Qatar’s tourism sector boomed in the first half of 2024 with an increase of 28 per cent in the number of international arrivals, compared to the corresponding period in 2023.

According to a report by Qatar Tourism, the 18^th AFC Asian Cup, the continent’s premier football tournament which was hosted by Qatar in January, was a major contributor to the year-on-year surge with more than 703,000 arrivals that month – a record for a single month.

Overall, in the first six months of 2024, 2,639,000 international travellers arrived in Qatar: 51 per cent by air, 40 per cent by land and nine per cent by sea.

In the same period in 2023, 2,054,000 visitors landed in Qatar.

Saudi Arabian citizens led the list of arrivals this year, with nearly 755,000, or 29 per cent, followed by visitors from India: more than 212,000 (eight per cent); Bahrain: more than 122,000 (five per cent); the UK: almost 99,000 (four per cent) and Kuwait: slightly more than 98,000 (four percent).

Meanwhile, the room-night demand hit a record high of 4.9 million in the first half of 2024, 28 per cent higher than in 2023 (3,708,000) and about 56 per cent above pre-pandemic levels (3.1 million) in 2019.

GO: Visit www.qatartourism.com for more information.