MAM
From stadiums to sightseeing, sports tourism takes centre stage in India
Mumbai: In recent years, sports tourism has been gaining attention and growing rapidly as a segment in the travel industry. According to industry research, the global sports tourism market is projected to reach $ 1.8 billion by 2030, fueled by fervent fans eager to combine travel with their love of sports.
Major sporting events have been attracting fans from around the world, showcasing their passion and enthusiasm for sports. According to Booking.com’s Travel Trends data for 2024, 45 per cent of global travellers want to travel for sports and attend events like the World Cup, Paris Olympics, Formula 1. This trend is especially strong in India, where nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) plan to travel for international sporting events in 2024. According to Booking.com’s flight data, India is even among the top 5 Asian booker countries for the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024.
Domestic Sports Fandom
Sports fandom isn’t limited to international events. 76 per cent of Indians would travel for local sports competitions and events in their home city or state and 70 per cent expressed interest in travelling for national events like Indian Premier League, Pro Kabaddi, Indian Super League and more.
Sports as a travel factor
Booking.com’s Travel Trends data for 2024 also reveals that 23 per cent of Indian travellers consider sporting events when choosing travel destinations. Some of the key motivators that are driving Indians to travel for sports are:
– The excitement of the game: 71 per cent of Indians said they would pack their bags to witness their favourite player, team or sport in-person.
– Meeting friends or family overseas: 67 per cent of Indians see sporting events as an opportunity to connect with their friends or family living elsewhere.
– Connecting with new fans: 65 per cent of Indians travel for a sporting event to connect with other fans in a new destination.
– A reason to holiday: 56 per cent of Indians travel for a sporting event just to make a trip out of the occasion.
Booking.com country manager India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia Santosh Kumar said “Sports tourism gives travellers an opportunity to combine the joy of exploring new destinations while enjoying their favourite team or players in action, boosting local economies and tourism. Easier visa access, improved connectivity and rising disposable incomes are some of the factors driving this trend. For all sports enthusiasts journeying across India and the world, Booking.com remains committed to enhancing their travel experiences by offering various travel components like rental cars, flights, attractions and unique places to stay to create a comprehensive, integrated itinerary.”
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
