Doha: Qatar witnessed a sharp rise in the arrival of visitors in February which has boosted the tourism sector. According to the latest report by the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA), as many as 76,883 visitors arrived in February 2022, compared to just 13,764 visitors in the same month last year showing a growth of 458.6 percent.
Of the total arrivals, 46,718 visitors came to Qatar by flights against 12,984 visitors last year, registering a rise of 259 percent. The visitors who came via sea totaled to 16,475, while 13,4320 arrived via land, the report said.
The strong inflow of visitors is expected to continue in coming months as the country will host the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East and the Arab world. 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 February. According to the report, of the total visitors, 35 percent visitors were from Asian countries that is 26,591 visitors came from Asia (including Oceania) in February this year compared to 7,131 in the same month in the previous year registering a growth of 272.9 percent.
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 businesses and leisure visa types excluding work visas.
Arrivals from the Gulf region constituted 24 percent in the total arrivals. The number of visitors from the GCC stood at 18,610 in February 2022 against 1,899 last year showing an increase of 880 percent. Travellers from other Arab countries represented 7 percent of the total visitor arrivals as 5,569 visitors from this region arrived in Qatar compared to 801 in February 2021.
The visitors from other African countries stood at 1,597 in February of this year.
The visitors from the European countries were 20,035 in February 2022 compared to 3,428 in same period last year and, denoting a rise of 484.5 percent on year-on-year basis. The travellers from this region accounted to 26 percent of the total in February this year. The visitors from the Americas stood at 4,481 in February 2022 compared to 425 in same period last year, showing an increase of 954.4 percent on yearly basis.
The Cabinet has relaxed COVID-19 restrictions in the country and announced changes in the COVID-19 precautionary measures which have been effective from February 12, 2022, which will reflect positively on the visitor arrivals in Qatar in the coming months.
