Qatar World Cup to give Gulf tourism lift as neighbours tap into demand

Gulf nations are bracing for tourism boom as huge numbers of football fans plan trips to watch the Qatar World Cup in November.

Qatar’s hosting of the world’s largest sporting event will lead to one of the busiest winter tourism seasons yet, particularly for Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.

Though Doha has spent billions on hotel accommodation and infrastructure, a significant shortfall remains.

About 1.5 million visitors are expected for the month-long tournament, due to kick-off on November 21.

But with only 130,000 or so rooms provided by hotels, cruise liners anchored off Doha and desert camp sites, the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia will be attractive alternative destinations for fans - though flight tickets have already surged in price.

“The UAE as a global hub will have every opportunity to capitalise on strong visitor numbers who wish to use the emirates as their base for the tournament games,” said David Garner, Mena region commercial vice president of Minor Hotels, which owns the Anantara and Avani brands.

“Demand will be generated by the 32 countries who have qualified for the World Cup but also from many other global fans.”

Travellers from most GCC nations can reach Qatar’s Hamad International Airport in about an hour or less.

Representatives from Qatar Airways, Dnata Travel, Etihad, Hilton and Bahrain's tourism authority told The National they have witnessed a surge in interest since the first phase of tickets went on sale.

Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Manama and Kuwait City are all less than an hour's flight from Doha. Graphic: Ramon Penas / The National

“There’s an expectation that many football fans heading to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will use Dubai either as a staging post or as a pre or post visit