The first Fifa World Cup to be held in the Middle East promises booming business for UAE hotels in the last quarter of 2022 as thousands of fans flock to the Gulf country due to limited accommodation in neighbouring host country Qatar.
The UAE’s major local and international hotel chains expect to be at or near full capacity during the four-week football tournament, amid strong forward bookings for November and December, top hospitality executives said.
Hotels in Dubai and Abu Dhabi expect occupancy levels ranging between 80 per cent to 100 per cent, with strong demand trends similar to those recorded during the peak period of Expo 2020 Dubai, they said.
“We are expecting our occupancy in the mid to high 90s across Dubai and we are expecting performance in Dubai in the fourth quarter to be the same as the performance [in the] fourth quarter in 2021 when we had the Expo,” said Guy Hutchinson, president and chief executive of UAE-based hotel operator Rotana.
The UAE, the Gulf region’s popular travel and tourism centre, is expected to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the mega sporting event, which begins on November 20, according to hospitality industry reports.
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Watch: How people attending Qatar World Cup can apply for UAE's multiple-entry tourist visa
The World Cup is set to drive a massive influx of visitors into neighbouring transit hubs such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, boosting demand for international air travel and accommodation.
It is expected to draw 1.2 million tourists to Qatar, pushing the country’s hotel supply pipeline for 2022 alone to about 13,300 rooms, with 80 per cent of these falling under the four or five-star hotel category, according to a report by Alpen Capital.
With hotels in Qatar fully booked in the run-up to the game, hotels in the UAE are expected to record a rise in demand for accommodation of up to 40 per cent, according to a report by online travel agency Musafir.com.
Shuttle flights operated by regional airlines from Gulf cities on match days and multiple-entry tourist visas for fans attending the matches will support the movement of visitors.
Jan Hanak, the Radisson Hotel Group’s managing director for UAE, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar, said the region was “buzzing” with travellers coming from Europe and the Middle East to watch the event.
“We have already started seeing incredibly positive performance across our hotels and we are certain there will be a multi-destination travel trend that will be seen across the region this winter,” he said.
Radisson expects occupancy rates to exceed 80 per cent across its hotels in the fourth quarter of 2022.
“We expect Q4 [the fourth quarter] to be extremely busy in the UAE and the region. As we welcome the cooler winter months, we envision high occupancy rates across rooms and F&B [food and beverage] outlets,” Mr Hanak said.
Co-operation between government entities and private operators on logistics — ranging from shuttle flights to visas for fans — is expected to deliver a “seamless” travel experience for visitors across the Gulf, he said.
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, which recently opened the Wyndham Grand Doha West Bay Beach, is also scheduled to open the Ramada by Wyndham Doha Old Town before the World Cup starts.
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“We are expecting all our properties in Qatar and the neighbouring countries to be operating at nearly full occupancy in the lead up, during and after the World Cup,” said Michel Augier, regional director for Middle East and Africa at Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.
“The upcoming World Cup will have a positive ripple effect on the hospitality industry across the region as football fans are expected to use neighbouring countries as a base for the event, especially the UAE as the flight time is just one hour.”
Currently, the group's hotels and resorts in the region have reported a “significant increase” in revenue, with Dubai properties up 30 per cent this year from 2021 and Abu Dhabi properties up 13.9 per cent annually, indicating a “healthy position” for forward bookings, he said.
The World Cup will also coincide with the traditionally busy winter season in the UAE, year-end holidays and the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix, further boosting business for UAE hotels.
“We are expecting our properties to be very busy as November and December is the start of the peak season in the region,” Mr Augier said.
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Watch: Inside the stadium that will host the Fifa World cup final in Qatar
World Cup ticket holders will be staying in surrounding countries for the tournament and flying in and out of Qatar for matches, especially during the group stages, an arrangement that will simultaneously benefit the regional hospitality industry and help to alleviate accommodation pressure in Doha, he said.
“A particular group of tourists who will benefit from regular flights and easy visa access are tourist families, who are already interested in exploring the UAE and also have members who are football fans,” Mr Augier said.
“So, we can expect the fans to fly to Qatar to watch the matches while their family members stay and vacation in the UAE. At the end of the tournament, they might even extend their stay to enjoy their holiday in the country.”
These logistical arrangements, along with cooler weather, are expected to drive an increase in hotel bookings of 15 per cent to 20 per cent in November and December, he said.
Marriott International plans to nearly double its presence in Qatar, with 10 hotels planned over the next 15 months, six of which are scheduled to open before the World Cup.
We can expect the fans to fly to Qatar to watch the matches while their family members stay and vacation in the UAE
Michel Augier,
regional director for Middle East and Africa at Wyndham Hotels and Resorts
“There is a huge growth story for us. It is kind of linked to the World Cup but we are looking at it long term,” said Sandeep Walia, chief operating officer of Marriott International in the Middle East.
“The spillover will be good too,” he said, pointing to neighbouring Gulf cities such as Dubai.
InterContinental Hotels Group, which operates the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands, expects average occupancy of 80 per cent in Doha and the UAE during the World Cup.
Revenue per available room, an important performance metric for the hospitality industry, is expected to increase by 10 per cent to 15 per cent annually in November and December, said Haitham Mattar, managing director for India, Middle East and Africa at IHG Hotels and Resorts.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Men from Barca's class of 99
Crystal Palace - Frank de Boer
Everton - Ronald Koeman
Manchester City - Pep Guardiola
Manchester United - Jose Mourinho
Southampton - Mauricio Pellegrino
The biog
Name: James Mullan
Nationality: Irish
Family: Wife, Pom; and daughters Kate, 18, and Ciara, 13, who attend Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS)
Favourite book or author: “That’s a really difficult question. I’m a big fan of Donna Tartt, The Secret History. I’d recommend that, go and have a read of that.”
Dream: “It would be to continue to have fun and to work with really interesting people, which I have been very fortunate to do for a lot of my life. I just enjoy working with very smart, fun people.”
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
LAST-16 FIXTURES
Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SCE%20Studio%20Cambridge%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%2C%20PlayStation%204%20and%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog
Year of birth: 1988
Place of birth: Baghdad
Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany
Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading
