Hotel room tariff, airfares shoot up ahead of World Cup final

Ahmedabad: Hotel room tariff in Gujarat's Ahmedabad and airfares to the city have skyrocketed in view of the soaring demand from people who want to witness the ICC World Cup final between India and Australia to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday.

As cricket fever is reaching its peak, hotel room tariffs for the night of the match have gone up as high as Rs 2 lakh in top five-star hotels in the city, while other hotels have also increased their rates by five to seven times. "There is enthusiasm for the World Cup final not only in India, but people from abroad including places like Dubai, Australia and South Africa want to come to watch the match," President of Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of Gujarat Narendra Somani said. "There are 5,000 rooms in three stars and five star hotels in Ahmedabad, while the number for entire Gujarat is 10,000. The capacity of the Narendra Modi Stadium is over 1.20 lakh people and we expect that 30,000 to 40,000 people will come from outside to watch the match," he said.

As the demand for hotel rooms is high, their rates are also increasing, he said, adding that the rooms which were available at nominal rates earlier have touched anywhere between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1.25 lakh. "People tend to book the flight tickets first before booking hotels. The room prices are going to increase not only in Ahmedabad but in the surrounding towns also as the match day comes near," he said.

Online rates on various hotel booking sites of five-star hotels have reached around Rs 2 lakh per night. The tariff mentioned by hotels like ITC Narmada and Hyatt Regency online is more than Rs 2 lakh on the night of the match. Even non-star hotels have increased their rates five to seven times to cash in on the rush. Hotel Crown on C G Road, which generally charges Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 per night, has increased its rate to over Rs 20,000, its staff confirmed. 

Meanwhile, airfares from different destinations to Ahmedabad have drastically gone up as compared to the normal rates. For flights coming from Chennai, the rates in normal times are around Rs 5,000, but they are now Rs 16,000 to Rs 25,000. "Due to high demand for Ahmedabad, airfares for flights to the city from almost all places have risen three to five times," said Manubhai Pancholi, a travel agent. "Cricket fans are ready to pay the high prices to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and witness India play the finals in their home country. The demand for hotels and tickets is on the rise," he said.