​Sri Lanka eyes hosting FIFA World Cup 2022 spectators between matches

• SL being pitched and promoted as a more economical option for fans to stay in-between games
• Negombo selected as the town to host the football fans
• Talks underway with Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Flydubai to develop special packages to lure tourist traffic from FIFA 2022

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam
 Sri Lanka is looking to pull in a share of the massive crowd that is expected to pour into Qatar for the upcoming FIFA World Cup by playing host to the spectators between the matches.

The Ministry of Tourism yesterday said plans have been conceptualised to tap into the football fan segment who will visit Qatar come November. Efforts are already underway to make the necessary arrangements for their stay in the island nation.

Tourism Minister Harin Fernando shared that discussions have already been held with officials in Qatar in charge of FIFA to promote tour packages to Sri Lanka in between matches.

 “The matches do not take place at a stretch but there are about four to five-day break between the games. We want to capitalise on this and get some of the audience to spend their time in Sri Lanka within that period,” Minister Fernando told reporters in Colombo yesterday.

Highlighting the rationale behind the idea, he shared that owing to the mega football event, accommodation in Qatar has skyrocketed with some facilities charging as high as Rs. 800,000 per night. 

As the majority of tourists coming for the game are not from the high-income earning segment, but die-hard fans who would not want to miss witnessing their favourite teams at the World Cup, Sri Lanka can be pitched as a more affordable destination to spend their time between the games, 
said the minister.

 To cater to that market, Negombo town is being prepared to host the fans for their short stay. The town has been hand-picked due to its close proximity to the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), in Katunayake.

 “The plan is to make the town of Negombo a carnival where we will make the city and its beaches to offer the fans a unique experience,” said Fernando, expressing confidence in the strategy of luring the FIFA World Cup attendees to the island nation. The Tourism Ministry has already kicked off discussions with Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, and budget carrier Flydubai to design special packages for this purpose.

However, according to industry sources, the availability of seats for the only direct flight available to Doha, which is from Qatar Airways, is questionable as the carrier has plans to reduce the frequency of flights between Qatar and Colombo to one per week. The FIFA World Cup 2022 is scheduled to kick off in Qatar on November 20 where 32 nations will be seen battling for the title. The matches will be held in the seven newly built stadiums, each will be able to accomodate nearly 90,000 fans. For the red-circle event, Qatar has added a new airport, a new metro system, a series of new roads, and about 100 new hotels. A total of 1.2 million people are expected to attend the mega sporting event that will close on December 18.