The International Cricket Council and Booking.com, one of the world’s leading digital travel platforms, have announced a strategic five-year global partnership ©ICC/Booking.com

The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Booking.com, one of the world’s leading digital travel platforms, have announced a strategic five-year global partnership.

It will see the e-commerce company become the exclusive accommodation and attractions booking partner for all ICC events.

The agreement includes all ICC events around the world, including the 2019 Men’s Cricket World Cup in England and Wales, the Women’s and Men’s T20 World Cups in Australia in 2020, the 2021 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand, the 2021 Men’s T20 World Cup in India, the 2022 Women’s T20 World Cup and the 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup in India.

With a mission to empower people to experience the world and 28 million total reported listings in more than 145,000 destinations worldwide, including everywhere ICC events are taking place, it is claimed Booking.com is in a unique position to facilitate "incredible cricket-inspired travel experiences for fans across the globe".

"We welcome Booking.com, which is one of the world’s leading travel brands, into the international cricket community as a strategic global partner for the next five years," Campbell Jamieson, the ICC’s commercial general manager, said.

"Together we want to make it easier than ever for cricket fans to travel to an ICC global event and ensure more of the world can enjoy this great game."

The five-year agreement includes all International Cricket Council events around the world ©ICC
The five-year agreement includes all International Cricket Council events around the world ©ICC

Pepijn Rijvers, senior vice-president of Booking.com, added: "The opportunity to experience the excitement of an international cricket tournament in person is a compelling reason to travel for millions of Booking.com customers around the world.

"With more than a billion fans globally, we’re delighted to be celebrating one of the world’s biggest sports together with the ICC, combining the thrill of world-class competition and travel."

In addition to fully integrated branded presence at all relevant ICC events, as part of the global sponsorship deal, Booking.com will also be collaborating with the organisation on various campaigns and activations to amplify the partnership at key moments over the coming five years.

The announcement of the agreement comes less than two months after the ICC and Coca-Cola signed a five-year global strategic partnership which will see the company's brands become exclusive non-alcoholic beverage partners of the ICC until 2023.

The partnership is said to combine The Coca-Cola Company's large portfolio of over 500 brands and worldwide reach with the ICC's ambition to expand cricket's global footprint.

The ICC also recently announced a five-year agreement with Royal Stag, seeing the Indian whisky brand become an official sponsor for international cricket events.