São Paulo – Tourists from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a bloc composed of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman have spent over US$ 500,000 in Brazil using Visa cards during the World Cup. The figures were released by Dubai newspaper Gulf News.
The spending took place from June 12th to 15th this year. Tourists from Saudi Arabia and the Emirates accounted for over 70% of total GCC spending so far during the Cup in Brazil.
The sum is five times higher than in the same period last year and up 47% from the first four days of the Confederations Cup, held from June 15th to 18th, 2013.
“These figures reflect the significant impact that mega-sports events like the World Cup may have on host countries’ local business,” said Ihab Ayoub, Visa’s general manager for the Middle East and North Africa, according to Gulf News.
Expenditure by GCC tourists is part of a global sum of US$ 27 million spent by tourists from around the world using Visa cards during the World Cup. The company is one of the championship’s sponsors.
The highest spenders using Visa cards in the first days of the event were from the United States (US$ 6.6 million), United Kingdom (US$ 6.3 million) and France (US$ 1.7 million), according to information from the company.
“This positive trend is in line with Brazil’s expectations that over 600,000 will visit the country during the event, including a number of tourists from the Middle East, fuelling the economy,” said Ayoub, according to the Dubai newspaper.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
