São Paulo – The travel sector in Qatar should grow “solidly” in coming years and have revenues of US$ 7.7 billion in 2014, forecasts a study disclosed on Monday (15) by North American consultancy company PhoCusWright. Revenues forecasted for next year represent growth of 42.5% over the US$ 5.4 billion obtained by the sector in 2012. The study regarding the global travel market was elaborated by the consultancy company in partnership with Amadeus, a company that develops reservation and sales platforms for airlines, hotels and travel agencies.
According to paper The Peninsula, from Qatar, the study is “particularly focussed” on potential growth in the markets in Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Still according to the study, the online tourism sector, which includes online hotel reservations and package and airline ticket purchases, should have US$ 1.6 billion in revenues in Qatar in 2014, growth of approximately 69.5% over the US$ 944 million in revenues obtained in 2012.
The general manager of Amadeus, in Qatar, Wafiq Al Wahidi, stated that the figures disclosed by the research demonstrate the “strong” potential for growth of the travel and tourism sector in Qatar. “The sector should see advances supported by the ambitious plans for development of Qatar to transform the travel industry in the country,” he said.
Wahidi stated that the transport, hotel and infrastructure sectors are among those that receive greatest investment. He also stated that the Qatar World Cup, to take place in the Gulf country in 2022, should also “channel” billions of dollars to tourism.
Challenge
To generate the entire revenues forecasted by the study, Qatar will have to invest more in hotels. The study showed that hotel infrastructure in Qatar is the least developed among the countries researched in the study. In 2011, reservations in hotels in the country totalled US$ 808 million. In 2012, they dropped to US$ 749 million. The study’s estimate is that they should reach US$ 848 million in 2014.
The PhoCusWright research also shows that the country may make money with the sale of air fares, but that, in this case, Qatar Airways will compete with two “giants” from the United Arab Emirates: Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways. The estimates of the research show that spending with air fares in the region should reach US$ 6.8 billion in 2014.
*Translated by Mark Ament
