The Qatar World Cup group matches are in full swing, and regarding the first World Cup hosted by the Middle East, some Western financial media believe that the host Qatar’s neighbor, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, may Become a major “winner” of this year’s World Cup economy. So, what is the reasoning behind this? What long-term impact will the World Cup have on the region’s economy?
Although Dubai is not the host city of this World Cup, it has attracted a large number of tourists. In particular, many football fans from all over the world are flocking to hotels and bars in Dubai. There are several reasons behind it, the first being accommodation.
Qatar is the host country with the smallest land area in the history of the World Cup. Although many hotels have been built in Qatar for this grand event, it is expected that there will be as many as 1.5 million fans watching the World Cup, which is equivalent to about half of the total population of Qatar, which also leads to a considerable shortage of hotel accommodation. Then Dubai, which is only an hour’s flight away from Doha in Qatar, can get a lot of money.
An operator who runs a five-star hotel on Palm Island in Dubai said, In September, his hotel bookings were not as good as before, but in the weeks leading up to the World Cup, he expects hotel occupancy rates to exceed 90%.
In order to attract World Cup fans, the United Arab Emirates, where Dubai is located, offered 100 dirhams, or about RMB 194 , to issue multiple-entry visas. Meanwhile, low-cost airline flydubai will operate at least 30 daily flights to and from Doha.
In May of this year, Qatar Airways announced that it would cooperate with other regional airlines to launch an additional 160 daily flights to and from Doha during the World Cup at relatively competitive prices .
These flights run faster because there is no checked luggage, and there are dedicated transport services to transport fans from the airport to the stadium.
As you can see from this picture, during the World Cup, the daily traffic from Dubai to Doha, Qatar There has been a noticeable increase in the number of scheduled flights.
Many fans like to have a glass of beer while watching a football game. In the Muslim region of the Middle East, Dubai’s relatively free drinking environment also makes it attractive to tourists from all over the world.
Although Qatar previously stated that it would relax restrictions on alcohol during the game, at the last moment before the start of the game, the Qatari government announced a ban on the sale of beer around the stadium.
In recent years, by contrast, Dubai has relaxed its rules on when and how “non-Muslims” can buy alcohol.
Capital Economic Economist Swanston said: Luxury goods in Dubai and Abu Dhabi The market is among the Gulf economies other than Qatar, which can benefit the most from the World Cup. Because, compared to other bay areas, there is a more liberal atmosphere, which is conducive to attracting tourists to visit.
(CCTV Finance)