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The Peninsula
Doha: FIFA has brought a tremendous impact to the development of the tourism sector in Qatar, Radisson Blu Hotel, Doha, Hotel Manager Emre Kocamustafaogullari told The Peninsula in an interview yesterday.
He said looking back in December 2010, there were only 66 hotels fast forward to 2023- 225 hotels are now sharing the market.
Additional159 hotels equivalent to thousands of rooms have been added to the inventory. We are now experiencing an oversupply; as a result, the competition is tougher than ever. That is from a business perspective.
“As a resident, I am thrilled with the entrant of new range of hotels, tourist resorts and world-class tourist attractions, entertainment venues, seaside and beach clubs, arts and culture houses, shopping malls, that suit all categories of visitors and all budgets,” Kocamustafaogullari said adding that these investments are expected to provide potential near-term economic gains not only in the hospitality sector but also a major economic boost to the country.
On the quality of tourism the state will receive he said Qatar had a great opportunity to showcase the country to a global audience with the World Cup. World Cups in Germany, Russia, and South Africa improved their profile and reputation as tourist destinations in the three years after the event. Each country noted an uplift in visitor numbers in the three years post-event. There was 22 percent to 27 percent growth in Revenue Per Available room (RevPAR) post World Cup.
'Based on the remarkable result of FIFA, the hospitality sector in the country is bound to witness a surge in demand through government initiatives, global and local events,' he said. Qatar has proven its readiness to host world-class events.
'If you compare the percentage of the ultra-luxury hotels in Qatar versus mid segment hotels, the ultra-luxury hotels are much lesser in number so this gives an advantage to this category. Additionally, the leisure market being the main target segment of the ultra-luxury hotels is still in the growing stage,' Kocamustafaogullari said.
However he noted that the market demand is much more accommodating to the mid-segment hotels. Both business and leisure travelers are more price sensitive nowadays.
For this reason, even the luxury brand new hotels are willing to compete at the level of mid-segment properties.
Moreover, the current corporate business in the country like offshore, airline, cruise business, exhibitions and travelers from neighboring countries are more receptive to the rates of mid-segment hotels.