Hotels record low occupancy in first quarter
By timebandit •
Anyone got any ideas why this should be?
By Santhosh V Perumal/Business Reporter
The prospects appeared to be bleak for Qatar’s hospitality sector during the first quarter as it witnessed a double-digit fall year-on-year in rooms yield due to lower occupancy and average room rates (in dollar terms), according to Ernst and Young’s (E&Y) survey.
Qatar hotels’ occupancy fell 9% to 66% and the average room rate by 4.7% to $264, thus leading to a 16.4% plunge in rooms’ yield to $175 year-to-date (YTD) in March this year, said the E&Y ‘Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey’, which was released yesterday.
Full story: http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=504871...
Been a while since I checked into one myself... ;)
They could build on the current.
Utilise the desert experience more
Build another Souq Waqif type market somewhere else.
Build more water parks
Build a really tall building. (I think they are working on this)
Keep bringing the sports events
The no.1 is to relax the attitude to the culture and norms of foreigners. They will come once but if treated badlyt they will not come again and they will tell their friends.
aslo they should have here at least one.. Qatar Ocean Park, Legoland, or Universal Studios,.. improve the zoo or build an animal sanctuary or have a wakeboarding resort..this country is damn boring, too much traffic and pricey.. i agree with most of the comments..
So if Qatar was to decide it needed some tourist attractions, what should they be?
Yes business tourism. That works when you have lots of money to splash around for meangingless conferences but what happens when you don't have so much cash? Tourism itself can be a sustainable industry and Qatar has lots to offer. However like someone said, you need to make them feel welcome!
Y'all know I have loved living in Qatar. That said, I would not recommend it as a tourist destination. There just isn't enough to do! You see, I lived in Oman for many years. The contrast is quite stark. Oman is absolutely beautiful, breathtakingly so, tolerant, moderate, open and hospitable and much more affordable. Dubai and Abu Dhabi each have their charms. So why would I recommend Doha? Except to come see me, of course!
Mandi
Qatar will focus on sports and business tourism.....look forward to hosting a number of sporting events and international conferences in the months/years to come.......
.....if it fails in that, the occupancy rates would fall to 40% and would lead to less investment in the hotel industry.......
Stealth, who else is supposed to occupy those hotel rooms if not tourists?
why the need for tourist s anyway? East Asia has already been ravaged by these so called tourists.
Why would anyone come here if Dubai is next door?
Well, there are quite a few Saudis around lately...but maybe they stay with relatives.
that makes air tickets less affordable. But Fuel Rod made a very valid point. Plus, if I am a turist I would go to Dubai, from where I can move to Hatta or to the Indian Ocean. What's there out of Doha? Nothing.
I would go to Oman where nature in nice and local welcoming.
Want high end foreign tourists?
Relax your liquor laws.
Live in an open society.
Equal rights for all.
Treat tourists like they are important, and not just people who have to respect you "or else."
Price is another factor. Doha is not exactly a must see destination in the world yet hotel prices here are some of the most xpensive in the world and that's before you go to the bar for a drink...
If the number of hotel rooms increase then you need a comenserate rise in guests just to stay still. I would guess that there is over capacity and this will contiue to be the case the more hotels that are built.
this growth in accomadation is needed for the buisness community in the build-up and duration of the world cup(and possible olympics) - but after that a lot of white elephants will be hanging around.