Hey, big spenders: Qatar woos the rich

'Solution is to cancel'

The hordes of ticketless fans that usually descend on a World Cup will be reduced in number, as only ticket holders and up to three guests each can enter Qatar during the Nov 20-Dec 18 tournament.

Many supporters will stay elsewhere in the Gulf and board the estimated 100-200 World Cup shuttle flights a day from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman.

Even those options do not come cheap.

In Dubai, an hour's flight away and expected to be a major destination, an official World Cup package costs $1,500 for four nights in a shared room, including one return flight to Doha but no match tickets.

The Qatar World Cup is at least compact, with all eight stadiums in and around Doha — eradicating the cross-country travel needed at previous editions such as Brazil 2014 or Russia 2018.

"The problem with the World Cup in Qatar is that there are very few alternatives," said Evain.

"At a World Cup in Brazil or Russia, you can take a train, hire a car, stay 200 kilometers away or come just for the day of the match.

"None of that is possible in Qatar. Either you can't find accommodation or accommodation is too expensive," he added.

"People are looking for a solution and for quite a few people the solution is to cancel, because they can't afford this sort of budget."