“Demand is incomparable to other World Cup tournaments”

Only a few days left until the start of the World Cup in Qatar – the Swiss national football team will start the tournament on November 24 against Cameroon. Do many Swiss fans pack their bags?

It doesn’t seem so. René Aeschbacher, president of Bern-based sports tour operator Destination Travel, explains: “We decided against bidding for Qatar as there were no hotels at affordable prices and a minimum of 13 nights had to be guaranteed. We offer individual offers upon request. We have very few reservations.”

For Destination Sports guests, staying overnight on a ship was no problem. The reality is that most hotel rooms in Doha, the capital of Qatar, are reserved for gamers, officials and the media. Fans are said to be staying on MSC Cruises cruise ships chartered as “hotel ships” for the duration of the World Cup. Three MSC vessels are now chartered for this purpose.

After all, hotels are now available at regular prices, as are airline tickets and World Cup tickets. There is also no longer a minimum stay. Flights from Zurich to Doha are currently available for CHF 1,000 to CHF 1,300 during the World Cup, depending on whether you change planes or not.

All national packages have arrived

Travelclub AG in Zurich, the official travel partner of the Swiss Football Association, is delighted. According to General Manager Victor Tinari, package deals (airplane, hotel and match tickets) launched in May 2022 were very popular. The plots were sold for two or just one game as well as three Swiss games. Demand was particularly high for the matches against Cameroon and Brazil, and slightly lower for the match against Serbia. All national packs are now sold out.

Tinari felt no reservations about her clients spending the night on board the ships. He sees being able to offer guaranteed places to stay on board as an advantage: “Self-bookers will have difficulties due to the lack of hotel beds.” The boom in the World Cup business for the travel club is also related to the other usual providers not joining Qatar. Any questions are usually forwarded to the travel club.

Tinari also states that the World Cup ambassador’s homophobic statements have not resulted in any cancellations: “Anyone traveling to Qatar is aware of this problem. The statements were new fodder for the boycott advocates.” According to Aeschbacher, there was no reaction to the statements in Destination Sports either.

Bad feeling among many fans

However, Tinari admits that some fans criticized the World Cup. A well-known example is Nati’s superfan Luca Loutenbach: he avoids visiting Qatar because it violates his values. Aeschbacher also felt the reservations of customers who actually always travel to World Cup or European Championship matches. Results: «Demand cannot be compared with other tournaments. There are significantly fewer Swiss fans. Many probably also took on the false price expectations.” Tinari explains that Travelclub sends about 20 percent fewer guests to Qatar than tournaments in Russia or Brazil. It is doubtful that many Swiss have made reservations.

The World Cup in Qatar has been criticized from the very beginning. Allegations: corruption in FIFA award, inhumane working conditions for stadium construction workers, strict rules on the field, enforcement in winter. After all, the infrastructure is ultra-modern and the distances are shorter than ever before at a World Cup.