Cricket World Cup could boost India's economy by Rs 8K crore says Report

Mumbai: The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup tournament slated to commence in India from Thursday will not only lift cricket sentiments but also boost the economy by Rs 8000 crore, more so as it coincides with the festive season.

An analysis done by Bank of Baroda’s economic research, taking both a conservative as well as an optimistic scenario, the total expenditure during the World Cup is expected to be in the range of Rs 18,000-22,000 crore which will translate to Rs 7000-8000 crore of GDP in nominal terms for two months. The grand sporting event is expected to boost the services sector with tourism and hospitality sector benefiting the most.

The tournament is spread over 45 days with 48 matches between 10 teams with atleast 25 lakh people coming to witness the sporting extravaganza at the 10 venues across the country. The total viewership (through mediums such as TV, OTT) is expected to be far larger than 552 million Indian viewers for the 2019 World Cup, while a large number is also expected to watch the highly anticipated tournament from their homes across the globe.

“The last Cricket World Cup in 2019 in England was an outstanding success and contributed handsomely to UK’s GDP. There is an expectation of a similar story to be repeated, this time for India. The extravagant event through direct and indirect impact will boost the country’s GDP and provide a fillip to the consumption sector,” said the Bank of Baroda report authored by economists Jahnavi and Aditi Gupta.

Based on the stadium capacity and charges for each ticket, the total ticket sales could be to the tune of Rs 1600 crore to Rs 2200 crore. The sponsorship/TV rights for this grand event can account for another Rs 10,500-12,000 crore on a conservative basis. These include official broadcast rights for both digital and TV medium, including revenue added though the other marquee sponsors for advertisements during the course of the event. The total travel expenses for teams along with umpires and commentators is likely to be around Rs 150-250 crore (assuming that each team contingent is of 25-35 members including players and other support staff excluding families). Conservatively assuming that there are 1000 foreign tourists coming for each of the match, their spending on hotel, food, interstate travel and shopping has been estimated at Rs 450-600 crore. Similarly hotel, travel and food expenses by domestic travelers is expected to be Rs 150-200 crore.

The expenditure on event management, volunteers and the security expense during the entire duration of the game will add another Rs. 750-1,000 crores. The event will further trigger purchases of sports memorabilia and other merchandise items adding Rs 100-200 crores. Home viewers ordering food through apps during the tournament has been estimated at Rs 4000-5000 crore. Apart from this, the government is also likely to mop up its tax collections through ticket sales, GST on hotels, restaurants and food delivery etc, giving it additional fiscal space.

The event is expected to draw people from all over the world, and hence ticket sales will be a huge source of revenues. Apart from this, the aviation and transport industry will also see an uptick. Hospitality sector comprising hotels, food industry and delivery services will also see a brisk increase in their businesses. There is also the case for sentimental purchases of merchandise. This is particularly important as the World Cup also coincides with the peak festive season in India which suggests that retail demand may see a leg-up said the report.