Doha aims to triple 2019 tourist numbers and reach 7 million visitors a year by 2030
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will go down in history as far as football firsts are concerned. Not only did football legend Lionel Messi lift the World Cup for Argentina for the first time, but he also set the new FIFA World Cup appearance record at some 26 matches.
The tournament saw 172 goals scored and attracted 3.4 million stadium spectators (up from 3 million in 2018), while the final captivated some 1.5 billion global viewers according to FIFA, topped up with 6 billion social media engagements.
At that point in time, the eyes of the world were on Doha and its impressive 89,966-capacity Lusail Stadium – the largest stadium in the Middle East, and one of seven built for the tournament. They were part of a whopping US$229 billion investment pumped into World Cup preparations in the decade leading up to the largest sporting event on Earth.
This remarkable outlay also gets etched in the record books, with FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 not
