NEW DELHI: Come October
2009, Delhi may well become a new pitstop for motor
sport lovers from around the globe — more specifically
the die-hard Formula1 enthusiasts, some of whom are
typically known to travel thousands of miles every year
to catch live motoring action up close and personal,
smell the burning rubber on the tracks and pep up their
favourite teams.
The multiplier effect of thousands visiting the country
has the potential to give a fillip to country’s travel
and tourism industries. “What excites me most is that
hosting of Formula 1 events can help showcase
Destination India to a much younger tourist profile,”
observes Kuoni Destination Management India COO Himmat
Anand.
Marketers point out that any Formula 1 event gives the
destination lot of attention globally. “This can be used
effectively as a branding exercise not only for the
country, but also by various products, services and
corporates associated with the event,” points out a
senior executive from Malaysia Tourism, talking from
experience of hosting the event over the last eight
years.
The last F1 race at Malaysia’s Sepang tracks attracted
1,00,000 tourists, out of which as many as 2,500 were
from India. In the Malaysian F1 Grand Prix, four-day
tour packages start off at Rs 27,000 per person with
accommodation at a star-category hotel in Kuala Lumpur
with breakfast, two-day circuit tickets, and airfares.
Organisers of the Malaysian races point out that the
biggest spillover effect of hosting the event has been
on shopping. Malaysia also created shopping festivals
around the event, with malls in and around the circuit
doing brisk business. Singapore, another favourite
destination with many Indian tourists, is slated to host
the races from 2008 onwards.
“If Formula 1 takes off, this may well kick-off sports
tourism in the country,” says Carlson Hotels executive
vice president (South Asia) KB Kachru.
Hoteliers point out that the demand for hotel rooms for
events such as these would be more for mid-market
segment, especially in the three- and four-star
categories. Accor Group’s head of development, Uttam
Dave, feels that by 2009 there would be some ease in
availability of hotel rooms in the national capital
region, with 1,500 to 2,000 more rooms joining the
existing inventory.
As per industry estimates, Delhi and its suburbs need at
least 5,000 more rooms to meet the requirements for the
Commonwealth Games in 2010. Currently, 27 hotel projects
are underway in the NCR with average room inventory of
200 rooms each.
But will having three Formula 1 events in close
geographical proximity of each other—Malaysia, Shanghai
and Delhi— raise fears of cannibalisation of tourists
among the hosts? Tourism Malaysia director P Manoharan
does not think so. “It will on the whole increase the
long-haul tourist traffic into the region from countries
such as UK, Spain and Germany, who have a sizeable
number of F1 enthusiasts,” he said.
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