Sports Tourism - Indians Cheering Abroad

Indians are no longer mere television viewers when it comes to major international sporting events. They want to experience the electric atmosphere in a stadium and shout their lungs out with global fans.

- Sudipto Roy

Travelling out of India to experience a sporting event adds a refreshingly new take on how Indians are exploring countries nowadays. A trend that evolved profusely in the last couple of decades is now a major drift in the Indian outbound travel sector. The ‘new-age’ sports' aficionado is not an average explorer. For them, going for a noteworthy event such as the World Cup, Olympics or even the Wimbledon is an irresistible occasion. They, more often than not, go out with their friends or families, while brandishing placards and wearing jerseys. The amusement turns into a piece of a bigger tour. From inns to spots to explore, they research and work out everything before they board their flights. Additionally, they are high spenders who incline towards continuing their stay for longer periods. And once they get the essence of this exciting experience they make sure that their yearly holidays are only arranged when there is a global sporting event.

Anilavaa Chatterjee, a resident of Kolkata and an avid sports lover started his travelling from the year 2000. It was previously for work as he represented one of the local newspapers as a sports correspondent and now it is more for pleasure. "I accompanied the Indian Football Team to England in 2000 when Bhaichung Bhutia was the captain of India," Chatterjee told India Outbound