World Cup sets the ball rolling for gig workers — delivery riders, maintenance staff, chefs in high demand

The tournament, which began on October 5 and runs through mid-November, is expected to draw large numbers of visiting fans domestically and internationally. With matches played across 10 cities, that will mostly benefit the travel as well as hospitality sectors, wrote economists Jahnavi Prabhakar and Aditi Gupta in a note on October 4.

Earlier in the day, Prashant Pitti, Co-founder of Easy Trip Planners, told CNBC-TV18, "This year, we have a bigger festival, which is called cricket and thankfully, it's coinciding with a time of other festivals like Diwali because of which the demand has been unprecedented. The demand for this year is 72% more compared to last year."

He added that demand has gone up especially on routes like Delhi-Ahmedabad with a surge of even 89%. "The biggest pie we are seeing is basically for Ahmedabad for the cricket match, which is due in the next week," he said.

Against the backdrop of this increased demand, recruitment firm NLB Services foresees demand for gig workers, especially for last-mile logistics to increase by 20-40%.

“As travel and hospitality players align their synergies for the much anticipated World Cup, host cities like Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, and Kolkata will have a confluence of jobs,” Alug said.

The staffing firm is anticipating a surge in the demand for roles like receptionist, maintenance staff, chef, cab driver, room attendant, riders, delivery executives, and customer support executives.

“Furthermore, travellers will be inclined to extend their stays to explore these lively host cities, consequently providing a substantial boost for roles like tour operator, guest relation executive, travel specialist, receptionist, housekeeping and chef, etc.,” NLB Services CEO added.

The overall positive employment trajectory in these industries is likely to continue after the World Cup as well, owing to the ongoing festive season, he highlighted.

Separately, reflecting on sectors, Karan Taurani, Senior Vice President and Research Analyst at Elara Capital, had earlier said he believes Disney+Hotstar and Zomato are likely to be the biggest beneficiaries of the World Cup. Apart from the travel and hospitality industry, which is witnessing massive demand and flight and room rates, the analyst also expects the alcohol industry to benefit.