“We’re usually packed with Saudis and Bahrainis but not this year,” a staff member at a five-star hotel said. The airport did not respond to a Reuters request for data on the impact of sanctions. Visitors from the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council usually account for almost half of all visitors to Qatar. Air links suspended by the four Arab states represented around 25 percent of flights by state-owned Qatar Airways, one of the region's big three carriers. Qatar’s World Cup organizing committee said sanctions had not affected preparations for the tournament and alternative sources for construction materials had been secured.

Source: bd News24 June 26, 2017 15:00 UTC