The number of GCC citizens visiting Qatar recorded an 8.49 percent increase in December 2016 compared to the same month in 2015. About 48.5 percent of the total visitors in December were from the GCC region.
The country received a total of 2.9 million visitors last month, according to the 36th edition of 'Qatar; Monthly Statistics' bulletin of the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics released yesterday.
The total number of passengers arriving at the Hamad International Airport (HIA) in December increased by 14.87 percent and in November by 11.03 percent, compared to the same months in 2015.
The total number of arrivals was 1.66 million in December and 1.45 million in the same month in the previous year, registering a growth of 14.87 percent.
The statistics indicated that the total number of departures through HIA in December was 1.7 million while the number during the same month in the previous year was 1.47 million, showing a growth of 15.4 percent.
The total number of arrivals recorded year-on-year (YoY) rose 14.9%, while the total number of departures recorded YoY rose by 15.4%.
The number of transits through the airport fell from 9,324 in December 2015 to 3,881 in December last year, with a 58.3 percent decrease while the number jumped by 59.6% last December compared to November.
The total number of arrivals to Doha reached approximately 445,000 passengers, and scored a monthly increase of 16.1% compared to November 2016. The total number of departures from Doha reached approximately 476,000 passengers, and scored a monthly increase of 33.1% compared to November in 2016.
The monthly statistical bulletin highlights some key areas like populations growth, movement of passengers through airports, ports and land making comparisons.
Notable in this issue is the significant increase in the number of passengers at Hamad International Airport, as the total number of arrivals reached more than 1.6 million passengers during December 2016.
The demographic statistics in the bulletin show that Qatar’s population reached more than 2.5 million at end of December 2016, attaining an annual increase of 7.3% compared with the population at end of December 2015, which was at 2.4 million.
The total number of births in the country reached 2,198 in December 2016, whereas the number of deaths was 217 during the same month.
The total number of marriages was 347 during December 2016, and the number of divorces was 118 during the same month.
The number of traffic violations was 178,565 during December 2016, resulting in a monthly decrease of 2.3% compared with the previous month.
The total number of sold properties reached 280 during December 2016. The total value of properties sold amounted to approximately QR2.9bn during the same period.
