DOHA: Thanks to increasing tourism activities and expanding network of national carrier Qatar Airways, the occupancy rate of local hotels improved two percent in the first six months of this year as compared to the corresponding period last year.

According to figures released by the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), the rate of occupancy of the hotel sector was 61 percent in H1 (first half) of 2010 as against 59 percent in H1 of 2009.

In addition, the revenue of four and five-star hotels in H1 this year exceeded those in the corresponding period of 2009, the QTA said in a statement issued yesterday.

The improvement in the performance of the hospitality sector can be attributed to the efforts of the state to increase tourism activities, and host sporting and cultural events. It is also due to the continuous expansion of Qatar Airways into new routes in spite of the global economic crisis, said the QTA.

It added that plans are afoot to open more hotels by the year-end as increasing accent is on promoting tourism. Some key Asian countries are among the new markets being targeted for tourist promotion, QTA said.[Read More]