F1 craze sets off Indians’ chase for travel bookings

Searches for journey to F1 host international locations from India have surged by as much as 40%, in accordance with international journey search platform Skyscanner.

“We have now been getting a number of enquiries from India since a minimum of the final six months. We by no means had this earlier than,” stated Jay Chauhan, cofounder of UK-based Grand Prix Grand Excursions that sells F1 tickets and all-access weekend packages.

This surge in curiosity coincides with the beginning of the 2025 F1 season – billed to be probably the most thrilling in years with a number of new driver pairings and an anticipated shake-up in staff and driver rankings – in Australia earlier this month.

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“With Lewis almost certainly ending his profession at Ferrari, I need to see him race a minimum of as soon as,” stated Noida-based businessman Digvijay Choudhary who has booked his ticket for the Singapore Grand Prix in October. The 30-year-old is attending the race together with his sister who additionally helps Hamilton in his quest for a document eighth world title to maneuver forward of Michael Schumacher.

Additionally fuelling the thrill is Kush Maini, who has joined the Alpine F1 staff as a take a look at and reserve driver for this season to turn into the primary Indian in 13 years to be a part of an F1 staff. A number of rookies are making their debuts this season, including to the intrigue.

In the meantime, Netflix’s documentary sequence Drive to Survive continues to draw new followers to the game.

“For the not too long ago concluded Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, India emerged as a key market, rating at quantity 8 within the high 10 international markets that looked for journey throughout that interval,” stated Santosh Kumar, nation supervisor for India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia at Reserving.com.

In response to Skyscanner, the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix subsequent week has led to a 30.8% week-on-week enhance in flight searches from India to Japan within the week beginning March 31, whereas there’s a 42.4% week-on-week surge in searches for journey to Bahrain within the week of April 7 forward of the Bahrain GP.

DIY vacation reserving platform Pickyourtrail has seen a 14% spike in journey inquiries this yr coinciding with the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend. “Our Baku Grand Prix package deal had carried out exceptionally properly final yr,” its cofounder Hari Ganapathy stated. “We’re witnessing a rising pattern the place travellers are combining F1 with prolonged holidays in Europe, Center East and Southeast Asia and are additionally extending their vacation to a couple of sporting event-for instance Wimbledon Grand Slam match adopted by F1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone,” stated SD Nandakumar, president & nation head, Holidays and Company Excursions, SOTC Journey. SOTC stated the once-niche F1 is discovering newer audiences in India’s millennials and Gen Z inhabitants.

Ease in visa guidelines and improved connectivity to F1 host international locations comparable to Singapore, Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Qatar are additionally driving demand, journey trade officers stated.

“Our knowledge signifies a big uptick for F1 racing. What’s attention-grabbing is that Indian travellers are choosing premium choices that present behind-the-scenes entry and luxurious lodging like unique membership passes, meet-and-greet experiences with F1 groups and all-inclusive hospitality packages,” stated Rajeev Kale, president and nation head, holidays, MICE, visa, at Thomas Cook dinner (India) Ltd.

Mishti Bose, CEO of luxurious concierge firm Quintessentially India, stated attending an F1 race is an annual ritual for a lot of in her member base. “We have been witnessing this pattern for the final 2-3 years now. There was a definitive rise in enquiries and bookings for F1 races, particularly those being held in Abu Dhabi, Monaco, Bahrain and Silverstone,” she stated.