## 2022 FIFA World Cup: Economic Impact on Qatar and Regional Spillovers

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [2022 FIFA World Cup: Economic Impact on Qatar and Regional Spillovers](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/selected-issues-papers/2024/english/sipea2024011.pdf)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/-/media/files/publications/selected-issues-papers/2024/english/sipea2024011.pdf.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/-/media/files/publications/selected-issues-papers/2024/english/sipea2024011.pdf.json)

---

### A. Introduction
- A decade-long preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup (WC) underpinned Qatar’s diversification strategy.
- A large investment program spanning a decade was undertaken, estimated at US$200–300 billion, which transformed the urban landscape.
- Construction of stadiums reportedly cost US$6.5 billion.
- Sport is a priority sector under the second National Development Strategy (2018-22); 18 of 26-man World Cup squad came from the Aspire Academy.
- The tournament took place during November 20 to December 18, 2022.
- Reportedly about 1 million visitors arrived in Qatar during the tournament, of which 0.3 million stayed in the neighboring countries using shuttle flights to commute to Qatar.
- The UAE (mainly Dubai) is estimated to have attracted close to 80 percent of the total WC spectators staying in other GCC countries.

### B. Near-term economic impacts and regional spillovers
Findings on revenues, GVA, and visitor patterns:
- Tourism spending by visitors and WC-related broadcasting revenue are estimated at US$2.3–4.1 billion.
- In gross value added (GVA) terms, these would equate to US$1.6–2.4 billion, or 0.7–1.0 percent of Qatar’s 2022 GDP.
- Estimated short-term contributions to GDP are comparable to the 2002 FIFA World Cup contribution to Korea’s economy of US$713 million (Lee and Taylor, 2005), or 1.1 percent of Korea’s 2002 GDP.
- Near-term spillovers to other GCC countries are estimated to be smaller; spillovers to the UAE are estimated to be up to 0.1 percent of the UAE’s estimated 2022 GDP.
- About 0.7 million of the 1 million visitors are estimated to have lodged in Qatar (implying 0.3 million lodged in neighboring countries).
- The UAE captured the majority of cross-border lodging demand, with Dubai attracting close to 80 percent of WC spectators staying in other GCC countries.

Table 1 (summary figures presented in the source):
- Air fare (Qatar): spending per visitor ranges in headline items leading to total World Cup-related revenue in Qatar of US$1,575–2,412 million; corresponding GVA US$1,575–2,412 million and % of 2022 GDP of 0.7–1.0.
- Broadcasting revenue assumed: US$930 million (reported as part of the totals in Table 1).

Nighttime luminosity evidence:
- Mean nighttime luminosity values increased from before to after the World Cup, suggesting increases in economic activity in response to the World Cup events.

Hotel sector impacts (summary from Annex II):
- Hotel capacity during the World Cup is estimated at 130,000 rooms.
- Baseline hotel capacity in 2021Q4 is about 29,000 rooms.
- Official occupancy data for November and December 2022 average 59 percent (versus 70 percent in 2021Q4).
- Booked per day increased from 20,409 rooms in 2021Q4 to an estimated 76,700 rooms during the World Cup, a % change of 276.
- Hotel prices (CPI index level) rose from 113 to 243, an increase of 115 percent (index level shown as 243; change described as 115 percent).
- Monthly hotel GDP: 2021Q4 = US$161 million; World Cup (est.) = US$510 million; % change noted in table as 218.
- Memorandum item: elasticity of hotel GDP to hotel room booking per day = 0.27.
- The monthly nominal hotel GDP during the World Cup is estimated at US$510 million; an alternative estimate from Q4 hotel GDP and WC visitor numbers is US$546 million. The difference between WC monthly estimates (US$510–546 million) and US$161 million in 2021Q4 yields hotel GVA of US$350–385 million reported in Table 1.

Annex I — UAE: World Cup-related revenue and GVA (summary figures):
- Total World Cup-related revenue in the UAE is estimated at US$113–435 million.
- Corresponding % of 2022 GDP is 0.0–0.1.
- Assumptions: airfare and accommodation are assumed to cost slightly less than in Qatar; visitors assumed to stay longer in the UAE (4 days); GVA ratios for Qatar used absent comparable UAE data.

### C. Longer-term contributions and infrastructure effects
Findings on public investment and non-hydrocarbon growth:
- Public investment in the run-up to the WC is characterized as a decade-long infrastructure program largely captured in public capital spending.
- During 2011–22, capital spending by the government grew on average by slightly below 6 percent per annum in real terms.
- Public capital spending reached US$230 billion equivalent cumulatively (in nominal terms) for 2011–22, comparable to the nation’s estimated decade-long infrastructure program of US$200–300 billion.
- For 2011–19 (excluding COVID-19 slowdown), public capital spending grew by over 9 percent per annum in real terms and totaled US$170 billion equivalent (in nominal terms).
- Applying long-term fiscal multipliers of 0.8 and 1.0 (guided by GCC literature), long-term contributions of public capital spending to non-hydrocarbon output growth are:
  - 5–6 percentage points for 2011–22 (using multipliers 0.8–1.0).
  - 7–9 percentage points for 2011–19 (using multipliers 0.8–1.0).
- These estimated long-term contributions are broadly comparable to actual non-hydrocarbon output growth during the periods, suggesting the public investment program was a key growth driver.

Additional contextual indicators from figures and text:
- Major project spending by government: cited as US$230 billion cumulative (2011-22) with 5.7% annual growth; US$170 billion cumulative (2011-19) with 9.3% annual growth.
- GCC: Capital Spending Fiscal Multiplier (elasticity) references studies with values in figure text (studies cited include Espinoza and Senhadji (2011), Cerisola et al. (2015), Fouejieu et al. (2018)).

### D. Policy implications and recommendations
- Leverage high-quality infrastructure and global visibility from the WC to further promote economic diversification and achieve the National Vision 2030.
- Promote tourism using momentum from the WC and the implementation of the National Tourism Sector Strategy to boost tourism over the medium and long term.
- Transform the role of the state: with less need for further significant public infrastructure investment, shift from being a direct growth driver (via large-scale public investment) to becoming an enabler of private sector-led growth.
- Facilitate structural reforms and investment in human capital and climate sustainability to support private-sector-led diversification.
- Maintain reform momentum achieved in the run up to the WC, including:
  - Abolishment of the Kafala system to enhance labor mobility and protection of expatriate workers.
  - Greater sustainability considerations in infrastructure investment.

### E. Conclusion
- Near-term contributions of the World Cup to Qatar’s economy were comparable to cross-country experiences, estimated at up to 1 percent of GDP, with positive regional spillovers.
- Long-term contributions from the decade-long public investment program in the run up to the event were significant and accounted for much of the non-hydrocarbon output growth during the period.
- The WC legacy — top-notch infrastructure and enhanced visibility — should be leveraged to achieve diversification goals and stronger potential growth, while the state’s role evolves to support private-sector-led development.

*Source: IMF Selected Issues Paper SIP/2024/011, “2022 FIFA World Cup: Economic Impact on Qatar and Regional Spillovers,” completed December 18, 2023.*

---


_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/selected-issues-papers/2024/english/sipea2024011.pdf_