DOHA (AFP) Asian Cup organisers insist they are targetting capacity crowds at the flagship tournament next year, but they have their work cut out in sparsely populated and expensive Qatar. The 16-team event will be held in the gas-rich state from January 7-29 and local organising committee chief executive Saud Al Mohannadi admits a competition without spectators is like a meal without salt. But with a population of less than one million people, filling the five stadiums that will be used is not going to be easy. With large numbers of fans unlikely to travel from places like Australia, China, Japan and Korea, the focus is on drawing spectators from the Gulf. But organisers also said that ahead of the Asian Games in Doha in 2006, and the football matches were played in mostly empty stadiums. We have a strategy in place and we are working on it. We are confident we can deliver the best ever Asian Cup with regards to attendance, said Al Mohannadi ahead of the tournament draw on Friday. We are looking at all options to bring in the fans and one of the plans is to offer an affordable and attractive travel package. This package will include a visit visa to Qatar. We are looking to fill up the stadiums with 60 to 70 percent of fans coming from abroad. We are pushing for 100 percent capacity stadiums. We are looking at fans coming in from the Gulf region as well as the rest of Asia, added Al Mohannadi, who is also the secretary general, Qatar Football Association. Staging a successful tournament with plenty of atmosphere is important for Qatar, which is also bidding to host the World Cup in 2022. Another problem organisers face is the excessive cost of hotel rooms, with few fans willing, or able, to pay several hundred US dollars a night. Al Mohannadi acknowledged this was an issue. Yes, it is something we are taking into consideration. If we have the same prices, I dont think anyone will show up here, he admitted. At least the tournament is being held in one country, as opposed to the last event which was jointly hosted by Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam and proved to be a logistical nightmare. In Qatar, the five stadiums Khalifa Stadium, Al Sadd Stadium, Al Gharafa Stadium, Al Rayyan Stadium and Qatar Sports Club Stadium are all within reasonable proximity to the downtown area. Al Mohannadi said details on the travel package and ticket prices will be made public in July. We all know that we are looking at the FIFA World Cup. We dont want a clash here, he said. It is obvious that the World Cup is the biggest football tournament. We will start our promotional campaign in July, once the World Cup comes to an end. AFC vice-president and chairman of the Asian Cup organising committee Zhang Jilong said the organisation so far had been first class. There is nothing that we are not happy about with regards to the organisation of this tournament, he said. It was different in 2007 when we had four Asian countries hosting the tournament. But we are back to the old format of one host country. Here, it will be one country, one city with all the great facilities. Yes, I think it will be the best ever tournament.