Sri Lanka Tourism to lure World Cup football fans facing A and A problems in Qatar
Taking place quadrennially, the FIFA Men’s World Cup sees 32 nations compete against each other for the coveted prize. With continental qualification pathways paving the way to the eventual exciting final event, it would bring thousands of fans from all over the world together to Qatar, Eight state-of-the-art stadiums will stage 64 matches between November 20 and December 18 as Qatar welcomes the best football teams on the planet for the first FIFA World Cup in the Middle East and the Arab world.
Two of the biggest challenges facing Qatar ahead of the upcoming FIFA event is the availability of accommodation and alcohol. Accommodation remains a huge issue. The country has an estimated 40,000 hotel rooms and plans to upgrade it to 70,000 ahead of the world cup. However, considering that Qatar is set to receive a whopping 1.2 -1.5 million visitors, 70,000 hotel rooms may not be sufficient to accommodate the number of visitors predicted to travel to Qatar. Reports indicate that the Qataris have arranged for several cruise liners to act as floating hotels during the period of contest. Qatar has also approached the organizers of Glastonbury – the famous British Music Festival, to set up luxury tents in the dessert in order to accommodate people. How this type of lodging pans out is left to be seen.
Alcohol, after accommodation, remains a thorny question. Being an Islamic country, Qatar has strict restrictions against the consumption of alcohol at public places or on the streets. As a result, the after game ‘drink and party’ culture, which is the norm in most places, comes with scary consequences and this could be a very bad experience for many fans. All things considered, particularly during the group stage, where most teams will get three days of rest between games, flying in and out of Qatar for each match could be a viable, if not best option - at least for the fans of European and some Asian teams. This is where Sri Lanka Tourism, desperate to have travelers visit the island, is making a belated effort to persuade fans to sojourn in-between match breaks, by visiting the country.
Limited accommodation options and entertainment choices exacerbated by the fact that many of Doha’s hotels won’t be screening games due to licensing costs, fans may be tempted to shuttle between countries. Germany’s 300 strong official fan group has reserved 300 places in a 4-star hotel in Dubai for example. But not everyone can afford to do that.
Located nearly 3,700 kms away from Qatar, and with a the flying time of four hours, Sri Lanka Tourism as per the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Board Chairman, has forged a partnership with SriLankan Airlines, Qatar Airways and Flydubai to facilitate the 3-and 4-night packages for stays in Negombo hotels. Sri Lanka’s Tourism Minister reckons that it would be less expensive than staying in the host cities.
How successful these last-ditch efforts will turn out to be is left to be seen.
Hospitality Sri Lanka
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