Thaindian News

By Abhishek Roy
New Delhi, May 12 (IANS) With the FIFA World Cup in South Africa just a month away, football fever seems to have started gripping fans in cricket-crazy India, with travel companies reporting a steady rise in inquiries for packages to the Rainbow nation.

Come June, and more than 2,000 fans will be packing their bags for a taste of soccer, with wildlife safaris thrown in, say tour operators. A bulk of these fans come from cities like Mumbai and Kolkata, and states like Goa and Kerala.

While Kolkata is known to be the base of fans of Argentina and Brazil, Mumbaikars are planning to cheer for Italy and England. The FIFA World Cup will be held in various cities of South Africa from June 11 to July 11.

Saibal Bose, an executive in Kolkata, has already booked a package tour for the World Cup and wants to follow Argentina.

“I missed out on a good chance to visit South Africa during the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament last year. This time I didn’t take a chance and booked a package tour with a travel company well in advance. I can enjoy football with wildlife and I simply can’t wait for the tournament to begin,” says Bose.

Like Bose, Sanjay Pathak, a businessman from Mumbai, has booked a package tour for his family of four for the semi-finals and the final.

“This is the perfect time to visit South Africa. We are eagerly waiting for the tournament to start. We are big supporters of the English team and will be shouting for them. I hope to see them in the semi-finals,” said Pathak.

Indian tour operators are surprised they have crossed their estimated target for bookings for the World Cup. And they feel it is all because of the successful hosting of the IPL last year in South Africa.

Benazir Nazar, CEO of Mumbai-based Akbar Holidays, said nearly 600 soccer fans from Mumbai are going to visit South Africa.

“Till the time the IPL tournament was organised in South Africa, Indians thought it was not a safe place to visit. But after the success of IPL, sport-loving fans are eager to visit the African country for the World Cup. Since West Bengal, Kerala and Goa also have ardent football fans, we are expecting 1,600 more bookings from places,” Nazar said.

In fact, the tour operators are having a tough time dealing with the last-minute rush for bookings.

Speaking to IANS, Ashutosh Mehere, vice-president, Cox and Kings, said: “Indians are known for making last-minute bookings. The initial response to the World Cup was slow, but it is picking up and we hope it will improve for the semi-finals and the final.”

Mehere claimed people are more excited about the soccer World Cup than the ongoing World Twenty20 cricket in the Caribbean.

Cox and Kings has launched a “Best of South Africa” package and claims there is a huge demand for it.

“The response for the soccer World Cup in South Africa has been very good. Last time lots of Indians went to Germany for the World Cup and it only shows the huge following for football in the country. While cricket will always be India’s first love, we have found a new and fairly large audience for football,” Mehere said.

He said the rush for bookings to South Africa is also because of the fact that in June a lot of Indians, especially from the corporate world, go to safari country for vacation. This time round they would like to add soccer matches to their schedule, he added.

(Abhishek Roy can be contacted at abhishek.roy@ians.in)