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A huge surge in visitors at this stage is unlikely with only
eight teams staying on in Doha, and eight games left out of the
64 in the tournament that began on Nov. 20.
Organisers had previously identified the peak period for
international visitors to be Nov. 24-28 during the busy group
stage, when 32 teams were playing four matches every day.
The Dec. 7 report was prepared by the Supreme Committee for
Delivery and Legacy (SC), which organises the tournament, and
said that the first 17 days of the World Cup saw 765,859
international visitors, more than half of whom have now
departed.
The report registered 1.33 million match ticketholders and 3.09
million tickets sold across the eight stadiums in Qatar for the
tournament that ends on Dec. 18.
A Qatari official, who did not wish to be named, confirmed the
figures. The SC did not respond to Reuters' requests for
comment.
The tournament in Qatar, the first to be held in the Middle
East, is considered one of the most expensive in terms of
tickets, hotels and alcohol, sales of which are restricted.
Fewer international visitors than originally forecast led to an
unexpected glut of accommodation but has also averted major
over-crowding or traffic headaches in Qatar, the smallest
country by both population and area to host the World Cup.
The influx of visitors represents a 25% boost to the country's
resident population of 3 million, of which only about 10-12% are
Qataris.
"With over a week of competition still to go, a wave of new
visitors has started arriving from the nations that made it to
the quarter finals," the Qatari official told Reuters.
More visitors are expected to flock to Qatar for popular matches
and after the country lifted entry restrictions for nationals
and residents of fellow Gulf states.
Cumulative stadium attendance at the first 52 matches was 2.65
million, the document said.
Previously, world soccer's governing body FIFA said that stadium
attendance in Qatar had surpassed attendance at stadiums during
a corresponding period at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
On Tuesday, hundreds of Moroccan fans flew into Qatar on special
flights arranged ahead of their team's victory over Spain. It is
expected that similar fights will be laid on to allow
last-minute fans to fly in from overseas to watch their teams
advance through the tournament's final three rounds.
Visitors to Qatar must obtain a Hayya identification card ahead
of travel as it doubles as a mandatory entry visa during the
tournament period. On Tuesday, Qatar dropped this requirement
for Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
(Reporting by Andrew MillsEditing by Toby Davis)
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