NEW DELHI: What can be more heady than watching nail-biting sporting excitement in the midst of an exotic foreign locale?

No wonder, more and more Indians are travelling abroad to combine sports with pleasure. Travel companies, of course, are cashing in on this upward swing in sports tourism.

Cricket is still the number one sport to spur Indians to travel. The phenomenal bookings - 60% of the packages have been sold so far - for the forthcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in the Caribbean confirm this.

But other sports, such as Formula One and soccer too, are fast catching up. In fact, experts say soccer will be the next big sport to draw Indians abroad.

"And it's not just World Cup. Many more Indians will travel to Euro Soccer 2008," says Saumil Mazumdar, director, Sportzvillage.

Increasing disposable incomes, cheaper air fares, attractive travel deals and more media exposure to F1 and football have contributed to the growth in this niche segment.

More travel agencies are now offering sports packages, while others are specialising in providing world-class sports experiences.

Bangalore-based software engineer Vinay Pothnis is trying to work out a trip to Formula One in Spain this May. He has already travelled to the Malaysian Grand Prix last year.

"It's a great opportunity to see a new country as well as enjoy your favourite sport. We are a group of eight F1 addicts and we don't mind spending money to watch it," he says.

Goa-based Rashid Sousa travelled to Italy for the same reason last year. For a cricket-crazy Mumbai-based stockbroker, "Travel happens because of the sport."

He travelled to South Africa for World Cup 2003 and will be in the Caribbean this year. Once back, he will head for the Malaysian Grand Prix. "As and when I'll get a good deal from my travel agent, I'll take it up," he says.

V Prakash, director and head, Southern Region (Middle Markets), Standard Chartered Bank, Bangalore says, "Sports is a big binding medium. Particularly, if it's cricket and F1. More corporates find it profitable to take either their partners or clients for conferences to big sport events."

He travelled with his clients to Malaysian Grand Prix last year and later for the cricket series in Kuala Lumpur. This year, he hopes to make it for the World Cup. Sports travel is a great incentive offer for clients/employees/partners.

"Corporates have done the usual round of foreign destinations. Now, they want to offer something more exotic to clients/employees," explains Javed Akkhtar, CEO, Travelport.

In fact, sports tourism, says Sunil Gupta, COO, SOTC, is growing at a faster rate."Our sports packages have seen a 25% growth in 2005-2006. For 2006-2007, we expect a 50% growth," he says.

The turning point was the cricket World Cup in 2003. "Two years back, the event-based outbound market was worth Rs 25-30 cr approx. In 2006, it grew to Rs 50-100 cr. And it'll be around Rs 250-500 cr by 2010," says Shankar Viswanathan, director, Sports Services Pvt Ltd.