A huge increase in visitors later in the event is unlikely as only eight teams remain in the game. And only eight games out of 64 in the tournament are still pending.
The organizers had previously set the peak period for foreign fans to be 24-28 November, that is, during the final stage of the group competition. Back then, 32 teams played four games a day.
A December 7 report by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), which organizes the tournament, indicates that 765,859 international visitors visited Qatar in the first 17 days of the World Cup, more than half of whom have already departed. The report recorded 1.33 million tickets used by them out of a total pool of 3.09 million tickets prepared for sale for eight stadiums.
One of the most expensive World Cups for fans
Tournament in Qatar, the first in the Middle East, it is considered one of the most expensive in terms of tickets, hotels and alcohol, the sale of which is very limited.
Fewer international visitors than originally anticipated led to an unexpected oversupply of accommodation, but also avoided severe overcrowding or traffic problems in Qatar, the smallest country by population and area to host the World Cup . The influx of visitors represents around 25 percent of the tournament’s host population of just under 3 million, of which only around 10 to 12 percent are Qatari.
“There is more than a week left in the competition, but a wave of new visitors has started to arrive from the countries that have reached the quarter-finals,” an unnamed Qatari official told Reuters.
There should have been more fans at the 2022 World Cup
It is expected that more visitors will arrive in Qatar than initially planned for these meetings. Not without significance is the decision to lift entry restrictions for citizens and residents of other Gulf states.
The document said so total attendance at the stadium for the first 52 games was 2.65 million.
Previously, FIFA said stadium attendances in Qatar surpassed those recorded in stadiums during the same period as the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
On Tuesday, hundreds of Moroccan fans flew to Qatar on special flights organized in view of their team’s victory over Spain. Similar transfers should be arranged to allow fans to arrive from overseas at the last minute.
Visitors to Qatar must obtain a special Hayya ID card prior to travel as it is also a mandatory entry visa during the tournament period. On Tuesday, Qatar waived this requirement for citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Besides Qatar, it also includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
