Top Qatar Tourism Official on the World Cup as a Springboard for Future
Skift Take
For an event that comes once in four years, Federation Internationale de Football Association's (FIFA) World Cup 2022 is surely helping Qatar — its host country this year — to create the right kind of buzz for its tourism sector.
As the countdown begins to the biggest tourism event — the Middle East’s very first FIFA — stakeholders talk about wanting to leave visitors beyond satisfied with their "Qatar travel experience."
Neighbouring countries are also trying to make the most of the event. On Wednesday, Iran announced that it would waive visa fees for World Cup spectators, hoping to woo football fans flocking Qatar to visit the neighbouring destination.
Chosen by FIFA over rival bids from Australia, Japan, South Korea and the U.S., Qatar is developing infrastructure to draw tourists in droves during the World Cup.
In conversation with Skift, Berthold Trenkel, chief operating officer of Qatar Tourism, talks about the preparations afoot in Qatar for the World Cup this year.
The comments have been edited for length and clarity.
Skift: Qatar expects to bring in 1.5 million fans through FIFA World Cup 2022. This number is more than two-thirds of the country’s tourism figures for 2019 (2.1 million). How confident are you about attracting that many tourists in two months?
Berthold T
