New Delhi: British rock band Coldplay is set to deliver its biggest show in India, with an estimated 100,000 attendees at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium in January. These shows, part of the Music of the Spheres World Tour, have received an overwhelming response and have directly impacted the aviation and hospitality industries. Flight ticket prices have surged by 200% to 300% during the concert dates, and hotel room rates have skyrocketed to as high as ₹1 lakh per night.

Originally, the band, led by Chris Martin, was scheduled to perform one show in Ahmedabad on January 25th. However, as tickets for this show sold out within minutes, another show was added for January 26th. Tickets for the January 25th concert went live on BookMyShow at noon on Saturday, but queues quickly reached into the lakhs, leaving many fans disappointed. By 12:30 PM, a second show was announced, with ticket sales starting at 1 PM. The same overwhelming demand followed, and the second concert also sold out within minutes.

Flight ticket prices surge by 200-300%

Now, with the ticket frenzy over, Coldplay fans from outside Ahmedabad have turned their attention to booking hotels and flights to travel to the city and experience the band’s immersive performance. Flight fares have seen significant hikes. For instance, Delhi-Ahmedabad flight tickets, which typically cost around ₹4,500, have surged over 200%, reaching ₹10,000. Similarly, Mumbai-Ahmedabad flights, usually priced at ₹2,500, are now nearly double at ₹4,700 for January 25th.

Flights from Bengaluru, which typically cost around ₹6,500 in December, are seeing a 3x to 4x surge, with afternoon flights priced at ₹21,000 and evening flights over ₹26,000. With dynamic pricing in place, these fares are expected to climb even higher as the concert dates approach.

Skyrocketing hotel rates reach around ₹1 lakh per night

Similarly, the hospitality sector is seeing an unprecedented boom. Five-star hotel prices have skyrocketed, with rooms that usually cost ₹8,000 to ₹16,000 (without tax) in December now priced between ₹40,000 and ₹75,000 a nearly fivefold increase.

For example, at ITC Narmada, the starting price for a room on December 25th (a holiday) is around ₹15,000 (excluding taxes). However, the same room is priced at ₹75,000 on January 25th. After including taxes and other charges of approximately ₹14,000, the total cost reaches close to ₹90,000.

Similarly, at Courtyard by Marriott, rooms priced at ₹15,000 in December have soared to ₹50,000 on the concert date, which is a substantial hike.

Social media outrage over inflated travel and stay costs

These skyrocketing hotel prices have sparked outrage on social media, with users complaining about rooms costing between ₹50,000 and ₹1 lakh per night.

“Hotel rooms in ITC Narmada Ahmedabad are selling for 90,000 per night on the 25th. If you manage to get Coldplay tickets, you also need to spend 6 months of an Indian middle-class person’s income to simply visit the city. Coldplay plays, city’s hotels party,” wrote X user Aviral Bhatnagar.

Another user, @Ravisutanjani, remarked, “Hotel in Ahmedabad are Selling as High as ₹50,000-₹1 Lakh For Coldplay Concert Ahmedabad Has Already Hosted Cricket World Cup, Vibrant Gujarat Summit and Now Coldplay Such Big Events Boost Tourism in The City Perhaps, Lucknow, Indore, Patna etc Need To Build That Ecosystem!”

In response, one user suggested staying in Vadodara, tweeting, “Take hotel in Vadodara, << 3000 , Travel in 2-3 hour , GSRTC Volvo AC bus ₹300 & enjoy in Ahmedabad.” The user also shared the locations of the Vadodara and Ahmedabad bus stations. DeshGujarat