Are tourism and universities the future?

In December 2024 the number of visitors to Qatar reached nearly 600,000, a 14.6% increase on the previous year, as the economic contribution of tourism rose to over 11% of GDP. The total number of visitors for 2024 was more than 5 million – almost one and a half times the country’s population, and 25% higher than 2023. Two years after the country hosted the FIFA World Cup, these are impressive figures, and shows that the country has maintained its appeal. It is vindication for the decision to identify tourism as a sector of strategic importance for diversifying an economy for which earnings from oil and gas dominate.

In addition to conventional tourist attractions such as hotels, beaches and warm weather, Qatar offers sporting and cultural events – tournaments, concerts and exhibitions – as attractions. The tourism agency Visit Qatar has a well funded and sophisticated advertising and marketing program, featuring enticing television advertisements that showcase the country’s appeal. Some 41% of visitors are from the Gulf region, while the top five countries from which tourists originate are Saudi Arabia, India, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the USA.

There is a similar pattern across the Gulf region. The World Travel and Tourism Council estimates the economic contribution of tourism to the GCC countries to be $247.1 billion in 2024, or 11.4% of the region’s GDP. For Qatar, it projects that the sector will employ around 458,000 people, or one in five residents, by 2034.

In Qatar, a team from the IMF completed an Article IV Mission in November. It noted the rebound of the economy generally, and of tourism, since the fall in activity in 2023 following the World Cup the year before. Ms Ran Bi, leader of the IMF team, reported that: ‘Real GDP growth declined from 4.2% in 2022 to 1.2% in 2023, mainly due to contracting construction activities and moderating services growth after the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Tourism, on the other hand, strengthened significantly since the World Cup.’

The report is overwhelmingly positive. GDP growth is projected to reach 2% for 2024-25. The IMF team also commended the governing institution’s fiscal responsibility and general macroeconomic stability. The banking sector is described as healthy, helped by robust buffers and diligent supervision by the Qatar Central Bank. Net foreign liabilities require continued vigilance, but the IMF staff noted that their average maturity has lengthened and external funding sources have become more diversified.

The report adds: ‘The positive economic outlook provides an opportunity to accelerate revenue diversification especially to introduce a value-added tax, enhance spending efficiency and gradually align domestic and export energy prices, and reorient public spending to facilitate private sector growth.’

In addition to tourism, the higher education sector features significant investment and development, in Qatar and other Gulf states. For several years the region has been host to campuses of western universities, increasingly it is nurturing locally founded institutions. The Middle East has a long history of learning: the world uses the decimal Hindu-Arabic number system, while the sexagesimal Babylonian system is used for telling the time.

Last year the UAE opened the National University of Dubai, which is to be research-led. A similar initiative in Saudi Arabia is a revamped strategy for the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, which is modelled on technology-focused western universities.

Qatar plans to double its investment in research, development and innovation by the end of the 2020s

For the Qatari economy, while the oil and gas industry, in particular liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the North Field, will continue to dominate economic output and export earnings in proportionate terms, it is important to look at the make-up of the rest of the economy. The indications are positive. Higher levels of educational attainment, research-focused universities, a sophisticated banking sector, and a thriving events and tourism industry combine to provide a sound platform for economic prospects.

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