Official data released by Qatar Tourism revealed a notable decline in the number of international visitors during the first half of 2026, as the country received approximately 1.75 million visitors, compared to 2.63 million visitors during the same period in 2025, a decrease of 33.4%, equivalent to about 880,000 visitors.

The data showed that air entry points accounted for the largest share of arrivals, receiving 978,000 visitors, followed by land entry points with about 655,000 visitors, while the number arriving via sea entry points reached about 117,000 visitors.

On a monthly basis, January recorded the highest arrival rate with 646,000 visitors, before dropping to 423,000 in February, then sharply declining in March to 63,000 visitors—the lowest level of the year—before numbers gradually rose to 129,000 in April, 267,000 in May, then falling again to 222,000 visitors in June.

This decline coincided with the security and military tensions the region has witnessed since the end of February, which impacted travel and tourism movement in the Gulf.

According to the geographical distribution of visitors, GCC countries ranked first, accounting for 39.6% of total visitors, with 693,000 visitors, followed by Asia and Oceania with 382,000 visitors (21.8%), then Europe with 380,000 visitors (21.7%).

The Americas ranked fourth with 119,000 visitors (6.8%), while Africa came fifth with 49,000 visitors, representing 2.8% of total arrivals.

The decline recorded during the first half of the year is among the largest drops the Qatari tourism sector has seen since the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.