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Sport Tourism Events and Local Sustainable Development: An Overview

• First Online: 11 April 2021

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• Ricardo Melo 5 ,
• Derek Van Rheenen 6 &
• Claude Sobry 7  

Part of the book series: Sports Economics, Management and Policy ((SEMP,volume 18))

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Until recently, sport and tourism were studied as two distinct spheres of activity. However, the intersections between these two social phenomena have been gradually increasing, and the growing demand for travel related to sport has created the need for a new tourism segment, referred to as sports or sport tourism. The relationship between sport and tourism has also drawn considerable attention to the potential and real environmental, economic, and sociocultural impacts of these activities, both positive and negative. This chapter provides a review of scholarship to date, with particular focus on the linkages between small scale sport tourism events and local sustainable development. The chapter begins with a brief overview of the evolution of the sport tourism field, highlighting key conceptualizations and categorizations. It then discusses the predominant descriptions and categories of sport tourism events. Next, the chapter analyzes the meaning and practice of sustainable development at the intersection of sport and tourism, with particular emphasis on small scale sport tourism and local sustainable development. Finally, the chapter calls for a comparative methodology to provide a tool for sport tourism scholars globally.

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Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra - Coimbra Education School (IPC-ESEC), Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra (CES-UC), Centre for Tourism Research, Development and Innovation (CiTUR), IRNIST, Coimbra, Portugal

Ricardo Melo

Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

Derek Van Rheenen

Univ. Lille, EA 7369 – URePSSS – Unité de Recherche Pluridisciplinaire Sport Santé Société, F-5900, IRNIST, Lille, France

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Melo, R., Van Rheenen, D., Sobry, C. (2021). Sport Tourism Events and Local Sustainable Development: An Overview. In: Melo, R., Sobry, C., Van Rheenen, D. (eds) Small Scale Sport Tourism Events and Local Sustainable Development. Sports Economics, Management and Policy, vol 18. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62919-9_2

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What it is : Sports tourism is a type of tourism activity which refers to the travel experience of the tourist who either observes as a spectator or actively participates in a sporting event generally involving commercial and non-commercial activities of a competitive nature.

Why it Matters : Sports tourism is a fundamental axis, generating around 10% of the world’s expenditure on tourism. It has an estimated growth rate of 17.5% between 2023-2030, moving masses intra and intercontinentally. Sports tourism can promote social, economic and environmental action, it accelerates development and can leave a long-lasting positive legacy.

Sports and Tourism are interrelated and complementary. Today, sports tourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors in tourism. More and more tourists are interested in sport activities during their trips whether sports are the main objective of travel or not. Sport events of various kinds and sizes attract tourists as participants or spectators and destinations try to add local flavours to them to distinguish themselves and provide authentic local experiences. Mega sport events such as the Olympics and World Cups can be a catalyst for tourism development if successfully leveraged in terms of destination branding, infrastructure development and other economic and social benefits.

Sports Tourism Events

1 st World Sports Tourism Congress

2 nd World Sports Tourism Congress

UN Tourism International Conference on Tourism and Sports

UN Tourism / South Africa International Summit on Tourism, Sport and Mega-events

UPCOMING SPORTS TOURISM EVENTS

3 rd World Sports Tourism Congress (more information coming soon)

UN TOURISM PUBLICATIONS ON SPORTS TOURISM

Sport & Tourism

Sport and Tourism are two driving forces for the promotion and sustainable economic development of tourism destinations. To better understand the links between tourism and sport and to increase the awareness of the benefits of their joint contributions, UN Tourism and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) jointly organized the First World Conference on Sport and Tourism in Barcelona on 22-23 February 2001. This publication contains the studies prepared for the Conference as well as the speeches delivered there.

Sport Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Tourism can contribute to sustainable development and the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This overview illustrates how sport tourism can contribute to the SDGs and what needs to be considered when developing sport tourism to ensure its contribution to sustainable development. The comparative strength of sport tourism lies in: Engagement in physical activities; Opportunities for interactions; and High development potential almost anywhere. Thanks to these characteristics, sport tourism can play an important role in achieving various SDGs if developed with consideration.

Maximizing the Benefits of Mega Events for Tourism Development

A mega event benefits a host destination in terms of attracting visitors to the event and drawing global attention to the destination. However, in addition to such short-term benefits, it can be a catalyst for longer-term tourism development in various aspects from economic to social. This publication on Maximizing the Benefits of Mega Events for Tourism Development provides practical references on what a host destination can do to fully leverage the event opportunity for tourism development with a variety of illustrative cases. Although the report refers to insights from mega events, the practical references can be applied to any scale of events in any destination.

Walking Tourism – Promoting Regional Development

Walking tourism is now one of the most popular ways to experience a destination. It allows tourists to better engage with local people, nature and culture. It also meets the growing demand of travellers of outdoor activities in general, including when they travel. Walking tourism can be developed anywhere as a sustainable tourism offer with a relatively small investment. It can bring about social and economic benefits to residents and communities if properly developed and managed. This report showcases various successful examples of walking tourism and aims to serve as a practical reference for destinations with a focus on the role of walking tourism in regional development.

Sports Tourism in Latin America

Tourism and sport are key cultural elements of today’s world and have significant impact on modern society and international tourism. With this in mind, the WTO has carried out a new study aimed at providing a more complete analysis of the role that sports tourism and sports in general among the products offered in Latin America by European tour operators and tourism websites.

Sport and Tourism – Introductory Report

Sport and Tourism have a major socio-economic impact, appreciated in most civilian societies and increasingly recognized by governments. This is one of the many conclusions of this report which was prepared for the First World Conference on Sport and Tourism jointly organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and WTO.After developing a theoretical framework for the system of Sport and Tourism and analysing the future trends of sport and sports tourism this report looks at the different socio-economic impacts of sport and tourism and how they can be managed best.

Sport Activities during the Outbound Holidays of the Germans, the Dutch & the French

The World Tourism Organization (WTO) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) prepared this study on the level and characteristics of the sport activities engaged in during holidays abroad. Germany, the Netherlands and France were chosen for this study. These countries ranked among the leaders in terms of international tourism expenditure in 1999. Even though this study does not cover all the major generating markets, we are sure that it gives a clear picture of the importance of sport activities in tourism, and it makes many suggestions. This study also deals with many practical aspects, e.g.: length of stay, expenditure, seasonal demand, booking patterns, accommodation, and consumer profiles such as gender, age, social status, and area of residence.

Olympics: 4 things South African sport tourism can learn from what went right in Paris

Associate Professor, Cape Peninsula University of Technology

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If you followed the Paris 2024 Olympics broadcast, you’ll have noticed the breathtaking city backdrop to events, the festive atmosphere and active support of spectators. Touted as marking a new era , the games introduced several innovations in its planning and delivery – starting with an opening ceremony outside a stadium for the first time ever.

I was fortunate to be among the Paris crowd as both a researcher and a sport fan. I research and teach sport tourism and international events. I’ve studied event impacts, especially on city branding, and the legacies of sport mega-events, most notably the 2010 men’s football World Cup in South Africa.

Read more: Fewer cities can afford to host the Olympics, but Paris 2024 may be clever enough to turn a profit

Sport tourism in South Africa is already a US$3.6 billion industry and forecast to grow. The country has a track record of hosting big sport events – like the annual Cape Town Rugby 7s tournament, the Nedbank Golf Challenge and the Comrades Marathon . It’s an appealing year-round golf destination with a developed sport and active leisure industry. There’s every reason to view this as a high-growth potential, niche economic sector for the country.

Although the last sport mega-event hosted by South Africa was in 2010 , there have been a few standout major events since then – the Africa Cup of Nations men’s football in 2013, the 2023 Netball World Cup and the 2023 T20 Women’s World Cup cricket among them.

So, what lessons can South Africa learn from France – a nation that is dominating innovations and development in the sport tourism industry?

1. Keep the pipeline flowing

France has succeeded in hosting an impressive pipeline of events. The successive mega-events of the Rugby World Cup 2023 and the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games have been interspersed with regular major events that attract tourism and boost nation-branding – like the Tour de France cycling, the French Open tennis and the Le Mans motorsport event. Beyond these major events, France hosts multiple big sporting events year-round. The nation continues to top the United Nations tourism destinations list , with sport adding an extra reason for tourists to visit or extend their stay, as spectators or participants.

While South Africa boasts a healthy number of annual sport events , the major and mega-events on this list have not been sustained. South Africa’s next mega-event will be the men’s Cricket World Cup in 2027.

Global event research indicates that it’s a portfolio of regular events, interspersed with major and mega-events, that really captures global attention and drives tourism numbers. The US is following this pattern, supporting the hosting of a succession of mega-events in the coming decade to complement its array of annual events. The men’s football World Cup in 2026 is followed by the Olympics in 2028 and the men’s Rugby World Cup in 2032.

2. Sustain the economic effects

Paris 2024 will leave a lasting tangible impact on some lesser-developed urban areas. A few years ago, for example, the Vaires-sur-Marne region strategically invested in the infrastructure to host the canoe, kayak and rowing events. Local entrepreneurs and businesses benefited from spectators passing by their stalls or establishments just outside the official event perimeter. It’s crucial, in South Africa, to find ways to include local entrepreneurs and businesses as local suppliers and benefactors from sport events.

The Seine-Saint-Denis municipality was targeted as an area for improvement. It’s now home to a new aquatics facility and the athletes’ village , which will become a residential and commercial development. The area is now served by a new public transport hub.

Admittedly, it’s too early to assess the longer-term sustainability and impact of these developments, which is now a focus of a collaborative research project. However, the planning of Paris 2024 indicates the development platform and transformational potential that mega-events of this nature hold for a city.

In South Africa, sport facilities are still largely based within historically advantaged neighbourhoods. France took a strategic and intentional approach to spreading benefits to other cities across the country, even hosting the surfing event in the French territory of Tahiti. South African events should seek to spread benefits and opportunities associated with larger-scale events to smaller towns and outside traditional urban hubs.

3. Keep your costs down

Mega-events have notoriously been associated with massive investments in facility development, often leading to “ white elephant ” (unused) stadiums after an event.

Paris has set a new standard in reimagining venues in creative and innovative ways, and in creating temporary stadiums in iconic locations. They also invested in sporting infrastructure over a long period not included in the Olympic budget. For example, the Roland Garros tennis centre was renovated to include roofs over the major courts, allowing the venue to become multi-purpose. After the French Open in June, the centre was easily transformed to host both Olympic tennis, and the Olympic boxing competition, in an indoor facility.

Paris is forecast to be the “cheapest” Olympics this century. Paris should inspire the creative use of town halls, museums, village squares and other public spaces for hosting events in South Africa.

4. Get people involved

The vision for Paris 2024 was to take the games to the people. It set out to bring events into the city centre and make many more events accessible to the public. This aligned with the International Olympic Committee vision to make the games younger, more urban and more accessible.

Organisers harnessed technology to personalise communication, ticketing and transport planning. While digital tickets have become common, Paris set new standards through its regular fan communications via email and apps to support spectator transport, ticketing and news.

Read more: Paris Olympics 2024: faster, higher, stronger -- and more data-driven

Through innovative stadium entertainment activations (a combination of live deejays, stadium lighting and artificial intelligence broadcasts on large screens), organisers were able to create interactive and memorable sensory experiences.

South Africa would do well to embrace these trends to develop smart events of the future. The country already has the foundations in terms of infrastructure and event hosting capability as well as a developed tourism sector. The example of Paris 2024 has provided insights on how mega-events can be hosted in a more economical and sustainable manner.

• Olympic games
• World Cup 2010
• International sport
• South African sport
• Olympic bids
• sport facilities
• 2024 Paris Olympics
• African sport
• South Africa economy
• Sport tourism
• African sports

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Sports tourism: An attempt to define the concept

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