Latest news with #AlKharji
Skift
22-05-2025
- Business
- Skift
Qatar Wants Tourists Who Stay Longer
Qatar's tourism numbers grew by around 25% last year, but the real focus is on increasing how long people stay and how much they spend. Qatar's new goal for tourism isn't to have the most travelers in the region – it wants travelers who stay longer and spend more, according to the chairman of Qatar Tourism, Saad Bin Ali Al Kharji. "I'm not looking to drive the [visitor] numbers high, rather [to increase] people staying longer and increase the quality of visitors," said Al Kharji at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha on Wednesday. Qatar had 9.95 million room nights last year, according to Qatar Tourism data, referring to the total number of rooms occupied. The country had around five million total tourists. "Everyone globally wants to increase their number of visitors. We are focused more on room nights, though," said Al Kharji. "That's the most important [metric] for Qatar." Al Kharji said Qatar's room nights grew 22% last year. Accor CEO and chairman Sebastien Bazin was also on stage with Al Kharji. Accor is a major operator in Qatar and a member of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) sits on Accor's board. Bazin agreed that increasing the length of stay is key. "It costs a fortune to get people to Doha, so we need them to stay an extra two nights," he said. Bazin added that, even though Qatar gained visibility when it hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2022, more needs to be done to create awareness. On the topic of extending vacations, Bazin said that one of Qatar's shortcomings is that it doesn't have enough beach resorts. "The difficulty of this country, and it's one, and it's being addressed, it doesn't have enough luxury beach resort experiences," Bazin said. "They built it in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, they're doing it in Saudi Arabia, but Qatar is late. Most of the hotels [in Qatar] today don't have great beach access." "That's what is missing in this country. We need to go quick at it. We need to catch up." Responding to Bazin's point, Al Kharji said Qatar has stopped issuing new hotel licenses, unless they are beach projects. "We stopped licensing new hotels in Qatar, the only hotels I'll give licenses to are those on the beachfront," said the tourism chief. Qatar has around 40,000 hotel keys and 7,000 in the pipeline, Al Kharji said.
Qatar Tribune
21-05-2025
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
Tourism contributed 8% to Qatar's GDP: Al Kharji
Tribune News Network Doha The contribution of the tourism sector to Qatar's GDP stood at QR55 billion in 2024, up 14% from the 2023 level, and 8% of the country's total economic output, Qatar Tourism Chairman Saad bin Ali Al-Kharji has said. Al Kharji made the statement while participating in a high-level panel discussion on 'Tourism in Focus' at the fifth edition of the Qatar Economic Forum (QEF) 2025. The session, moderated by Bloomberg Television anchor Joumanna Bercetche, featured Sébastien Bazin, Group Chairman and CEO of Accor, and explored key themes shaping the future of global tourism, including luxury and sustainability, economic resilience, health tourism, and emerging market trends. He assured that Qatar is well on track to achieving its Tourism Strategy 2030 goal of contributing 12% to GDP, highlighting the sector's increasing importance in the nation's broader economic diversification strategy. In 2024, international visitor arrivals reached 5million, a 25% year-on-year increase, with in-destination spend totalling nearly QR40 billion. The hospitality sector also achieved a key milestone, recording 10 million room nights sold during the year. As part of the panel, the Chairman highlighted how global travel demand is shifting towards lifestyle-driven and purpose-led experiences, such as wellness retreats, cultural immersion, and luxury nature-based getaways. He noted that travellers are increasingly prioritising experiences, such as bespoke accommodation, culinary exploration, and curated cultural activities, over traditional material spending. Qatar's strategy aligns with these trends, focusing on six high-potential demand spaces and delivering 54 strategic projects across product development, regulation, and visitor experience enhancement. He also discussed the expanding opportunities in regional collaboration, health tourism, and investment. He highlighted joint initiatives with Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, enhanced air connectivity with China, and Qatar's integrated health and wellness offerings. He also outlined major development projects such as the QAR 20 billion Simaisma coastal destination and ongoing expansions at Hamad International Airport, reinforcing Qatar's positioning as a premium, sustainable, and competitive global destination. Held under the theme 'The Road to 2030: Transforming the Global Economy,' the Qatar Economic Forum 2025 convened global leaders to examine key topics including geopolitics, technology, energy security, investment, and the future of sports and entertainment.
