Qatar hotel keys accelerate growth with strategic luxury repositioning
Speaking to The Peninsula, Daniel Brody, a hospitality consultant at Tourism Metrics MENA, explained that this move underscores the nation's commitment to elevating its hospitality landscape while responding to evolving global trends in upscale accommodations.
According to data by ValuStrat, Qatar's hospitality sector recorded a tempered performance in the first quarter of 2025, with new luxury hotel openings and a full calendar of events balancing out a year-on-year dip in visitor numbers and key performance metrics.
Q1 2025 saw the official opening of two major luxury hotels, including the Andaz Doha, adding 256 rooms, and the Rosewood Doha, which contributed 317 keys. These openings form part of a broader pipeline, with 845 hotel keys projected to enter the market this year, predominantly in the upscale segment.
Qatar Tourism earlier reported that the total national hospitality stock reached 40,787 keys by the end of Q1 2025.
A dominant 68 percent of this supply is concentrated in the 4- and 5-star segments, highlighting the country's premium hospitality positioning.
Meanwhile, 7.7 percent falls within the 1- to 3-star category, and 24.3 percent comprises hotel apartments, a format increasingly popular with families and long-stay guests.
'Qatar continues to build premium inventory, and the challenge now is balancing expansion with sustainable occupancy,' Brody said.
Despite the annual drop, Q1 benefitted from a strong events calendar, including Eid celebrations, desert and food festivals, cruise ship arrivals, jewellery exhibitions, and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) events, all of which helped buoy demand during peak weeks.
'These events provided essential weekend and holiday spikes, helping many hotels maintain healthy room bookings during otherwise slower periods,' the expert said, adding that a need for longer stays and consistent midweek corporate traffic is required.
In Q1 2025, performance indicators painted a cautious picture. The Average Daily Rate (ADR) across Qatar was QAR 445, down 6.4 percent YoY, while Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) dropped by a steeper 10.7 percent YoY to QR317. The overall hotel occupancy rate averaged 71.3 percent, representing a 5.2 percent drop compared to Q1 2024.
In terms of tourism traffic, Qatar welcomed more than 2.6 million visitors between January and June, a 3 percent rise compared to the same period last year. Among these arrivals, visitors from GCC countries made up 36 percent, followed by Europe at 26 percent, Asia and Oceania at 22 percent, and 7 percent each from the Americas and other Arab nations.
Anum Hassan, head of research at ValuStrat, commented that Tourism remains a strong contributor to economic activity as Qatar's hospitality sector is evolving from post-event saturation to long-term, sustainable positioning.
Analysts suggest that diversifying target demographics, improving midscale offerings, and investing in experience-driven tourism will be key to maintaining momentum.
© Dar Al Sharq Press, Printing and Distribution. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
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