Sport Tourism

When I started playing sport in Soweto I never thought that the game of cricket would make me travel so extensively. As an amateur and professional, sport involved a considerable amount of traveling to play and compete in different destinations and countries. Before completing high school, for example, I had travelled to Zimbabwe, Singapore & Sri Lanka. The opportunity for me to travel domestically and internationally would continue with my professional career. It was during these travels that I began to notice the complementary and interrelatedness of tourism and sports.

South Africa has one of the best school sports systems in the world, albeit not accessible to many young people in the townships and rural schools. Nonetheless, schools’ sports festivals and classic clashes generate their own level of local sport tourism. The Rugby Festivals, for example, draws thousands of viewers composed of parents, alumni and sports lovers. Many of whom reside in hotels/lodges and use the weekend as a form of vacation. Thus, spending at local restaurants and other entertainment activities. Moreover, this captive audience has made the schools sport product more appetizing for broadcasters and sponsors. This will fundamentally open new opportunities for the growth of sports tourism at youth level with parents and sports lovers moving around the continent to follow their school teams.

Sports tourism in Africa has the potential to be an integral part of local and international economies. It can generate significant economic benefits to households, businesses, and governments alike and be a critical driver of the overall economy. South Africa, for example, has experienced the transformative power of sports tourism that comes from mega events like the FIFA World Cup. The World Cup was a catalyst to accelerate tourism development, by leveraging on the country’s branding, infrastructure development amongst other economic and social benefits. However, the industry has struggled to leverage on the momentum generated by the World Cup to provide bespoke sport tourism packages and experiences.

To build a thriving sport tourism sector the industry has to provide packages that are at the intersection of sport, tourism and event management. In each category, South Africa has a competitive offering across the world. Therefore, it requires leveraging all three facets simultaneously to provide a globally competitive offering. Moreover, it requires consistent scheduling to build familiarity for the fans and it can be structured ahead of time. When the Springboks, for example, played New Zealand recently, for both games the stadium was heaving thus making for an electric atmosphere. The first game at Mbombela Mpumalanga attracted many fans from Gauteng who took the opportunity to enjoy the rugby and use the long weekend to tour Mpumalanga, therefore, boosting the local economy. For the second game at Ellis Park my friend hosted sports tourists from Kenya who supported New Zealand. These anecdotes serve to show how much potential is in the industry.

I wonder how many South African sports teams are marketing their brands in other African countries? What kind of work is done by the department of tourism together with the sports industry to position South Africa as the leading sport tourist destination on the Continent? How do hospitality businesses use sport tourism as a part of their offering? How are Sport Teams leveraging on sport tourism to grow their reach and subsequently their business of sports. If we have data and clarity on some of these questions we can begin to grow the sports industry rapidly!