Indian sports fans are travelling across the globe in huge numbers for sporting events as bookings see a surge of 25-30 per cent for key global sports events this year, showed data from Thomas Cook (India), according to a report in The Economic Times (ET).
Rajeev Kale, president and country head for holidays, MICE and Visa at Thomas Cook (India) said that the company's data showed "an uptick of 25-30 per cent in bookings for key global sporting events this year".
Kale said that ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 to be held in the US and West Indies in June this year, books are coming in thick and fast from Indian sports fans. However, Kale said, there has also been a surge in bookings for Wimbledon in London, as well as Formula One races in Abu Dhabi, Singapore and Bahrain throughout the year. The rise is disposable incomes could be a reason behind the surge in bookings, said Kale.
"Besides corporate incentives, and high net worth and ultra high net worth leisure travellers, our data reveals strong demand emerging from younger professionals as well who are keen to tick off their bucket lists," he added.
According to the 2024 Global Travel Trends report from American Express, 29 per cent of Indians, exceeding the global average of 14 per cent, intend to increase their travel frequency for sporting events in 2024. Football (47 per cent), Formula One (30 per cent), and the 2024 Paris Olympics (24 per cent) rank highest among the sports events that Indians plan to attend this year.
Raghav Gupta, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Fanatic Sports said that there has been an "exponential demand for sports travel from India and bookings have grown by about 30 per cent year-on-year in this space", according to the ET report.
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Gupta said, "We are doing some very exciting experiences this year. For instance, there is a VIP dinner with celebrities lined up a day before the India versus Pakistan match in the T20 cricket world cup. We have organised a champagne breakfast with a Tennis legend at Wimbledon for a corporate client in the banking sector in India."
Monish Shah, founder and CEO of DreamSetGo, a sports travel company, said the company is the official travel partner for the Indian delegation traveling to Paris for the Olympic games and will host a private meet and greet for clients with Neeraj Chopra, reigning Olympics champion in javelin throw.
Shah said, "For the India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup match to be held on June 9, the company will facilitate a meet and greet with cricketer Sourav Ganguly and a former Pakistani cricketer for over 300 sports fans."
Anubhav Gupta, senior vice president of business development at Mastercard, told ET that sports tourism is rapidly evolving as a fast-growing segment within the broader tourism industry. "Last year, Mastercard collaborated with the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the 2023 Men's Cricket World Cup. Mastercard utilised its association with ICC to provide priceless experiences to its cardholders and countless cricket fans from around the globe," he added.
According to the ET report, Bharatt Kumar Malik, senior vice-president for air and hotel business at Yatra Online Limited, said, "Anticipation is high, and we forecast an even more significant year ahead for sports travel this year, with expectations of a 10-15 per cent growth in this segment."