Football World Cup fever outmatches Twenty20 in India

Cricket is a religion in India, but it turns out that when it comes to choosing between cricket and football abroad, Indians lean towards the latter.

According to tour operators, travel bookings for the Fifa World Cup 2010, starting in June, have clearly surpassed those for the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup.

About 2,000 people from Mumbai, Goa, Kolkata and Kerala have booked for various Fifa packages, and the number is likely to go up.

It is still 43 days to go, but the soccer fever has already gripped the Indian fans.

Several Indians have opted to watch the Fifa World Cup matches in South Africa rather than choosing the ongoing cricket matches being held in West Indies.

“The response to Fifa has been good and about 600 tourists from Mumbai alone are going to South Africa to watch the matches,” says Benazir Nazar, chief executive officer, Akbar Holidays. “Since Kolkata, Kerala and Goa also have ardent football fans, we are expecting 1,600 more bookings from these destinations,” Nazar says.

According to industry experts, the bookings for Twenty20 World Cup have been relatively less compared to those for Fifa.

“The Twenty20 World Cup may be facing a lukewarm response because IPL (Indian Premiere League) cricket matches have just ended and people are tired of watching cricket,” an industry expert says, adding that the rush to South Africa may also be because in June, many people especially from the corporate world go to South Africa for vacations and would also like to add soccer matches to their schedule.

According to Kuoni India, a tour service provider, companies across the world have realised the benefits of rewarding their employees with tour packages to enhance their productivity. The Fifa package may be one of them.

The travel operators say the response to the Twenty20 World Cup in West Indies has not been encouraging, but they say they hope to see a increase in demand for the semi-final and final matches.

A Cox & Kings spokesperson said: “India is a slow market and Indians are known for making last-minute bookings. The response to T-20 is slow but it is picking up and we hope it will improve for the semi-finals and the final.”