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In 1998, 37% of Canadas 73.7 million domestic In the case of the United States of America, the
trips were for sports tourism purposes. In Canada, Travel Industry Association of America found that
sport tourists are defined as individuals who trav- in the past five years, 38 percent of US adults
eled and in doing so participated in or attended attended an organized event, competition or tour-
a sports event during the reference period. Sport nament as a spectator or participant, while on a trip
tourists account for between 2.5 and 5 million indi- of 50 miles or more.
viduals from June to September, July and August The British Tourist Authority and English Tour-
being the most popular months for sport tourist ism Board claim as many as 20 percent of tourist
activities (15% and 18%). trips are for the prime purpose of sports partici-
While sport tourism in South Africa is yet to be pation, while up to 50 percent of holidays include
established, sports tourism (spectator and par- incidental sports participation. This level of activ-
ticipant) makes up four percent (4%) of its domes- ity is broadly consistent with Canadian data, with
tic tourism market. This appeared following the the 1998 Canadian Travel Survey finding that 37%
launching of South Africa Sports Tourism (SAST) of domestic trips that year were for sports-related
by the Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tour- purposes.
ism, and the Ministry of Sport and Recreation in
(extract from: EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT IN
October 1997, after it specifically identified sports
SPORTS TOURISM, January 26, 2010)
tourism as an avenue for the development and pro-
motion of tourism in its study. http://www.tourism.gov.ph
legislation for foreign direct investments in tour- for contractors and the delivery of poor infrastruc- ing the opposite effect. The controversy is expected
ism, the approval of visa-on-arrival regulations (on ture. to have a negative impact on tourism to India in
a pilot basis), the implementation of the Incred- Controversial Prospects 2010 with demand not providing the anticipated
ible India Bed and Breakfast/Homestay Scheme Inbound arrivals to India recorded a 3% decline spike.
(in order to strengthen the travel accommodation in 2009 due to the global economic crisis and to The front page headlines and image of the col-
offer of the area of Delhi) and the introduction of a lapsed footbridge outside the main stadium that
terrorism concerns following the Mumbai terror
law against the harassment of tourists in the coun- were beamed around the world will be hard to
attacks the previous year.
try. overcome in the run up to the Games. The last-
Prospects for the next five years appeared to be
ing legacy of the event is something the country
Corruption Scandals more positive at the beginning of 2010 following the
will have to tackle after the Games are over as it
The organisation of the event was extremely end of the global downturn and due to expected
attempts to rebuild its global brand image. It also
costly for India with an estimated US$6 billion fast growing arrivals from Japan, Latin America and
bears a useful lesson for all countries lined up for
invested in new infrastructure. However, it was also the Middle East. Positive forecasts were supported high profile sporting events and those seeking
a huge waste of money due to the high level of cor- also by significant investment in promotional activi- to do so from London, Glasgow, Rio, Sochi to
ruption denounced by the Indian press, as well as ties by the Indian government in emerging markets, Doha.
by governmental bodies. in particular.
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), a The success of the 2010 Commonwealth Games
government watchdog agency of the Indian gov- was, however, integral to this promotional strat- By Angelo Rossini (Travel and Tourism Analyst, Euro-
ernment, revealed irregularities in 16 Common- egy. The bad publicity surrounding the games, with monitor International)
wealth Games projects, resulting in large gains safety and security concerns running high, is caus- http://www.euromonitor.com
Sports Tourism:
Tough Legacy or Golden Jackpot?
Jeffery said that World Travel Market, among the
first to raise the profile of sports tourism within the
global industry, is setting out to dispel many of the
commonly held views about the sector at an impor-
tant keynote debate on the opening day, Monday,
November 8 at ExCeL, London. A high-level panel
of experienced sports tourism experts will examine
the dangers that can often cause more harm than
good.
Speakers include: Marthinus van Schalkwyk,
South Africa Minister of Tourism; Taleb Rifai, Sec-
retary General UNWTO; Marc Bennett, Head
of Sports Division, TUI; Chris Foy, Head of 2012
Games Unit, Visit Britain; Tom Jenkins, Executive
Director, European Tour Operators Association
(ETOA); and Richard Shipway, Lecturer in sports
tourism at Bournemouth University.
The session will be moderated by former British
middle-distance runner and the man who turned
around the finances of UK Athletics, David Moore-
croft.
Lessons have been learned from major interna-
tional sporting events such as the 1976 Olympic
The Philippines:
Sport to Boost Local Tourism
and sports tourism. The 7,107 islands boast and are sometimes lost or not maximized in all these
offer every imaginable way for adventure seekers. hosted events because the linkages between the
Yet, the country is still an unknown quantity outside sports and tourism sectors are not yet established.
Asia. Sporting activities, especially events, have histori-
While the country has already started to realize cally been organized by sporting organizations for
that sports tourism is one ideal avenue to spur tour- purely sporting purposes. Maximizing the tourism
ism growth in the country, it has not yet done its potential of the events has often not been a major
homework of developing the said sector. consideration for the organizers, representing a
potential failure of the market. Further, many sport-
As an initial step to raise awareness on the oppor-
ing organizations rely on volunteers, and may not
tunities sport tourism may bring to the country, the
have well developed business or organizational
Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation
skills or experience. Both of these factors can lead
(PCVC), supported by the Philippine Olympic Com-
to lost tourism opportunities. To overcome this, bet-
mittee (POC) and Philippine Sports Commission
ter linkages need to be established between the
(PSC) and participated in by the countrys sports sporting and tourism groups at all levels regional
and travel trade suppliers organized in November and national.
7-30, 2003 the 1st Sports Tourism and Adventure
Travel Show. Nevertheless, no concrete plan or Senator Richard Gordon, former tourism secre-
follow-up has been done to sustain its development tary, has seen the need to strengthen this sector. In
mainly due to lack of financial support. his proposed bill the realignment of the Philippine
Sports Commission under the Department of Tour-
The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT), ism is proposed. It underscores the importance of
which is the countrys lead agency tasked to sports competition in promoting tourism.
develop the tourism industry in the Philippines,
Like many niche tourism sectors, the sports tour-
has neither the policy nor operational influence
ism sector suffers from a lack of reliable data on
over the policies or programs of the sports indus-
which to base strategic decision-making. Even
try being administered by the Philippine Sports data, which might help measure the size of the sec-
Commission (PSC), much less the Philippine tor, is not readily available. The Arrival/Departure
Olympic Committee (POC), an autonomous entity Survey Card, a research tool used by the Depart-
No less than Hong Kong-based Action Asia that sanctions the countrys participation in inter- ment of Tourism in ascertaining arrivals and factors
declares the Philippines as having all the national competitions. associated to tourism for its decision-making, does
ingredients to become one of the worlds great The Philippines has played host to a number of not still consider sports in its checklist. Thus far, the
adventure travel destinations. The Philippine land- international sporting events. Sadly, sports tourism country has no existing data on the extent or magni-
scape is a natural haven for adventure activities opportunities, and especially the tourism benefits, tude of the sports tourism and the economic impact
it brings. Even the Philippine Sports Commission mechanisms are yet to be institutionalized to maxi- press release services
has no data on the extent of the sports industry, mize the sports tourism market.
how many it employs and how much it contributes While other countries have started and in the
to the economy. process of developing strategies for their respec-
Certainly, there are still a lot of issues and impedi- tive sports tourism industry, the country is still at a
ments which need to be addressed, namely: coor- standstill in one niche market where we have all the
dination of the sports tourism industry, education potentials to compete. After all, the tourism industry
and training, regulatory issues (e.g. visas, customs) is more than just destinations but innovative mar-
on the industry, infrastructure requirements of the keting as well.
industry, research and data collection requirements
and evaluation of the economic benefits of sports (extract from: EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT IN
tourism. SPORTS TOURISM, January 26, 2010)
The Philippines, by all means, can do so much
in terms of developing the said market. Concrete http://www.tourism.gov.ph