GET Lionel India, a K.K. Birla group travel company has announced plans to make a foray into sports tourism with a focus on promoting sportinglifestyle and leisure activities among children and adults.

The company has launched a joint marketing initiative with SportzVillage, a Bangalore-based organization, which focuses on sports education for children, corporate sporting events and promoting of sports-related tour itineraries for school children in the age group of 9 to 15 years.

The first such group is scheduled to leave in May for Goa.  Further activities under this umbrella will be rolled out across the metros in a phased manner.

Sports Tourism is a growing niche market in India.  It is estimated that in the next three years over a 100,000 Indians will travel exclusively for watching sports-related events internationally.

This trend will be particularly significant with football, cricket, tennis, golf and formula one enthusiasts.

Announcing this initiative in Bangalore, Gaurav Sundaram, CEO of GET Lionel India and Director Asia- GET, said: "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 amongst children.

Saumil Majmudar, Director of SportzVillage, said: "As one of India's leading grassroot-level professionally-run sports organization, SportzVillage's mission is to "Create Champions in Life" through the magical medium of sports.  The sports tourism 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."

Get Lionel India is a specialist corporate travel management company, wholly owned by the K.K. Birla Group.  It provides end- to-end travel management solutions to various Indian and multinational corporates.  The company currently has a presence in six key metros -- Delhi, Mumbai,Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata with its headquarters in Bangalore and several client onsite locations.

SportzVillage is India's leading grassroot level professionally run sports organization that provides high-quality sports services to children and corporates.

Founded in 2003, SportzVillage aims to make sports, health and fitness a way of life for children and adults.

SportzVillage works with leading corporates and sponsors to leverage the magic of sports for individual, organizational and community development.  (ANI)