FIFA World Cup 2022: Will the World Cup convince Australians to holiday in Qatar?

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FIFA World Cup 2022: Will the World Cup convince Australians to holiday in Qatar?

By Katherine Scott
Qatar has an ambitious tourism goal of 6 million visitors a year by 2030. Pictured: The futuristic Raffles Doha hotel in Qatar.

Qatar has an ambitious tourism goal of 6 million visitors a year by 2030. Pictured: The futuristic Raffles Doha hotel in Qatar.

Since winning the right to host the FIFA 2022 World Cup, Qatar's big tourism ambitions have been undermined with controversy at every turn.

The tiny Gulf nation's record-breaking expenditure – reportedly $340 billion in total infrastructure, dwarfing all previous World Cups – has been overshadowed by negative coverage around its disturbing human rights record, poor treatment of migrant workers and LGBTQI+ people, and revelations of corruption surrounding its winning bid.

Qatar's celebrity ambassador David Beckham has been widely condemned for inking a lucrative multi-year deal to promote the country.

World Cup ticket demand hasn't been hindered by Qatar's controversies. Pictured: Khalifa International stadium ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

World Cup ticket demand hasn't been hindered by Qatar's controversies. Pictured: Khalifa International stadium ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.Credit: David Ramos/Getty

This week, UK comedian Joe Lycett shredded what appeared to be £10,000 in banknotes (about $A18,000) in a viral video protesting Beckham's partnership; he later admitted to faking the stunt to draw attention to Qatar's anti-LGBTQIA+ laws, where homosexuality is criminalised.

Qatar has an ambitious goal of increasing tourism to six million visitors a year by 2030, up from 2.1 million in 2019. But industry experts predict the World Cup won't deliver Qatar the tourism boost it's hoping for.

Dr Daryl Adair, associate professor of sport management, University of Technology Sydney, says mega-events like the World Cup still have the potential to go "pear shaped".

Ex footballer David Beckham has garnered widespread condemnation for his partnership with the Gulf nation.

Ex footballer David Beckham has garnered widespread condemnation for his partnership with the Gulf nation.Credit: Qatar Tourism

"There is the potential for flow-on tourism and economic partnerships if the event is well received and there is a tangible legacy for locals and visitors," says Adair. However, in Qatar's case, mammoth construction and planning efforts haven't fortified it against reputational damage.

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"It's one thing to be financially powerful and innovative as an event host, it's another to earn the respect of the international community," Adair says.

Despite issues such as accommodation shortages, constraints on public displays of affection and drinking, and challenges around LGBTQI+ communities taking part, World Cup ticket demand has been strong.

Italian football star Andrea Pirlo is the latest to partner with Qatar Tourism, for its 'No football. No worries' campaign.

Italian football star Andrea Pirlo is the latest to partner with Qatar Tourism, for its 'No football. No worries' campaign.Credit: Qatar Tourism

"Football is like sausages: lots of people love consuming them but they don't really want to know what goes into making them," says Adair. It's why Qatar continues to embed itself in global sport.

But if the strategy is to "sport wash", the bath water now seems murky, particularly where Qatar's controversial labour laws are concerned, he says.

"Qatar has faced enormous criticism about the Kafala [sponsored migrant] labour system," says Adair. "If genuine and adequate reforms are not part of the post-event legacy, then no amount of sports washing will deflect the attention of the International Labour Organization and other monitors."

Phil McDonald, managing director of creative agency BCM Group, says unnatural things like computer-generated characters and celebrities are unlikely to resonate with Aussies.

Phil McDonald, managing director of creative agency BCM Group, says unnatural things like computer-generated characters and celebrities are unlikely to resonate with Aussies.

Qatar's recent campaigns have included: "Experience a World Beyond" featuring nine computer-generated mascots; and the more recent "No Football. No worries", an extension of its long-standing Feel More in Qatar global brand platform, starring Italian football star Andrea Pirlo.

Will the tourism push resonate Down Under? Unlikely, according to Phil McDonald, managing director of creative agency BCM Group, who says Australian travellers seek genuine and unique holiday experiences overseas.

"[Using] unnatural things like CGI characters and celebrities doesn't feel very unique and natural," McDonald says.

Conversely, the nation's visible placement on the world stage may actually hurt its tourism prospects.

"There's more journalists [in Qatar] than you'll ever have in the country at one time, and so the country, culture and government is exposed on every level. I don't think it's going to work," says McDonald.

The tournament won't be a total loss for Qatar, according to Dr Gui Lohmann, deputy director for the Griffith Institute for Tourism, who sees the Gulf nation as following a similar economic model to Dubai.

"Qatar is trying to expand itself into different areas; the business one is very important, particularly creating a transit point – something that Dubai and Abu Dhabi have done quite successfully," says Lohmann.

But while travellers will be more likely to "turn a blind eye" for a stopover, Australian leisure travellers will be hard won, with a destination image at odds with openness and inclusiveness.

"Qatar was very naive in thinking that those critical matters [of human rights] wouldn't be viewed as oppressive," says Lohmann.

"I'm not sure that we'll have Australian families dropping their Fiji holidays, where kids are looked after, for a country that has a reputation of being a bit closed and that's having issues with human rights."

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