Airlines, travel and hospitality companies are seeing an uptick in demand as India gets ready to host the ICC cricket world cup from October 5.
The world cup is the second big event taking place in the country after the G20 summit and is drawing fan interest from India and overseas.
“During peak festive periods, in October and November, Emirates typically witnesses a notable surge in flight bookings to India. This year, with the busy travel period coinciding with India’s hosting of the ICC world cup, the country is poised to draw cricket enthusiasts from across the globe in addition to holiday travellers. We have already witnessed a 50 percent rise in customer bookings for travel during these months, compared to the previous year, said a spokesperson of Emirates airline.
“There is a lot of excitement for the cricket world cup. There is spectator demand from US, Europe, Australia and other Asian countries. These are mostly FIT bookings and small groups,” added Monisha Dewan – vice president (sales and distribution), Marriott International.
Ten cities will host world cup matches that will be held from October 5 to November 19. Ten teams will jostle for the top prize with defending champions England taking on runner-ups New Zealand in the opener in Ahmedabad on October 5.
The Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad will host the final as also the India-Pakistan match on October 14. Fan demand is the highest for this encounter with people blocking hotel rooms even before securing tickets. Hotel rooms in Ahmedad are being priced at 4-5 the average rates for the India-Pakistan match day.
Narendra Somani, president of the Hotels and Restaurants Association of Gujarat expects nearly 30,000 fans to travel to Ahmedabad for India Pakistan match
“We observe a clear increase in hotels and homestay bookings across cities for the cricket festival, with Ahmedabad demonstrating maximum traction followed by Chennai, and Dharamshala for India matches. Cities like Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, and Hyderabad are recording an uptick for matches beyond the Indian team roster as well,” said Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip.
Magow said a more precise pattern will emerge a fortnight from now as almost 70 per cent of the accommodation bookings are made within 14-30 days of check-in dates