The blockbuster India-West Indies clash at Eden Gardens is drawing spectators from several cities.
Airfares and hotel bookings have both gone up, said industry insiders. Most sought after are Sunday’s early-morning flights to Calcutta.
A one-way flight from Mumbai to Calcutta, which usually costs between ₹12,000 and ₹13,000, has increased to around ₹20,000 for Sunday morning, airport officials said.
A spokesperson for IndiGo said all economy seats on a 2am flight from Mumbai, scheduled to land in Calcutta around 4.30am, were full. “Only a few business class seats are left,” the spokesperson said.
A ticket from Delhi to Calcutta is selling for around ₹14,000, compared to around the usual ₹8,000. Similarly, air tickets from Bengaluru and Chennai are also selling at much higher prices than usual, said travel operators.
Anil Punjabi, chairman of the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), eastern region, told Metro: “Airfares to Calcutta have increased because of the cricket craze. The demand is highest for tickets on Sunday morning. Many will come just for the match, flying out on Monday morning.”
Many hotels, especially those in the heart of Calcutta, reported a rise in room occupancy because of people coming for the match, which is a must-win for India.
Kamal Raza, general manager of Lalit Great Eastern, told Metro that the demand for rooms was “very high”.
“People from Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Pune and several other places are coming to Calcutta to watch the match. Most of them have booked for Saturday and Sunday. They are flying out on Monday because they want to spend time with their families on Holi,” said Raza.
“There has been a jump in occupancy because of the cricket match. Some of the guests are spending the entire weekend here,” said Pramode Bhandari, area general manager, The Park Kolkata.
Kenilworth hotel general manager Rodney Mendes said there is an uptick in the number of guests every time Eden hosts an India match. “But this time, the demand is more because it is the World Cup and T20. We have several bookings from other Indian metros. Some have come from other countries as well.”