The first ever winter World Cup is right around the corner, and there is a lot of hype around the massive tournament. This will also be the first time the event has taken place in the Arab world as well, and it could be a huge boost for football in the region.
Aside from generating massive surges of interest in the sport, the 2022 World Cup could help other industries in Qatar and other Arab countries to flourish. Some sectors could be set to benefit even more greatly than others as the tournament is expected to add $17 billion to the Qatari economy, according to Bloomberg.
Hospitality
One of the primary concerns for any country hosting an event as massive as the World Cup is ensuring that everyone who visits has a comfortable and enjoyable stay. This is where the hospitality industry will be key. From restaurants to hotels, employees will need to be ready to accommodate an estimated influx of 1.2 million international visitors.
It’s projected that the World Cup will open up new opportunities for work for over 1.5 million people, and many of these will be in the hospitality sector. It has been reported that Qatar will add over 105 new hotels and serviced apartments in advance of the tournament, with many luxury options, such as the Pullman Doha West Bay and the JW Marriot West Bay.
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Qatar clearly sees this as a lucrative opportunity to show international tourists the elite hospitality the country can offer. It won’t just be planning to give people a legendary experience for the World Cup, but it will also hope that these people will come back. They will also expect those who enjoyed their stay to recommend the country to friends. Therefore, it could have an incredible knock-on effect on the tourism industry in the future.
There will be a wide variety of options for travellers of different budgets, and everyone will be made to feel special thanks to the unrivalled customer service in the country.
Online Betting
As long as sports have existed, the betting industry has grown alongside them. Football is one of the most popular sports to wager on, and events like the World Cup attract bettors, both seasoned and novice, alike. For example, it’s estimated that the last event in Russia in 2018 generated more than $155 billion’s worth of bets. Therefore, online sportsbooks are going to be circling around the upcoming competition, ready to provide bettors with a way to wager on the matches.
Now, many people who want to bet on sports turn to online options. It;’s obvious where the up-and-coming markets are, as these bring about a rise in comparison sites that help bettors decide about where to wager. The interest in staking on sports is already on the rise in the Arab region, and this is highlighted by the
emergence of sites like ArabianBetting. This is an aggregator page that helps players get in touch with all the top sportsbooks that operate in the Middle East. They are listed based on their bonuses, but also recommended for the languages and markets available. In the lead-up to the World Cup this year, there are likely to be many more major international brands trying to make their presence felt in Arabian markets.
Real Estate
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Many people will be watching the World Cup from their own countries using live stream. Those who make the journey to Qatar, though, will have the chance to experience some of the world’s most state-of-the-art stadiums first-hand. To prepare for the tournament, Qatar has built seven stadiums, which have been accompanied by new roads, a new airport, and various other infrastructure such as a metro link.
All the existing properties around these new locations have instantly risen in value. Investors are either picking up apartments near the fresh stadiums with a view to renting them out to tourists, or as more of a long-term investment. There are also new condo buildings shooting up in these areas. Indeed, it was reported that there are going to be more than 15,000 new housing units in the country before a ball is kicked in this winter’s tournament.
It’s no surprise that countries desperately battle it out to host World Cups as we cover at Betensured in the news. They can be so lucrative for the country that they appear in. Qatar is likely to reap the benefits in a variety of industries this winter.