Qatar Accommodation Sector Shows Signs of Bouncing Back despite COVID-19 Restrictions

Doha, September 08 (QNA) - A report by Qatar Tourism on Wednesday revealed that the hotel accommodation sector continues to show signs of recovery, driven by an increase in domestic tourism, despite the COVID-19 restrictions. Qatar Tourism shared a mid-year performance report of Qatars tourism and hospitality sectors, offering analyses and monitoring the tourism and hospitality sectors in the country. The report covers the period between January to June 2021. According to the report, hotel accommodation supply grew 7% between H1 2020 and H1 2021. The increase was primarily driven by additional hotel apartment and five-star hotel keys in operation across the country. The total number of keys at the end of Q2 2021 amounted to 29.7 thousand keys, compared to 27.8 thousand keys at the same time last year. A breakdown of supply and supply growth by accommodation category is provided in the report. Even with the supply growth, the hospitality sector (excluding properties utilized for quarantine purposes) recorded a 7% increase in overall occupancy rates compared to the same period last year. The occupancy rate averaged 60% across H1 2021, compared to 55% across H1 2020. The report also shows a 16% increase in average room rate (to 438 QAR) and a 24% increase in revenue per available room (to 266 QAR), compared with the same period last year. The upswings in Qatars accommodation sector can primarily be attributed to an increase in domestic tourism. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the number of international visitors in the first six months of 2021 remained low. International visitation decreased by 82% in H1 2021 as compared to H1 2020. This decline is largely due to very strong visitor arrivals figures for January and February 2020, just prior to border closures in March 2020. With the partial reopening of the countrys borders in July 2021, business and leisure visitation is returning. Accommodation performance and international visitation should continue to rise as international tourism slowly resumes. In addition to the reopening of the countrys borders, high vaccination rates, the issuance of approvals for hosting and organizing events and necessary business activity, will support the gradual recovery of Qatars tourism and affiliated sub-sectors such as aviation, hospitality, entertainment and retail. Furthermore, Qatars government is keen to provide safe and enjoyable travel experiences for international visitors and is taking all necessary precautions to ensure visitors have a safe experience. (QNA)