What is Iran’s tactic in the Qatar World Cup?
“The 2022 Qatar World Cup is not a cake to be offered by any country,” said the deputy assistant director of tourism. This event is like a bag of rice in which everyone punches to get their share; Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE and Kuwait are waiting for that golden moment, and we must have the right tactics.
In an interview with ISNA, Moslem Shojaei, referring to the opportunities that the 2022 Qatar World Cup has for Iran, as a result of reviewing the last three World Cups in South Africa, Brazil and Russia, said: The initial idea of exploiting the Qatar World Cup at the end of 2009 But because we faced a change of management, it took until July 1399 to form a special working group to attract spectators from the 2022 World Cup. We named the project “Towards 2022” (target audience) and 14 key agencies, including the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Sports and Youth, the Football Federation, the Aviation Organization, the Ports and Maritime Organization and the Supreme Council Free zones became members of this working group. At that time, it was decided to follow up the project at the level of a special working group.
“We have been pursuing two main goals since day one,” he said. Introducing Iran’s tourism capacities and reducing Iranophobia and attracting World Cup spectators to Iran, which, if successful, will help Iran’s cross-border tourism industry and help shape the industry.
“I believe the Qatar World Cup shows how tactical we are in the tourism industry,” the tourism expert said. This situation is just like when a team has 11 legionnaires, but does not have the right tactics and management, so the team will not be consistent and will not have much to say against rivals.
Referring to the capacity of the Qatar World Cup to attract tourists to Iran, he said: “Studies of the” 2022 “project show that the average stay of spectators in the World Cup is usually up to two weeks. The cost per spectator was between $ 1,800 and $ 2,000. Behaviorally, the audience is likely to be emotional. Their typology shows that Qatar can be small and boring for this type of people, so they may have a short trip to Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait or Oman in the two weeks they attend the World Cup. They may also come to Iran, which of course depends on how we act and how we show the advantage of traveling to Iran.
The Foreign Ministry believes that with “electronic” and “airport” visas, World Cup spectators can be encouraged to travel to Iran. The World Cup spectator with that emotional type, except how much time and patience he has to go to Iran’s e-visa website, fill out the form and after 72 hours his visa is approved and get a visa at the airport with the conditions that are not available, he continued bravely: When we talked to the Iranian private sector active in Qatar, we came to the conclusion that the constant presence of spectators at the World Cup games in Qatar with this limited area, which is the size of Qom province, will be boring. Of course, Qatar is an attractive country and it has made a lot of investments, it has high technology and it is advanced, but its size and population are small. Studies of the “2022 Direction” project also show that those countries, because of their size, tried to introduce the spectator to more parts of that country while entertaining them by creating a dispersion in the venue.
He then pointed out the advantages of traveling to Iran for the spectators of the Qatar World Cup and added: Iran is a cheap country. At the same time, none of the hotels in Qatar currently has a place for the World Cup. Surveys also show that spectators travel to the country of the games from two weeks before the World Cup to two weeks after, which coincides with the off-season in Iran.
The Deputy Assistant Secretary of Tourism then discussed the plans and forecasts that have been made so far with regard to this opportunity and advantage, and said: “We have predicted seven destinations for potential travelers from the Qatar World Cup, including Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Kerman.” , Yazd and the islands of Qeshm and Kish, which of course some people believe can be worked on Mashhad and Kish can also be a flight hub. Entry to these two islands does not require a visa, but it is necessary to plan for their availability and increase the number of flights between Iran and Qatar as much as possible.
Shojaei also stated that the products available in Iran will be different for the spectators of the World Cup compared to other countries in the Persian Gulf and neighboring Qatar, and considered it as one of the most important advantages of Iran. Even Oman goes to see the same culture, clothing, dialect, people, customs and traditions and even architecture, but in Iran another product is waiting for it. The faces of Isfahan, Shiraz and Tehran are different. Spectators can reach the ski slopes and mountainous areas of Iran from a short distance from Qatar, and this capacity is extraordinary.
He continued: “In the special working group that has been formed for this purpose, we have also had meetings with the Football Federation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Aviation Organization, the Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Free Zones and the private sector.” We started aiming to attract spectators in 1399. I believed that if we removed the obstacles, the private sector would take action to promote Iran and prepare strong travel packages. Therefore, we have prioritized two issues, first, the cancellation of the Iranian visa and second, the availability of spectators for the Qatar World Cup.
The tourism expert added: There are 37 flights a week between Iran and Qatar, of which only one flight is reserved for the Iranian airline. We do not know at that time whether Qatar Airways will be able to maintain these 37 flights due to the volume of traffic to the country or not. Therefore, we have started the follow-up to increase the number of flights between the two countries at the same time as the World Cup games, and probably four or five flights will be licensed in this route.
Referring to the study of sea routes between Iran and Qatar, he said: “The closest Iranian sea route to Qatar is from Bushehr.” Although we see little chance of access by sea, we can use the capacity of Iranian ports to moor cruises that are supposed to cover part of the World Cup spectators’ accommodation. According to the Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization, all ports in the country have the ability to moor cruise ships. There are also two cruise ships in Iran that can be used to access Iran by sea, but they have difficulty subsidizing fuel, which increases the cost to the passenger. We asked the Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts to follow up on this issue through the Minister of Oil in order to provide the minimum subsidized fuel for these ships to use the sea route during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, otherwise there will be another problem for the ships to enter and dock. And there are no cruises to the waters and ports of Iran. All that is needed is a permit to enter the pier and the port, which, if we act in concert, we will not have a problem with this.
Shojaei also explained about the cancellation of visas: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been asked to cancel the Iranian visa for spectators from Doha within two months of the 2022 World Cup. Of course, the State Department has welcomed this proposal, but we need a definite response and action to publicize and inform about it from now on. The speed of work must be increased, because such an opportunity no longer exists for our country. When do you remember when the World Cup was in the Middle East and so close to Iran, how likely is it that it will happen again? So it should not be missed.
He also noted that Qatar has already released visa-free entry to about 83 countries. Incidentally, most of the countries that have a football team in the World Cup are on this list; Why should we not use this opportunity for the benefit of our country. When the offer is made to the State Department, they offer the option of an Iranian airport visa that is currently available, which allows for easy visa travel now, but how much time and patience the World Cup spectator has to go to Iran’s e-visa website. Wait, fill out the form and after 72 hours and maybe a little more or less wait for his visa to be approved and get a visa at the airport with the conditions that are not available? This is a long process and is not a good option for a World Cup spectator with the typology that has been done.
Shojaei continued: The second proposal raised with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is that if the visa is not canceled, it will be free. The distance between the games is usually five days, and if someone wants to travel to Iran during this distance, he has to spend a lot of time to get a visa with the current process, and this is an obstacle and does not motivate. For someone who spends a lot of money and comes to Qatar and watches the games, paying about $ 100 for a visa for a three or four day trip has no logic and justification, so he prefers to go to Turkey because he does not want a visa and it is free and It has more and more available flights and does not have the problems of sanctions against Iran for transferring money.
Recalling the model that was implemented at the World Cup in Russia with a technological idea and played the role of a visa for spectators, he added: “By simulating such patterns and registering a flight ticket number, visas for World Cup spectators can be canceled and free for a while.” These restrictions must be lifted to achieve tactical maturity in tourism.
Shojaei said: “When the flight is available, the visa will be canceled or free, and the questions and ambiguities of the spectators about Iran will be answered clearly and transparently, we can definitely attract a percentage of spectators to the country and take advantage of the 2022 World Cup.”
Iran’s rivals for the 2022 World Cup are Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Oman. In fact, we want to compete with Qatar, which has spent $ 150 million on just one contract with David Beckham, or Saudi Arabia, which spent Kelly hosting El Clاسیsico. “Perhaps it is really difficult to form a working group at the level of the president,” he said. In fact, we want to compete with Qatar, which has spent $ 150 million on just one contract with David Beckham, or Saudi Arabia, which spent Kelly hosting El Clاسیsico. In addition to the lack of credit for advertising, we also encounter the phenomenon of “Iranophobia”. Where better than the World Cup in Qatar can we answer or eliminate part of this Iranophobia !?
Shojaei also stressed the need for immediate action by the private tourism sector to attract spectators to the 2022 World Cup and said: “Now is the time for immediate reaction and action.” In some countries, agencies have started advertising and selling World Cup tours and its peripheral countries, and the Iranian private sector must act faster to avoid losing this market. In the World Cup, there are usually spectators who travel themselves or their team stops playing and they have a long time to return to their country, this group should not be neglected and there should be a plan for this group of spectators and a purposeful travel plan for Iran Designed. Only that one should not seek to take spectators from Iran to Qatar, but how many people from Iran can participate in this event !?
“Perhaps it would be better for the 2022 World Cup working group to meet at the level of the president so that its orders can be implemented and not neglected,” said the deputy assistant director of tourism, given the slow pace of measures due to inter-agency inconsistencies.
Shojaei added: “Qatar, due to the limited accommodation capacity, will probably use Dubai facilities to overflow passengers.” However, if we have the right tactics and join hands, we can attract thousands of spectators to Iran, which for our private sector these days is like clean air and pure oxygen. Note that the World Cup is not a cake to offer the share of each country.