MUSCAT, MARCH 26 - Some creative ways will be employed to meet the demand for additional hotel rooms if Oman hosts the World Cup in 2022.
Replying to a media query on the sidelines of unveiling the Al Mouj Rayhaan by Rotana project on Monday, Ahmed bin Nasser al Mehrzi, Minister of Tourism, said, “If the World Cup is held during the peak tourist season between October and April, it will be tough to offer hotel rooms as the occupancy levels in Oman are generally on average around 80 per cent during that period.”
He said the alternatives will include the introduction of a kind of floating hotels (ships) at the Mina Sultan Qaboos in Muttrah and added accommodation issues can be managed if the World Cup is held in summer months.
Fifa, the world football’s governing body, is considering a few countries in the region, including Oman, as hosts of some matches at the 2022 World Cup if the tournament, to be staged in Qatar, is expanded from 32 to 48 teams.
The World Cup will be expanded from 32 to 48 teams in 2026 but Fifa President Gianni Infantino has proposed bringing forward the enlarged format to 2022.
More than three million foreign tourists visited the cities that hosted the 2018 Fifa World Cup matches in Russia.
At the end of 2018, there were over 22,000 hotel rooms in the Sultanate, according to Ministry of Tourism.
The ministry is also working with government agencies and travel companies to encourage visitors to Dubai Expo 2020 to spend a few days in the Sultanate.
According to National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the number of hotels increased 35 per cent between 2013 and 2017.
More than 80 per cent of all the hotels that are set to open in 2019 will be three stars and below, according to data by the ministry.
There are 31 hotels expected to open this year offering over 3,000 rooms.
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