Despite a rise in the number of hotels, Qatar has seen an increase in hotel occupancy rate, it was revealed yesterday. During the first quarter of this year, hotel occupancy was 68 percent, even though there was an increase in the number of hotels in Doha. In May this year, occupancy rate increased by 15.5 percent compared to the same month last year, despite the increase in the number of hotels to 87 from 81 last year. “It is worth mentioning, that Qatar has witnessed an increase in the number of tourists visiting from the region. The figures show that the total number of tourists from GCC countries grew by 13 percent and that tourists from the world have increased by 10 percent last year. Eighty-one hotels in 2012 offered a total of 13,407 rooms, achieving 60 percent occupancy rates,” said QTA Chairman, Issa bin Mohammed Al Muhannadi. He was speaking at a press conference yesterday to announce the “Eid Festivals” aimed at making Qatar an Eid destination in the region through the wide array of activities and venues Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha festivities here. The said festivals along with the past and upcoming world class events are part of the QTA’s strategy to further increase tourist arrivals, said Al Muhannadi. Also, QTA’s recent launch of the new website is aligned with QTA’s vision to provide the most up-to-date services and to promote Qatar as the world’s entertainment hub. “This phase comes as a prelude to other stages to launch related sites and advanced applications on smartphones, that will help visitors and residents while browsing the tourism products in Qatar and the activities and events throughout the year,” he said. The new website, which is easy to navigate, provides potential tourists information about Qatar and the things to do and places to visit, in addition to other services such as booking a flight and a hotel. Al Muhannadi said QTA’s new strategy, which will serve as the road map for developing national tourism, will be launched soon. Human resources development, sustainability and providing business opportunities to the private sector are among the focus of the strategy. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/241909-occupancy-rate-up-despite-increase-in-hotels-qta.html

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