New Delhi, Feb 11 (IANS) The 2010 FIFA World Cup is all set to lure Indians to South Africa, with an Indian event management company being roped in to create special travel packages, TV commercials and other promotional activities.
While all major cities will be covered during the promotions, Kolkata and Goa - the two places where football is most popular - will be the main focus.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup will take place this June 11-July 11. It will be the 19th edition of the premier international football tournament.

Dimple Gandhi, director of Cutting Edge Events Private Limited, told IANS: “We are the only participating tour operator who have been roped in by FIFA for India. As part of the promotional activities, we have special travel packages which have three components - return air fare, accommodation and the match tickets.”

The packages, which start from Rs.1,79,900 per person, vary according to the number of matches that one would want to see.

“The accommodation will be arranged in three or four star hotels,” Gandhi added.

According to Gandhi, the TV commercials on the world cup will make the first appearance here by this month end. There will also be press conferences organised and hoardings put up.

“We will have road shows with the World Cup mascot, Zakumi - a leopard with green hair - in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Goa and other cities. Kolkata and Goa will get a special focus since football is big in these two places,” she said.

While the aim is to take at least 1,000-1,500 from India for the World Cup, Gandhi said that it will mostly be a high-end market that the packages will appeal to.

“All said and done, we know that the packages will appeal to a niche, high-end market. India is not like Europe where football is a craze. But we will do our best to lure as many people as we can to come to South Africa to watch the World Cup,” she said.

The venues for the various matches will be Johannesburg, Nelspruit, Rustenberg, Mangaung, Cape Town, Durban, Polokwane, Nelson Mandela Bay, Pretoria.