The country welcomed 244,261 visitors from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in December 2022, an annual increase of 447.5%.

Qatar recorded a 64.4% increase in air passengers in the past month, representing a steady rise in the number of visitors to Qatar, according to the Air Transport Statistics published by Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority (QCCA).

In January of this year, the country saw 3,559,063 air passengers in total, up 64.4% from the 2,164,389 passengers counted during the same period in 2022, according to a recent tweet from the QCCA.

When compared to the same period in 2022, there was a 19.3% increase in aircraft movement, totalling 19,377 flights as opposed to 16,239 last year.

However, the amount of cargo and mail decreased by 12.3%, from 192,253 tonnes in the same month of 2022 to 168,682 tonnes in the current month.

World Cup visitors in numbers

In comparison to the 4,239,856 passengers counted during the same period in 2021, Qatar saw a total of 6,857,758 air travellers in November and December 2022, an uptick of 61.7%.

Additionally, there was a 33.9% increase in aircraft movement in November and December, totalling 43,600 flights as opposed to 32,557 on an annual basis in 2021.

Over 1.4 million people attended the FIFA World Cup in 2022, which as a result increased demand in both the tourism and hospitality industries in the country. Regionally, the country welcomed 244,261 visitors from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in December 2022, compared to 44,612 in the same month in 2021, recording an annual increase of 447.5%.

Travellers from the Gulf region made up 40% of all arrivals while other Arab nations made up 14 percent of visitors to Qatar in December 2022 (87,916, up from 15,175 in December 2021), recording a rise of 479.4% on an annual basis.

A total of 373,699 travellers arrived in Qatar by air in December 2022 compared to 87,702 travellers in December 2021, an increase of 326.1% annually. 7,869 people entered the country through the sea, while 232,044 people entered through the land border.

As part of its strategy to strengthen Qatar’s position as a top international travel destination, attract 6 million tourists annually by 2030, and increase the tourism sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) to 12% by the end of the decade, Qatar Tourism has announced a number of programmes set for 2023.