DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — During the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, cafes, restaurants, hotels and furnished apartments in Dubai are hosting an anticipated 1 million soccer fans who chose the emirate and other cities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a destination to watch the matches.
In early November, Dubai's General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs had announced the issuance of a 90-day multiple-entry tourist visa allowing soccer fans to enter and leave the UAE as they head to Doha to watch the matches live, using more than 54 daily shuttle flights scheduled from Dubai to Doha during the tournament. As Qatar is a relatively small country to host all of the World Cup fans, the UAE saw this as an opportunity.
These measures will contribute to boosting the tourism sector in Dubai, while residents and visitors in the Emirates suffer the high prices of hotels and rental apartments. Many owners of furnished apartments increased their prices ahead of the event, namely in Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Beach Residence, Jumeirah Lake Towers and downtown Dubai.
Fadi Khozam, a Syrian resident living in the Dubai Marina area, told Al-Monitor that he rents a room in a shared apartment for which he paid 2,500 dirhams per month ($700) up until October. Then the owner of the building raised the monthly rent to 3,500 dirhams (about $950) per room, he said.
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