Visa Everywhere Travel Report: Middle East Travelers Spend US$5.7 million on their Visa Accounts During FIFA World Cup BrazilTM

Global Inbound Spend in Brazil with Visa-branded products was U$380M 

Dubai, July 20, 2014 —Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), the leader in global payments, today released its final  Visa Everywhere Travel Report for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, which analyzes travel data and cross-border spend on all Visa products, including credit, debit and prepaid payment cards.

The survey results show that Middle East visitors spent over US$5.7 million during the thirty-two day football tournament in Brazil.  Fans from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar made up 70 percent of the total Middle Eastern spend from June 12-July 13, 2014.  This represents a 400 percent increase in  year-over-year spending by Middle Eastern visitors compared to the same period in 2013.

Visa accountholders spent US$380M in Brazil during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, an international spend increase of 143 percent.  Visitors spent the most in lodging (U$55.5M), retail (U$47.7M) and restaurants (U$40.5M).

The UAE was ranked the 27th largest spending nation in the Visa Everywhere Travel Report.  Saudi Arabia and Qatar were ranked 47th and 49th respectively.  During the thirty-two day event Visa cardholders from the UAE spent US$2.5M, Saudi Arabia spent US$840,000 and Qatar spent US$639,000.  All countries witnessed triple-digit increases in international spend compared to the same period in 2013 - UAE (+243%), Saudi Arabia (+700%) and Qatar (+276%).

Visitors from the United States, United Kingdom, France, finalist Argentina, Mexico and FIFA World Cup champions Germany were the six top spending countries during the FIFA World Cup.  

“The global attraction of the FIFA World Cup and the growing confidence and understanding of the convenience and security of electronic payments supported an influx of tourism spending in Brazil,” said Ihab Ayoub General Manager, Middle East and North Africa at Visa.

“As a proud sponsor of FIFA and the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, Visa was able to partner with clients, merchants and financial institutions in Brazil to provide a safe, convenient and reliable payment infrastructure for our regional cardholders to enjoy their time in Brazil and add to the colour and passion of this hugely successful event,” added Mr. Ayoub. 

Visa  worked with partner organizations and service providers in Brazil to implement and manage the entire payment system infrastructure throughout all FIFA World Cup venues, including the deployment of more than 3,000 Visa contactless-enabled point-of-sale terminals and 75 ATMs, 

For more information on Visa travel products and tips for international travel payment, visit www.visa.com/fifamediakit.com.