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Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Matthue Cotton will jump to hoops against Portland Pilots Bol Dengdit and Tyler Harris in December 2023, the first circular basketball game of the Diamond Head Classic at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.
If you’re wondering how many other people in your orbit have recently posted photographs of themselves at a Formula 1 race or at a Taylor Swift concert, chances are you’re not alone. According to new research by Collinson International Ltd. , which owns Priority Pass and LoungeKey in airport lounges around the world, sports and music tourism is undergoing unprecedented expansion and is expected to be a $1. 5 trillion industry by 2032.
Sports tourism accounts for the vast majority of this figure. Valued at $564. 7 billion in 2023, it is expected to earn $1. 33 trillion over the next 8 years. Meanwhile, music tourism is expected to generate another $13. 8 billion, more than double its current valuation of $6. 6 billion.
For the purposes of his report released on July 29, Collinson explained travelers as anyone who has flown to an event, either in their own country or in their own country. Of the 8,537 travellers surveyed from 17 countries, more than 4 in five (83%) have flown to a sporting event, while 71% have flown to a concert in the last three years or plan to do so in the next 12 months.
Collinson used those effects to define how the industry has grown and perhaps continues to do so, assuming linear expansion despite historic occasions such as Swift’s Eras Tour or Australia’s first Olympics. It has taken eight years to allow the presence of spectators in person, something that is being carried out lately in Paris.
“People put a higher price on amusements than on objects,” says Christopher Ross, president of Collinson International EMEA. “If you’re attending a sporting or musical event, the fun doesn’t start when you walk into the stadium. It’s the planning, the adventure itself, and the excitement.
About 83% of casual travelers go to football matches, basketball matches, Olympic Games, F1 races or tennis tournaments, the five most popular sporting events in descending order. In a world where streaming networks have created easily accessible paths to fandom, Ross says, “the ability for a global fandom has much more reality. “
Soccer attracted 69% of the athletes surveyed, who said they had recently attended a live match or intended to do so next year. This includes those who were among the one million enthusiasts in Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but not those who had plans to attend the next World Cup in 2026.
Formula 1, meanwhile, has been gaining popularity among younger generations since Netflix Inc. he created his documentary series Drive to Survive, in 2019; 30% of F1 enthusiasts relate their interest in the game to the spectacle. In 2023, the average race weekend welcomed more than 270,000 physical spectators, compared to 195,000 in 2019.
It’s not just that more people are interested in sports; Ticket prices are also increasing. Tickets for races in the UK this summer have reached £600 ($765) for premium “grandstand” seats, with general admission costing more than £400 depending on the user, up from around £300. just two years ago, prompting British driver Lewis Hamilton to publicly criticize the price increase.
For Ross, those tickets are just one aspect of the sports tourism economy, which also includes hotel stays, restaurant meals, taxi rides, merchandise and other expenses. Collins data shows that 77% of travelers arrive one or two days before a concert or competition, and about 80% will stay one to three days afterward. Sports tourists spend the most, with 51% exceeding $500 per user on flights and other expenses, not including event tickets.
Take Las Vegas, which hosted an F1 Grand Prix race in November 2023. The event generated an economic effect of $1. 5 billion for the city, 50% more than the Super Bowl would generate in just three months. after. “It’s a more counterintuitive place because you’d think they would have less disposable income,” Ross adds.
This does not diminish the effect of other occasions. The Paris Summer Olympics, although less than expected in foreign tourism, attracted enough tourists to boost Airbnb bookings up 133% compared to the same time last year. International tourists are expected to pay around $5,000 for hotel stays, airfare and tickets for special occasions. And sports enthusiasts, Collinson says, are also willing to spend at airports, which is good for business. According to his research, more than a fraction of sports enthusiasts spend $500 or more at the airport alone; People between 25 and 34 years old spend the most, with a third spending more than $1,000 while waiting to board their flight.
On the music front, Collinson cites major events like Rock in Rio, Coachella and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour as drivers of thru-hiking. But the latter constitutes an unprecedented anomaly. According to United Airlines Holdings Inc. , Swift enthusiasts drove a 45% increase in sales of airline tickets to destinations like Milan and Munich around the concert dates, and the excursion led to higher booking spikes for major hotels in Paris, and even for the Olympic Games.
For those in the hospitality sector, the question now is how to take advantage of this trend. Marriott International used the Eras Tour to recruit new members for its Bonvoy loyalty program, promising free tickets through sweepstakes. By contrast, Auberge Resorts Collection, which has 27 five-star resorts from Italy to Hawaii, is teaming up with Mercedes-Benz to create a new concert series starting in October, with performances consistent so far live with Kate Hudson, Maren Morris and LeAnn Rimes. At Tennessee’s famous Blackberry Farm Resort, which has its own concert venue, the event schedule includes performances by Kacey Musgraves, Emmylou and Friends and Noah Kahan in the coming months, with general access tickets starting at $1,000 per child .