GET Lionel India, the KK Birla Group's travel company, has announced its foray into sports tourism. The primary focus of this initiative will be to promote sporting lifestyle and leisure activities among children and adults. Towards this end, GET Lionel India has launched a joint marketing initiative with SportzVillage -- a Bangalore-based organisation focusing on sports education for children and corporate sporting events -- to promote sports related tour itineraries, primarily among school children in the age group of 9 - 15 years.

Said Gaurav Sundaram, CEO - GET Lionel India and Director Asia - GET, "GET Lionel has strong operational capabilities and credibility in managing sports related tourism in India. We firmly believe that promoting sports tourism is integral to the development of a sporting culture in the country, especially among children. SportzVillage's current engagement with children and corporate sporting events make them an ideal partner for this initiative."

Sports tourism is a growing niche market in India. It is estimated that in the next three years over a 100,000 Indian will travel exclusively for watching sports related events internationally. This trend will be particularly significant with football, cricket, tennis, golf and formula one enthusiasts.

Saumil Majmudar, Director - SportzVillage, Bangalore, said, "As one of India's leading grass root level professionally-run sports organisation, SportzVillage's mission is to "Create Champions in Life" through the medium of sports. This initiative will go a long way in providing a high-quality sporting experience as well as help develop a passion for sports and fitness in children and adults. We are pleased to partner with GET Lionel India and combine their domestic and international travel expertise with our professional sports services for children and corporates."