Indian sports fans are flying more to be where the action is
India is a cricket-crazy country and perhaps it's no surprise that bookings are coming in thick and fast for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 to be held in the US and West Indies this June. But it's not just cricket. Indian sports fans are travelling the world to watch their favourite sporting events across categories like never before, buoyed by rising disposable incomes, travel companies said.
Rajeev Kale, president and country head for holidays, MICE and Visa at Thomas Cook (India), said that besides the demand for the T20 World Cup from both leisure and corporate customers, the company is seeing high interest for Wimbledon in London, as well as Formula One races in Abu Dhabi, Singapore and Bahrain throughout the year. The company's data indicates an uptick of 25-30% in bookings for key global sporting events this year, he said.
«Besides corporate incentives, head honchos from India Inc and HNI-UHNI leisure travellers, our data reveals strong demand emerging from younger audiences as well who are keen to tick off their bucket lists,» Kale said.
As per the Global Travel Trends 2024 report by American Express, 29% of Indians, surpassing the global average of 14%, plan to travel more often for sporting events in 2024.
Football (47%), Formula One (30%), and the Paris Olympics (24%) top the list for Indians planning to travel for sporting events in 2024.
Daniel D'Souza, president and country head for holidays at SOTC Travel, said the firm is seeing a growth of over 25% for sporting events across destinations. «The
