Qatar luxury hotels see 20% rise in Q1 revenues

Revenues for five-star hotels in Qatar surged by nearly 20 percent in the first quarter of 2011, compared to the same period last year, officials said on Monday.

The Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) said revenues for luxury properties rose to nearly QR579m ($159m), compared to just under QR478m in the same period the previous year.

Four star establishments also saw revenue gains in the first three months with QR155.4m compared to QR144.6m in Q1 2010.

The QTA also revealed there are currently 77 new hotels and 42 apartment hotels under construction in Qatar.

These will bring a total of 21,107 new rooms into the Qatari hospitality market when they come online. More than 6,000 extra hotel rooms are due to open in 2011 alone, comprised of 25 hotels and 10 apartment hotels.

The QTA said the strong Q1 performance was due partly to the hosting of the Asian Football Cup.
Occupancy rates for all hotels in the country are up nearly 10 percent in 2011 compared to last year, according to the QTA statistics.

The number of GCC visitors to Qatar increased by 48 percent over the first three months of 2011, the QTA added.
On average, hotel occupancy rates stood at 68 percent compared to 59 percent in 2010.

QTA chairman Ahmed Al Nuami said: "These statistics are a great boost and prove that Qatar is a destination to hold large scale events. We are expecting a bumper year in 2011 with the World Petroleum Congress and the Arab Games both being held in late 2011."

He added: "With new hotel openings planned in coming months, this shows the confidence that the business and hospitality sector has in Qatar's current and potential growth."