World Cup tours to Japan selling fast
All Blacks fans wanting to cheer on the men in black in their bid to win a third successive Rugby World Cup in Japan better get in quick or face disappointment.
Tour packages — which range from $5000 to $50,000 — are selling quickly, with 80 per cent of the initial allocation to a leading travel outlet already snapped up.
David Caldwell, general manager of All Blacks Tours — New Zealand’s official travel agent for the 2019 tournament — said Japan’s hosting of the event had led to huge interest from female punters keen to combine the rugby with Japan’s rich culture, shopping and cuisine.
Since March, when tickets and tour packages were first offered here, 10,000 tickets have been bought by rugby-mad Kiwis.
“For fans, Japan is clearly somewhere they want to go,” Caldwell said.
The 10,000 tickets sold more than 14 months out from kick-off in the 2019 Cup are well ahead of early sales for the previous tournament in the UK.
Caldwell said the typical makeup on a tour was about 60-70 per cent male fans but this time the split was more 50-50. It is the first time the World Cup will be held in
Asia.
“Just culturally, there is just so much more to see and do in Japan,”
Caldwell said.
Queenstown couple Martin and
Anne Issott are gearing up to go in the latter half of the tournament, after clocking up more than 25 rugby tours around the world over the years.
They attended 27 games at the 2011 tournament in New Zealand but said rugby was only part of the experience.
“We met supporters from all over the world — the vast majority were typical rugby supporters: passionate, enthusiastic and great fun to be with.”
The All Blacks Tours full tour treatment will cost up to $50,000. Made up of 45 nights of 4-star accommodation, it visits nine cities for 11 big matches — including the final.