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International visitors spent $14.3bn in Qatar last year

By Pramod Kumar
REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
General view of East-West/West-East sculpture by an American artist, Richard Serra, in the desert of Dukhan, Qatar

International visitors to Qatar spent QR52.1 billion ($14.31 billion) in 2021, accounting for almost 14.5 percent of the country’s exports last year, according to World Travel & Tourism Council figures reported in the Gulf Times.

Leisure spending reached QR44.73 billion, 75 percent of the total spending in 2021.

The travel and tourism sector contributed QR67.6 billion to the Gulf state’s economy, or 10.3 percent of the total GDP, in 2021, the World Travel & Tourism Council said.

Indians accounted for 8 percent of the total arrivals, followed by Kuwait (4 percent), Oman (3 percent), the UK (2 percent) and the US (2 percent).

Turkey topped the list of outbound departures with 14 percent, followed by Kuwait (12 percent), Bahrain (11 percent), Saudi Arabia (10 percent) and the US (5 percent).

The council said the tourism sector employed almost 250,000 people, making 12 percent of total jobs last year. These figures are set to rise sharply as Qatar hosts the World Cup. The tournament begins on November 20. 

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