Worldwide caution for Cricket World Cup fans

ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 Inc. has cautioned fans worldwide that they risk huge financial losses and the likelihood of receiving counterfeit match tickets if they buy travel packages from persons or companies other than Official Travel Agents (OTAs).

CWC 2007 said that its warning followed a number of reports, particularly from India, of pirate travel agents purportedly offering packages to the tournament, including match tickets.{{more}}

“Persons purchasing travel packages, inclusive of tickets, from these unauthorised entities, have no guarantee that they will receive authentic match tickets for the Cricket World Cup,” stated ICC CWC 2007 Commercial Manager, Stephen Price.

“Fans are advised to deal with CWC’s Official Travel Agents which are spread out across the world. They are the only ones who have the authority to sell Tour & Travel packages for this Event – nobody else. There are five of these in India to cater to the large cricket fan base there.”

The five OTAs in India are Air Cruise Travels Pvt Ltd., Friends Globe Travels Ltd, Pyramid Travels, SOTC Sports Abroad and Trust Travel & Tours. There is also one Official Hospitality Agent (OHA) in India – SportzVillage – which is authorised to sell Hospitality packages for the tournament.

Price said it was a “huge risk” for persons who could fall prey to scams purporting to have ticket packages for sale.