The World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) 2024 Economic Impact Research (EIR) has unveiled the remarkable growth of Qatar’s Travel & Tourism sector in the past year. According to the report, the sector reached new heights with significant increases in GDP contribution, job creation, and domestic traveler spend.
In 2023, the Travel & Tourism sector in Qatar saw a 31% growth in GDP contribution, reaching a record-breaking QAR 81.2 billion, which represents 10.3% of the country’s total economic output. This highlights the sector’s crucial role in the national economy. Additionally, over 20,300 new jobs were created, bringing the total employment in the sector to nearly 286,000, accounting for one in every eight jobs in the country. Domestic visitor spend also reached a new high of QAR 1.4 billion.
Despite hosting the FIFA World Cup the previous year and experiencing a 40% increase in spending by overseas visitors, the sector still fell short of the previous peak by QAR 1.2 billion. However, looking ahead to 2024, the Travel & Tourism sector is projected to contribute an all-time high of QAR 90.8 billion to the economy and support over 334,500 jobs.
The government’s commitment to collaboration between the public and private sectors has been instrumental in driving the sector’s growth. With forecasts indicating a record spend of QAR 69.6 billion by international travelers and QAR 12 billion by domestic travelers in 2024, the future looks promising for Qatar’s Travel & Tourism industry.
WTTC President & CEO, Julia Simpson, emphasized the significance of Qatar’s Travel & Tourism sector and highlighted the government’s efforts to propel its growth. The forecast for the next decade predicts further growth, with the sector expected to contribute more than QAR 135 billion to the economy by 2034 and employ nearly 458,000 people.
Across the Middle East, the Travel & Tourism sector is also experiencing growth, with forecasts indicating continued expansion in 2024. With the sector’s GDP contribution set to reach $507 billion and job creation expected to reach 8.3 million, the future looks bright for the region’s tourism industry.