Long-term Impacts of Sports Tourism

Sports tourism involves traveling to a different city to participate in or watch a sporting event. Whether the event is the world cup, a city-wide marathon, or a small town football game, sports tourism can have huge effects on a community. Although it isn’t always immediate or obvious, the effects of sports tourism are long-lasting, which is why so many countries, such as Brazil, are chosen to host large-scale sporting events like the Olympics and the World Cup. Below, we’ve listed some ways sports tourism can benefit your community.

Sports Tourists Bring in Money

When someone travels to a different city for a sporting event, they are likely to spend money. They will need lodging which brings revenue to local hotels, and food which brings revenue to local restaurants. Sports tourism also brings revenue to your sports facility as tourists purchase tickets and concessions. To remember their trip, sports tourists may purchase t-shirts, customized apparel, and other memorabilia, bringing revenue to local designers and apparel producers. By hosting a sporting event, you can have an economic impact on your community.

Sports Tourism Leads to Other Tourism

Although sports tourists come for the sporting event, they may take the time to visit other attractions in your city and experience the local culture and history. Afterwards, word-of-mouth or social media posts about your city can attract other tourists. Increased tourism certainly occurred with Olympic host cities like Athens, Beijing, and Rio de Janeiro, but the effect can work on a smaller scale. If your city is hoping to boost tourism, consider hosting a large sporting event to start the buzz.

Sports Tourism is Great PR

Sports tourism can also function as a public relations tool for your community. If sports tourists enjoyed their time in your city, they may speak highly of it to their friends and family. Overall, this boosts the reputation of your community in the public eye. When you improve your community’s reputation, you increase your chances of people and businesses moving to your city. Public relations is another reason why developing countries have been chosen to host the Olympics or the World Cup. Sporting events are a chance to open up to the world and showcase a country’s development and culture. Through good public relations, these countries can open the door for long-term benefits. Once again, this effect can occur on a smaller scale for your community.

Contact Sports Facilities Management

As you can see, sports tourism has several positive, long-term impacts on your community. By hosting a sporting event and attracting tourists, you bring in new money and advertise your city to the world, making it a more attractive place to live, visit, and conduct business. At Sports Facilities Management, we offer management services that help our clients accomplish their goals. To learn more about how our services can help you increase sports tourism, contact Sports Facility Management today!