DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The FIFA World Cup could draw up to 1. 2 million fans to Qatar, but the striking neighboring emirate of Dubai is also betting on the premier sports tournament minutes away by plane.
Some football fan clubs have already announced they will travel to Qatar on 45-minute flights from Dubai, the UAE city-state full of skyscrapers and beaches. Other enthusiasts plan to sleep on cruise ships or camp in the desert. in the midst of a feverish race for rooms in Doha.
Dubai’s airlines, bars, restaurants, shopping malls and other attractions are now hoping to benefit, further boosting their recovery in the tourism industry in the autumn and winter months after the blows of the coronavirus pandemic.
“If you can’t stay in Qatar, Dubai is where you’d most like to spend as a foreign tourist,” said James Swanston, a Middle East and North Africa expert at Capital Economics. “It’s a position, a more liberal position across the West. “Standards. It’s the horniest destination. “
Now home to the world’s tallest building, cavernous grocery stores (adding one with an indoor ski slope) and a thriving nightclub scene, Dubai has experienced explosive expansion fueled by its burgeoning asset market that has reshaped the former pearl village over the past 20 years.
Its long-haul airline, Emirates, has helped make Dubai International Airport the world’s busiest overseas airport and offers a steady stream of new visitors staying for layovers or more. Relatively more liberal view of drinking and nightlife.
In the run-up to the tournament, considerations about hotel room area and maximum room costs have followed Qatar, which lacks hotel capacity for all World Cup teams, workers, volunteers and enthusiasts. For example, Doha has created camping sites and cabins, rented cruise ships and encouraged enthusiasts to stay in neighboring countries and attend matches.
Qatar has estimated that it will have 45,000 rooms for the tournament.
Neighboring countries, such as Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, also recommend that they be able to see an increase in visitors, even though Bahrain is the only one of them that allows alcohol. Even Iran, months ago, recommended making plans for the World Cup. Apparently, nothing was gained from the idea and now the Islamic Republic is taken over through national protests.
Meanwhile, Dubai has more than 140,000 hotel rooms, making it safely among the top 10 most sensitive global destinations when it comes to hotel rooms, said Philip Wooller, senior director at STR, a company that oversees the hospitality industry. Dubai also offers higher levels of value than Qatar can offer lately, given demand, he said.
“I Dubai is an incredibly eclectic city,” Wooller said. “You can buy a room for $100 or you can buy a room for $5,000. “
Still, he added, he hopes “Qatar can accommodate as many of the enthusiasts coming to the World Cup [but] there will be a domino effect in Dubai. “
Its budget carrier, FlyDubai, plans up to 30 round-trip flights for World Cup day, between Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central, or DWC, in the south of the city-state, and Doha International Airport. , Qatar’s former main airport.
Other airlines likely to use Al Maktoum airport include KLM, Qatar Airways and Wizz Air, while personal jets will also fly from there to the tournament, said Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Dubai Airports. Dubai expects to expand in the long term as Dubai International Airport approaches capacity.
“It’s a wonderful delight for us to see the DWC so busy for the World Cup,” he said. “
The expected economic boost from the World Cup for Dubai comes after its change since it suffered the pandemic. It spent billions on its delayed global Expo 2020 expo, which has largely attracted visitors already in the UAE.
Dubai, like much of the world, closed in early 2020. However, in July of that year, it announced its reopening to tourists. Although Dubai faced a wave of foreign complaints when the cases spread from the emirate months later, towards the New Year. Dubai and the rest of the UAE have widely deployed vaccines.
The UAE abandoned its mask policy about a month ago.
“Dubai is on a lot of people’s radar as one of the best places to visit,” said Dennis McGettigan, chief executive of an eponymous empire of Irish bars in Dubai and elsewhere. “And me, the World Cup has added a layer” of preference to visit.