Sport travel packages galore to Brazil as football World Cup nears kickoff

New Delhi, May 26:

With soccer fans from across the globe expected to descend on Brazil for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, Indian corporates and high-net worth individuals are also evincing interest in the event.

Travel firms anticipate that about 1,500-2,000 fans are likely to travel to Brazil from India through the month-long FIFA World Cup that starts from June 12 and ends on July 13.

Mayank Khandwala, Co-Founder, Cutting Edge Events, said, There is a very good response for FIFA packages. Corporates as well as HNIs are showing a lot of interest. While small groups have booked to travel for the opening ceremony, more groups are expected to travel during the second half of the tournament. Cutting Edge Events is the authorised sales agent of Match Hospitality in India for the sale of the official hospitality packages for FIFA 2014.

Typically, corporates are the big buyers of sports tourism packages in India, who usually use these to reward employees, clients, customers or dealers. Considering the price tag, where packages start from 4 lakh for a person depending on match and location, FIFA too is largely expected to get more takers from the corporate world. With summer vacations on, families may also pick up these packages.

Karan Anand, Head, Relationships, Cox & Kings said, This is a very niche product. It is driven more by the incentive market, wherein corporates buy these packages as an incentive to their best clients. We also have a few high-net worth individuals who have shown a keen interest. Cox & Kings is the official hospitality partner to sell packages for FIFA World Cup 2014.

The match hospitality package includes category-1 hospitality tickets for the Match Pavilion, Match Club and Match Premier and access to food and beverages. These firms are coupling the match hospitality packages with customised packages that include air tickets, hotel stay and sightseeing. Venue series packages are available for Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Cuiaba, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Sao Paulo.

However, travel experts added that unlike most other international tourist boards, Brazil has not been aggressively marketing itself in India, though FIFA has got people interested in Brazil as a tourist destination, added Khandwala.

Overall, sporting vacations have gained popularity in India in the past five to six years and have been growing at 25-30 per cent year-on-year. It is expected to grow at 10-15 per cent in the next few years, believe experts.

(This article was published on May 26, 2014)