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Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tan from Ho Chi Minh City has been busy searching for information on World Cup tours in recent days, but without success. "I booked the tour late because I only recently arranged my work schedule and I was overconfident, thinking that like previous World Cups, Vietnamese fans could find tours just two months before the opening day. But unexpectedly, this year, with Qatar as the venue, things are different," Mr. Tan lamented.
The Lusail Stadium on the outskirts of Doha, with its 80,000 seats, will host the World Cup matches this year.
Mr. Tan is one of many customers who inquired about tours offered by Saigontourist Travel Company but found none available. Previously, the company offered a "Straight to Doha to watch the World Cup group stage" tour for 199 million VND per person. The tour lasted 5 days, departing from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on November 25th, with participants watching two matches: France vs. Denmark on November 26th and Germany vs. Spain on November 27th. Sales began in July with limited availability. Therefore, Saigontourist has now closed the tour, with no more spots left.
Similarly, travel companies in Vietnam have reported that there are no more tickets available to Doha for the World Cup. Mr. Nguyen Minh Man, Marketing Director of TST Tourist, said that the company only organized one tour with 17 customers to Qatar to watch the football matches in November and is not selling tickets to individual travelers. "The tour was finalized three months ago. All services were completed a long time ago to secure a spot, through our tour partner in Qatar. Our group had tickets to watch the semi-final and final matches, and the tour price was 200 million VND per person, from December 13th to 20th, including sightseeing and stadium tickets," Mr. Man said.
Many Vietnamese tourists are trying to travel to Qatar independently, but this option is not simple. Qatar is a small Gulf nation, but it is projected to welcome over 1.2 million fans from around the world during the biggest football festival on the planet. Therefore, the difficult problem is that the country cannot provide accommodation for everyone. As a result, tens of thousands of fans may have to stay in nearby countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, or Saudi Arabia, where they can travel to Qatar to watch the football matches and return home the same day by plane.
The Pearl artificial island in Doha
Dubai, a tourism hub in the Middle East and the largest city in the UAE, will benefit most from this football event. Of the more than 90 flights landing in Doha each day during the World Cup, around 40 will originate from the UAE, according to SCMP.
Meanwhile, Qatar estimates it will welcome 1.2 million tourists during the World Cup alone, adding $17 billion to its economy. Amid concerns about accommodation shortages, organizers will have to rent two large cruise ships and set up 1,000 tents in the desert.
Russia, the most recent World Cup host, organized the tournament across 11 cities, while Brazil hosted it in 12. The 2026 World Cup will take place in Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Qatar, on the other hand, is only about 12 square kilometers with a population of approximately 3 million people.
