Travel and tourism generated QAR 67.6 billion, or 10.3% of Qatar’s GDP, in 2021, according to the report.
Qatar recorded international visitor spending of QAR 52.1 billion in 2021, which represented nearly 14.5% of the nation’s exports that year, according to the ‘2022 Annual Report’ by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC),
In 2021, 87% of all spending was made by visitors from other countries.
According to WTTC data, Qatar’s total spending on leisure in 2021 was QAR 44.73 billion, or 75% of all spending.
The global forum for the travel and tourism industry noted that nearly 250,000 people were employed in the nation’s travel and tourism sector last year, which represented 12% of all jobs in 2021.
Travel and tourism generated QAR 67.6 billion, or 10.3% of Qatar’s GDP, in 2021, according to the report.
Turkey topped the list of countries for Qatar’s outbound departures with 14%, followed by Kuwait (12%), Bahrain (11%), Saudi Arabia (10%), and the US (5%).
Prior to the pandemic, the travel and tourism sector, including its direct, indirect, and induced impacts, generated 10.3% of all jobs globally, amounting to a total of 333 million, essentially one in four of all new jobs created globally, and 9.6% of the world’s GDP.
Globally, the amount spent by visitors from other countries in 2019 was $1.8 trillion, accounting for 6.8% of all exports.
According to the WTTC, after almost $4.9 trillion was lost in 2020, a 50.4% decline, travel and tourism’s contribution to GDP increased by $1 trillion, 21.7% growth in 2021.
Due to ongoing mobility restrictions, the travel and tourism sector’s contribution to the global GDP fell from 10.3% in 2019 to 5.3% in 2020. The share rose to 6.1% in 2021.
Due to the pandemic, 62 million jobs were lost in 2020, a decrease of 18.6%, leaving just 271 million people employed globally, down from 333 million in 2019. In 2021, 18.2 million jobs were recovered, up 6.7% from the previous year.
Domestic visitor spending increased by 31.4% in 2021, according to the WTTC, after declining by 47.4% in 2020. Additionally, after falling by 69.7% in 2020, foreign visitor spending increased by 3.8% in 2021.
In the first half of 2022, Qataris spent QAR 21.3 billion on travel
The number appears to have reached an all-time high record since the beginning of the pandemic with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions globally and the gradual ending of quarantine requirements.
The percentage has increased by 43.3% since just last year, reaching almost twice the amount.
Many nations continued to impose strict restrictions on tourists trying to visit in the last year. The tourism industry has, however, once again experienced growth as a result of countries continuing to relax Covid-related health regulations and the expansion of the vaccination drive, as well as the global case count’s slow decline.
This year, Qatar itself lifted most of its travel restrictions, enabling both vaccinated and unvaccinated visitors to the Gulf state to enter without being quarantined.