DOHA: Months after hundreds of thousands of football fans packed into its hotels and stadiums, Qatar is seeking to remedy a bout of the post-World Cup blues by hosting more international events.

Along with the departed football crowds, thousands of foreign workers left the Gulf state after Lionel Messi lifted the coveted trophy on Dec 18. Many of those who stayed on are counting the cost.

Luxury hotels built for the tournament have laid off hundreds of staff as rooms costing thousands of dollars a night during the tournament can no longer be filled.

In a country normally hungry for labour, a shopping mall on the edge of Doha recently advertised 100 jobs and saw more than 1,000 people jostling outside for interviews.

Qatar estimates that the World Cup, which residents once dreaded, brought 1.4 million people to the state.

Akhtar Patel, who runs a jewellery store in Doha’s Souq Waqif market, said business in comparison is “quiet”. “We really miss those fans now,” he said.

The Eid holiday brought back some shoppers, but the decline has been such that Sandeev Kumar, who runs a print workshop, sent two of his four workers back to India because he could no longer afford to pay them.

“We miss the vibe, but we miss the business even more,” he said.

On Doha’s seafront promenade, host to a World Cup fanzone, some jobless workers have been reduced to asking for cash handouts, leading the interior ministry to issue a public warning against “uncivilised” begging.

But Qatar’s economy remains healthy. After recording a trade surplus of nearly $100 billion last year, growth this year — bolstered by its natural gas riches — is predicted by the World Bank to hit 3.4 per cent, among the highest in the Middle East.

And a wave of newcomers has added nearly 100,000 to the population since the World Cup final, taking it to over three million, according to official figures.

Push for transformation

Akbar al Baker, head of Qatar’s tourism agency and Qatar Airways, said hotel occupancy in the months after a World Cup is “always low”.

The tiny country has made investments in tourism and hosting more major events a focus, Baker added, predicting Qatar will welcome more than five million visitors this year — more than twice the number in pre-pandemic 2019.

Mechanical diggers are laying the ground for a six-month horticultural expo from October, which Qatar hopes will draw one million foreign visitors. Concrete is also being poured at a new race track to host the second Qatar Formula One grand prix on Oct 8.

On Friday, Qatar was revealed as the host of the 24-nation basketball World Cup in 2027, despite having no tradition in the sport.

Culture Minister Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani said that when Qatar first launched its Years of Culture series with other countries a decade ago it was a struggle to find candidates.

“Countries are now queuing to be part of the Years of Culture,” he told an event for this year’s partner, Indonesia.

New prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani took office in March and is expected to soon announce new economic initiatives, in part a response to growing competition from Saudi Arabia, which has embarked on many reforms.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2023