Sports Business

11May By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Sports Business

Marathon Tours & Travel named co-title sponsor of AbbottWMM Age Group programme

Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) has announced Marathon Tours & Travel (MTT) as the new co-title sponsor of its Age Group World Rankings and Championship programme.  The new sponsorship will see the programme renamed the Abbott World Marathon Majors Marathon Tours & Travel Age Group World Rankings for the 2024 season that began on 1 January. MTT will also assume sponsorship of the forthcoming 2024 Age Group World Championship event. The fourth annual championship race will take place within the 2024 Sydney Marathon and feature more than 1,800 of the world’s best age group competitors, who qualified from more than 350 races worldwide during the previous 2023 season. MTT will offer special VIP Packages specifically for Age Group World Championship athletes to inclu...

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14Apr By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Sports Business, Trends

Amex Travel report: sports tourism is one of 2024’s top global travel trends

Sports tourism has been picked out as one of the top global travel trends for 2024, in a new report published by American Express Travel. Under the headline “for the love of the game”, the report reveals how sports fans, both internationally and domestically in the US, are “logging serious miles to witness their favourite sporting events first-hand”. The 2024 Global Travel Trends Report uncovers the “driving forces behind why people are travelling right now”, and “one thing remains clear”, they “intend to make the most of their trips this year”. In regards to the sports travel trend, it’s not just about “rooting for the home team”, the report said. A poll conducted by American Express Travel found that nearly three-quarters of global respondents are into sports, with 71% considering ...

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14Apr By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Sports Business

Croatian tourist boards become destination partners of EHF Champions League

The Croatian National Tourist Board and Istria Tourist Board have signed an agreement to become the official destination partners of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League – Europe’s premium club handball competition. The deal, brokered by the European Handball Federation’s marketing arm, EHF Marketing GmbH, starts with immediate effect and also includes the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 seasons.  The tourist boards will benefit from a range of visible rights in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League, ensuring significant exposure at all matches as well as digital presence on eurohandball.com and EHFTV, the European Handball Federation’s OTT platform. David Szlezak, EHF marketing managing director, said: “We are thrilled to welcome the Croatian National and Istrian Tourist Board to our fla...

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11Apr By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Sports Business

SEICon 2024: Las Vegas to host new sports, entertainment and innovation conference

The inaugural edition of SEICon – a first-of-its-kind sports, entertainment and innovation conference – will be held at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas from 15-17 July 2024. Organised by UNLV Sports Innovation and Syracuse University’s David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, in collaboration with the Las Vegas-based guest experience agency Circle, the event will include exhibitor pods, innovation labs, daily keynotes, seminars/sessions, roundtables, and daily wrap parties with music entertainment.  “There has been momentum building in the area of professional sports throughout Southern Nevada in recent years, and the economic growth that comes along with it is undeniable,” Keith E. Whitfield, president of University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). “Through business and workforce...

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6Nov By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Sports Business

2024 Olympics to boost tourism spending in Paris by up to €4bn

An extra three million people are expected in Paris for the Olympic Games in 2024 increasing tourism spending by up to €4bn, according to Euromonitor International.  The successful Rugby World Cup, which has just played out in Paris and across France, served as a dress rehearsal for next summer’s games which will bring many opportunities, but also challenges for the French tourism industry. With a forecasted four billion global television audience, the country will be front and centre in the worldwide spotlight.  A well-executed Paris 2024 could skyrocket the profile of France, already at the top of Euromonitor International’s Top 100 City Destinations Index for 2022, as a destination from 2025.  Alexander Göransson, senior consultant at Euromonitor International, said in his repo...

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6Nov By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Sports Business

World Golf Awards 2023: Portugal named world’s best golf destination

The World Golf Awards has announced the big winners for 2023 at its tenth annual gala ceremony, held in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Portugal enjoyed a strong showing and was named the world’s best golf destination, and The Algarve’s Quinta do Lago – South Course (pictured) claimed the best golf course in Europe award. Dunas Golf Course, Terras da Comporta collected two best newcomer categories: Europe’s best new golf course and world’s best new golf course.  Serapong Course at Singapore’s Sentosa Golf Club emerged victorious by taking the coveted title of world’s best golf course and Australian golfing legend-turned-designer Greg Norman was named golf course designer of the year.  Apes Hills Barbados, with its lush tropical setting and stunning coastal views, was voted the world’s best eco-...

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31Aug By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Events, Sports Business

Birmingham to host the 2024 SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit

The English city of Birmingham, which hosted the 2022 Commonwealth Games, has landed another big event: the 2024 SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit. Taking place at the International Convention Centre from 7-11 April 2024, the 18th edition of the sports business event will welcome more than 1,500 global sports leaders to “Brum”, including sport-related associations and companies, members from the International Olympic Committee, all the International Federations, and organisers of future Olympic and Paralympic Games and major events. The SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit will be held in the UK for the second time in its history after London hosted the summit in 2011. In an announcement, SportAccord said that Birmingham and the West Midlands secured its host ...

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14Aug By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Events, Sports Business

UCI Cycling World Championships attracts record crowds in Scotland

The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow and across Scotland have taken the sport to “new heights”, according to UCI president David Lappartient. It’s estimated that one million spectators turned out to watch the 11-day festival of cycling, while millions more tuned in around the world. The final event of the programme, the Women Elite Road Race, brought the curtain down on the inaugural event that has seen 13 UCI world championships combined into one mega event for the first time ever. Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky claimed the top spot following a thrilling finish to the race that saw tens of thousands line the route between Balloch and Glasgow. It was the first time the women’s elite road race has closed a UCI World Championship, with 207 riders (including women under-23) taki...

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31Jul By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Sports Business, Sports Travel

Springboks captain Siya Kolisi teams up with South African Tourism

Siya Kolisi, South Africa’s 2019 Rugby World Cup-winning captain, has been named as the new global brand ambassador for South African Tourism. The Springboks skipper, 32, is part of a new campaign that celebrates South Africans who are making waves on the global stage in their various fields including sports, arts and culture, and academia. “With the Rugby World Cup starting in September in France, and as the Springboks prepare for the upcoming tournament, Siya is the perfect person to partner with South African Tourism in our marketing and promotional efforts as we seek to attract more travellers to come to visit our country,” said Nomasonto Ndlovu, acting CEO of South African Tourism. “He is an exceptional South African whose story and journey inspire people from various parts of the ...

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18Jun By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Sports Business, Sports Travel

Sports venue in focus: new £30m Lee Valley Ice Centre opens in London 

Lee Valley Ice Centre – a new world-class sports venue in Leyton, east London – has opened its doors to the public. Costing £30m to build, it features two Olympic-sized ice rinks plus a gym, dance studios, community spaces and café.  With two ice rinks, it means the centre can remain open while providing professional athletes, synchronised skating teams and ice hockey clubs a place to train. One of the rinks has a spectator viewing area, disco lighting and sound system, while the other will be used for ice events and includes a spectator seating area, digital scoreboards and screens. A welcome addition to sport and leisure facilities in the southeast region of the UK, the new Lee Valley Ice Centre is expected to boost the local economy by as much as £1.5m annually and attract half a ...

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15Jun By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Events, Sports Business, Sports Travel

2023 WRC Guanajuato Rally México generates €35.6m economic impact 

The Guanajuato Rally México, round three of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship, had a significant economic impact for the host state. According to Juan José Álvarez Brunel, Guanajuato’s secretary of tourism, the event from 16-19 March 2023 directly and indirectly contributed 695m pesos (€35.6m) to the region, specifically to the three cities of León, Guanajuato and Silao, around which the Guanajuato Rally México was based.  Close to 600,000 fans enjoyed the WRC’s first return to North America since the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to a 61% hotel occupancy in the state. Guanajuato Rally México offered six major spectator venues, starting with the spectacular rally-opening Guanajuato Street Stage on Thursday evening, where fans packed into every viewing vantage point possible inside the ...

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5Jun By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Holidays & Trips, Hotels & Resorts, Sports Business, Sports Travel

Video: Rafa Nadal visits his tennis centre at Sani Resort in Greece 

Spanish tennis icon Rafa Nadal, who holds the joint-record of 22 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, has been in Greece to visit the Rafa Nadal Tennis Center at Sani Resort in Halkidiki.  A collaboration between the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar in Mallorca and the Sani/Ikos Group, the tennis centre features eight clay courts and since 2018 has held tennis training programs for players of all ages and all levels. During his visit to the five-star Sani Resort, Nadal revealed that he has been impressed by the “spectacular” facilities.  “The truth is that I was really looking forward to finally come to Greece, but my schedule and Covid had had made it impossible,” he said. “Toni [Nadal], Carlos Moya, Carlos Costa and the whole team had told me wonderful things about the c...

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24May By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Events, Sports Business, Venues & Stadiums

49ers’ Levi’s Stadium to host NFL Super Bowl LX in 2026 

Levi's Stadium, the home of the San Francisco 49ers, will host Super Bowl LX in 2026, the NFL has confirmed. Located in Santa Clara, in the San Francisco Bay Area, the stadium opened in 2014 and previously hosted Super Bowl 50 in 2016.  According to an independent study, Super Bowl 50 generated almost $250m for the Bay Area economy and the NFL is “thrilled to bring the Super Bowl back”, said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. “We look forward to working with the 49ers and the Bay Area Host Committee to create an impactful Super Bowl LX in 2026 that showcases all the great things the region has to offer.” Al Guido, president of the San Francisco 49ers, added: “We are honoured to host the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium once again, and to be stewards of one of the biggest sporting event...

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21May By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Events, Sports Business, Sports Travel

F1 FanZone added to 2023 Silverstone Festival line-up

An all-new F1 FanZone will a major highlight at this summer’s Silverstone Festival. This year marks the 75th anniversary of motorsport at the circuit in England, and celebrations over the 25-27 August bank holiday weekend will be enhanced by the addition of this exciting feature which builds on the highly popular modern Formula 1 content that was introduced for the first time at the event last year. Reliving all the excitement of the British Grand Prix that takes place from 7-9 July, the F1 FanZone at Silverstone Festival will provide visitors with the opportunity to get up close to see a grid of current grand prix cars. Formula 1 teams already confirmed for the showcase include Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant, BWT Alpine, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS, Oracle Red Bull Racing and William...

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14May By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Sports Business, Sports Travel, Venues & Stadiums

Wrexham to welcome new Football Museum for Wales in 2026

Football fans in Wrexham have been celebrating the team’s promotion back to the Football League – and soon they will be celebrating a major new football attraction in the north Wales city. Currently in its development stage and scheduled to open in 2026, the Football Museum for Wales (Amgueddfa Bêl-droed Cymru in the Welsh language) will be located in Wrexham and will “celebrate Welsh football, past and present, in all its diversity”, said VisitWales.com. From grassroots clubs to the national teams, it will also highlight Wrexham’s “historic achievements in the sport”.  ‘Museum of Two Halves’ Nicknamed the “Museum of Two Halves”, the project won’t just see the development of the Football Museum for Wales, but also a new Wrexham Museum in the current museum building on Regent ...

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11May By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Events, Sports Business

EFL 2023-2024 season: key dates for leagues, cups and play-off finals

Key dates for supporter’s diaries have been released by the English Football League (EFL) ahead of the 2023-2024 season. Fixture release day kicks things off on Thursday 22 June, with all 72 EFL clubs releasing their 2023-2024 schedules from 9am (BST). The opening round of league fixtures will take place across the opening weekend of 4-6 August with round one of the Carabao Cup following shortly after, week commencing 7 August. Wembley Stadium will play host to the 2024 Carabao Cup Final on Sunday 25 February, in what will be the first of five showpiece finals in the EFL calendar, with the 2024 EFL Trophy Final taking place on Sunday 7 April. The season-ending Sky Bet EFL play-offs will once again be staged at Wembley, this time across two weekends in May 2024. The League One F...

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5May By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Events, Sports Business, Sports Travel

The Ocean Race Europe 2025: cities invited to express hosting interest

As the current edition of The Ocean Race heads back into the northern hemisphere, race organisers are looking ahead to the next major event in the ten-year planning cycle – The Ocean Race Europe 2025. Following the success of the inaugural event in 2021, The Ocean Race Europe was among the first major international sporting events to resume following Covid lockdowns. Featuring ten teams racing across two classes, the event combined world-class sport with a purpose-driven agenda. The 2025 edition has even larger ambitions. Under the banner of “Connecting Europe: Racing to restore our ocean and waters” The Ocean Race Europe is scheduled to begin in the late summer of 2025, and will start in the Baltic Sea and finish in the Mediterranean, with up to five stops along the way. The IMOC...

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5May By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Events, Sports Business, Sports Travel

WXV: the new international competition for elite women’s rugby

World Rugby has announced the first host locations and dates for WXV – the new international competition for elite women’s rugby. Starting in October 2023, WXV has a mission to raise the profile and competitiveness of women’s 15s by providing the global platform between Rugby World Cups to increase the reach, impact and value of the sport, growing the game as a whole. It will also double the number of annual international fixtures for most competing teams, combining with World Rugby’s “Accelerate” programme to raise standards at Rugby World Cup 2025 and beyond. Host locations Fresh off the back of hosting a record-breaking Rugby World Cup where the Black Ferns were crowned champions, New Zealand will welcome the world’s best women's teams in the six-nation top level WXV 1 across ...

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4May By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Events, Sports Business, Sports Travel

2022 NFL Munich Game had €70.2m economic impact for the German city 

The National Football League’s (NFL) first-ever regular season international game in Germany was a success beyond the stadium in both economic and social impact. According to the 2022 NFL Munich Game Impact Assessment report, compiled by The Sports Consultancy Group, the event generated a total economic impact of €70.2m for the city of Munich, with €32.2m in direct spending. Played on 13 November 2022 at the Allianz Arena, home of German football giants FC Bayern Munich, the game saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-16. "The Munich game was a significant moment for the NFL in Germany and one that will live in the minds of those in the stadium and those who watched the game from around the world for many years to come,” said Dr. Alexander Steinforth, GM NFL Germany. ...

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29Apr By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Sports Business, Sports Travel

UNWTO: collaboration is key to maximise sport tourism’s potential 

Zurab Pololikashvili, secretary-general of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), has called upon the public and private sectors to “collaborate” to fully maximise sports tourism’s potential – and to achieve the goals of economic diversification, growth and sustainable development for destinations worldwide. Speaking at the World Sports Tourism Congress (WSTC) in Zadar, Croatia, Pololikashvili said: “Sports tourism plays a key role in enhancing economic growth and social development in many destinations. It creates jobs and supports businesses in cities and rural communities alike. In order to maximise its potential, public and private sector actors must collaborate, and that’s where UNWTO steps in.” The second edition of the WSTC, held from 26-27 April 2023, was organised by UNW...

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