From US$7,000 to US$15,000 per person are the prices that are available to support Uruguay in Qatar. Offered within the packages of different travel agencies, they include round trip tickets, lodging (hotel or apartment) and tickets for the three matches of the first phase that Uruguay will play against South Korea on November 24, against Portugal on December 28 and against Ghana on December 2.
The tour operator Hiperviajes estimates that some 1,000 Uruguayans will travel to Qatar during the World Cup, half of those who went to the last World Cup, held in Russia during June and July 2018. They have already sold packages to more than 500 people, including they include relatives of the players, managers and the general public. This is due to the fact that the operator was selected to sell in Uruguay exclusive packages with hotels and apartments in Doha, as well as exclusive cruises that will function as hotels., something that has been difficult for other agencies that have had to raise prices and even offer packages with accommodation in Dubai due to the low availability of accommodation in Qatar. “This agreement allowed us to reduce prices a little”he recognized The Observer, the CEO of the company, Fernando Riva.
The prices managed by this tour operator range from US$7,000 per person, if people decide to stay in an apartment and not in a hotel, and go up to US$10,000 if they decide to stay in a hotel. According to Riva, 80% of those who bought packages in Hiperviajes will stay in apartments, while 20% will stay in hotels.
Hosting has been a problem for all operators, he acknowledged The Observer, the president of the Uruguayan Association of Travel Agencies (Audavi), Carlos Pera, especially since the vast majority of the hotels were reserved by FIFA for the delegations. This has also caused the high prices of other tour operators that offer packages ranging from US$12,000 to US$15,000, and have even had to offer accommodation in Dubai due to the limited possibilities.. “In any case, there are passengers who have already decided to get accommodation in Dubai because it offers better tourist options than Qatar,” said Pera.
In September, the agencies recognized that the demand was “tepid”. As Riva had explained, the cultural gap, the little tourist offer that Qatar offers beyond the world cup and the costs of travel and stay were the decisive factors for the demand by the Uruguayans to be below the previous World Cups.
“The next World Cup is going to take place in a very special date because it is close to the holidays and, in addition, it coincides with the end of the courses”, the executive had added.
