United in their desire to travel

English Premiership soccer looks set to dominate the Irish sports travel market for the coming year, reflecting the burgeoning local pub-based obsession with English teams and the failure of the international soccer team to qualify for the European championship.

While the Six Nations rugby packages, Formula One, the Olympics and events such as the now doubtful Mike Tyson-Julius Francis boxing match have all generated substantial revenue, the demand for Premiership matches and European ties involving Manchester United has been unceasing.

"It just so happens that the clubs that command a fan base here - Leeds, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal - are all doing well at the moment and that increases the interest. If there was a situation where Southampton and Sheffield, for example, were dominating the table, then there simply wouldn't be the same call for tickets," assessed former Irish soccer international Ray Treacy, who heads the Treacy Tours company.

Virtually all the Irish-based companies who cater for soccer trips specialise in the British soccer packages, which typically tend to include return flights, hotel accommodation, game transfers and reasonably high quality match tickets. Prices tend to be fairly uniform: Classic Sports, for example offer a weekend trip to see the Manchester United v Chelsea tie at Old Trafford on April 24th for £329 per person while Treacy travel have organised a day return for the same game for £259 per person. Manchester United's European games against Bordeaux (March 1st) and Fiorentina (March 15th) have also been arranged on a day-return basis, again at £259.

It is anticipated by most major agencies that there will be packages available for the European soccer championships this summer, but nothing has been finalised as yet.

"We are hopeful of doing something but are going to wait until we get a 100 per cent guarantee on the tickets. So far, the price demands on tickets have been astronomical. These so-called hospitality tickets have been offered - without flights or hotels - for prices like £890 to see Germany v England or £490 for the likes of Turkey v Italy. It's totally unreasonable, so unless we can secure tickets at affordable prices, there will be a difficulty there," commented Treacy.

The Ireland rugby team manage to entice a healthy away support no matter how poor their form, and Munster's recent European Cup adventures will have done much to restore public appetite for the oval ball game. Hence, tickets have been moving fast for Classic Sports February 5th deal to see the Irish visit England at Twickenham - the £359 offer includes two nights in a London hotel, transfers to the ground and quality stadium seats.

However, the agency cannot be held responsible for what happens over the 80 minutes. The trip to Paris has always been fashionable with Irish rugby aficionado's and this year's jaunt (March 19th) is available at £339, for two nights, tickets and transfers.

The emergence of Eddie Jordan as a real contender in Formula One has re-established the sport-business as a heavyweight television spectacle in this country. Much has been made about Eddie Irvine's politically incorrect world view but his irreverent obnoxiousness masks the fact that Mika, Schumey, etc have less personality than the vehicles they drive. Irvine's colour's may be perceived as gaudy, but at least they are bright. And the guy sells tickets. All the European races are available from Irish agencies. Monaco on June 4th, for example, is going for £649 per person return, incorporating a three-night trip, including two full days at the circuit. Other popular Grand Prixs are Silverstone (£489) and Belgium (£449). These prices are all courtesy of Classic Sports, who have also put together a package for the revived US Grand Prix in Indianapolis. The four-night package is priced at £1,299.

Enquiries about the Sydney Olympics began literally days after the conclusion of the Atlanta Games. The majority of people planning for the Olympics generally have their trip detailed well in advance of the event. Packages on offer for Sydney vary slightly for Sydney in that they offer flights and event tickets but not accommodation. (Sportsworld agency in London do offer accommodation also).

"The cost of accommodation in Sydney, like Atlanta, is going to sky rocket for the duration of the Olympics. And places are booked out months, even years in advance," points out Ray Treacy. "And the fact is that most people have either friends or relatives in Sydney and the demand simply wouldn't be there. People have seemed quite happy to make their own arrangements in terms of accommodation."

Sportsworld travel agency in London do offer a full package; they have four separate five-day packages, two of which cover attendance at the screening of the opening and closing ceremonies. The "Wave 1" package, for example, includes flight, transfers, business class accommodation, breakfasts, tours and dining functions, a souvenir gift pack and tickets for four events as well as the Big Screen Ceremony Party. It costs £3,375.

While agencies are fairly confident of obtaining tickets for the events that customers wish to attend, there are various stipulations and exceptions. Admission to the basketball final is, for example, extremely hard to come by. Tickets for the diving contests - the arena holds only 1,000 spectators - are both rare and expensive. Swim sessions are also costly; a single heats event can set a person back £300.

Track and field events are also highly popular and quite obtainable, provided they are purchased along with other less high-profile events.

"You get calls from people who want 10 tickets for the 1,500 metres for example. And you say, fine, but you have to buy tickets for the weightlifting with that. That's how they are sold," explains Ray Treacy.

The duration one spends at the games is highly flexible; conceivably, you could fly to Sydney for the 100-metres final and return the next day. Estimated costs subsequently vary. Quantis Airlines are sponsoring the OCI for Sydney and agencies, therefore, are encouraged to book customers on those flights.

"And we will be doing that provided the costs are comparable to those of other air companies," says Treacy.

If, for example, you wanted to travel to Sydney for 10 days and see a reasonable amount of events, you might pay £800 for the air fare and then £60-£80 for nightly Olympic sessions, which would include track and field finals with other events, such as a few nights of boxing or gymnastics sessions thrown in. Morning sessions tend to be fairly easily available in most disciplines; the demand is for night tickets.

Cheltenham is perhaps the biggest date of the year for punters and, as usual, three-day packages are available for the March event. The three-night deal includes flight, hotel, transfers and tickets and costs £449 per person.

Despite heavyweight boxing's tattered reputation, the flawed enigma of Mike Tyson continues to lure, hence the rapid purchase of tickets for his fight with Julius Francis on the 29th of this month. Treacy Tours are offering a two-night stay in Jury's Manchester, transfers and a £100 ticket close to ringside for £399. There are few places left, however.

Golf packages are becomingly increasingly popular, mainly with suburban buddy gangs, eager to try their hand on the fairways which have flummoxed the stars. Hence, Killester Travel have reported brisk business for their packages in Portugal, Spain and other European courses and are already dealing with enquiries about the future Ryder Cup tournaments.

Irish agencies do not cater for Wimbledon because of the late distribution of tickets. However, Sportsworld do offer a hospitality package, with accommodation in the Fairway Village, which is within walking distance of the tennis club. The emphasis is on luxury - guests have access to an all-day complimentary bar, four-course luncheon, afternoon tea, champagne, valet service, etc, but it does cost; access to centre court on day one costs £639 while the men's final will set you back £2,095.