“Mega events, like the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup that starts this week, hold tremendous potential for driving tourism in India and provide an ideal opportunity to highlight the country’s hospitality and culture,” Santosh Kumar, country manager (India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia) at the company told ET.
Booking.com is the official accommodation partner for the tournament.
The India-Pakistan match, scheduled for October 14 in Ahmedabad, has driven an “impressive surge” in demand for accommodation in the city, Kumar said, adding: “We are seeing a 1550% increase in searches for accommodation for the match date as compared to the same time last year.”
Even for flights, Ahmedabad has risen to the second highest searched route for October 13 and 14, Kumar said.
“Delhi-Ahmedabad and Mumbai-Ahmedabad are the top-searched routes for October 13 and 14. Seven out of the top-ten most-searched destinations for accommodations from October 1 to November 20 in India are the cricket host cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad,” he added.According to Booking.com data, in terms of the number of visitors to India from the cricketing nations during October 1 to November 20, the top five are the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.“The demand has a positive effect on the local tourism industry,” he said.
After G20, hotels are placing their bets on the most anticipated sporting tournament that starts this week.
Artilla Inn, hotel in Ahmedabad, which has rooms available for Rs 5,053 for October 3, is charging Rs 129,800 for October 14 on Booking.com. Room rates for Welcomhotel by ITC Hotels on Ashram Road and Courtyard by Marriott in Ahmedabad for October 14 were Rs 95,579 and Rs 84,000, respectively, as of Monday.
The Leela Palace in Delhi is charging Rs 37,170 for October 11, when India plays against Afghanistan, compared to Rs 27,730 for October 9.
Rates for Fortune Park BBD and The Piccadily in Lucknow for October 29, the day India plays against England, are at Rs 59,000 and Rs 77,451, respectively.
Novotel Kolkata Hotel and Residences and Taj City Centre in Kolkata are charging Rs 53,631, and Rs 53,100 respectively for November 5, the day for the India-South Africa match.
Pointing to an uptick in demand for accommodation options and flights, MakeMyTrip and Yatra had said bookings in cities where India is playing were seeing a significant increase.