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The Dubai Sports Council estimates that around 1 million fans could arrive in the city during the Qatar World Cup
Dubai is preparing to announce fan zones in parks, beaches and financial centres, as well as hotels with special packages for the World Cup. (AFP)
The UAE is ineligible for the World Cup in Qatar, but will be a winner if fans flood its hotels, restaurants and planes.
The UAE, especially Dubai, will benefit if, as expected, supporters choose to stay in the tourist hotspot rather than Gulf neighbour Qatar during the November-December tournament.
High accommodation prices in Qatar’s capital Doha and a more relaxed environment in Dubai could attract fans, experts say.
Budget airline flydubai will operate at least 30 daily flights to and from Doha, just an hour from Doha, as part of a 160-day air shuttle service from the resource-rich Gulf city.
The Dubai Sports Council estimates that around one million World Cup fans could arrive in the city.
Dubai is preparing fan zones in parks, beaches and financial centres, while hotels are offering special packages.
Such deals include shuttle flights and transportation to airports and fan areas.
The UAE is also offering multiple entry visas for a nominal fee of AED100 (US$27) to holders of World Cup match tickets.
world cup commuter
The visiting fans won’t be the only World Cup commuters in Dubai. Firas Yassin, a French-Lebanese Dubai resident, booked a day trip to watch France’s first match after being “stunned” by the price of a hotel room in Doha.
Yassin will fly in with his wife five hours before the November 26 game against Denmark and leave a few hours after the final whistle, fulfilling a lifelong dream of watching “Les Bleus” live.
“I’m going to visit the city, watch the game and then go back to my residence in Dubai,” the 34-year-old told AFP.
Expat Sport, which is licensed by FIFA to sell match hospitality packages for matches in Doha, cited “convenience” as a key factor in people choosing to stay in Dubai.
It cites “scheduled shuttle flights operating between the two cities with only one hour flight time”.
The Dubai hotel on the artificial leafy palm island will be entirely in the hands of football fans.
“We’ve had a surge in bookings from Mexico, the UK, Europe and India,” Expat Sport said. “Room nights are growing rapidly and we expect to fill up at this rate.”
Hotel occupancy rates in the UAE this year are already more than 40% higher than in 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and a “strong tourism performance” is expected this winter.
Official figures show Dubai had 769 hotels with more than 140,000 rooms as of May, a significant increase from the start of 2019.
Shuttle flights will also depart from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman to ease the pressure on accommodation in Doha, a city of 2.4 million.
But Dubai’s status as a major tourist destination does have advantages relative to other Gulf countries.
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