As many as 44 hotels across all market sectors, estimated to provide over 11,000 additional keys, are expected to be developed in Qatar to meet the supply targets for 2022.

As the tourism sector has come to the forefront of Doha’s development goals, some of the planned projects aimed at driving demand have started to materialise, such as the new Hamad International Airport and the new Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre, according to recent report released by Deloitte.

Moreover, Doha’s hotel market which is driven by improving fundamentals, achieved 72 per cent market wide occupancy levels in year-to-date August, despite the significant increase in supply over the last two years. The rise in demand for hotel accommodation in Qatar in recent years is in part a result of an increase in business travel as Qatar prepares for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and related developments.

 “Market wide occupancy in Doha’s hotels has improved in recent years. In 2009, Doha had a total supply of 49 hotels, but by Q2 2014, this increased to 74 hotels representing an increase of 60 per cent over the same period,” said Grant Salter, director, Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure (THL) industry at Deloitte Middle East.

The report further found that hotel demand in Qatar, as measured in hotel rooms sold, has increased with a recorded growth of approximately 11 per cent per annum, from 2008 to 2013. Hotel supply had increased by approximately 13 per cent over the same period, resulting in an occupancy level of 65 per cent at 2013. This mismatch in supply growth and demand growth has led to a decline in room rates as the market competes for customers.

Looking forward, Doha’s hotel pipeline is likely to be driven by the need to meet supply for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. There is a substantial amount of supply in the pipeline with over 44 hotels across all market sectors in varying stages of planning or construction, primarily in the Luxury, Upper Upscale and Upscale segments which are estimated to provide over 11,000 additional keys. The Midscale and Economy hotel pipeline is quite limited in Doha with only a few hotels under construction or in the planning stages suggesting that there is potential to consider development in this sector. – TradeArabia News Service