According to the authorities of the organizing country, 160 flights will serve daily as a shuttle between the host country and its neighbors.of which there will be about thirty from Dubai, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates.
These charter flights are a blessing for the almost ten million inhabitants of the Emirates, the vast majority of whom are expatriates such as Firas Yassine, a fan of the French national team.
This young Franco-Lebanese resident in Dubai did not hesitate to buy tickets to attend the first World Cup organized in the Middle East with his wife.
But seeing the prices of hotel rooms in Doha, they decided to make the round trip to the city on November 26, arriving five hours before kick-off and returning a few hours after the end of the match.
“I will visit the city, I will see the game and I will return home,” he tells AFP.
Tourist destination
The Dubai authorities hope that this option will also appeal to football fans from abroad.
Qatar plans to host between 1 and 1.2 million people during the World Cupbut some fans complain about the lack of proposed accommodation in Doha, the restrictions on alcohol and the lack of entertainment in this wealthy but small conservative Muslim country.
Less rich in hydrocarbons than its neighboring emirates, Dubai has nonetheless established itself as a world tourist enclave, with its innumerable hotels, bars, shopping malls and over-the-top attractions.
“Up to a million visitors” could roll their bags around the Emirates during the World Cupas expected by the public body Dubai Sports Council, in a statement released last week.
Authorities had announced earlier this month that multiple-entry visas would be granted to match ticket holders.
Some fans “will want to take advantage of the occasion to visit the two countries”, he foresees Expat Sportsa tourism agency specializing in sporting events, based in the Emirates.
“Dubai is known worldwide and numerous activities linked to football will be proposed,” he adds in an email to AFP.
The emirate announced the opening of several fan zones, in the parks, on the beaches or in the financial center of Dubai, famous for its many luxury restaurants.
“Lighter Social Norms”
A hotel, on the artificial island of The Palm, will also be entirely reserved for football fans.
Expat Sports says it has seen strong demand for bookings “from Mexico, the UK, Europe and India.” “At this rate, we expect the hotel to be complete,” he says.
On Sunday, the Emirates Prime Minister and Dubai’s leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rachid Al-Maktoum, indicated that tourism revenues had risen to $5 billion in the first half of 2022, relying on “strong performance”. this winter”.
Before the pandemic, Dubai alone received almost 16 million tourists in 2019, against 5.51 million the year after and 7.3 million last year.
In addition to “the advantage of being a major tourist destination”, the emirate stands out compared to other Gulf cities by “lighter social norms about certain cultural aspects, such as alcohol consumption or dress codes“, notes James Swanston of Capital Economics.
Normally in Qatar, the sale of alcohol is limited to a government store and about thirty hotel bars and restaurants.
The organization tried to reassure fans last week by announcing that beer stalls would open for a few hours around the stadiums and in the main FIFA “fan zones” in Doha.