SPORTS TOURISM
with or without tickets to the Games, wanted to stay in the capital city to soak up the atmosphere, but couldn't afford the 200 per cent hike in hotel prices; international visi- tors for whom travelling to the UK and staying in London would be very expensive; sports enthusiasts, who would be pleased that their pitch fees would be going back into local sport; workforce contractors, who were looking for cheap accommodation and, of course, camping enthusiasts. To reach these people, we conducted
an international campaign, and with the support of our marketing agency – Captive Minds – we were able to achieve global coverage and join forces with affiliates like camping retailer Blacks. In-house we conducted a social media campaign and took to the forums to chat to Games Makers. We also worked closely with England Hockey and the RFU; both of whom were very supportive.
Campingninja.com targeted Games Makers who wished to stay in London in 2012 but were unable to afford the price hikes at hotels
THE LEGACY Camping at the Games featured twelve campsites (including two dedicated workforce sites) and accommodated more than 8,000 campers from 34 nations, which resulted in lots of Happy Campers (see box-out below) and lots of revenue generated for the clubs. The funds raised by the venues mean
that Eton Manor RFC and Blackheath RFC can now make considerable investments in their sports clubs and develop youth schemes. Club Langley has invested in a brand new outdoor sports facility and refurbished its showers. Surbiton HC is currently running the Future is Now campaign to redevelop its changing
Revenue generated 95.6% described the
booking system as either very easy or easy to use. 95.7% were either
satisfied, pleased or extremely happy with the service from Campingninja and 48.7% were extremely happy. 97.1% would be prepared
Online booking tool at
www.campingninja.com
to use Campingninja again to book camping pitches at other multi-day events if this service was available.
facilities and is resurfacing one of its two hockey pitches; the proceeds raised will go a sizeable way to supporting this.
CONCLUSION Camping at the Games was a huge success and a significant profile-raising exercise for Campingninja. Our web users increased by almost 50 per cent, we converted a new generation of campers and the feedback was extremely positive from the campers and the clubs involved. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has also ap- proached us to develop a similar project for the next Olympic Games. The operation of the campsites ran
extremely smoothly, which reinforced our position as camping industry experts and our belief that there is no other booking system in this market as effective. We also discovered how much we enjoy running projects like this and it was especially rewarding to see grass- roots sports benefiting and the Olympic legacy live on well beyond the Games. That said, we’ve launched our event services arm and are continuing to run revenue-generating camping projects at large-scale outdoor events across the UK.
FUTURE SPORTS EVENTS Inspired by the success of Camping at the Games, we have launched Camp at My Event – a service that offers the set up
66 SPORTS MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK 2013
www.sportsmanagementhandbook.com
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