This report assesses the benefits of event hosting, identifies regions in the world that benefit from sport tourists and highlights trends, strategies and case studies that are making tourism a major opportunity for cities and countries over the next decade.
It is already one of the fastest growing sectors of the global travel and tourism industry with estimates of its value in 2003 as high as $51billion, equivalent to 10 per cent of the global tourism market.
Now the signs are that its importance is increasing faster than ever.
By 2011, travel and tourism is expected to be more than 10 per cent of the global gross domestic product. The economies of cities, regions and even countries around the world are increasingly reliant on the visiting golfer and skier or the travelling football, rugby or cricket supporter.
In some countries, sport can account for as much as 25 per cent of all tourism receipts.
The sport tourist is at the heart of strategies that spend tens of millions of dollars on attracting an Olympic Games or World Cup - Australia spent $1.7billion of government money on the 2000 Olympics and in reward has a 10-year legacy of sport tourism that makes up part of the $4.3billion in added currency bought by the Games.
These flagship events help build new transport systems, improve airports and clean up cities - all because the sport tourist is coming to town.
Sport tourism is now a tool to achieve many things - to make-money, create thousands of new jobs and even help change cultural perceptions such as in the Middle East and South Africa.
The Business of Sport Tourism (£595) was published November 1, 2004.
Media Enquires: Gerard O’Brien,Marketing Manager, SportBusiness Group, Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London SE1 7NQ.
Tel: +44 207 934 9006
Fax: +44 207 934 9200
Email: gerardo@sportbusiness.com
