A bit of cricket heritage with LCC
In an effort to bring in more numbers to the north of England, VisitBritain recently brought the Lancashire Cricket Club and the legendary Emirates Old Trafford ground closer to Indian cricket fans. The tourism board urges the Indian travel trade to promo
Steeped in cricket history, the 156-year-old Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground in Manchester is ready to woo Indian cricket fans. The Department of International Trade UK along with VisitBritain welcomed the Lancashire Cricket team and introduced Emirates Old Trafford to key travel trade professionals in Mumbai at the official British High Commission residence recently. Chief Executive Officer, Lancashire Cricket and Emirates Old Trafford, was leading the delegation. Speaking about how this can also be promoted as a tourism product, he said, “It was in
Daniel G. Gidney,
2019 that we hosted six cricket World Cup games at the Emirates Old Trafford and it was the India-Pakistan game that really showed us the huge passion and interest that India has in cricket.”
His team looks forward to welcoming India back to Emirates
Old Trafford in 2021 and 2022 for the England vs India Test Match and the England vs India IT20 game the following year.
“We are working hard to create a number of packages to capture the atmosphere and excitement of international cricket. We will launch packages for 2021
and 2022 that will include hotel stay, official ticket inclusive of hospitality packages and bespoke travel agent packages,” Gidney added.
Shuja Bin Mehdi,
B2B Manager, India, VisitBritain, said, “For the past five years, we have been focusing on the north of England and trying to develop it as a tourism offering in India. Manchester is the gateway to the north and we have been working with Marketing Manchester for the past few years. We are trying to encourage the travel trade to push their clients towards this region – Manchester, Liverpool, York and Lake District. Some of the best city experiences as well as the best countryside of England you can do here. These destinations will also work exceptionally well with the Indian market. You can easily have anywhere between five to 10-night itineraries for this. Manchester is also one of the best connected cities from India. So, you can have an open-jaw itinerary where you get into Manchester and fly out of London.”
Last year, the India-Pakistan match was a tremendous showcase not only for Lancashire Cricket Club but also for Emirates Old Trafford as a cricket venue and Manchester as a city. This visit to India by the Lancashire Cricket Club is a continuation of that as they want to engage with the travel trade more.
This is for the first time that the Emirates Old Trafford is being talked about as a tourism offering not only for leisure visitors but also for M!CE.