Cricket supporters’ organisation the Barmy Army has bought its tour operation in-house.
Dedicated travel arm, Barmy Army Travel, aims to deliver “inclusive, safe and memorable” tours for English cricket fans.
Packages for the Pakistan Test Tour in November and December have been released, marking the first time in 17 years that the England cricket team has toured the country.
Tour packages include flights, accommodation, airport and stadium transfers, match tickets and a tour manager – with the option to watch one, two or all three Tests which are due to take place in Rawalpindi, Multan, and Karachi.
Working with sports travel provider, Sportsbreaks.com, Barmy Army Travel also plans to lead wider sports travel with packages for other sports outside of cricket, starting on December 16 with a trip to the PDC World Darts Championship in London.
The supporters’ organisation travelled to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 tour in Oman and the UAE in November 2021 and took more than 650 fans to the West Indies Test Tour in March.
Managing director Chris Millard said: “Although we have hosted many successful tours over the years in partnership with a dedicated travel provider, we took the decision to move our tour operation in house to create a seamless experience for our members, while also enabling us to ensure the best value for money for our growing Barmy Army community of sports fans.
“We believe USPs like an experienced and enthusiastic tour manager, together with entry-level packages, such as our new ‘match break’ tickets and accommodation for UK test matches, will enable us to continue leading cricket travel while offering inclusive and exciting tour packages – kicking off with the Pakistan Test Tour in December 2022.
“In what has been an incredibly difficult couple of years for cricket travel, we are delighted to share something new and fresh with our supporters and followers.
“As massive sports fans ourselves, we also wanted to try and offer a service to other sports fans that provides true value whilst retaining the fun element that the Barmy Army brings to cricket.”