new delhi when the formula one season kicks off this sunday with the australia grand prix many indian enthusiasts would have travelled down under to catch the action live on the fast tracks still many more will make a pit stop at malaysia the week after to watch their favourite speed kings and as the season progresses f1 aficionados will travel even further to be part of the fun enjoying the action in his drawing room is passe for the f1 fan he now prefers travelling to see the pulsating speed and the numbers are growing every year earlier it was only cricket buffs who travelled to faraway lands for a spot of cricket fever but over the last few years f1 has emerged as a significant sport attracting indian tourists who travel abroad for it and this year with vijay mallyaowned force india formula one team competing in the races the interest is likely to grow even more over the last few years the interest in f1 has increased malaysia continues to be a hot favourite but many have also travelled to shanghai and dubai says p srinivas senior vp special interest tours sotc the sepang grand prix in malaysia clearly ranks as the favourite among indians the fact that its closer than other circuits is a plus point for malaysia there has been a 2530 increase in f1 tourist inflow in the last twothree years says p manoharan director tourism malaysia india and this year hes confident there will be at least a 25 increase in indians travelling there over the last year its much cheaper to travel to malaysia than to australia or even dubai he says at rs 30000 for 3 days2nights including airfare accommodation and f1 race ticket it certainly makes the sepang circuit more affordable the race falls on a long weekend making it an ideal getaway itll be a great opportunity to watch the force one team in 2007 about 114000 spectators from world over visited malaysia for the f1 races out of this 50000 were foreign tourist arrivals with the indian share being 5 2500 arrivals of this shanghai is the other recent favourite among the asian circuits but with singapore hosting the first ever f1 race in september its most likely to become a hot option for the first time the race will be held on the road and at night thats something many fans wouldnt want to miss says zakkir ahmed md trust travel tour he has already received queries for the event shavnaz effendi head leisure travelport holidays says singapore is one destination thats easily accessible to indians and there is no reason why they wouldnt want to travel for f1 meanwhile there are many who after having done the asian circuit want to explore other countries anuradha kini media sales professional and an f1 enthusiast is planning a trip to monte carlo soon shes already done the sepang circuit and wants to explore the action in a