Qatar May Give Preference to World Cup Ticket Holders Over Other Tourists
Photo Credit: Qatar is set to host the most geographically-compact world cup. Pixabay / Gustav Brandt
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At a time when every destination in the world is throwing its doors open to foreign tourists, accommodation-strapped Qatar may have to deny entry to ticketless tourists when the World Cup kicks off in the country in November.
As Qatar gets set to host the most geographically-compact world cup, the country may have turn down tourists for the month of November and December to accommodate football fans instead.
Limited accommodation facilities could drive Qatar to allow entry only to travelers with a valid World Cup ticket for the months of November and December.
“No final decision has been made in this regard. However, it’s likely that those without a World Cup ticket, unless they are residents or locals, might be restricted to enter Qatar from November till the end of December,” said Philip Dickinson, vice president of international markets for Qatar Tourism.
Meanwhile, Qatar has also come up with innovative solutions to accommodate an estimated 1.5 million visitors expected to attend the event over the course of five weeks.
Qatar Airways announced last week that airlines in the region would be operating more than 160 daily shuttle flights, allowing fans from nearby cities to fly in to Doha and return on the same day.
Reports suggest that airf
