It’s been a long wait between Formula 1 Grand Prix, thanks to the cancellation of the Saudi Arabia edition.

And while the delay might build tension in team HQs, it’s building excitement among fans, particularly those planning to travel to Miami for the race in a couple of weeks’ time.

We used our consumer travel tracker TACTIQ to uncover more about those F1 fans in Europe planning to make the trip. So what did we learn?

Younger, maler, richer – and fans of other sports too

TACTIQ collects the views, behaviours and attitudes of travellers (as opposed to the general public) in the ten biggest sources of tourists around the world. So what does it tell us about how this group of European travellers from the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and France differ from others?

First of all, they are much more likely to be male (60% vs 49% other travellers) and even more likely to be young – 45% are between 18 and 34, compared to 32% of other travellers. They are also more likely to occupy the higher income bracket in their home market than other types of tourists (22% vs 8%).

As you’d expect of people travelling to a Grand Prix, these tourists are fans of F1. But they are also much more likely than other travellers to be fans of other sports too. The suggestion here is that if tour operators, DMOs etc can offer multi-sport trips, they are likely to appeal to this segment.

Three-quarters of them follow football (soccer), 60% tennis, 43% basketball and 26% NFL.

These fans are also much more likely to be planning other trips including sports events soon, too. More than two in five (43%) intend to take three or more – offering a deep-pocketed and committed segment for sports tour operators who can build brand recognition and loyalty.

Other events high on the list of this segment are the FIFA World Cup (42%), Wimbledon (27%) and UEFA Euro 2028 (27%).

F1 travellers prioritise different non-sports activities to other tourists – and want different accommodation

Many sports tourists like to combine spectating with other local activities and while fans travelling to Miami will make themselves busy away from the track, they have slightly different priorities to other travellers.

Culture, for example, is disproportionately important for this segment (42% vs 33% for other travellers), and while the restaurant scene is more important still (45%), that is also the case for our other travellers (48%).

Playing (as opposed to watching) sport is also more likely to be important (33% vs. 18%). Two other things to note – these travellers prioritise luxury more (31% vs 13%) and access to a casino (19% vs 9%).

These travellers are most likely to book upscale or boutique (24% vs 18%) and luxury hotels (19% vs. 6%). They aren’t cutting corners.

Hilton (19% vs 8%) and Marriott (15% vs 7%) are the top two hotel choices of the major brands asked about in the survey. And while Airbnb is still a popular option, it’s less popular than it is among regular travellers (16% vs 25%).

How to market to Formula 1 travellers

Like other travellers, those on their way to Miami are receptive to a wide range of advertising channels. But what stands out for them? Social ads and email stand out as being particularly effective, along with influencer posts. But having said that, our travellers to Miami are more likely to notice virtually every kind of platform, making them a marketer’s dream.

Photo Creative Commons by Bassfish22

For more insight into Formula 1 travellers, please get in touch.

TACTIQ allows users to discover a range of valuable insights about this audience, including which marketing channels are most effective, the barriers to making trips, the most popular types of purchase journey and the concerns and attitudes of these fans.

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