The FIFA World Cup 2006 is a huge event that will draw football fans from all over the world to see the sport's top players strut their stuff in Germany. But the tournament's huge international popularity means tickets, accommodation and flights have been booked solid for months.

With this in mind, European travel specialist Beijing CAISSA International Travel Service Co Ltd was the first travel agency in China to offer World Cup travel packages. The company began preparing its packages last summer, but it didn't announce prices until last November. It is offering three travel options with eight to 10 days in Germany throughout the tournament period (June 9 to June 23) for between 26,000 yuan (US$3,246) and 33,000 yuan (US$4,120).

"All the seats had been booked by February, and one-third of our customers are corporate clients," says Chen Xiaobing, president of CAISSA.

The company is also offering four VIP packages for 39,999 yuan (US$4,994) and up. The most popular match for football fans is between the Netherlands and Argentina, with packages priced at 49,999 yuan (US$6,242) per person.

The VIP itineraries have proven popular, says Chen, refusing to disclose exact figures.

CAISSA was able to quickly respond to local demand for World Cup packages due to its wide resources in Germany and its experience with Schengen travel visas to Europe, industry insiders say.

CAISSA's name was actually "borrowed" from German brand CAISSA Touristic (Group) AG, a company run by Chen's elder brother. It has long provided travel services in Germany and the rest of Europe for the Chinese Government and corporate delegations.

Together, the two brothers have made Beijing CAISSA the most competitive player in China's World Cup travel market. The two sides have even worked together to establish a training centre in Germany that teaches Chinese-language tour guides.

Chen believes the World Cup travel packages will be a test to see if the company can arrange similar theme tours connected to other international events in the future. The risks for these kinds of travel products are high, however, due to visa problems and higher flight and accommodation costs.

The company says approximately 4,000 Chinese fans will visit Germany during the World Cup, with over 2,000 likely to secure tickets to the matches.

(China Daily 05/22/2006 page4)