Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

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. 

Latest articles

An artist's impression of the surf lagoon being built at Aquarabia in Qiddiya, Saudi Arabia

Largest water park in Middle East to open in Qiddiya next year

The largest water theme park in the Middle East is on target to open in the city of Qiddiya next year, its developer has announced. Aquarabia, the first water park in Saudi Arabia, will have four record holders among its 22 rides, including the world’s tallest “water coaster” and tallest water slide. It will also […]

Binance CEO Richard Teng told AGBI the company spent $213m on compliance measures in 2023

Binance clamps down on suspicious UAE crypto trades

Binance has blocked hundreds of thousands of suspicious cryptocurrency transactions in the UAE as it ramps up compliance efforts, senior executives have told AGBI. The business, which is the world’s largest crypto exchange, received nearly 60,000 law enforcement requests from governments around the world in 2023 after heightened regulatory scrutiny. Meera Judge, the Dubai-based director […]

Mubadala Brazil Brazilian biofuel

Mubadala to invest $13.5bn in sustainable biofuels in Brazil

Mubadala Capital is to invest $13.5 billion in biofuels in Brazil.  Its chief investment officer and head of Brazil Oscar Fahlgren told the Financial Times that the scheme to produce renewable diesel and aviation kerosene using mainly non-food plant matter is “a very important capital project”.  Mubadala is the second-biggest sovereign wealth fund in Abu […]

Saudi budget deficit Sky Bridge in Riyadh

Saudi budget deficit rises fourfold in Q1 2024

Saudi Arabia recorded a budget deficit in the first quarter of 2024 of SAR12.4 billion ($3.3 billion), four times higher than a year ago – confirming a revenue squeeze that has raised doubts about the funding of some of the kingdom’s giga-projects.  The Q1 deficit in 2023 was SAR2.92 billion, the finance ministry’s quarterly budget […]