Beijing Olympics a big hit among CEOs, COOs

India Inc is all charged up for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which will kick-start on August 8 and will go on till August 24.

Over 250 CEOs and COOs of banking, insurance, FMCG and pharma companies have already booked tickets for a trip to the summer Olympics.

Beside top honchos of these companies, travel agents and tour operators are also booking customised travel packages for FITs (free individual travellers) who are going in a group of four to five people.

Says P Srinivas, vice-president, Special Interest Tours, SOTC, "So far, we have done bookings for our corporate clients with most of them opting to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics which is for the first two days of the event. With six more months to go for the Olympics, we expect the bookings to increase in the coming months."

SOTC is selling packages for a week and 15 days between Rs 90,000 and Rs 1.75 lakh per person (including air tickets), respectively. Along with accommodation, the itinerary includes visit to famous tourist places in China too.

Companies from India would be leaving in a group of 15. According to estimate from tour operators, around 1,000 Indians would be visiting Beijing for the Olympics.

Thomas Cook, on the other hand, is offering a four-day package ranging between Rs 65,000 and Rs 1.01 lakh per person based on the star hotel category. To and fro air tickets, however, are not included in the package and could cost around Rs 31,000 per person.