The economists expect that total Indian viewership for the tournament, including both television and online platforms, will be significantly greater than...
Digital Desk: The Cricket World Cup may boost India's economy by up to Rs 22,000 crore ($2.6 billion), economists at Bank of Baroda estimate.
The quadrennial tournament, which starts on Thursday and will run through mid-November, is expected to draw a large number of domestic and international fans. The matches will mainly boost the travel and hospitality sectors, wrote economists Jahnavi Prabhakar and Aditi Gupta in a note on Wednesday.
The event, which is being held in India for the first time since 2011, also coincides with the three-month festival season, which began in September, and will be especially good for the retail sector because many people will make "sentimental purchases of merchandise," they added.
The economists expect that total Indian viewership for the tournament, including both television and online platforms, will be significantly greater than the 552 million saw in 2019. This may generate Rs 10,500 to Rs 12,000 crore in TV rights and sponsorship revenue "on a conservative basis."
However, the World Cup may cause inflation. Airline tickets and hotel rentals have increased for the period, and service rates in the informal sector in the ten host cities may see significant rises on top of the festive-season impact, the economists said. Overall, they expect inflation to grow between 0.15% and 0.25% in October and November.
The tournament will also help the central government's coffers by increasing tax collections on ticket sales and goods and services taxes on hotels, restaurants, and food delivery, providing the country with more fiscal space, the economists added.
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