Qatar’s hospitality sector maintains lead in Gulf region

26/04/2017 05:38 AST

Qatar’s hospitality sector has once again ranked at the top of Gulf Cooperation Council destinations in the Guest Experience in the Middle East report, released by hospitality and travel data providers Olery.

The report monitored and analyzed more than 2.5 million online guest reviews over the past 12 months (1 April 2016 – 31 March 2017) from popular sites such as Booking.com and TripAdvisor. The results showed that Qatar’s overall ranking in the Middle East has climbed to 3rd place, with an increase of 2.83% in its Guest Experience Index since the last report was issued.

The Index measures overall guest satisfaction by analysing different aspects of their tourist accommodation experience, including service, location, cleanliness, room quality, and value for money. In Qatar, hotel room quality and cleanliness were highly rated (87.6 and 88.9 respectively), placing the country in 2nd place regionally for both categories. According to the ‘guest type’ category, Qatar’s tourist accommodation was particularly popular among friends, business travelers, and couples.

According to Hassan Al Ibrahim, QTA’s Chief Tourism Development Officer, this news reflects the ongoing impact of the Hotel Grading and Classification System, released in January 2016 with the aim of raising the hospitality sector’s standards.

Al Ibrahim added: “We have been working tirelessly with our partners in the hospitality sector to strengthen and maintain Qatar’s well-deserved reputation for excellence in hospitality through closer grading and inspection. We are delighted to see the results in this report, which demonstrates that Qatar’s hospitality establishments continue to put guest experience at the heart of their efforts to develop and refine their services.”

Qatar’s Hotel Grading and Classification System was released after extensive collaboration with the local industry, hoteliers and international experts. For the first time, hotel grading now includes evaluation of a hotel’s reflection of the local Qatari culture in its service – strengthening the country’s unique positioning and cultural offering as a tourism destination.

Hotels are also graded on their sustainability measures, accessibility, and overall guest experience. Inspection of all 4- and 5-star hotels was completed in 2016 and hotels are working towards making the changes needed in order to maintain or boost their grading. In 2017, QTA is focusing on inspecting 3-, 2- and 1-star hotels.

Saudi Gazette