The ruler of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, was forced to make a public statement in defense of his country and the upcoming World Cup due to the numerous criticism of the Western media. According to him, a real anti-PR campaign is underway in Europe, designed to denigrate the Arab state.
In particular, many human rights organizations accuse Qatar of intolerance towards the LGBT community. So, Human Rights Watch even published a whole investigation, which refers to cases of illegal arrest of representatives of non-traditional orientation and even torture. To which the representatives of the organizing committee of the World Cup quite correctly answered: “All we ask of fans and tourists is that they respect the local culture. We welcome everyone as long as they don’t harm other people.”
Another claim is the ban on alcohol in the country. Despite the prohibition, fans will still be able to take alcohol in special bars and hotels. They were even allowed to drink alcohol in the fan zones of the stadiums. The only thing that the Qatari police will not disregard in any case is women in revealing outfits and excessive “tenderness” in public places.
However, there are tourists and more significant problems. On the eve of the World Cup in Qatar, where the number of rooms is already quite limited, there are almost no vacant places in hotels. And vacancies are put up at exorbitant prices. However, there is an alternative: check into a hotel in neighboring Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, and fly to Qatar on special shuttles on the day of the games. In this case, you can save relatively.
Another option is to live on the water. Thus, the tour operator PAC GROUP reported that from November 19 to December 19, the MSC Opera cruise liner will stay in the port of Doha and work as a hotel. This gives tourists a unique opportunity to optimize their spending during the World Cup.