-tural Exhibition, Expo 2023 Doha, will open on October 2, 2023, at Al Bidda Park, with the participation of 80 countries.
The six-month-long event, the first of its kind in Mena, will run until March 28, 2024. The Expo expects over three million visitors
