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Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Matthue Cotton jumps to the hoop against Portland drivers Bol Dengdit and Tyler Harris in a December 2023 Diamond Head Classic first-round basketball game at SimpliFi Arena, Stan Sheriff Center.
If you’re wondering how many other people in your orbit have recently posted photos of themselves at a Formula 1 race or a Taylor Swift concert, you’re probably not alone. According to new research from Collinson International Ltd. , owner of Priority Pass and LoungeKey in airport lounges around the world, sports and music tourism is experiencing unprecedented expansion and is expected to be a $1. 5 trillion industry. of dollars until 2032.
Sports tourism represents the vast majority of this figure. Valued at $564. 7 billion in 2023, it is expected to reach $1. 33 trillion in the next 8 years. Meanwhile, music tourism is expected to bring in another $13. 8 billion, more than doubling. its current valuation of $6. 6 billion.
For the purposes of his report released on July 29, Collinson explained that travelers are anyone who flew to an event, either in their own country or in it. 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 3 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 price entertainment higher than objects,” says Christopher Ross, president of Collinson International EMEA. “If you attend a sporting or musical event, the delight doesn’t just begin 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, Olympics, F1 races, or tennis tournaments, the five most popular sporting events in descending order. In a world where streaming networks have created easily accessible pathways to fandom, Ross says, “the skill for a global fan is much more real.
Football attracted 69% of the athletes surveyed, who said they had recently travelled to attend a live event or intended to do so in the coming year. This includes those who were among the million enthusiasts in Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but not those who plan to attend the next World Cup in 2026.
Formula 1, for its part, has been gaining popularity among younger generations since Netflix Inc. created its 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 hosted more than 270,000 physical spectators, up from 195,000 in 2019.
It’s not just that more people are interested in sports; The value of tickets is also increasing. Tickets for races in the United Kingdom this summer have reached £600 ($765) for the main “grandstand” seats, with general admission costing more than £400 according to the user, up from £300 just two years ago, prompting British driver Lewis Hamilton to publicly criticise the price increase.
For Ross, those tickets are just one facet of the sports tourism economy, which also includes hotel stays, restaurant meals, taxi rides, merchandise and other expenses. Collinson’s insights show that 77% of travelers arrive a day or two before a concert or competition, and about 80% will stay between one and three days after. Sports tourists are the biggest spenders, with 51% exceeding $500 per user on flights and other expenses, not adding event tickets.
Take Las Vegas, for example, which hosted an F1 Grand Prix race in November 2023. The event generated an economic effect of 1,500 million dollars for the city, 50% more than what the Super Bowl would generate just three months later. “It’s counterintuitive, because you’d think they 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 such as Rock in Rio, Coachella and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour as drivers of hiking. But the latter is an unprecedented anomaly. According to United Airlines Holdings Inc. , Swift enthusiasts drove a 45% increase in airline ticket sales to destinations such as Milan and Munich on concert dates, with the excursion leading to higher booking spikes for major hotels in Paris, and even for the Olympics.
For those in the hotel industry, 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 raffles. By contrast, Auberge Resorts Collection, which features 27 five-star resorts from Italy to Hawaii, is partnering with Mercedes-Benz to create a new concert series starting in October, featuring consistent performances so far live with Kate Hudson, Maren Morris and LeAnn Rimes. At Tennessee’s famed Blackberry Farm Resort, which has its own concert venue, the event’s program 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.