With less than a month to go for the ICC World Cup 2019 scheduled to take place in England and Wales, tourism agencies in the city have recorded an increase in the number of citizens travelling to witness the cricket event. India’s passion for the game is attributed as one of the key drivers for sports or cricket tourism in India.
“Thanks to the peak tourist season of Europe coupled with the cricket World Cup scheduled between May and July, the demand has gone up by at least 30 per cent, with Bengaluru being among the top three cities,” Karan Anand, head of relationships, Cox and Kings, said.
The number of enquiries to the United Kingdom has increased by at least 14 per cent as compared to last summer. The timing of the event during the summer months is responsible for the increase, according to the travel agency.
“The tournament is not only a great outing for small families, but large corporate groups as well. Increasingly, the MICE industry has been including the biggest sporting events as part of its programmes to keep their staff happy,” Anand added, mentioning that large MICE groups are followed by nuclear/smaller families who opt for the big games. “While about 65 per cent of the travellers come from Tier-1 cities, a considerable number of cricket lovers cover the long mile from Tier-2 cities as well,” he said.
Most travellers are combining their holidays with the World Cup matches. Cricket enthusiasts are opting for post and pre-tours considering the match dates. While a majority of the bookings start on May 21, when the tournament kicks off, they stretch for 10 days after the final match in July. The highest demand is for dates around India-Pakistan match on June 16 and India-Australia tie on June 9.
“We have seen a growing trend of travellers combining an international trip with the opportunity to witness any major sports event. According to ICC research, India constitutes 90 per cent of one billion cricket fans. With such a large cricket fan base, World Cup would be a major attraction for those travelling to England this June,” Balu Ramachandran, head, Air and Distribution, Cleartrip, said.