High prices and a lack of flexibility have made tours to this summer's World Cup a tough sell in Shanghai.

Tours on sale include return air tickets between Shanghai and Munich, Germany, five nights in the city, and tickets to two or three World Cup games.

"The trip looks interesting at the first glance," said Huang Peng, Europe tour director at the Shanghai International Travel. "But many customers walked away once we told them about the additional policies."

Soccer fans hoping to make the trip to Germany must pay a 30,000 yuan (US$3,712) deposit each when booking tickets, and both the ticket price and deposit are non-refundable.

Ticket prices start at 1,000 euros.

The trip itself costs between 10,000 and 20,000 yuan.

Travelers also can't pick the games they want to see, they can only say how many tickets they want, and then games are randomly selected.

"Schedules are fixed once you pay the deposit, and that's three months in advance" said Huang.

"If one has to cancel the trip, no refund will be given to the person."

Huang said the tickets are non-transferable, as the owner's name is printed on them.

"Plus most hotels in Munich are already fully booked," said Huang. "Room prices have increased from 80 euros to 300 euros a night (on average)."

Chinese travelers won't be allowed into Munich during the World Cup without proof they have booked a hotel room.

"That's to prevent some from disappearing," said Huang.

Shanghai International has been offering tours to the World Cup since January, but has yet to make a single sale. Other travel agents are suffering similarly bad sales.

Ctrip.com International Ltd has sold seven packages to date to wealthy soccer fans. The online company's tour costs more than 71,000 yuan, and includes business class flights to and from Germany, and a stay in a suite at a star-rated hotel.

"We have five different price ranges, all depending on the tickets," said Ctrip spokesman Barry Lin.

The World Cup kicks off on June 9 in Munich, Germany, with a match between Germany and Costa Rica.

(Shanghai Daily April 1, 2006)