Skyscanner Travel Expert (and football fanatic) Ayoub El Mamoun comments:
“With just days to go until the international event kick-off, our flight data shows that football fans are making those last-minute bookings with flight bookings to Qatar increasing by 72% in the last week alone.
“The halo effect of the football event is clear with a booking uplift across the wider GCC region for the duration of the tournament. We’ve seen bookings to Saudi Arabia increase by 106% in October compared the previous month and bookings to the UAE increase by 103% month on month.
“Looking at bookings to Qatar, made in the last month, for the duration of the tournament, the UAE is the top origin country, reflecting the UAE’s role as a key travel hub, followed by Saudi Arabia and the UK.”
Data Overview
Week on Week Data (w/c 7 November compared to w/c 31 October):
Global bookings to Qatar during the dates of the tournament (20 November-18 December) have soared by 72% in the last week (w/c 7 November versus w/c 31 October)
Global bookings to Saudi Arabia during the dates of the tournament (20 November-18 December) have increased by 47% in the last week (w/c 7 November versus w/c 31 October)
Global bookings to the UAE during the dates of the tournament (20 Novembe-18 December) have increased by 30% in the last week (w/c 7 November compared to w/c 31 October)
Global bookings to Dubai during the dates of the tournament (20 November-18 December) increased 32% week on week (w/c 7 November compared to w/c 31 October)
Month on Month Data (a look at October compared to September)
Global bookings to the Saudi Arabia during the dates of the tournament (20 November-18 December) have increased by 106% in October compared to the previous month
Global bookings to the UAE during the dates of the tournament (20 November-18 December) have increased by 103% in October compared to the previous month
Global bookings to Dubai during the dates of the tournament (20 November-18 December) have increased by 92% in October compared to the previous month
Global booking to Qatar during the dates of the tournament (20 November-18 December) have increased by 62% in October compared to the previous month
Top origin destinations for bookings to Qatar made in the last month for travel during the dates of the tournament (20 November-18 December)
- UAE
- Saudi Arabia
- United Kingdom
- Oman
- India
Top origin destinations for bookings to Qatar made in the last month for travel during the dates of the tournament (20 November-18 December)
- India
- UK
- Israel
- Egypt
- United Kingdom
Top origin destinations for bookings to Saudi Arabia made in the last month for travel during the dates of the tournament (20 November-18 December)
- United Kingdom
- Egypt
- UAE
- India
- Saudi Arabia