Visitors generated QR54.6bn income in 2015: Ministry

The income derived from services to ‘non-residents’ (visitors) in Qatar amounted to QR54.6bn in 2015, up from QR11bn in 2010, with an average annual growth of 44.9%, official figures show.The findings of an analytical report prepared by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) on the “Competitive perspectives of Qatari economy and its promising sectors and activities” were released yesterday.The report showed a “considerable growth” in the role of service activities in supporting national exports, which enhances Qatar’s economic growth and the country’s balance of payment with the rest of the world.The income from non-residents (visitors to the country) mainly in transportation and tourism, has “rapidly grown” within the last four years, amounting to QR54.6bn last year.In particular, the income from the transportation sector in this category has grown more than four fold within the last five years, amounting to QR27bn in 2015, up from around QR6.4bn in 2010.As for the economic activities related to tourism, the report said income grew more than nine fold within the same period, amounting to QR18.3bn in 2015, and representing 33.6% of the total “services exports” in the same year.The other services activities accounted for 17% of the income of such sector, it said.Also, “services exports”, tourism and transportation, accounted for 16.2%  of all income through the country’s exports in 2015, up from 4% five years earlier.Such growth was mainly driven by the activities of  air transportation, and Qatar Airways in particular, as the country has become a top destination in relation to trans-border air cargo activities.Qatar’s air transport sector attained sixth place globally in 2015, up from the fourth place in 2014 in relation to air cargo. This represents a growth of 26% during the period.The sector, represented by Qatar Airways, was able to transport nearly 6mn tonnes of goods, surpassing even advanced countries such as Britain, Luxemburg, Holland, and France in this regard.The MEC report said the sector would advance further in the upcoming years with air cargo transportation in the country approaching the level of countries such as Germany, Singapore and Japan.Besides, Qatar Airways has become one of the largest air carriers in terms of the growth of the numbers of passengers in the recent years. The number of passengers carried by Qatar Airways registered a 10-fold growth in the last 10 years, putting the national airline at the 30th place globally, and  3rd in the Arab region in this respect.The direct income linked to tourism such as restaurants, hotels, commercial outlets and internal transport, amounted to QR18.3bn in 2015, which indicates an eight-fold increase compared with QR2.1bn in 2010, the report added.