SPORTS TOURISM
Sport Tourism refers to travel for the purpose of either watching or participating in a sporting event.
Types of sports tourism
Sports tourism is of four kinds:
1) Hard and Soft Tourism, which refer to competitive sports and leisure activities/recreational sports respectively.
2) Sports Events Tourism, which refers to travel for watching a sporting event
3) Celebrity and Nostalgia Sport Tourism, which includes visits to famous sporting venues or visiting famous sports personalities
4) Active Sport Tourism, which involves travelling in order to participate in a sporting event.
PROS
1) Creation of jobs prior to the event for the purpose of set-up, employment increases, leading to higher incomes, better standards of living and a higher output.
2) Huge boost for hotels, restaurants in the country during the sporting season. Demand will be very high during the season and prices can be raised.
3) Other landmarks and tourist sites in the country also see a boom in business during the season.
4) Also attracts people because they come to see the famous sports personalities.
Sports event tourism
CONS
1) The jobs created are merely temporary, these people will find themselves out of jobs as soon as the event is over. (seasonal unemployment)
2) Huge events use up a large amount of resources.
3) Pollution and damage caused by large events will cost a lot to clean up.
4) Opportunity cost involved in investing a large amount of money on such an event
EXAMPLES:
1) The inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, August 2010.
2) The Singapore Grand Prix
3) OCBC Cycle Singapore
4) Standard Chartered Marathon
5) Aviva Ironman 70.3
Active Sports Tourism
Along with the spectators who come under the category of Sports Event Tourism, the participants of the events themselves contribute to the tourism sector, under Active Sports Tourism.
a) Accommodations for the participants will be required, b) which means a boost for hotels.
b) They can also be expected to go sightseeing, which will contribute to the tourism sector.
Sports facilities in a country
If a country has reputed sports activities and facilities, it can attract tourists all year round, not depending solely on major sporting events.
Lewis Hamilton Jenson Button
Students from GIIS Queenstown bearing the first ever Youth Olympic Torch.
SINGAPORE GRAND PIX