Fifa World Cup 2022: Qatar has thousands of rooms available, says official

Qatar World Cup organisers said Wednesday that there are still thousands of rooms available for the tournament this month.

There are at least 25,000 rooms free even during the peak days of the World Cup, expected between November 24 and November 28, organising committee accommodation director Omar Al-Jaber told a press conference.

Asked about fears over hotel shortages, Jaber said: "This is not the right message. We have enough accommodation and people can come and enjoy the tournament and choose what they are looking for."

2.9 million of the 3.1 million tickets have been sold so far, organisers say. Jaber added that the country was still expecting over one million visitors during the 29-day event that starts November 20.

For accommodation bookings, neighbouring Saudi Arabia has been the top market, followed by the United States, Mexico, Argentina, India, Britain, Brazil, Canada, Iran, Japan and France, he told reporters.

Jaber said the average stay was between five and seven nights, and that he expected 20-30 per cent of total bookings on the official portal to be made between now and the opening game between Qatar and Ecuador.

Several thousand supporters will arrive on one-day shuttle flights from Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and other regional bases. Jaber noted that the shuttles had not hit demand for rooms and that most fans want to stay "to enjoy the match and after the match".

Many supporters have reserved huge fan complexes in semi-desert zones around Doha.

A luxury tent in a desert town north of Doha costs from $400 a night, while organisers recently added stays on dhow boats in Doha port that start at $1,000 a night.

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