Accommodation aplenty for all Qatar World Cup fans: SC

The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) has been working to provide the fans of the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 an exceptional experience by giving them multiple options for accommodation.The SC has worked to provide the fans multiple choices and distinguished residency that include villas, apartments, fans' villages, floating hotels, vacation houses, tents, stay with family and friends in Qatar, and other options with suitable pricing that could start at $80, a senior officials has said. In an interview with Abdulla Ghanim al-Benali al-Mohannadi, Editor-in-Chief of local Arabic daily Arrayah, Omar Abdulrahman al-Jabir, Executive Director of the Housing Department at SC said that fans who already have got a FIFA ticket can register at the official platform of the championship to select the suitable accommodation for them through www.qatar2022.qa/book .He said that around 1,30,000 rooms will be available for more than one million visitors expected in the country throughout the 28-day duration of the tournament. These rooms will guarantee offering 3.64 mn hotel nights. He noted that the housing units selected, whether apartment building or residential complexes, will be fully furnished and equipped in cooperation with Accor International that offers high quality hotel services to these facilities and units such as swimming pools, and gyms, if possible. Al-Jabir said these places will be distributed across various areas of the country starting from Msheireb Heart of Doha, reaching to the outer areas such as Al Khor and Al Wakra. Further, SC works constantly to add new options and residential units to the housing platform to continuously update it, such as a five star farmhouse stay that would enrich the cultural awareness of the visitors.The official said that floating hotels including MSC World Europa and MSC Poesia will dock at the Doha Port as additional options for residential units available for booking by fans. These together can provide around 4,000 compartments that can accommodate up to 9,500 persons. These ships will remain docked in Doha throughout the duration of the World FIFA Cup Qatar 2022, where guests can freely enter and exit them the same way as hotels. Besides, there will be a dedicated transportation line for this to ease the movement of the fans. There will be also six sites for fans' villages of different categories distributed in different areas. These temporary villages will include fully furnished porta cabins, offering fans comprehensive services and entertainment means at reasonable prices. For instance, there will be 1,800 tents on Qetaifan Island that can host up to 3,600 persons, and 8,000 cabins distributed at three different locations in the country, offering low prices, in addition to cabin cities at Al Messila and Al Khor Camp with 200 tents that reflect the original Qatari style and to be considered the first environmentally-friendly motel.Al-Jabir said that at the international level, US fans have recorded the highest booking on the platform, followed by Mexico, Argentina, and the UK. On the GCC level, fans from Saudi Arabia have made the largest number of bookings , followed by Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and the UAE. While the housing options are available mainly at SC platform, Al-Jabir stressed that fans can make their hotel or apartment bookings through the various sites on the internet or travel agencies, and add these to the Hayya card digital platform to guarantee the confirmation of their booking. He said that the SC platform has registered around 428,000 hotel nights bookings until August 18 with the 7th day of the tournament on November 26 recording the highest number of bookings. Further, the percentage of the confirmed bookings exceeded 60%. Meanwhile, Saeed Ali al-Kuwari, executive director of the Hayya platform, briefed about the various aspects of Hayya Card and the involved advantages given to the fans accordingly. He also reiterated that Qatari citizens and residents can enter and exit the country at any time throughout the duration of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. International fans who buy even a single ticket of the tournament can stay in the country throughout the event's duration with their Hayya card valid with all the related privileges, on condition of securing a confirmed accommodation.