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From Lusail Super CupTM to KSA national day, September sees international arrivals at 5-year high

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Qatar welcomes 151,000 visitors in September, led by visitors from Saudi Arabia

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Events throughout the month of September drove international arrivals during September to a five-year high, reaching 151,000 visitors. Starting with the Lusail Super Cup™ on September 9 to the multi-day celebrations that took place in honour of the KSA national day towards the end of the month, Qatar’s active calendar of events provided tourists plenty of reason to visit.

Arrivals from the GCC made up 44% of total international arrivals, led by Saudi Arabia which accounted for nearly 30% of total figures. Qatar continues to provide multiple points of access and the latest data shows 56% of visitors choosing to arrive by air, 37% by land and 7% by sea.

The busy month kicked off with a showdown between Al Hilal SFC and Zamalek SC at the Lusail Super CupTM, where more than 77,500 fans witnessed the inauguration of the impressive Lusail Stadium, the venue of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM Final. Fans were also treated to a spectacular concert by Egyptian superstar Amr Diab.

Toward the tail end of the month, Qatar Tourism (QT) organised a weekend of special events and promotions to mark Saudi National Day. With border activations at Abu Samra and special promotions at top hotels and leisure destinations, Qatar and Saudi Arabia celebrated the deep bond shared between the two nations.

Visitors could also take inspiration from Qatar Calendar, which featured a wide array of events from classical music performances by the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra to art exhibitions at multiple museums.

Commenting on the latest arrival figures, Haya Al-Noaimi, Acting Head of Promotion Sector, said: “Qatar’s ever-growing tourism offering is simply unmatched. We’re delighted to witness the influx of travellers and look forward to welcoming even more tourists to Qatar and encouraging them to experience the incredible exhibitions, events and family-friendly festivities we have coming up.”

Qatar’s active calendar has seen the country’s tourism sector mark a strong recovery this year, with more than 1.1 million travellers preferring Qatar as their destination of choice so far this year, up from 611,000 in 2021.

With quarantine restrictions fully lifted in September, total rooms nights stood at 4.7 M, on par with 2019 pre-pandemic levels and a significant achievement considering the prolific growth of supply that has taken place.

For up-to-date information on events in Qatar, visit Qatarcalendar.com or follow @qatarcalendar on Facebook and Instagram.