India and Pakistan fans flock to Sri Lanka for T20 World Cup clash amid soaring travel costs after boycott U-turn

Prices of flights and hotel bookings to Colombo, Sri Lanka, have soared as thousands of fans flock to the city to watch India play Pakistan in a crunch T20 World Cup encounter on Sunday.

The neighbouring countries and cricket rivals will meet during the group stage of the tournament, which is being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, after Pakistan reversed a decision to boycott the match earlier this week.

The game at Sri Lanka's largest stadium is sold out with roughly 35,000 fans expected to attend, and ahead of the match most hotels in Colombo have doubled their prices - the cost of a room has climbed as high as $660 a night from a typical price tag of about $100-$150 per night, multiple booking sites showed.

After the match was finalised this week, last-minute bookings led to fuller flights from major cities like Chennai and Delhi, according to three Colombo travel agencies.

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Flights from Chennai, which is about one and a half hours away, have more than tripled to around $623 - $756 while flights from Delhi are up more than 50% to roughly $666.

Nalin Jayasundera, President of Sri Lanka Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) said hotels were booked out. "Most fans are coming on all-inclusive packages that could be $1,500-$2000 or even higher depending on ticket, hotel, and flight prices," Jayasundera said.

Tourism is the third largest foreign exchange earner for Sri Lanka, famous for its ancient temples, pristine beaches, and lush tea plantations.

It is hoped that hosting more sporting events could boost Sri Lanka's economic growth, which is recovering from a severe financial crisis and a recent cyclone, which killed 650 people.

Buddhika Hewawasam, chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, told Reuters that in the first 10 days of February, roughly 20% of the 100,000 visitors to Sri Lanka were there for the India-Pakistan cricket match.

The island nation is hoping to position itself as a neutral venue for matches between political rivals.

"This is clearly showing confidence in Sri Lanka as a neutral cricket venue. Whether it's India, Pakistan or Bangladesh, this is a welcome message to all South Asian countries that they can play cricket in Sri Lanka," he said.

Lahore local Mian Sultan is looking forward to his trip to Sri Lanka to watch the game.

“I think it’s going to be a great experience,” said Sultan, who spent $800 on a front-row seat to watch the game alongside a friend, who is flying in from New Zealand. “I’m really excited about this match.”

Sultan added he thought Pakistan “absolutely” could come out on top on Sunday.