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.