Qatar linked hotel stays with visitor rewards after international arrivals and hotel room nights rose in 2025.
Qatar Tourism recorded 5.1 million international visitors in 2025, a 3.7% increase from 2024. Hotels sold 10.84 million room nights, up 8.6%. The country ended the year with 42,469 hotel keys and average full-market occupancy of 71.3%.
Qatar Tourism Chairman Saad Bin Ali Al-Kharji said the next stage of the country's tourism strategy would prioritize the quality of visitor experiences. He also reported about 2.338 million visitors through the end of August 2026.
A Nov. 25, 2025, memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Visit Qatar and the Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFCA) set out a planned digital rewards pilot. Visit Qatar joined the Qatar Financial Centre's Digital Assets Lab as a national partner. QFCA said it licensed eXplorins as a Token Service Provider to work with Visit Qatar on the project. Possible features included token-based rewards, digital cultural collectibles and tokenized tourism packages. Visit Qatar CEO Eng. Abdulaziz Ali Al Mawlawi presented the technology effort as a way to broaden services for visitors.
During Hala Summer, which ran from May 1 to Sept. 30, 2026, guests at about 100 participating hotels could use the VQ Wallet to access offers for children under 12 at selected museums, cultural sites, entertainment venues, theme parks and events.
eXplorins said the first phase of its Qatar rewards ecosystem launched with Hala Summer. Visit Qatar's campaign page describes wallet offers without identifying token mechanics, leaving the VQ Wallet's connection to the pilot unverified. The available sources do not report whether the rewards increased repeat visits or spending. Al-Kharji said Qatar was looking toward 2027 but named no specific next decision or performance indicator.
