How Hosting the World Cup in India can Boost its Economy by $1.64 billion?

Cricket in India is not just a tournament; it’s a festival of excitement through every Indian’s heart, and the wait is now finally over. The World Cup is starting on October 5th, and India is proudly hosting it for the fourth time in history, with earlier ones in 1987, 1996, and 2011.

We’re all crossing our fingers and hoping our team wins the cup again after 12 years. While we wait and see what happens, one thing we can be sure of is that our economy is going to receive a significant boost.

India expects this World Cup to boost its economy by Rs. 13,500 crores ($1.64 Billion), as reported by BQ Prime. That’s more than three times the economic impact seen during the 2015 Australia-New Zealand edition and the 2019 UK World Cup, which were $347.2 million and $447.8 million, respectively.

Now, you might be wondering, how is this even possible?

Well, the answer lies in various factors, like tourists and locals dining at restaurants or street vendors, buying merchandise and souvenirs, ordering food for home delivery, visiting local monuments and tourist destinations, or engaging in other such events that will help in driving the economy of India this World Cup. 

But that’s not all; there are a few other significant factors at play, including:

1. Visitors from around the world travelling to India

The tournament is happening from October 5 to November 19, spread across 10 venues – Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Foreign tourist arrivals (FTA) in India are expected to recover to about 80-90% of the pre-Covid level in 2023.

2. High demand for World Cup tickets

The stadium has the capacity to hold over 1 lakh spectators, with around 30-40 thousand people coming from outside Gujarat.

The demand for tickets for ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 was so high, that the BCCI released around 4 lakh more tickets in the next phase of ticket sales and were sold out once again.

3. Rise in flight and hotel bookings

On October 14, India and Pakistan will face each other at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, and the hotel prices in the city have skyrocketed reaching up to Rs. 1 lakh for that single day, and bookings have seen a 200% increase.

A room in ITC’s Fortune Park Hotel in Ahmedabad is priced at Rs. 89,000 a night. And folks, that’s the cheapest! 

At the Leela in Gandhinagar, a room will cost Rs 1.7 lakh per night + taxes during the World Cup period.

And that’s not all! Flight prices to Ahmedabad from different parts of the country have currently inflated ranging between 104% to a whopping 415% for the World Cup season.

4. Increasing TV sales

Most people will watch the World Cup on TV, and that’s going to fuel the sale of TVs. back in the 2019 Cricket World Cup, top electronics brands like Samsung, Sony, LG and Panasonic saw an incredible 100% jump in sales of big-screen TVs (55 inches and larger) compared to the same time the previous year.

And when you add everything up, the total direct and indirect impact is Rs. 11,750 crore. 

And there’s more! An additional 15% impact is expected from various other spending, like buying from local vendors and merchandise sales. The estimates by an economist put the total economic impact of the Cricket World Cup 2023 at around Rs. 13,500 crore, which is about $1.64 billion at the current exchange rates.

Written By Shivani Singh

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