Hotel occupancy in Qatar during the Eid al-Fitr holidays was over 95% despite the siege imposed on the country, a number of officials in the country’s hospitality sector said yesterday, dismissing reports in some media outlets that claimed the occupancy rates were low.
The officials highlighted the rise in tourist numbers from Kuwait and Oman as well as the increasing demand from locals, the Qatar News Agency reported.
Qatar’s hospitality sector aims to diversify the markets by attracting visitors from new countries as the occupancy rates during weekends show substantial capacities, QNA added.
Wael Maatouk, general manager of Sharq Village and Spa, said the property enjoyed a good occupancy rate during Ramadan, adding that Eid reservations reached 100%, with the majority being Qatari and resident families as well as Kuwaiti and Omani visitors thanks to promotion offered by Katara Hospitality, the owner of several five-star hotels.
Saeid Heidari, the general manager of Sheraton Grand Doha, said Katara Hospitality’s offer helped in drawing a large number of visitors from Qatar, Kuwait and Oman, adding that occupancy rates during Eid holidays were a surprise as it hit 100%.
Erden Kendigelen, the general manager of The Ritz-Carlton Doha, said the Eid promotions that targeted the Kuwait and Omani markets had excellent results as his property achieved full occupancy during Eid holidays. 
Hotels are also witnessing high occupancy rates since the start of the Qatar Summer Festival (QSF) 2017, a senior official of Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has said.
Speaking on the sidelines of a special QSF event at Doha Festival City yesterday, QTA’s festivals and events director Mashal Shahbik told reporters that occupancy in hotels close to the beach and with facilities such as swimming pools has been nearly 100% since the start of the festival recently.
“When you go inside the city, some hotels with fewer water facilities, you will see that the percentage is between 80% and 85%,” she noted. “We are really happy to see that occupancy rates are high and people are enjoying tourism in Qatar.”
QTA has partnered with 77 hotels and hotel apartments to provide guests with special packages “made up of a mix-and-match of 11 different offers as part of QSF”.
Hotel guests can avail themselves of a free transfer from one participating mall to another when they shop. Various hotels also provide free transfers to Souq Waqif.
In the coming weeks, Shahbik said they are planning to attract different markets and visitors from other countries – including other regions - to visit Qatar. 
“We are happy to see the Omanis and Kuwaitis who came to celebrate Eid in Qatar, and we welcomed them at Hamad International Airport,” she added.
QTA also distributed leaflets and brochures of the entire Eid programme among visitors to provide clear directions on the different activities and events in Qatar.
With a new QSF model this year, QTA expects the number of tourists to increase further in the coming days. It is learnt that many visitors are taking advantage of the special hotel offers and packages.
Shahbik said the festival runs from the first day of Eid al-Fitr to the third day of Eid al-Adha, giving people the opportunity to explore different tourism attractions in the country.


Airport serves  hundreds 
of thousands passengers

The Hamad International Airport (HIA) served 580,000 passengers and handled 3,300 aircraft movements between June 19 and 25, HIA said in a tweet yesterday. Images shared by HIA on its Twitter handle also showed a busy airport.


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