Doha ∙ Qatar’s tourism sector on a growth spurt after overcoming Covid. 7,29,000 foreign visitors arrived in the country in the first half of the year. The number of visitors to the country has increased by 19 percent compared to last year.
The highest increase in the number of visitors was last June. 1,49,000 people reached in June. This is the highest summer visitation in the last 5 years. Of the June arrivals, 51,000 arrived by road, 10,000 by sea and 88,000 by air.
26 percent of the total visitors in June were from Saudi Arabia. India is in the second position. 10 percent came from India. 5 percent each came from US and Oman and 4 percent each from UK, UAE and Kuwait. Qatar’s cruise tourism ended in June. 1,01,000 visitors arrived on 34 ships during the season that started in December 2021 and ended in June.
There is also significant growth in Qatar’s hospitality sector. Hotel sector growth rose to 17 percent in June. Berthold Trenkel, chief operating officer of Qatar Tourism, said 50 new hotels will be opened by the end of the year, ahead of hosting the FIFA World Cup in November. Visitor arrivals will increase in the second half of the year. Lucille Winter Wonderland, Kite Beach Resort and other big projects are slated to open in the coming days.