Qatar plans to accommodate some 12,000 football fans on
cruise ships during the World Cup in 2022, a spokesman for the Qatar Tourism
Authority (QTA) said on Monday.
The proposal for "floating hotels" is a revival of
an idea which was initially rejected two years ago.
However, Qatar is now seeking to strengthen its presence in
the cruise ship market and the idea to house fans during the tournament has
been re-floated.
The QTA announced the proposals at a trade conference in the
US over the weekend.
In a statement on the official Qatar News Agency, the QTA
said: "Over the past few years, QTA established a number of strong
relationships with international cruise operators as well as with other
specialists involved in the industry.
"This has proved to be of great importance especially
that Qatar will be extensively benefiting from cruise ships over the 2022 World
Cup, as a means of providing additional accommodation supply for fans and
visitors over the period.
"QTA will be contracting a minimum of 6,000 rooms on
cruise ships for 2022 tournament."
A spokesman for the authority confirmed on Monday that this
equated to space for 12,000 fans.
It is not yet clear where the cruise ships will be docked
but as part of Qatar's huge $200-billion (190-billion euros) capital spending
project, ahead of football's most prestigious tournament, the country is
building a new port south of the capital, Doha.
FIFA guidelines say Qatar must have 60,000 rooms available
for fans by 2022.
Ambitious Qatar though has pledged to make 100,000 rooms
available.
This however may lead to thousands of hotel rooms going
empty once the tournament, being played in November and December 2022,
finishes.
Housing football fans offshore may ease any problems of
hotel room over-capacity and it could also help with the thorny issue of
alcohol.
AFP
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