Travel spending in Qatar hits $3.59bn in Q1

Travel spending in Qatar surged 28 percent year-on-year to 13.1 billion Qatari riyals ($3.59 billion) in the first quarter of 2023, driven by a boom in social, cultural and other activities.

According to the balance of payments data issued by the Qatar Central Bank, Doha’s revenues from travel during the first three months of the year amounted to 6.8 billion riyals, up 52 percent when compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

However, the spending on transportation saw a drop of 12.3 percent to 9.7 billion riyals during the first quarter of 2023, against 11 billion riyals recorded in the same period a year ago.

Qatar’s balance of payments data further show that the gas-rich nation made direct investments of 3.4 billion riyals abroad during the first quarter of 2023, reflecting a growth of 29.6 percent when compared with the same period last year.

With regard to direct investments in Qatar, the amount fell 83.9 percent to 717 million riyals in the first three months of 2023, against the 4.47 billion riyals recorded in the corresponding period a year ago.

As for exports, Qatar’s value reached 95.8 billion during the first quarter of the year, reflecting a 7 percent drop in comparison to the same period a year earlier.

On the other hand, the value of imports amounted to 25.5 billion riyals in the first quarter of 2023, down 10.4 percent compared to the first three months of 2022.

Meanwhile, the Gulf country’s revenues from travel and transport sectors in the fourth quarter of 2022 — which was also the World Cup period — amounted to an estimated 32.4 billion riyals, reflecting the highest quarterly value ever.

“The World Cup, to us, was a bonus on top of what we were already doing in the cultural realm,” Sheikha Reem Al-Thani, acting deputy CEO of exhibitions and marketing for Qatar Museums, told Arab News earlier this year.

Much of the country’s tourism and cultural boom, said Al-Thani, is part of the Qatar National Vision 2030 strategy, which was formalized in July 2008.

“The World Cup definitely gave us a drive to move faster,” Al-Thani explained.

She added: “However, for us, it has always been about maintaining and developing our cultural and creative economy, educating people and really making sure that what we’re doing is in a very thoughtful and homegrown way.”

World Cup fans may have left but a multitude of projects are underway that will boost the country’s travel and tourism sector in the days ahead.