Dedicated England cricket fans willing to travel over 3,000 miles for their team
At a glance
- Half of England fans would travel over 3,000 miles to follow their team internationally, demonstrating extreme dedication to live cricket.
- Weather ranks as the leading factor (73%) influencing fans' decision to travel for cricket tours abroad.
- Crowd atmosphere (44%) and unforgettable experiences (34%) are top emotional reasons fans commit to live sport travel.
- 12% of fans would skip their own wedding; 18% would use flexible work policies to attend cricket tours.
- Lord's Cricket Ground dominates as favourite international destination (59%), far ahead of MCG Melbourne (11%) and Kensington Oval Barbados (6%).
What the report covers
Booking.com surveyed 1,003 UK cricket fans to explore travel habits and attitudes toward international cricket matches ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. The survey measures fan dedication, decision-making factors, preferred venues, and willingness to sacrifice for live sport. It provides insight into sports tourism motivation among English cricket enthusiasts in October 2022.
Key findings
Half of England fans surveyed report willingness to travel over 3,000 miles to follow their team on international cricket tours. A quarter cite supporting England against rivals as the best aspect of the Australian tournament, whilst 15% value visiting famous cricket grounds. This reflects strong attachment to both team and iconic venues.
Weather dominates practical considerations, with 73% naming it the most important factor when deciding whether to commit to a cricket tour. Australia's October–November timing appealed due to forecasted temperatures in the high 20s Celsius and minimal rainfall. Booking.com data separately confirmed Brits were the top international nationality booking Australian stays during the tournament window (measured 27 September 2022).
Atmosphere and experience drive emotional commitment. Crowd atmosphere ranks second at 44%, whilst unforgettable experiences account for 34% of travel motivations. Beyond these, providing team support to secure victory (61%) and bringing family (57%) represent additional key factors shaping willingness to travel.
Extreme personal sacrifice reflects fan commitment. 12% of fans report happiness to skip their own wedding to watch a cricket tour live. Some 10% acknowledge willingness to miss work, whilst 18% would leverage company flexible working policies to accommodate tournament travel, revealing practical strategies for balancing professional obligations with sporting devotion.
Lord's Cricket Ground overwhelmingly dominates venue preferences at 59%, far exceeding MCG Melbourne (11%) and Kensington Oval Barbados (6%). This concentration suggests strong attachment to iconic, historically significant cricket grounds among English fans planning international trips.
Key numbers
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Weather as most important factor for cricket tour decision | 73% |
| Crowd atmosphere as motivation for live sport travel | 44% |
| Unforgettable experiences as motivation for live sport travel | 34% |
| Fans willing to skip their own wedding for cricket tour | 12% |
| Fans willing to use company flexible work policy for cricket travel | 18% |
| Lord's Cricket Ground as favourite international cricket destination | 59% |
| MCG Melbourne as favourite international cricket destination | 11% |
Figures as published in the source; forecasts and survey results are labelled as such in the note.
Why it matters
DMOs & destinations
Hosting major sports events attracts highly motivated tourists willing to travel extreme distances and sacrifice personal time. Understanding that weather, crowd experience, and venue prestige drive decisions enables destinations to optimise event timing, infrastructure investment, and hospitality positioning to capture dedicated sports-tourism segments effectively.
Hotels & hospitality
Sports tourism generates bookings from flexible, experience-focused travellers. The emphasis on crowd atmosphere and memorable experiences signals demand for premium hospitality and entertainment packages. Family travel motivations (57%) suggest multi-room bookings and extended stays, whilst workplace flexibility trends (18%) indicate mid-week booking potential.
Travel tech & distribution
Sports tourism bookings present high-intent segments amenable to bundled packages and integrated experiences. Brits dominating Australia bookings during the tournament demonstrates platform value of event-based travel aggregation. Data suggests opportunity for predictive targeting around sporting calendars, family-travel filtering, and venue-based destination clustering.
Methodology and limits
Booking.com commissioned Opinion Matters to conduct an online survey among 1,003 UK cricket fans in October 2022 ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022. Research adheres to MRS Codes of Conduct (2019) and ICC/ESOMAR World Research Guidelines. Opinion Matters is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office and complies with GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Booking.com separately cited proprietary booking data showing Brits as top international nationality in Australia during October–November 2022 (measured 27 September 2022). This brief is based on publicly available findings only.
Official source
The report is © Booking.com. This brief is an original editorial summary by TourismIntel — it quotes only figures published in the source and never reproduces the document.
Check the official statistics on Pulse
Related reports
Booking.com's 2026 European Accommodation Barometer, based on 1,240 accommodation leaders across Europe, shows resilience tempered by operational fragmentation. While 66% expect positive development, chains report 72% confidence versus 55% of independents.
Research commissioned by Booking.com and conducted by Oxford Economics quantifies the platform's economic contribution to Europe in 2025.
Booking.com's 2026 Travel & Sustainability Report reveals climate uncertainty as a primary reshaper of global travel behavior.
Booking.com's 2026 travel predictions, drawn from a survey of over 29,000 travellers across 33 countries, identify ten emerging trends centred on authenticity and personalised experiences.