In recent years, Qatar boosted its reputation as a travel and tourism destination when it launched a substantial construction renaissance putting in place solid road infrastructure, railways, airports, ports, utility networks, and communications grids. Despite declining spending on transportation by 12.3 percent to 9.7 billion riyals during Q1 2023, against 11 billion riyals a year earlier, the hospitality sector was boosted by the building of luxury international hotels, especially in preparation for the 2022 World Cup in the country.
Qatar plans to triple domestic spending in tourist destinations to achieve a multiplier effect on the growth of the national economy.
Traveler spending in Qatar
When visiting or vacationing in Qatar, one should plan on spending around QAR791 ($217) per day, a price based on average daily expenses by other visitors in the recent past. The average hotel price in Qatar for a couple is QAR869 ($239).
Travel and tourism spending in Qatar was valued at $16.5bn in 2021.
The latest research by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) which highlighted the top 10 cities where international travelers spent the most in 2022, showed Doha, Qatar at the number 2 spot with $16.8 bn.
Read: Saudi, Qatar, and Oman top travel destination searches from UAE
Q1 2023 Qatar travel
Qatar Central Bank data revealed that travel spending in the country jumped 28 percent year-on-year to 13.1 billion Qatari riyals ($3.59 billion) in Q1 2023.
The Gulf country’s revenues from travel and transport sectors in Q4 of 2022 totaled nearly 32.4 billion riyals, the highest quarterly value ever.
The country’s tourism boom falls in line with Qatar National Vision 2030 strategy.
Following the World Cup, several projects got underway aimed at boosting the country’s travel and tourism sector.
Earlier this year, Qatar Tourism announced a package of plans and programs for 2023 aimed at strengthening Qatar’s position as a leading global tourist destination, looking to attract 6 million visitors annually and raising the tourism sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) to 12% by 2030.
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