Queenstown in New Zealand is a major adrenaline sports centre
ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES In the context of this explosion of interest in sports tourism, a number of key issues and opportunities have become apparent: destination planners must remember that travel for sport occurs at many different levels, with the impact being as relevant and significant for small communities as it is for larger com- munities. For example, 14 veteran soccer players visiting Vrsar in Croatia to play a 60-minute game of soccer resulted in 42 extra bednights, which accounted for
an injection of almost £3,000 (US$4,830, €3,500) into the local economy and unparalleled, reciprocated good will. Increased destination awareness and
the scope for repositioning and branding a destination may be more significant from the direct benefits of hosting a major event or a major league team. For example, Swansea City’s elevation to the Premier League in the 2010–11 season expected to bring at least 30,000 visiting
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fans, of whom 7,000 possibly overnighted in the area, while five million UK resi- dents watched TV coverage of the Swans matches and they were broadcasted to a global audience of 600 million. The development of sports tourism
must be wholly in line with the destina- tion’s tourism and sporting assets and positioning to be successful. For example, the Ryder Cup 2010 was heralded a great success for Wales but serious questions have been raised about the validity of branding and selling Wales as a golf destination because of the relative paucity of golf tourism products. Whereas, Queenstown (New Zealand) and Fort William (Scotland) have success- fully positioned themselves as centres for adrenaline-fueled adventure sports. The legacy issues of major investment
in sports infrastructure is a real challenge. Uncertainty over the future use of the London 2012 Olympic Stadium and other venues is a case in point. Destinations
must secure a strategic long-term approach if these issues are not to erode the cost/benefit equation of a sustainable approach to developing sports tourism.
CONCLUSION Sports tourism is a major driver of contemporary tourism on a global basis. More sophisticated and robust research is needed to understand its real contribu- tion to destination development and into the motivation of consumers. Sports is a fast moving and dynamic
sector with new forms of equipment and activities being constantly created. This creates a tremendous range of opportu- nities for destinations with foresight to align themselves with these innovations and capture the world’s attention as a sports tourism destination. l
Professor T erry Stevens is managing
director of Stevens & Associates.
www.stevensassoc.co.uk
SPORTS MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK 2012 39
PIC: ©
WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/ MARTIN MAUN
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