With the highly-anticipated Cricket World Cup just around the corner, online travel agents and food delivery platforms are witnessing a huge surge in bookings and consumption patterns.Ahmedabad, which is hosting the India-Pakistan battle royale and the final match, both at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on October 14 and November 19, respectively, has grabbed the lion’s share, with bookings skyrocketing by as much as 777% for OYO and 200% for MakeMyTrip and a surge in searches going as high as a whopping 4,000% at Airbnb and 1,702% at Agoda.For online travel agency Agoda, the sporting spectacle in general has led to a 237% increase in searches for host cities throughout India. While Ahmedabad has emerged as the obvious fan favourite, the host cities of Dharamshala (347%), Lucknow (225%), Hyderabad (199%) and Pune (169%) have also witnessed search spikes around the match dates.
The search traffic for the host cities is also coming from abroad, as fans, especially from the UK, US, Singapore, Australia and Malaysia, gear up to watch the matches live.Krishna Rathi, Agoda country director, India, Sri Lanka, and Maldives, said, “The event has always been one of the most sought-after in India, and it is great to see interest from international travellers as well.”The influx of Indian and international travellers during the Cricket World Cup, which will take place across 10 cities from October 5 to November 19, will offer a significant economic boost to local stays and hosts.OYO has witnessed a ‘more than usual’ surge in demand across host cities, specifically in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi and Kolkata, where occupancy is more than 60%.
“Ahmedabad, in particular, has seen bookings for October and November jump by a whopping 777%. Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Delhi have seen a surge of 102%, 81% and 39%, respectively. We are seeing more traction for mid-premium to premium hotels,” said an OYO spokesperson.To meet this increased demand, OYO has incorporated 500 new hotels across all host cities, which are strategically located near the stadiums, ensuring convenient access for all attendees.Meanwhile, online homestay and experience marketplace Airbnb has revealed that there has been a surge in searches for stays in Ahmedabad – by as much as 4,000% for the India-Pakistan match.
Fans from the UK top the list of international guests looking to travel to India during the tournament, followed by Australia and New Zealand. Among the Indian cities, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Pune, Lucknow and Kolkata have witnessed a surge in searches for stays during the tournament dates, as per Airbnb.Amanpreet Singh Bajaj, Airbnb’s general manager, India, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, said, “As hosts from various parts of India open doors to their home, they aren’t just offering a place to stay but an immersive experience, enabling them to truly live the world cup fever.”For MakeMyTrip, match-day bookings in Ahmedabad continue to be on an uptick, with a 200% increase in accommodation bookings, including hotels and homestays. Reservations in Dharamshala on the match date have escalated by an astounding 605% above the on-platform daily average in August.
Meanwhile, bookings for the India match dates in Lucknow have increased 50% for the same comparative and is poised to grow alongside other centres as we move closer to the match dates.“To supplement the surge in demand for homestays, we have strengthened our supply across all match venues, with a specific focus on Ahmedabad, where we have increased inventory by 31%, followed by Dharamshala (15%) and Lucknow (14%),” said Rajesh Magow, co-founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip.As per Rajeev Kale – president and country head, holidays, MICE, visa – Thomas Cook (India), the company has witnessed 80-100% surge in demand for the months of October-November compared to last year. “In spite of the 4x surge in tariffs for hotels compared to the current rates, our trends reveal strong appetite, especially for the final and semifinals at Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata; followed by Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Dharamshala, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Pune,” he added.Indiver Rastogi, president and group head, global business travel, Thomas Cook (India) and SOTC Travel, said that the company is seeing strong early demand of over 100% propelled by the cricket bonanza in the last quarter of the year. “Currently, airfares for the top match venues from sectors like Mumbai and Delhi are witnessing 30-60% surge for October-November: Ahmedabad 50-60%, Mumbai 40-50% and Kolkata 30-40%,” he added.
SOTC Travel is witnessing a demand for alternative accommodations like apartments and homestays in the vicinity of the match destinations. “We have created combo packages that include exciting experiential elements like camping, trekking and paragliding in Dharamshala; food trail in Lucknow and Kolkata; safari and wellness in Gujarat, etc,” said Daniel D’Souza, president and country head – holidays, SOTC Travel.Meanwhile, food delivery apps such as Zomato and Swiggy, besides QSR brands, are also betting big on the World Cup. “We foresee a substantial surge, over 15-20% uptick, in the flurry of Zomato orders across the diverse tapestry of cities that make up India,” said Rahul Khanna, co-founder of Azure Hospitality that has F&B brands like Mamagoto, Dhaba Estd 1986, Sly Granny and Foxtrot.
“At Swiggy, we are geared up to ensure that food delivery perfectly complements the thrill of the matches. Our teams will be diligently managing peak-time orders with our delivery partners. The ‘Match Day Mania’ campaign, cherished by millions across over 500 Indian cities, will be in full swing, offering exclusive restaurant partnerships as fans enjoy the sport. Through ‘Dineout’, we will help consumers discover restaurants screening live matches, elevating their World Cup viewing experience,” said Sidharth Bhakoo, VP, national business head, Swiggy.Zomato will be the biggest beneficiary this time, said Karan Taurani, senior vice president, Elara Capital. “Aggregators like Zomato will be benefiting, particularly from the burger and fried chicken segments, because post-Covid people have moved away from the pizza category. The surge in consumption has also moved to standalone cloud operators in terms of ordering food as most people will be travelling and ordering food in different categories,” added Taurani.