BARCELONA, May 22 — Barcelona has emerged the world’s most popular bucket-list destination when it comes to watching live football, according to a worldwide survey of the sport’s fans conducted by Expedia Group.
Released ahead of the Uefa Champions League finale set to take place in Madrid on June 1, the “Destination: Football-Expedia Group Football Travel Trends Study,” found that 30 per cent of the 16,500 football fans polled around the world cited Barcelona, home of football legend Messi, as their dream football destination.
With 15 per cent of the vote, FC Barcelona’s home stadium Camp Nou also emerged the world’s favourite football mecca.
After Barcelona, London and Manchester were the most popular bucket list football destinations.
Results of the survey showed that 68 per cent of travellers around the world have planned holidays around sporting events at least once.
Of that figure, 70 per cent of females and 67 per cent of males said they’ve planned their holidays around their favourite team.
Nearly half (47 per cent) admitted to changing their holiday bookings to make sure they didn’t miss a match.
The survey revealed that two-thirds (67 per cent) have been to an away game.
Meanwhile, the findings also suggest that if your football fiend partner suddenly springs a romantic getaway on you, it could actually be a ruse: 32 per cent of respondents admitted to using a romantic break as a pretext for watching a football game.
According to Expedia Group data, fights and accommodation bookings for destinations hosting football matches can spike up to three times the usual average on the day of football fixture announcements (when matches are scheduled and announced).
The Uefa Champions League will be held in Madrid on June 1. — AFP-Relaxnews
