World Cup soccer, F1 racing bring tourism fortune to Gulf states
Marquee events such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and Abu Dhabi’s F1 Grand Prix have helped establish Gulf countries as major-league hosts of global tournaments.
Now they stand to capture a significant share of the global sports tourism market, which is predicted to reach $2 trillion by 2030, according to a Middle East report published by PwC.
Gulf countries have an opportunity to convert their hosting success into a long-term driver of economic growth by building experience-led destinations, immersive fan journeys and a connected regional ecosystem that keeps fans returning throughout the year, the report found.
Sports tourism accounts for about 10% of global tourism spend, but the Gulf region currently only captures about 5-7% of that, leaving room for growth.
Saudi Arabia’s massive investment in sports, largely orchestrated through the Public Investment Fund, is paying off, with the kingdom’s sports market expected to triple to $22.4 billion by 2030, adding $13.3 billion to its GDP.
MBS crowns Team Falcons as winner of Esports World Cup
After seven weeks of grueling battle in Saudi Arabia over computer screens and joysticks, the Esports World Cup 2025 competition proclaimed Riyadh-based Team Falcons as champ from a field of more than 2,000 players representing over 100 countries.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman presided over the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup 2025 on Sunday, presenting the trophy to the Falcons, who led the standings with 5,200 points.
The team won the $7 million grand prize from a record-breaking $70 million total prize pool, the largest in esports history.
Among prominent personalities who attended the closing ceremony were soccer star Christiano Renaldo, Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan and billionaire investor Evan Spiegel.
The tournament is part of the kingdom’s national esports strategy that aims to attract investment and achieve the goal of becoming the world leader in the $2.9 billion esports industry.
Over the course of the Esports World Cup, the site of the competition at Boulevard Riyadh City drew more than 3 million visitors, according to the Saudi Press Agency. At the same time, over 750 million viewers worldwide followed the competition through digital platforms.
Saudi Arabia prepares to host first Esports World Cup in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia is offering 90-day e-visas to Esports World Cup ticket holders as it gears up to host the debut competition that aims to put the kingdom on the international gaming map.
Boulevard Riyadh City is the venue where more than 2,500 players will compete for a $60 million prize pool, the largest in esports history, from July 4 to Aug. 25.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, himself a “Call of Duty” fan, has earmarked $38 billion from the Public Investment Fund – with the aim of attracting 250 gaming companies and studios to set up shop in the country while creating 39,000 video game-related jobs.
The homegrown strategy builds on the kingdom’s credentials in the e-arena with investments in the biggest players like Tencent, Nintendo, Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft.
In March, Saudi Arabia’s National Development Fund and the Social Development Bank announced the establishment of two venture capital funds with a combined value of $120 million to back new esports companies in the kingdom.
Qatar seeks to ‘liberate’ hotel industry in push for tourists
Qatar’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament ignited tourism in 2022 and officials say they hope to stoke the industry further through deregulation.
By changing rules on licensing and operating hours, the Gulf state expects to generate a new bounty of international visitors, Saad bin Ali Al Kharji, Chairman of Qatar Tourism told Bloomberg in an interview.
“We will try to liberate the hospitality sector and remove any obstacles,” he said.
Defying expectations of a downturn following the World Cup, incoming arrivals to Qatar swelled 39% to 4 million tourists last year from 2022.
Qatar’s strategic plan calls for tourism to contribute 12% to GDP as Gulf neighbors Saudi Arabia and the UAE also invest heavily in the industry.
The Gulf Cooperation Council plans to offer a regional visa soon that would grant tourists access to all six of its member nations.
Qatar World Cup draws thousands of Israelis, direct flights or not
Israel has no diplomatic ties with Qatar, and its national soccer team didn’t qualify for the 2022 World Cup. That won’t stop thousands of Israel fans from pouring into the oil-rich Gulf state this week to join the frenzied crowds at the most-watched sporting event on earth.
It wasn’t until 10 days before the opening match between Qatar and Ecuador, set for Nov. 20, that world soccer’s ruling body, known as FIFA, worked out a plan for direct flights between Israel and Qatar that satisfied political and security leaders in both countries. By then, most Israelis with tickets to the nearly monthlong tournament had booked flights with layovers in third countries.
While Israelis are barred by statute from entry into Qatar, the country agreed to honor Israeli passports as a condition for the highly sought rights to host the World Cup. Still, many Israelis, generally known for their boisterous character, say they’ll try to keep things low-key at the games.
“The vibe is to go and enjoy the football and not try to stand out or anything,” Elon Grubman, a 32-year-old Israeli born in Brazil, told The Circuit.
When FIFA finally announced the agreement for direct charter flights on Nov. 10, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid hailed the move as “great news for football fans and for all Israelis,” adding that it was the result of “hard work over the course of many months.” Israel will also be allowed to open a temporary consular office to assist fans with lost passports and medical emergencies.
In expressing his “delight” at solving the visa problem, FIFA President Gianni Infantino also announced that the deal meant “Israelis and Palestinians will be able to fly together and enjoy football together.” Given the tight security protocols that Israel has practiced for decades in restricting Palestinian travelers through Ben Gurion International Airport, it’s unclear whether such joint flights will materialize. Like the Israelis, though, most Palestinians didn’t wait to book their flights.
Walid Jouda, a resident of the Gaza Strip, was standing in line yesterday afternoon at the heavily guarded southern border of the coastal enclave, waiting for permission to enter Egypt and fly to Doha through Cairo.
“I’m a football addict so seeing the matches live in Qatar is going to be amazing,” said Jouda, 35, an information technology administrator for a United Nations agency in Gaza City, who is rooting for Argentina. “Maybe one day Palestine will qualify for the World Cup, but that’s still a dream.”
Though Israel and Qatar have never established full diplomatic ties, they have worked together publicly for more than two decades. In the late 1990s, Israel operated a trade liaison office in Doha until tensions between Israelis and Palestinians led Qatar to shut it down. Israel allows Qatari officials to travel through its territory and enter the Gaza Strip, where they have for years mediated between Israel and Hamas, the militant Islamist group that governs the territory.
Tickets to the matches and accommodation in Qatar or neighboring countries don’t come cheap. Matan Peled, a manager at Israel’s ISSTA travel agency, said three-night packages that include two soccer matches were selling for $2,000 to $3,500 a person, depending on the hotel. One advantage to Qatar’s small size, he said, is the close proximity of all the new stadiums that were built for the World Cup.
“It’s like having eight stadiums in Tel Aviv,” Peled told The Circuit. “All the teams are in the same area, all the fan zones are close to one another.”
With no Israeli team in the tournament, 42-year-old Ronen Rotem said he doesn’t care much who wins. “I’ve never been to a football match in my life,” he said. “I’m only going because it’s a unique opportunity to visit Qatar.”
