By Ramesh Mathew
The Brazilian embassy in Doha has said that it had been receiving at least 20 visa applications daily from Qatar residents who want to watch the 2014 FIFA World Cup being hosted by the South American nation from next month.
“Qataris and expatriates are showing good interest in travelling to Brazil,” an official said, adding that the direct airline connection to the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo from Doha provided by Qatar Airways has become extremely helpful to the football fans from Qatar to prepare their tour plans.
The non-stop Qatar Airways flight takes close to 16 hours to reach Sao Paulo from Doha.
While expecting a significant rise in the number of travellers from Qatar to Brazil in coming days, the embassy official said that 557 Qatar residents had applied for visa at the local embassy
last year to go to Brazil.
The diplomat said she never found the long distance from Qatar to Brazil as an obstacle for people wishing to travel to the South American country. “The distance is almost same as the one between major US cities and Doha,” she said.
Approximately 900 Brazilian nationals are living in Qatar, according to the embassy
figures for 2013.