Qatar visitor arrivals from Gulf neighbors drop 18% in 7 months

“Undoubtedly, the diplomatic dispute with three neighboring countries has had a negative impact on visitor arrivals during the summer months, rendering them slower than usual,” Hassan Al-Ibrahim, the agency’s chief tourism development officer noted in the report.

Qatar is facing a demand-supply mismatch in the hospitality industry in the run up to the 2022 World Cup. The country saw the opening of three new properties in the first half of 2017, adding 1,244 new rooms and bringing the total number of rooms available in Qatar to 24,460 across 123 properties, according to hospitality consultancy firm STR.
STR’s July pipeline database shows eight hotel projects in Qatar set to open by the end of 2017.
“These additional 1,669 rooms represent a 6.8 percent growth on top of the country’s existing supply,” an STR analyst.
Qatar’s hotel sector is expected to see continuous development in tourism infrastructure, with additional hotels and serviced apartments as the country gears up for the 2022 World Cup. A number of hotel and retail projects are being developed across the country, with the country’s Lusail area seeing increased activity of late.