Travel And Tourism in Qatar
Euromonitor International's Travel And Tourism in Qatar report offers a comprehensive guide to the market at a national level. It looks at travel accommodation, transportation, car rental, tourist attractions and retail travel. It identifies the leading companies and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market, including background information on disposable income, annual leave and holiday taking habits.
Buy online to access strategic market analysis and an interactive statistical database of market size data for travel accommodation, transportation, car rental, travel retail, tourism attractions and health and wellness tourism, tourism inflows and outflows, tourism spending and company and brand shares.
Tables: 55 | Publication date: Jul 2009
Why buy this report
- Get insight into trends in market performance
- Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change
- Identify market and brand leaders and understand the competitive environment
Product coverage
Car rental; Demand factors; Health & wellness tourism; Tourism flows domestic; Tourism flows inbound; Tourism flows outbound; Tourism receipts and expenditure; Tourist attractions; Transportation; Travel accommodation; Travel retail
Executive summary
Economic growth continues to fund investment in tourism infrastructure
Qatar showed a strong economic performance in 2008, and thanks to the enduring success of its oil and gas industries, the country was one of the few in the world to remain relatively unaffected by the global economic downturn. Travel and tourism continued to benefit greatly from this economic success, with infrastructure and accommodation improving substantially. In 2004 the government pledged to spend U$15 billion on various projects to develop the local travel and tourism market. A number of projects have already come to fruition, including the Museum of Islamic Arts, which opened in December 2008, and the Khalifa Sports City. Other projects still underway or in planning at the end of the review period included the creation of a new city, Lusail, and a reclaimed-land Riviera development, the Pearl.
Qatar remains highly dependent on business visitors
With its highly successful economy funding much of its development and with limited natural tourist attractions, Qatar tends to attract business travellers more than leisure tourists. The majority of visitors to Qatar come from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and other Arab nations. During the review period, Qatar focused on increasing the number of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing and Exhibitions) visitors by advertising its world class conference and exhibition facilities, which have welcomed delegates from the WTO, the Arab League and the UN in recent years. In addition, the Qatar MICE Development Institute was created to develop Qatar as a leading events destination. Its primary goal is to cooperate with the government in order to attract and host successful MICE events in Qatar.
Qatar witnesses a boom in hotel building
Once renowned for its scarcity of available rooms, Qatar now boasts an impressive selection of 4- and 5-star luxury hotels, with more scheduled to open over the forecast period. During the review period, the country increased its room capacity substantially, but hotel occupancy rates (along with room rates) remained high in 2008. Most of the new hotels are owned by well-known chains and cater primarily to business travellers. However, many also offer beach and spa facilities in an effort to attract leisure visitors, or at least entice their business clients to stay for longer. Most visitors only tend to stay for a couple of nights, however, and it is likely that hotel operators will have to new develop strategies to attract more domestic tourists, who are now spoilt for choice.
Travel remains a popular leisure activity among Qataris
Qatari nationals are often described as being among the richest people in the world, with the average GDP per capita standing at U$93,000 in 2008. With the government providing a generous benefits system, all Qataris have what would be considered high disposable incomes by any measure, and as a result they enjoy a high standard of living. Travel is a common leisure activity, with many people regularly taking short trips to other GCC countries, as well as longer holidays to Asia, North Africa and the Levant and Europe. Domestic holidays are also becoming more popular, especially now that local residents can enjoy the additional attractions provided by the boom in new hotel openings during the review period. Included among these attractions is Al Sharq village, a hotel development with a spa and an ancient-style bazaar.
Visitor numbers look set to rise steadily over 2008-2013
The Qatari government has stated that it hopes to attract 1.4 million tourists annually by 2010. Due to the global economic downturn it is unlikely that this target will be met, though it is estimated that the figure of 1.4 million visitors could be achieved as early as 2012. There is much competition for visitors in the region, with Bahrain and Dubai in particular traditionally attracting many more than Qatar. However, both of these countries have been hit much harder by the global economic downturn than Qatar, which has impacted negatively on their visitor numbers and their capacity to invest in tourism infrastructure. Qatar appears to be much more resilient, partly due to the excellent economic growth shown during the review period. Strong economic growth looks set to continue, which should fuel further investment in tourism infrastructure in Qatar over the forecast period.
Table of contents
TRAVEL AND TOURISM IN QATAR : MARKET INSIGHT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Economic growth continues to fund investment in tourism infrastructure
Qatar remains highly dependent on business visitors
Qatar witnesses a boom in hotel building
Travel remains a popular leisure activity among Qataris
Visitor numbers look set to rise steadily over 2008-2013
KEY TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS
Economic development continues to fund investment in tourism
Government aims to attract more business and MICE tourists to Qatar
Qatar aims to become a leading destination for major sporting events
MARKET INDICATORS
Table 1 Length of Domestic Trips: 2003-2008
Table 2 Length of Outbound Departures: 2003-2008
MARKET DATA
Table 3 Balance of Tourism Payments: Value 2003-2008
Table 4 Departures by Destination: 2003-2008
Table 5 Departures by Method of Transport: 2003-2008
Table 6 Departures by Purpose of Visit: 2003-2008
Table 7 Outgoing Tourist Expenditure: Value 2003-2008
Table 8 Forecast Departures by Destination: 2008-2013
Table 9 Forecast Departures by Method of Transport: 2008-2013
Table 10 Forecast Departures by Purpose of Visit: 2008-2013
Table 11 Forecast Outgoing Tourism Expenditure: Value 2008-2013
Table 12 Domestic Trips by Purpose of Visit and by Method of Transport: 2003-2008
Table 13 Domestic Tourist Expenditure: Value: 2003-2008
Table 14 Forecast Domestic Trips by Purpose of Visit and by Method of Transport: 2008-2013
Table 15 Forecast Domestic Tourist Expenditure: Value: 2008-2013
Table 16 Tourist Attractions: Value 2003-2008
Table 17 Tourist Attractions Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2003-2008
Table 18 Forecast Tourist Attractions: Value 2008-2013
Table 19 Forecast Tourist Attractions Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2008-2013
Table 20 Health and Wellness Tourism Sales: Value 2003-2008
Table 21 Forecast Health and Wellness Sales: Value 2008-2013
DEFINITIONS
Tourism parameters
Travel accommodation
Transportation
Car rental
Travel retail
Tourist attractions
Health and wellness
Internet sales
Internet sales: dynamic packaging
Internet sales: traditional package holiday
Summary 1 Research Sources
INBOUND TOURISM FLOWS
Headlines
Trends
Prospects
Sector Data
Table 22 Arrivals by Country of Origin: 2003-2008
Table 23 Arrivals by Method of Transport: 2003-2008
Table 24 Arrivals by Purpose of Visit: 2003-2008
Table 25 Incoming Tourist Receipts: Value 2003-2008
Table 26 Forecast Arrivals by Country of Origin: 2008-2013
Table 27 Forecast Arrivals by Method of Transport: 2008-2013
Table 28 Forecast Arrivals by Purpose of Visit: 2008-2013
Table 29 Forecast Incoming Tourist Receipts: Value 2008-2013
OUTBOUND TOURISM FLOWS
Headlines
Trends
Prospects
TRAVEL ACCOMMODATION
Headlines
Trends
Prospects
Sector Data
Table 30 Travel Accommodation Sales by Sector: Value 2003-2008
Table 31 Travel Accommodation Outlets by Sector: Units 2003-2008
Table 32 Regional Hotel Parameters 2008
Table 33 Travel Accommodation Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2003-2008
Table 34 Hotel Company Rankings 2005-2008
Table 35 Forecast Travel Accommodation Sales by Sector: Value 2008-2013
Table 36 Forecast Travel Accommodation Outlets by Sector: Units 2008-2013
Table 37 Forecast Travel Accommodation Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2008-2013
TRANSPORTATION
Headlines
Trends
Prospects
Sector Data
Table 38 Transportation Sales by Sector: Value 2003-2008
Table 39 Transportation Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2003-2008
Table 40 Air Company Rankings 2005-2008
Table 41 Forecast Transportation Sales by Sector: Value 2008-2013
Table 42 Forecast Transportation Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2008-2013
CAR RENTAL
Headlines
Trends
Prospects
Sector Data
Table 43 Car Rental Sales: Value 2003-2008
Table 44 Car Rental Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2003-2008
Table 45 Car Rental Company Rankings 2005-2008
Table 46 Forecast Car Rental Sales: Value 2008-2013
Table 47 Forecast Car Rental Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2008-2013
TRAVEL RETAIL
Headlines
Trends
Prospects
Sector Data
Table 48 Travel Retail Outlets: Units 2003-2008
Table 49 Travel Retail Products Sales: Value 2003-2008
Table 50 Travel Retail Products Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2003-2008
Table 51 Travel Retail Products Company Rankings 2005-2008
Table 52 Forecast Travel Retail Outlets: Units 2008-2013
Table 53 Forecast Travel Retail Products Sales: Value 2008-2013
Table 54 Forecast Travel Retail Products Internet Sales: Internet Transaction Value 2008-2013