Thirty two countries from around the world will travel in hope to twelve host cities spread all over this vast country. Not since USA ‘94 have the fixtures been so dispersed, making getting around a logistical challenge and potentially expensive for football supporters making the trip.
DUBLIN – With less than 9 weeks to go before the opening match of the much anticipated Brazil 2014 World Cup, Cartrawler has analysed car booking and query trends in the major participating countries.
Thirty two countries from around the world will travel in hope to twelve host cities spread all over this vast country. Not since USA ‘94 have the fixtures been so dispersed, making getting around a logistical challenge and potentially expensive for football supporters making the trip.
Despite this, our data suggests that many supporters are still planning on making the trip. By analysing car booking information and booking query surges for Brazil during the championship period, we’ve been able to compile a top ten list indicating early travel trends for countries participating in the competition.
So who’s booking cars?
USA tops the rankings in terms of car rental bookings with an 829% increase on the same period last year. This may be reflective of the fact that USA has received the second highest allocation of match tickets (125,446) for the World Cup finals.
Championship second seeds Germany, record an extraordinary increase in car rental bookings with a 1,140% increase on the period in 2013. German travellers are also generating a significant number of booking queries indicating that they are planning their trips, shopping around and may travel to the event in large numbers.
English car rentals bookings have recorded an impressive 550% increase and is placed third in both bookings and query rankings.
France, who have not had any luck at major tournaments since 2006, rank within the top ten for both car rental queries and bookings, coming in number 5 and 9 respectively. In fact, car rental bookings for ‘Les Bleus’ have experienced an increase of 200% compared to the same period last year, perhaps signalling a confidence in their hopeful fans making the trip.
Land-based neighbour and keen competitor Uruguay have also recorded a significant increase in bookings – up 1,050% on last year.
Defending champions Spain, does not make it into the top ten of confirmed bookings yet it ranks number 8 for queries, displaying a modest 14% increase on last year. Perhaps this reflects the economic difficulties at home however, we should not rule out a late surge in bookings as the finals approach.
Finally, it looks like the football mad Brazilian hosts are staying at home this year to enjoy the show as reflected by a 94% drop in outbound car rental queries and bookings during the period of the championship. According to FIFA, World Football’s governing body, the host nation’s supporters received approximately 57% of the 2.3m tickets allocated to fans.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.