Cricket crazy Indians are now eagerly awaiting the ICC World Cup 2023 final between India and Australia, to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19. As many of them are preparing to attend the face-off on field, flight tickets to Ahmedabad have skyrocketed almost six times the normal price. Hotels in the city too are cashing in on the cricket frenzy with room tariffs hitting ₹1 lakh per night ahead of the final.
Many hotels are charging up to ₹1 lakh per night for a room during November 18, and November 19. Welcome by ITC Hotels is charging around ₹96,300 excluding the taxes, Courtyard by Marriott charges ₹64,000 excluding taxes, and BloomSuites at ₹43,000 per room per night. Meanwhile, several hotels have already seen full booking on these dates.
"The anticipation of witnessing the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 live has resulted in an undeniable increase in travel demand and accommodation in the host cities across India. With India making it to the finals, the excitement to watch the men in blue play live has led to a spike in searches for Ahmedabad for the finals”, Santosh Kumar, the Country Manager for India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia at Booking.com, was quoted as saying by News18.
Apart from the hotel prices, flight tickets to Ahmedabad have gone up nearly six times. While a flight ticket from major cities to Ahmedabad generally costs between ₹5,000 to ₹6,000, the price has now surged to nearly ₹30,000 around the match day.
Google flight data indicated a 200% to 300% rise in flight ticket prices for a round trip to Ahmedabad on November 18 and 19, even for bookings made a few weeks or a month in advance.
Currently, the flight tickets from Delhi to Ahmedabad cost up to ₹30,000 for November 18.
Following the massive rise in flight ticket and hotel room prices, several users shared their ordeal and alternate modes of transport on social media platforms.
One user wrote, "Non-stop flight ticket prices to Ahmedabad on this Saturday (11/18) From Hyderabad - 30k, Bengaluru - 25k, Delhi - 15k, Chennai - 16k. Can only get pricier now."
Another user mentioned preferring GCS Hospital to get a semi special room with AC in ₹2,000 with food as well.
A third user shared a famous meme depicting hotels in Ahmedabad following the team India qualifying for the World Cup Final.
On the other hand, some of the X users suggested that booking a hotel in Gandhinagar would be a comparatively cheaper option while travelling from Gandhinagar to Ahmedabad is not that difficult. Additionally, some other users mentioned how travelling by bus or train would be more feasible than taking a flight during this period.
Meanwhile, the final phase of the match tickets which went live on November 13 have also been sold out by now, wherein the cheapest tickets available were priced at ₹10,000 on BookMyShow app.
(Edited by : Jerome Anthony)
