There are still "rooms available" on the official reservation platform for eleven days of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, announced Wednesday Omar Al-Jaber, responsible for accommodation within the Supreme Organizing Committee.
"We have enough accommodation and people can come and enjoy the tournament (in the accommodation) of their choice," Al-Jaber said, adding that around 25,000 rooms are still free during the peak days of the tournament phase. groups, from November 24 to 28.
The official was speaking to the media during a visit to a camp of 6,000 prefabricated rooms in a semi-desert area on the outskirts of the capital Doha.
These 18m2 air-conditioned rooms, equipped with two single beds, a shower room and a fridge, are rented for 740 Qatari riyals (200 euros) per night and around 270 euros for half-board.
The camp, whose installation is coming to an end, includes restaurants, a supermarket, a giant screen and sports facilities.
This type of accommodation, largely intended for poor countries after the World Cup, represents 24% of reservations on the official platform, Al-Jaber said.
Apartments and villas are the most popular, especially the cheapest rooms (300 QAR per night, or 80 euros), located in hard barracks with shared kitchens, in a complex that can accommodate 11,000 people south of Doha.
Among the options available are also traditional tent villages at more than 1200 QAR (330 euros) per night, cruise ships from 640 QAR (175 euros) per night or even dhows, the traditional sailing boats of the region, at 3652 QAR (1000 euros) per night.
While some of the fans will make daily round trips from neighboring countries on dozens of shuttle flights, the average length of stay is between five and seven days, the official said.
The eleven nations to have booked the most accommodations are Saudi Arabia, United States, Mexico, Argentina, India, United Kingdom, Brazil, Canada, Iran, Japan and France, according to the latest figures in the possession of Al-Jaber.
A first group of supporters from neighboring Saudi Arabia are expected this week in the cheapest accommodation, he said.
Qatar expects more than one million visitors during the competition, from November 20 to December 18.
According to a report in mid-October, 2.89 million tickets out of 3.1 million available had been sold.
Qatar being the smallest country to host the World Cup, many foreign fans were concerned about the availability of accommodation and their prices.
