The much-awaited ICC World Cup 2023 clash between archrivals India and Pakistan will take place at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on October 15. Ahead of the match, the excitement among fans seems to have reached a fever pitch. Rates for hotel rooms and flight tickets in Ahmedabad have skyrocketed by as much as six times. Fans rushed to book accommodation as soon as ICC announced the schedule of the mega event. As of July 22, the price of flight tickets to Ahmedabad from Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and New Delhi for October 14 and return on October 16 was almost six times that of tickets on other dates.
Return tickets to Ahmedabad from Mumbai, which usually costs below Rs 3,000, skyrocketed to nearly Rs 18,000.
According to the latest rates on MakeMyTrip, a flight ticket between Mumbai and Ahmedabad for October 14 can range from Rs 18,518 to Rs 29,200. As for the Delhi-Ahmedabad route, the airfare for one person ranges between Rs 9,000 and Rs 25,000. A return ticket for October 16 starts at Rs 7,000. The price of a ticket from Chennai to Ahmedabad for October 14 starts from Rs 9,598. The return fare on October 16 starts from Rs 13,848.
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For the Kolkata-Ahmedabad route, flight tickets start from Rs 23,000. For the Ahmedabad-Kolkata flight, a single ticket can range from Rs 15,457 to over Rs 30,000. If we look at flights between Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, the cost ranges between Rs 8,215 and Rs 20,000 one way. Fans will definitely have to shell out anywhere between Rs 9,799 and Rs 35,000 for a return ticket.
If one looks at airfare trends, prices increase each year in September-October given the start of festive season. However, the upcoming fight between India and Pakistan has resulted in an exponential increase in flight ticket prices.
Nishant Pitti, CEO and co-founder of EaseMyTrip told Hindustan Times that both ticket and hotel rates are soaring in Ahmedabad.
"Ever since the announcement has been made officially, there has been a 5X increase in hotel tariffs for one night. Luxury hotels have been charging as high as Rs 50,000 per night. And it's not just hotels but even flight tickets are soaring,” he said.
According to Nishant Pitti, even if people tried to book flight tickets three months in advance, airfares were as high as six times than usual.
(Edited by : CNBC-TV18 Travel Desk)
