The biggest rush is expected on the opening day of the Qatar FIFA World Cup
Flight bookings across the Middle East to Qatar have increased by more than 4,000 percent ahead of the Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022.
As the world’s biggest football tournament kicks off in 15 weeks, fans worldwide have booked flights to Qatar. Confirmed flight bookings for November and December have increased since the beginning of the year.
Roughly 1.5 million fans, a little more than half the population of Qatar, are expected to descend upon the country. It looks like travelers from the Middle East will dominate the Doha stands.
According to the latest data, flight bookings to the region are up 4,145 percent compared to bookings in January 2022.
The Middle East is hosting its first Qatar FIFA World Cup tournament. And airlines, including Air Arabia and Flydubai, are operating dozens of match-day shuttle flights between the UAE and Doha. Traveling during the World Cup will be easy and convenient.
Not lagging behind, the European fans will jet into Qatar. Flight bookings from Europe are the second highest, at just under 3,000 per week. A 400 percent increase compared with January.
Travelers from the Asia Pacific are also coming to the sporting event. Confirmed flight seats are up by 6,000 percent compared to early 2022. The majority of reservations for Doha are from India.
And with the easing of Australia’s final Covid-19-related travel restrictions, football fans from Down Under join in for the tournament. Australia has jumped eight places in ticket sales, moving from 14 in January.
Travel reservations for the event from the US to Qatar were up 500 percent in July.
November 21 is the busiest day for UAE to Qatar travel
The opening day, November 21, of the Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022 is the busiest day for travel to the country from the UAE.
Football fans flying into Qatar can expect busy airports on the opening day of the World Cup2022 .
For November 21, confirmed flight tickets bookings from Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi to Qatar have jumped by 18 percent, the opening day of the World Cup2022.
Senegal takes on the Netherlands for the first match. At the same time, the host country, Qatar, will face Ecuador later in the day after the grand opening ceremony at Al Bayt Stadium.
Group B — matches for England, the US, Wales, and Iran —will take place on the same day.
Other busy travel dates between Qatar and the UAE and Qatar are the days before and after the opening ceremony. Bookings on these dates are up eight and seven percent.
November 25 shows a spike of nine percent on the date. This spike is for the second round of Group A and B fixtures, including US vs. England.
November 29 is another busier day for travel between the UAE and Qatar. Flight bookings are up 9 percent.
GCC Traveler numbers up during the World Cup 2022
Although most World Cup 2022 visitors will spend less than a day in Doha, some plan to visit for longer, with 10 percent of travelers planning to stay upwards of 15 days. AFP
Most travelers flying to Qatar will spend less than a day in the city. Data indicates visitors will use match-day shuttle flights from the UAE.
Thirty percent of the visitors plan a Two to three-day stay in Doha, while 17 percent will stay up to a week in the country. Ten percent of travelers opt to stay in the country for upwards of 15 days.
There is a visible increase in tourists to neighboring countries in November and December. Flight bookings to other GCC are also up during the World Cup 2022.
Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan will experience significant increases in the number of tourists.
