Alcohol could revive Pearl-Qatar - expert

Johnnypearl Tuesday, 22 January 2013 10:17 PM - Uk

Ahmad, Unless you expect Egypt or saudi vs Syria or Lebanon in the final it could be a kinda quiet and pretty miserable final.... Get real..

Ahmad Tuesday, 22 January 2013 3:18 PM - US

Why everyone think that the fans will be alcohol drinkers? Please think again.

Qatar is within 5 hrs drive of millions of football fans, and it is time to change the image of a football fan from the drunken one.

Ahmad Thursday, 24 January 2013 2:51 PM - US

@Chris: Filling the stadium is an easy task, when money is plenty. Free tickets, discount on airfare and hotels, etc. The attendance is not a problem. You can complain as mush as you want. But if the fans who insist on drink as precondition, they will soon find that the tickets are sold out. Let's see what they can do about that.
@Johneypearl: You get real. There are more fans of Spain, England, etc around here than you can ever get on a plane from their countries, even if alcohol was for free.
@Procan: no need for roads when people travel on camels, you idiot.

Chris Wednesday, 23 January 2013 12:38 PM - Bahrain

Sorry Ahmad, but the vast majority of these fans will be alcohol drinkers, and will not be as interested in a dry event, to the point that they would rather stay at home and watch it. It is perfectly understandable that people in Qatar may not support alcohol and may wish it to stay out of the country, but just don't go around billing the country as an international destination with international events. You are living in a bubble if you believe the vast majority of football fans are even remotely interested in attending a football event in a dry country. You can be a major regional destination and stick to these views, but don't expect to be an international one. It is time for Qatar to make a clear decision either way.

procan Tuesday, 22 January 2013 10:17 PM - canada

Qatar has roads ?

Abdulla Monday, 21 January 2013 5:39 PM - Qatar

We don't want that kind of tourism - Full stop :)

who you fooling Wednesday, 23 January 2013 12:38 PM - dubai

@ Abdullah

Why on earth spend millions/billions planning to and desperately wanting the world cup then. Think before typing honestly who are you expecting to turn up??!!

Telcoguy Wednesday, 23 January 2013 11:05 AM - UAE

@John, @Steve, I think you are missing the main point. Qatar does not "need" to fix their tourism strategy. It is just a side-dish so to say. Qatar economy will remain linked to gas for the rest of our lives, and given the size of their gas reserves and their small population they can sail like this for a long time

Problem is for those with either larger populations or smaller gas/oil reserves

Regarding the ability to attract talent, yes you are right. But the real issue here is that in this region there is no concept of "talent" Work is, rightly or wrongly, perceived to be a commodity from janitorial to CXO-level positions (at least when expats are involved)

Personally, I hate ambiguity, so I rather have a KSA environment than one where is legal, maybe but depending on circumstance can turn illegal after the fact... you see what i mean

John Thomas Qatar Tuesday, 22 January 2013 2:58 PM - Qatar

Alcohol is not the issue. Folks Qatar needs to sort its Tourism strategy out, its is well behind all major cities, has non existent or lousy beaches and zero resort hotels. The Pearl has little or no beach and simply put alcohol is not the issue. The Pearl was becoming a trashy place with expats and locals getting out of hand.

GCC arrivals to Dubai far exceed by 100's% the GCC arrivals to Qatar. If Qatar government did not put on so many heavily subsidised complimentary conferences, the place would be empty. At least 70% of all hotel occupancy in all Five Star hotels is actually paid directly or indirectly by Government entities.

Sort the strategy out as depending on sports tourism and conferences will not support the existing and planned hotels and developments like Lusail etc

Steve Tuesday, 22 January 2013 9:37 AM - UAE

@ Abdullah - then put very simply - you will hardly have any tourism at all. Alcohol is ingrained in every other culture in the world - not just the west (sth America, Asia, East Asia, Africa). Therefore the vast majority of tourists from anywhere (except strict Muslim countries) will not want to go somewhere that there isn't alcohol and the rest wont come because people follow the crowd. If you want a dry tourist destination - good luck to you - just don?t expect hardly anyone to come and scale down your operations massively.
You can apply the same principle to xpat workers as well - again this is fact. We come for lifestyle and alcohol is part of our lifestyle.
As Homekah points out - you will make Qatar the same as Saudi - so kiss goodbye to sporting events, tourism (you don't have religious pilgrims) and major business investment.

Very Clear Tuesday, 22 January 2013 9:35 AM - UAE

I support your comment Abdulla. We have our religion and culture and all visitors should respect this. Why the French said that the Niqab is not acceptable as it is not part of the French culture. We say the same about Alcohol. The west should stop this double standard.

John Mackay Monday, 21 January 2013 10:32 PM - Kuwait

Fair comment Abdullah ...but if thats your view then as a country you should not be bidding for international sporting events like the World Cup/Olympics..... these are international sporting events and should not be subject to political, religious or any other kind of restrictions that affect peoples enjoyment and choice.....by all means have these events but there should be no restrictions..... tourism is a wider/long term strategy question as World Cup/Olympics are one off events for a matter of a few weeks and will likely only occur in your country once in a generation.

HomeKah Monday, 21 January 2013 10:31 PM - Saudi

God bless you Abdullah, that is what make Qatar the same as Saudi. You have my full support.

Red Snappa Monday, 21 January 2013 5:38 PM - Ireland

The absence of opportunity for a series of reviving libations will certainly be a turn off for football fans, come the FIFA World Cup. There will be a few hundred thousand international spectators seeking a spot of pre- and post-match merriment on a daily basis, of that there is no doubt.

Part of your lifestyle, if you happen to hail from Europe, Russia, North, South and Central America, the Antipodes, Africa and a fair chunk of the Sub-Continent and Far East.