Flight bookings to Qatar continue to boom ahead of World Cup 2022.
From across the Middle East, reservations for confirmed flights are up 6,000 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels, and the UAE leads the way as the top source market for travellers.
The world’s biggest football tournament is kicking off in a little over four weeks, and fans from around the world have been busy securing flights to the Gulf state.
About 1.5 million fans, a little more than half the population of Qatar, are expected to descend upon the country and travellers from the Middle East look set to dominate the Doha stands.
According to the latest data from digital travel marketing company Sojern, flight tickets issued in the region are up 5,772 per cent for travel to Qatar during the tournament, compared to bookings in January this year.
The UAE continues to be the top country from where travellers will fly to the tournament, with consistent growth month-over-month of three per cent. The Emirates accounts for 17 per cent of all flight bookings made in September for travel to Qatar during the World Cup.
Football fans in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and other emirates are close enough to the action to be able to stay in the UAE and have a quick commute to Doha aboard match-day shuttle flights.
Recent news that non-ticket holders to the World Cup are able to enter Qatar during the tournament, as long as they have approval from someone who does have a ticket, has led to an increase in flight bookings from the UAE.
"Ahead of the World Cup next month, it's heartening to see such strong travel intent to Qatar and the surrounding GCC countries," said Chris Gregory-Pasha, senior sales director for Middle East Africa at Sojern. "With Qatar being the first country in the Middle East to host the world's biggest sporting event, it's not surprising that the UAE is the top feeder market over the World Cup period.
"Football has long been popular in Middle Eastern societies so the tournament will firmly position the game as the region's leading sport. Given its diverse expat population hailing from a number of countries that love football and have teams represented, it's also likely that numbers have been boosted by this demographic. Whether attending in person or enjoying the festivities that come with the World Cup, the matches provide local football fans a wonderful opportunity to enjoy world-class sport on their doorsteps."
Last month, reservations for flights from the US to Qatar slowed, but the country remains the second largest feeder market for travellers heading to the world's biggest footballing tournament. It is followed by India, which accounts for six per cent of all September flight reservations.
The UK, Saudi Arabia and Spain rank next, followed by Kuwait, France, Egypt and Lebanon rounding out the top 10.
Argentina football fans book last-minute Qatar flights
Travellers are also keen to travel to Qatar from Argentina, with bookings growing at speed in September.
The South American country has had a 244 per cent increase in flight bookings to Qatar compared to the previous month. The country — which boasts footballing legend Lionel Messi, who has said this World Cup will be his last — accounts for 2.4 per cent of all September flight bookings to Doha.
Serious contenders to take the trophy in Qatar, Argentina will take on the UAE in a friendly match in Abu Dhabi on November 16. The match — which will be Argentina’s final warm-up game before they move to Qatar — sold out in less than 24 hours.
Overall, flight bookings to Qatar in September continued to increase.
Confirmed flight reservations from across Africa grew substantially, rising by 4,413 per cent in September compared to January bookings. Five teams from across the continent are playing in the World Cup.
Bookings from the Asia Pacific are up more than 17,000 per cent compared to the beginning of the year. This is likely because of the participation of a record six teams from across the region and the recent easing of travel restrictions in several Asia Pacific countries.
Travellers flying to Qatar from Down Under don't seem to favour last-minute travel plans. Having ranked sixth-highest for flight bookings to Qatar in July, Australia has seen a considerable slowdown in September, dropping out of the top 10 list.
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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.”
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Australia
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