 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(November 2009) |
Sports tourism refers to travel which involves either observing or participating in a sporting event [1] while staying apart from the tourists' usual environment. Sport tourism is one of the fast-growing sector of the global travel industry and equates to $7.68 billion. [2] [3]
There are several classifications of sport tourism. Gammon and Robinson suggested that sports tourism can be categorized as Hard Sports Tourism or Soft Sports Tourism, [4] while Gibson suggested that there are three types of sports tourism: Sports Event Tourism, Celebrity and Nostalgia Sport Tourism and Active Sport Tourism. [5]
The "hard" definition of sport tourism refers to the quantity of people participating at a competitive sport events. Normally these kinds of events are the motivation that attract visitors to the events. Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, F1 Grand Prix and regional events such as the NASCAR Cup Series could be described as hard sports tourism. It is a common misconception that cities hosting such major sports events see a surge in travelers during the event. [6]
The "soft" definition of sport tourism is when the tourist travels to participate in recreational sporting, or signing up for leisure interests. Hiking, skiing, running [7] and canoeing can be described as soft sports tourism. Perhaps the most common form of soft sports tourism involves golf in regards to destinations in Europe and the United States. A large number of people are interested in playing some of the world's greatest and highest ranked courses, and take great pride in checking those destinations off of their list of places to visit.
Youth Sports Tourism
One aspect of sector sports tourism is the youth sports tourism market; this sector grew by a reported 55 percent from 2010 to 2017 and is worth an estimated $19 billion — more than the revenue of the NFL or NBA. [8] Youth sports tourism is largely propelled by tournaments for travel teams; these include those put on by Little League Baseball, Amateur Athletic Union of the United States (AAU), United States Youth Soccer Association and others.
The economic impact of youth sports events can vary according to the number of participants; one of the largest recorded youth events in 2024 was the 51st AAU Junior National Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Florida, which made $760.8 million and used 95,000 room nights over the course of the 24-day tournament. The tournament attracted 117,000 athletes and coaches. [9]
Sports Events and Tourism Association, a non-profit 501(c)3 trade association for the sport tourism industry in the United States, estimates that in 2023, the sports tourism sector had a total economic impact of $128 billion. [10]
College Sports Tourism
Another sector of sports tourism industry is that of college sports. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, National Junior College Athletic Association and others all offer competitive bid processes to cities interested in hosting. In October 2024, the NCAA announced more than 240 host sites for preliminary and final rounds of predetermined championships across Divisions I, II and III, primarily for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons. [11]
Entities Involved in Sports Tourism
Convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce and sports commissions (destination marketing organizations designed to attract sports business) are examples of public/private partnerships that represent cities in the bidding process with event owners and rights holders.
Sports event tourism refers to the visitors who visit a city to watch events. [12] The two events that attract the most tourists worldwide are the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. These events held once every four years, in a different city in the world. Sport tourism in the United States is more focused on events that happen annually. The major event for the National Football League is the Super Bowl, held at the end of the year in different city every year. Even though the National Hockey League started the annual NHL Winter Classic game in 2008, the 2014 New Year's outdoor hockey game rivaled the Stanley Cup Tournament in popularity and "revitalized the NHL". [13] As of 2015, the newest trend in college basketball was to start the season off with annual tournaments such as the Maui Invitational held in Hawaii, and the Battle for Atlantis which is played in the Bahamas. This idea of pairing quality sports events with the Bahamas attractions raised the island's profile and brought in more visitors and dollars to the country. The Battle for Atlantis brought more than 5,000 fans in during Thanksgiving week for the three-day tournament. The event helped to increase hotel capacity from what is typically around 60 percent this time of year to 90 percent. Sport tourism "is a growing market and many different cities and countries want to be involved,” [14]
Celebrity and nostalgia sport tourism involves visits to the sports halls of fame and venue and meeting sports personalities in a vacation basis. [12]
Active sport tourism refers to those who participate in the sports or sport events. Rugby football, football, basketball, etc are considered active sports and many sport events (which we call tournaments or festivals) are organized each year in most of the countries in the world. Youth sports tourism and college sports tourism, as defined above, are examples of this.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and one in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps over 500,000 college student athletes who compete annually in college sports. The headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has more than 900,000 members nationwide, including more than 100,000 volunteers. The philosophy of the AAU is "Sports for All, Forever."
Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It was first played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large parts via women's college competitions, and has since spread globally. As of 2020, basketball is one of the most popular and fastest growing sports in the world.
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of amateur student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athletic bodies, including the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), and the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA). Each of these various organizations is subdivided into one to three divisions, based on the number and level of scholarships that may be provided to the athletes. Teams with more talent tend to win over teams with less talent.
USA Track & Field (USATF) is a United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running, and racewalking. The USATF was known between 1979 and 1992 as The Athletics Congress (TAC) after its spin-off from the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), which governed the sport in the US through most of the 20th century until the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 dissolved its responsibility. Based in Indianapolis, USATF is a non-profit organization with a membership of more than 130,000. The organization has three key leadership positions: CEO Max Siegel, Board of Directors Chair Steve Miller, and elected president Vin Lananna. U.S. citizens and permanent residents can be USATF members, but permanent residents can only participate in masters events in the country, and they cannot win USATF medals, prize money, or score points for a team, per World Athletics regulations.
Sport in Ireland plays an important role in Irish society. The many sports played and followed in Ireland include Gaelic games, association football, horse racing, show jumping, greyhound racing, basketball, fishing, motorsport, boxing, tennis, hockey, golf, rowing, cricket, and rugby union.
Sports in the United States are an important part of the nation's culture. Historically, the most popular sport has been baseball. However, in more recent decades, American football has been the most popular spectator sport based on broadcast viewership audience. Basketball has grown into the mainstream American sports scene since the 1980s, with ice hockey and soccer doing the same around the turn of the 21st century. These sports comprise the "Big Five".
Sports in Hong Kong are a significant part of its culture. Due to British influence going as far back as the late 19th century, Hong Kong had an earlier introduction to Western athletics compared than other Asia regions.
Volleyball is a popular sport in the United States with both male and female participants of all ages. Almost all high schools and colleges in the United States have female volleyball teams, and most regions of the country have developmental programs for girls of all ages as well. While many areas of the country are forming male teams and development programs, there are still fewer opportunities for young male athletes to play volleyball in the United States than for young female athletes. Men's volleyball is a fast-growing sport among high schools, with 36 states having male volleyball programs. Most men's seasons are in the spring while women's seasons take place primarily in the fall; however, there are a few men's teams such as in Wisconsin, Virginia, and New York who play in the fall as well.
Sports in the Philippines is an important part of the country's culture. There are seven major sports in the Philippines: basketball, boxing, tennis, football, billiards, armwrestling and volleyball.
The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a 220-acre (89 ha) multi-purpose sports complex located at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, United States, near Orlando. The complex allows families to combine tournaments and competition with a visit to vacation destinations in the area. The complex includes nine venues and hosts numerous professional and amateur sporting events throughout the year.
The AAU Junior Olympic Games are the pinnacle competitions held annually by the US Amateur Athletic Union.
Macau residents participate in a wide variety of sports for recreation and competition. Football, basketball, volleyball, Dragon Boat, jogging, swimming, table tennis, and badminton are among the most popular in the community. Local leagues and competitions are organized regularly every year, but owing to Macau's small population professional leagues are financially unfeasible and so most participants are merely local sport enthusiasts.
Detroit is home to four professional U.S. sports teams; it is one of twelve cities in the United States to have teams from the four major North American sports. Since 2017, it is the only U.S. city to have its MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL teams play within its downtown district and one of only four U.S. cities to have said teams play within the city limits of their namesake.
Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes aged 15 to 18 years old. Organized by the International Olympic Committee, the Games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with the current Olympic Games format, though in reverse order with the Olympic Winter Games held in leap years instead of the Games of the Olympiad. The first summer version was held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010 while the first winter version was held in Austria from 13 to 22 January 2012.
The history of collegiate wrestling can be traced to the many indigenous styles of folk wrestling found in Europe, particularly in Great Britain. Those folk wrestling styles soon gained popularity in what would become the United States, and by the mid-to-late 19th century those styles, especially freestyle wrestling, emerged in gymnasiums and athletic clubs throughout the country. From then on, tournaments were sponsored and a professional circuit of wrestlers helped promote wrestling in the United States and throughout the world.
Junior roller derby is the sport of roller derby, modified for children and adolescents up to 18 years of age. The sport is played in both modified-contact, known as "positional blocking," and full-contact approaches, to facilitate safety across multiple age and skill groups.
The Tuskegee Golden Tigers represent Tuskegee University in intercollegiate athletics. They are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II and compete within the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). The university has a total of 10 varsity sports teams, five men's teams called the "Golden Tigers", and five women's teams called the "Tigerettes".
The most popular sports in the Bahamas are those of colonial British origin as well as those adopted from neighbouring United States. They include athletics, basketball, baseball, American football, swimming, softball, tennis, boxing, and volleyball track.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)It's a common misconception that host cities see an explosion of travelers around the Olympic Games,
{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
| Authority control databases: National |
|---|
