The latest data from the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) shows that 41 new hotels will open in Qatar in 2010, adding 4,689 hotel rooms to the hospitality market this year. Last year the number of hotel rooms in Qatar increased 25 percent compared to 2008, and officials expect growth this year to be even stronger because of prior project delays resulting from the global financial crisis. QTA chairman Ahmed Abdullah Al Nuami said “The global economic crisis has taken its toll on the world tourism sector. A thriving hotel industry is a key component of any country’s tourism sector.”
The number of five star hotel rooms in Qatar increased from 3,056 in 2008 to 4,059 in 2009. The number of four star hotel rooms increased from 2,155 in 2008 to 2,760 in 2009. The number of three star hotel rooms increased from 964 in 2008, to 1,064 in 2009. However, hotel occupancy rates in Qatar decreased 6.3 percent compared to 2008. Revenue per available room (RevPar) for five star hotels fell QR10m, and RevPar for four star hotels fell QR33m.
