Qatar plans 21 new hotels for World Cup

In the run up to FIFA World Cup 2022, Qatar is opening 21 new hotels in Doha, due for completion in the next five years.

More than half of the new hotels are going to be five-star properties and nine will be four-star, The Peninsula reported. 80-85 percent of the current 77 hotels in Qatar are four or five-star.

According to the Ministry of Business and Trade, 45,000 additional hotel rooms will be built by 2017 to reach FIFA’s projected capacity requirement of 60,000 rooms.

Average occupancy rate for 2012 had fallen to 58 percent in comparison to 61 percent recorded over the same period in 2011, DTZ’s Property Times report (Qatar – Q3 2012) revealed. This reduction is primarily explained by the 32 percent increase in hotel supply recorded over the first three quarters of 2012.

A further 50 hotels are being planned before 2020, of which 80-85 percent will be rated either four or five-star. Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) is planning to invest US$17 billion on tourism related infrastructure projects over the next five years.