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Sports | 16/12/2022

Sports tourism: a wealth of opportunities

L’Hospitalet de Llobregat is one of Catalonia’s leading destinations for sports tourism. The city’s sports facilities, and also some of its hotels, have been awarded sports tourism certification by the Catalan Tourist Board, meaning they are certified to accommodate teams and meet the specific needs of the sportspeople who stay there.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) website states that tourists are taking an increased interest in sporting activities while on holiday, regardless of whether or not sports are the main focus of their trip. Moreover, sporting events of all kinds and sizes are attracting tourists as both participants and spectators. This presents an opportunity for tourist destinations to add their own local flavour to these events in order to stand out from other places and provide authentic local experiences.

A little over a year ago, in November 2021, the UNWTO World Sports Tourism Congress was held at Lloret de Mar. According to the UNWTO, sports tourism is one of the fastest-growing segments of the tourist industry.

At the Congress, the foundations were laid for the development of sports tourism in accordance with the guidelines of the 2030 Agenda:

• Sports tourism and its contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• Innovation in the development of sports tourism: stadiums, Olympic Games and mass outdoor sports
• Successful destination governance and public-private strategies in sports tourism
• Sports technologies, eSports and the digital transformation of sports tourism

Why is sports tourism important?

Firstly, sports tourism can make a destination more attractive and competitive by expanding its range of tourist attractions. Generally speaking, sports tourism can help to extend the length of visitors’ stays and the amount they spend. Sports tourism products and sporting events can contribute to the spatial and temporal dispersion (i.e. the prized goal of deseasonalisation) of tourism when they take place in areas that receive less tourist traffic, or during low season.

The benefits of developing sports tourism in a destination such as L’Hospitalet include the possibility of enabling locals to take part as well. Promoting sporting activities among local residents is an excellent way to improve their health and well-being, particularly with regard to promoting an essentially amateur sport where there is room for residents to take part as well as aficionados from elsewhere, without the need for a professional level of ability. To this end, sports facilities such as the Jordi Alba Football Campus, the Pau Gasol Academy and the Audie Norris Basketball Campus provide a range of sporting activities that are accessible to both visitors and the city’s sportspeople.

Sports tourism and sustainability

As mentioned above, according to the UNWTO tourism can contribute to sustainable development and the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The strength of sports tourism lies in its promotion of participation in physical activity, the opportunities it provides for interaction between visitors and the local population, and its high degree of potential for implementation in almost any location. Owing to these characteristics, sports tourism can play an important role in the successful achievement of a number of the SDGs, if it is developed properly.

One of the advantages offered by sports tourism is that, like other segments in the industry, it creates jobs and business opportunities. New businesses (e.g. equipment hire, transport services, etc.) spring up around the tourist ecosystem. Sporting events, even if they are small-scale, attract participants and spectators, whose spending brings direct economic benefits for the destination.

Sports tourists tend to sample the rest of the attractions offered by the destination, which translates to increased spending in other areas that are closely linked, such as the city’s tourist accommodation, restaurants and shops.

Recommendations for food service that is sports-tourism friendly

If the establishment is located near to a sports facility or the venue or route of a sporting activity, there are a great many initiatives that can be put into practice in order to attract tourists.

Adapted menus: Create menus that are adapted in line with the needs of sportspeople. The food intake required by an athlete competing in the 100 metres bears no relation to the requirements of a road cyclist. It is important to create menus that are suitably tailored to customers’ needs.

Create special offers: In the same way that menus should be varied in line with the nutritional requirements of the sportspeople or the sporting activity that is being carried out, special offers can also be created. On the subject of athletics, for example, establishments could create a “Carl Lewis Burger”, or a “Yago Lamela Set Menu”. This attention to detail will be appreciated.

Give the establishment a theme: Creating an atmosphere in which sportspeople or their families feel comfortable and even more immersed in the occasion will help to build loyalty and increase satisfaction. The theme can be temporary or permanent.