Children take part in games and activities at Qatar Summer Festival 2016 at Entertainment City at Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre. Abdul Basit / The Peninsula / File photo
DOHA: The Eid in Qatar Celebrations and Qatar Summer Festival have substantially contributed to spurring tourism during the off-peak season from July to September, Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) figures revealed.
The three most anticipated nationwide events on QTA’s calendar, which lasted for 43 days, have again proved effective in attracting huge number of tourists from neighbouring countries as shown by the increase in visitor arrivals which generated positive impact in the hospitality and retail sectors.
Tourist arrivals in July and August saw a 4.6 percent increase compared to the same period last year. The Eid Al Adha celebrations were held from July 6 to 12 followed by the Qatar Summer Festival which ran the entire month of August. These events witnessed unique mall shows for the entire family, live entertainment, an entertainment park, promotions and raffle draws, among others.
In August, during which the Summer Festival was held, the number of visitors that Qatar welcomed was 2 percent higher than the number received in the same month last year.
The 29,000sqm Entertainment City, which was the biggest and among its editions and the highlight of the festival, witnessed 150,000 visitors.
In addition, a total of 4,450 people attended the summer festival live shows.
In September, the country received 255,805 visitors, most of whom were GCC nationals. Majority of these visitors were Saudi nationals (106,014) who were attracted by the week-long Eid Al Adha celebrations.
Benefitting from the events are hotels and retail outlets which both saw brisk business during the period.
The hotel sector saw its highest occupancy rate which was 74 percent. Fifty-six hotels, which was double the number of participants last year, took part in the summer festival offering attractive packages.
Shopping promotions throughout Qatar Summer Festival also generated a positive impact on members of the retail sector. The number of coupons entered into the weekly raffle draws reached 100,000 by the end of the festival and reflects an estimated expenditure of more than QR21m in participating malls. According to a survey conducted by the QTA, 91 percent of the participants were satisfied of the festivals.
This was revealed during an appreciation event held at the St Regis Doha yesterday to recognize QTA’s valued partners in these summer events consisting of representatives of government ministries and agencies, sponsors, media, participants and volunteers.
