Higher housing prices in Qatar’s capital Doha and Dubai’s more permissive environment – including the widespread availability of alcohol – could tempt fans flocking to watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Higher housing prices in Qatar’s capital Doha and Dubai’s more permissive environment – including the widespread availability of alcohol – could tempt fans flocking to watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The United Arab Emirates did not qualify for the Qatar World Cup, but it would be a winner if a large number of fans flooded its hotels, restaurants and planes.
The United Arab Emirates with less investment, and Dubai in particular, stands to benefit, as expected, with supporters opting to stay in tourism hotspots instead of smaller Gulf neighbor Qatar during the November-December tournament.
Experts say higher housing prices in the Qatari capital, Doha, and Dubai’s more permissive atmosphere – including the wider availability of alcohol – could attract fans.
Budget airline FlyDubai will operate at least 30 return flights a day to Doha, just an hour away, part of a daily airlift of 160 shuttle services from cities in the resource-rich Gulf.
economic benefits
“Dubai has relatively relaxed social norms regarding certain aspects of culture, such as alcohol consumption and clothing codes,” said James Swanston, Middle East and North Africa economist at Capital Economics.
Any economic crisis in less than two years over the regional blockade by Doha and the UAE that isolates Qatar from its neighbors and the glory reflected from the first World Cup on Arab soil will come in less than two years.
The Dubai Sports Council has estimated that around one million fans of the World Cup could visit the city. Given that Qatar is expecting similar numbers, the prediction could be ambitious.
Nonetheless, Dubai is gearing up with fan zones announced in parks, beaches and the financial hub, while hotels are offering special packages.
Such deals include shuttle flights and transportation to and from airports and fan areas.
The UAE is also offering multiple-entry visas to those with tickets to World Cup matches for a nominal fee of 100 dirhams ($27).
world cup passengers
Visiting fans won’t be Dubai’s only World Cup travelers. French-Lebanese Dubai resident Firas Yassin booked a day trip to watch France’s opening game after being “shocked” by the price of Doha hotel rooms.
Mr Yassin will fly with his wife five hours before the clash with Denmark on 26 November, and leave to fulfill the dream of a lifetime to see “Les Blaise” live a few hours after the final whistle.
“I am going to tour the city, watch matches and go back to my place in Dubai,” the 34-year-old said. AFP,
Expat Sport, which is licensed by FIFA to sell match hospitality packages for games in Doha, said “convenience” was a key factor in people choosing to live in Dubai.
It cited “regular shuttle flights operating between the two cities and it is only a one-hour flight”.
A Dubai hotel, on the man-made, front-shaped Palm Island, will be catered solely to football fans.
“We have a jump in bookings from Mexico, the UK, Europe and India,” said Expat Sport. “Room nights are going fast and we expect to be fully booked at this rate.”
The Emir of Dubai and UAE Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said on Sunday that UAE hotel occupancy this year is already 40% higher than in COVID-hit 2019, expecting a “strong tourism performance” this winter .
According to official figures, as of May, there were 769 hotels in Dubai with over 140,000 rooms, a significant increase from the start of 2019.
Shuttle flights will also operate from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman to ease the pressure of living in Doha, a city with a population of 2.4 million.
But “relative to other Gulf states, Dubai already holds an advantage” with its status as a major tourist destination, Swanston said.