With less than two months to go for the ICC World Cup, experts believe there is going to be a huge increase in the number of Indians travelling to the UK, where the World Cup is being held this summer.

“We have observed a sharp increase of around 80 per cent in flight booking enquiries to the UK compared with the usual summer vacation trips. It is one of the most aspirational destinations for Indian travellers and growth is inevitable as the British government eases visa procedures,” said Sharat Dhall, COO (B2C), Yatra.

Hotels near the stadium are witnessing a huge spike in demand with each passing day, he added. The online portal has also come out with travel packages, which can be altered according to the individual consumer demands.

This season the World Cup will start on May 31 and continue till July 14. According to market experts there is bound to a spurt in the number of Indians flying to UK in June.

Preferred destination

“A lot of travellers are booking in such way a that they can be there for two India matches; we have seen a 50 per cent increase in London flights and hotel bookings between June 5 and June 16, as in these 12 days India has four matches,” said Kapil Goswamy, MD Big Breaks.com

UK has always been a preferred holiday destination for Indian travellers and the World Cup coinciding with the summer vacation has even made it more appealing.

A Cox and Kings statistics says over 4.77 lakh Indians visited the UK in 2018 and over 60 per cent visited between April and July, which is the peak summer period for Indian travellers.

“We guess this number will significantly go up as cricket is a popular sport in India and Indian fans would love to combine watching a cricket match along with a holiday. We expect a 25 per cent increase in the number of Indian travellers to the UK,” said Karan Anand, Head (Relationships), Cox and Kings.

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