Qatar
Introduction
Travellers from Qatar made 773,000 outbound overnight visits in 2019, with a total international tourism expenditure of US$9.5 billion.
In 2019, the UK welcomed a record 175,000 visits from Qatar. During the travellers’ visits, their total expenditure reached a record £547.77 million, with an average spend of £3,129 per person.
Discover visitor behaviour, travel trade insights, detailed data visualisations for this market – and more. The statistics in this market report are collated from a range of sources such as the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as well as sponsored questions and our own research. For further details, see How we source this information.
Explore the inbound data in full
Use our visualisations to see data from this market in greater depth and clarity. Compare annual statistics, and filter by age group, gender, trip duration and more. Includes seasonality, trip purpose and regional spread of visitors to UK destinations. This data is based on the International Passenger Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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Global context
Top-level statistics relating to the population, GDP, tourism expenditure and popular destinations for this market. For greater detail on inbound tourism flows from this market to the UK, see our data visualisations.
| Measure | 2019 |
| International tourism expenditure (US$bn) | 9.5 |
| Global rank for international tourism expenditure | 35 |
| Number of outbound visits (m) | 0.8 |
| Most visited destination | UK |
| Most visited destination in Western Europe | UK |
Key demographic and economic data
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Access to Britain from Qatar
The key routes and transport modes that connect this market with the UK.
Measure | 2023 |
Weekly aircraft departures | 96 |
Weekly seat capacity | 33,130 |
Airports with direct routes in Qatar | 1 |
Airports with direct routes in Britain | 5 |
In 2023, British routes are served by Hamad International, serving London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester International, Edinburgh, and Birmingham. London Heathrow accounts for 55% of inbound seat capacity in 2023.
There are two operators - Qatar Airways, flying all 5 routes, and British Airways, flying only to London Heathrow and Gatwick.
Due to Covid-19, departures fell by 37% in 2020. They reached a low of 63% down from pre-pandemic levels in 2021, climbing to 29% down in 2022. In 2023 departures are set to be 9% down from pre-pandemic levels.
The current reduced rate of Air Passenger Duty for visitors departing Britain for Qatar is £87.
Qatari nationals can pay £30 for a visa waiver to enter the UK.
Further resources
GCC Market and Trade Profile 2021
Inbound market statistics, Experiences and perceptions, Understanding the market and Access and travel trade.
Qatar Market Snapshot.pdf
Qatar Market Snapshot
How we source this information
We work with a number of data sources to provide a rich and insightful picture of our key inbound source markets. This includes, but is not limited to, data provided by Oxford Economics, the UNWTO, Apex, Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index and from our own surveys and ad-hoc research. The largest share of the data comes from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) by the ONS.
Visit our About the International Passenger Survey page for more information on how this data is collected and analysed.
