Officers said that the euphoria surrounding this year’s FIFA World Cup in football-crazy Kolkata has been “unprecedented.” Nearly 9,000 fans have already traveled to Qatar to watch the main event.
They stated that people are still asking about the availability of tickets, lodging, and travel packages for Qatar, both days before the semi-finals and the following week.
Around 10,000 to 12,000 soccer fans from Japan’s India have traveled to Qatar thus far, including nearly 9,000 from Kolkata. People are still very excited to get to the semis and the final, and we expect at least 1,500 more Kolkatans to travel to the Arab country,” Anil Punjabi, the Japanese region head of the Travel Brokers’ Federation of India (TAFI), told PTI.
Even though the excitement for the business end of the world cup has diminished somewhat due to the departure of giants like Brazil and Portugal, Argentina’s appearance in the semi-finals is reason enough for many Kolkata soccer fans to fly to Qatar. “As this will probably be his last world cup, everything is about Messi this time.
I had decided months ago that I would travel to Qatar if Argentina reached the semifinals. Subham Mitra, a Lake Gardens resident, stated, “Who knows, I would really see Messi lifting the coveted trophy, which may be an unreal experience.” Mitra stated that he would leave for Doha, the capital of Qatar, on Monday morning.
At the moment, the typical return fare to Doha costs between Rs 55,000 and 60,000. On Wednesday, Argentina will face Croatia in the first semi-final. According to Punjabi, “Kolkata’s soccer frenzy for this version of the world cup has been unprecedented due to two fundamental factors — direct flights to Qatar and the urge to travel more in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially during major world events.”
Additionally, the senior TAFI official stated that the World Cup will make Qatar a popular travel destination for east Indians. Punjabi continued, “Qatar wasn’t one of the many sought-after vacation spots prior to the mega event, but the sporting event has added great value to the place and we anticipate that an increasing number of people will add it to their must-visit list.”