ICC Men's Cricket WC final: Room tariff crosses Rs 1L, airfares soar 400%

Following Virat Kohli and pacer Mohammed Shami’s spectacular victory in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup on Wednesday, all eyes are now on Ahmedabad.

The stage is set for a high-octane India-Australia finale at the Narendra Modi Stadium, and cricket enthusiasts are flocking to be part of the action. This excitement is causing a ripple effect on airfares and hotel bookings in the city, witnessing a huge spike.

ITC Narmada, the luxury offer­ing by ITC Group in the city with 291 rooms, is fully booked on Sunday. ITC did not comment on tariffs until the time of going to press.

Sources from a travel platform revealed that the base rooms at the hotel, usually priced between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000, fetched between Rs 45,000 and Rs 50,000.

The high-end rooms, normally ranging from Rs 35,000 to Rs 50,000 on regular days, were sold for over Rs 1 lakh for the final night.

Similarly, Taj Skyline in Ahmedabad is also fully booked on the night of the finale.

“Most hotels near the stadium are sold out on Yatra Online. Room tariffs, which were typically around Rs 8,000 in other months, now range from Rs 24,000 to Rs 40,000,” says Bharatt Kumaar Malik, senior vice-president of flights and hotel business at Yatra Online.

Airfares have also experienced a substantial increase. According to Thomas Cook, the cricket fervour is reaching its peak. “The upcoming finals are witne­ssing unpreced­ented demand, and this is reflected in the surge in airfares to Ahmedabad from all key Indian hubs,” says Indiver Rastogi, president and group head of global business travel at Thomas Cook (India) and SOTC Travel.

Data from the platform indicates an average uptick of about 250 per cent from Wednesday and Thursday, with the highest increase observed on the Delhi-Ahmedabad route, where return fares have risen by over 400 per cent. “What is noteworthy is that the demand is at an all-time high, despite the current pricing,” adds Rastogi.

According to data from the travel website ixigo, airfares for domestic destinations to Ahmedabad on November 19 have increased comp­ared to fares from 15 to 45 days ago. On the Delhi-Ahmedabad route, airfares rose by 44 per cent, from Rs 9,756 to Rs 14,036 in the aforementioned period.

Similarly, airfares increased around 47 per cent, from Rs 5,515 to Rs 8,099 on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route, according to the platform.

Airfares for the Goa-Ahmedabad route recorded a substantial jump, with fares soaring 66 per cent, from Rs 7,188 to Rs 11,933, they added.

Vinesh Prabhu, a cricket enthusiast from Mumbai who has attended all five World Cup matches held at Wankhede Stadium, will now be travelling to Ahmedabad to cheer for the Men in Blue. “I paid Rs 2,800 to travel by train to Ahmedabad for the finals,” he says. Prabhu, who will be travelling by the Vande Bharat Express, had booked his train tickets in June itself when the schedule was announced. 

“I would not have missed this final for anything. The atmosphere in the stadium in Ahmedabad was electric on the day India took on Pakistan. We were all singing and dancing. And we hope to recreate that atmosphere this coming Sunday also,” he says, while adding, “I spent a lot of money on travel and train tickets this year and will now be staying at a friend’s place in the city to save on hotel fare.”

As the nation holds its breath to see who lifts the Cup on Sunday, the travel industry has emerged as an early winner.