DOHA: Qatar witnessed a strong increase in tourist arrivals which has led to boosting hotel performance throughout last year. The hospitality real estate sector has been boosted significantly by the increase in tourist arrivals in 2024.

The number of hotel keys in Qatar has reached record levels. An increase of 1,240 keys during 2024 saw the total number increase to 40,405 by the end of December. Supply remains dominated by luxury hotels, said Cushman and Wakefield in its latest report.

According to Qatar Tourism, 19,410 hotel rooms in Qatar are classified as 5 Star, while only 3,038 hotel rooms in Qatar are classified as 3 Star or below.

There are currently 9,925 hotel apartments in Qatar. “We estimate that more than 80 percent of these apartments are categorized as ‘Deluxe’, with many situated within 5-star hotel establishments.”

While the pace of new development has slowed, there have been some notable new additions to Qatar’s hotel supply recently, which include The OQ Hotel in Lusail, and West Walk Retaj Hotel in Al Waab.

The annual visitors to Qatar surpassed five million for the first time in 2024. This represents a 28 percent increase from the previous record of 3.9 million visitors in 2023. The GCC represented 41 percent of the 5.08 million visitors to Qatar in 2024, with 23 percent originating from Europe. 37 percent of visitors arrived by road, highlighting that Saudi Arabia still represents Qatar’s largest single tourist market, according to Qatar Tourism.

The increase in tourist arrivals, coupled with the slowdown in the delivery of new supply has had a positive impact on performance metrics in the hotel sector. According to STR Global’s Hotel Industry Performance Report, occupancy rates for Q4 climbed to 77 percent, up from 69 percent in fourth quarter of 2023. The increase in occupancy rates towards year-end contributed to an overall hotel occupancy of 69 percent for 2024 compared to 58 percent in 2023.

The increase in visitors and occupancy rates has boosted the Average Daily Rates generated by hotel rooms, which had generally been trending downwards between 2015 and 2022 as the supply of rooms in Qatar grew. The overall Average Daily Rate for hotel rooms in Qatar during fourth quarter was QR463 – a year-on-year increase of 12 percent according to STR Global.

Improved hotel performance metrics in last year reflect the success of Qatar Tourism’s international marketing campaign since the World Cup and illustrate the benefit of Qatar’s focus on hosting international business and leisure events, the number of which continues to increase annually.

Qatar’s legacy of hosting renowned events — such as the FIFA World Cup, the Geneva International Motor Show, Formula 1, Web Summit, Qatar Economic Forum, and many others — has solidified our position as a global destination of choice.

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