Travel spending in Qatar increased by 28 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2023, reaching 13.1 billion Qatari riyals ($3.59 billion), led by an increase in social, cultural, and other activities.
According to the Qatar Central Bank’s balance of payments data, Doha’s travel revenues during the first three months of the year were 6.8 billion riyals, a 52 percent increase over the same time in 2022.
However, transportation spending fell 12.3 percent to 9.7 billion riyals in the first quarter of 2023, from 11 billion riyals in the same time the previous year.
According to Qatar’s balance of payments data, the gas-rich country made direct investments abroad of 3.4 billion riyals in the first quarter of 2023, representing a 29.6 percent increase over the same period last year.
Direct investments in Qatar plummeted 83.9 percent to 717 million riyals in the first three months of 2023, compared to 4.47 billion riyals in the same time the previous year.
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In terms of exports, Qatar’s value reached 95.8 billion in the first quarter of the year, a 7% decrease from the same time the previous year. Imports, on the other hand, totaled 25.5 billion riyals in the first quarter of 2023, a 10.4 percent decrease from the same period in the previous year.
Meanwhile, the Gulf country’s revenues from the travel and transportation sectors in the fourth quarter of 2022 — also the World Cup season — were predicted to be 32.4 billion riyals, the biggest quarterly value ever.
Source:
arabnews.com
