The importance of Kish in the World Cup in Qatar
Qatar expects 1.5 million people from around the world to travel to the country to watch the 2022 World Cup. On the other hand, it is expected that 500,000 spectators will travel to Iran, but how?
According to ISNA, the Qatar FIFA World Cup will be held for 28 days from November 21 to December 18, 2022, equal to November 20 to December 18, 1401, in the four cities of Doha, Al-Waqra, Al-Khor and Al Rayyan. From the very beginning, when Qatar hosted the 2022 World Cup, due to its size and limited accommodation capacity, Qatar’s neighbors announced their readiness to participate in the hosting, from Saudi Arabia to the UAE, Kuwait and Oman, and even Turkey. Iran has also announced its readiness to host a team and spectator camp in the Persian Gulf islands since 1397. Low cost, the proximity of these islands to Qatar and the possibility of visa-free travel were among Iran’s motivations for participating in the 2022 World Cup.
According to the latest announcement, there are about 175,000 spectators in Qatar for the World Cup, which is not equivalent to the estimated 1.5 million spectators. For this reason, FIFA has proposed to use rental houses, especially in villages, cruise ships and private villas, to compensate for the housing deficit. An investment company has also been commissioned to build portable accommodation (portable) accommodation until the start of the World Cup in Qatar.
FIFA also commissioned a team to ring individual houses in Doha, offering the landlord a tour of England, Australia and other countries during the World Cup, and renting their house instead. In this way, the International Football Federation hopes to solve part of the problem of accommodation for passengers. However, it is believed that most Qataris would like to stay in their country during the World Cup.
However, many spectators are excited and do not wait for the result of these FIFA solutions and want to book their accommodation before the World Cup. So far, citizens from the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Argentina and the UAE have had the most hotel reservations in Qatar.
Although Qatar has so far been reluctant to involve other countries in supporting the World Cup and has insisted on hosting spectators in its own country, the recent visit of the Qatari Minister of Roads to Kish Island last week raised other possibilities. Qatar has previously said that this FIFA World Cup belongs to everyone and should leave a legacy not only for Qatar, but for the entire Middle East as well as the Arab world.
The Qatari Minister of Roads may have traveled to Kish, perhaps with the same approach, about six months before the start of the World Cup; An island only 40 minutes by air from Doha. During the same trip, the two sides agreed to establish a direct air and sea line from Doha to Kish, as well as to increase the number of flights between the two countries. At present, there are about 36 weekly flights from Qatar to the cities of Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan and Mashhad. . However, Mohammadi Bakhsh, head of the country’s aviation authority, believes that it is possible to increase the flight capacity of the Iran-Qatar route to 200 flights a day, and direct flights to more cities could be established.
Hossein Abbasnejad, Director General of Maritime Affairs of the Ports and Maritime Organization, also said that currently there are 3,000 seats in the capacity of passenger vessels that can move passengers between Iranian and Qatari ports day and night, and for this purpose, the Kish passenger terminal in It is being prepared.
Based on these agreements, Minister of Roads Rostam Ghasemi said: 500,000 Iranians are expected to visit the Qatar World Cup daily, foreigners who come to Qatar can visit the southern islands of Iran by sea and we can move and accommodate them. we have.
Although during the recent visit of the Minister of Roads to Kish Island, an agreement was reached between the two countries on the establishment of direct air and sea lines, and the parties are scheduled to meet and agree on additional proposals in May and June, but due to heavy competition In the region, and the heavy propaganda launched by some of the 2022 World Cup neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, the Emirate and Oman, the launch of an air and sea route between Kish and Doha is expected to be pursued and concluded at least as soon as possible.
Kish Island currently has 19,200 beds ready, which, according to Masihullah Safa, a member of the World Cup staff on the island, will cost them a quarter of the price of Qatari hotels. He tells ISNA: “Since the World Cup games are in line with the autumn trips of the Iranians to Kish, at the time of the 2022 World Cup, at least 50,000 standard beds can be provided to the spectators, so that they can be satisfied.”
Qatar’s World Cup is predicted to be one of the most expensive football trophies for spectators; Safa, a member of the World Cup headquarters in Kish, says: “Right now, the price of one night stay in Qatari hotels reaches one thousand dollars.” These rates are expected to increase as the time of the games approaches and demand increases. It is estimated that the price of one night stay in Qatari hotels will reach nearly 50 million Tomans, while the price of the best Kish hotels is one-fourth of the current prices in Qatar. Is. Cheapness is the biggest advantage of choosing the Iranian islands to stay during the World Cup games, provided that access is provided faster between the two countries and that information and international publicity are provided about it from now on.
When it comes to the standard of hotels and accommodation in Iran, Safa, who is also the head of the Kish Island Hoteliers Association, refers to the visit of the Qatari Minister of Roads to the infrastructure of Kish Island and says: The Qatari official expressed satisfaction after visiting the accommodation facilities and quality . Of course, in order to avoid violations and mistakes during the World Cup, judicial monitoring and control must be increased more and more seriously.
While Kish is the main focus of supporting the hosting of the World Cup, the country’s officials still hope to be able to use Qeshm Island and other cities such as Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, Shiraz, Isfahan and even Tehran to welcome fans. With this approach, Iran’s visa has become free for the World Cup; Because the islands of Kish and Qeshm are considered free zones and travel to them does not require a visa. The validity of the free Iranian visa issued to travelers from Qatar during the World Cup is also valid for two months, which allows them to stay in Iran for 20 days.
This move by Iran has been widely reported in many foreign media, especially as it has been placed alongside the advantage of cheap travel to Iran over Qatar. Nevertheless, some continue to raise the issue of “Iranophobia.” Leila Ajdari, Director General of Iran’s Foreign Tourism Development, has said that 20 billion tomans of budget has been requested for Iran’s advertising campaign, and if it arrives on time, extensive propaganda will be carried out.
But the budget that has been talked about for advertising Iran and has not yet been approved and paid, is more for advertising in commercial centers and airlines; According to Ajdari, since FIFA has the authority to play stadiums and playgrounds for any kind of advertising, and sponsors have already been identified, it is not possible to introduce and advertise Iran’s tourist attractions in the environmental part of the playgrounds.
In such circumstances, the best way to promote Iran and attract the attention of a person who is a target of foreign media news is to appear in the World Cup media and introduce Iran on Qatari flights from now on, with a different content from what the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and He has produced handicrafts to attract other tourists, in order to answer the ambiguities and questions of the spectators. Many spectators at the FIFA World Cup do not know how to obtain a free Iranian visa, access route, social, cultural and geographical context compared to Arab countries, politics, clothing, food and drink, so the 2022 World Cup if properly managed It can be a spoiled opportunity for tourism development in Iran.
