Qatar has been seeing a record surge in tourists and visitors, propelled by the country’s successful hosting of mega events including the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and its continuous development of the tourism and travel sector. The 2022 world cup saw Qatar welcome record 2.56 million visitors that year. However, the country has set new record every year since then, receiving more than four million visitors in 2023 and having already received close to three million this year so far.
The sector has seen this huge growth thanks to government’s efforts to continuously enhance the tourism offerings and propel the sector to new heights. Authorities have made efforts to further develop the sector while conforming to Qatar’s traditions, and by involving the private sector.
According to latest figures released by Qatar Tourism, the country welcomed 317,000 visitors in July 2024. This takes the seven-month 2024 total to 2.956 million visitors, a 26.2 percent increase from the same period last year. Increased integration of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries is evident by the fact that a large portion of tourists and visitors to Qatar are coming from the GCC countries, notably Saudi Arabia. Other top source countries are India, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, UAE, US, UK, Germany and China. Industry experts estimate the 2024 total visitors number to be around 4.5 million, and rise further to 4.9 million by 2025.
Easing and simplifying the visit visa procedures through the Hayya platform has been instrumental in the growth of the country’s tourism sector. Qatar allows visa-free entry to nationals of 102 countries, while the rest can get an e-visa through the Hayya platform.
The sector has also emerged as a key driver of growth as Qatar look to diversify its economy. The country’s tourism strategy is guided by Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Third National Development Strategy 2024-2030. The headline goals for the tourism sector under the strategy are to attract six million visitors annually and raise the sector’s contribution to GDP to 12 percent by 2030.
Last year, travel and tourism’s GDP contribution grew by 31 percent to reach QR81.2bn, representing 10.3 percent of Qatar’s total economic output. The sector also created more than 20,300 new jobs, taking the total to nearly 286,000 nationwide, representing one in every eight jobs across the country.
Qatar has emerged as a global tourism and travel hub, and the tourism industry has the potential to continue growing in the coming years. The country has much to offer to tourists throughout the year, with a multitude of events and festivals.
