Soccer fans intending to go to next year's World Cup can expect to pay about £5,000 for a standard travel package, leading travel agencies said today.
They conceded that the cost was likely to be inflated by airlines and hotels charging premium prices.
747 Travel told ireland.comit would not have a comprehensive price list until after the draw for the group stages on December 1st. This will decide whether the team starts in Korea or Japan.
It dismissed reports the standard packages would be as much as £10,000. The company said the price of packages will depend on how many internal flights the group stages will involve.
The company said it was already taking registrations from interested fans.
Ray Treacy Travel said it would have a full list of prices by mid-January. The company attempted to allay anxieties about availability, saying it had never refused anyone a package for a major championship.
The FAI will be entitled to somewhere between 4,000 and 6,000 tickets for each game - about 10 per cent of the seats in each venue.
However many were predicting today that the likely expense may encourage many fans to stay at home.
The Small Firms' Association forecasts "major benefits" due to the soccer squad's progress to next summer's finals in Japan and Korea .
Association director Mr Pat Delaney noted the best economic period in Ireland's history - later characterised as the Celtic Tiger - had begun after the soccer squad got through to the World Cup finals for the first time in Italy 11 years ago.
He claimed the team "captured a spirit which we have transferred into business and social advances".
The belief is that because of the cost of getting to the Far East for the finals, a lot of Irish fans might abandon plans to travel and stage parties in Ireland to watch the ties on TV - spending cash at home that might otherwise go abroad.
Additional reporting by PA
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