Sports tourism in the U.S.: what drives American travellers to combine sport and leisure?
Sports tourism is booming – and U.S. travelers are in the vanguard of the trend to combine holiday time with sports events. In this piece, based on a presentation Nicole Hollomon, Managing Partner, United States, made to the TEAMS Conference and Expo this month, she shows who is driving this trend and what motivations these travelers have.
Which Americans are traveling for sport?
GSIQ research reveals that, from a base of respondents who have either been on or plan to go on a sports-related trip, three in five have been on sports overnight/vacation before and already have plans for another. That’s great repeat business. In fact, only 2% of Americans have attended this kind of trip in the past but would not consider it again in the future.
Our data shows that 35-44-year-olds are most likely to say they have a sports-related trip planned. More than a third fall into this category making this age group almost twice as likely as those in the 55+ demographic to say so.
How much are Americans spending on sports-related trips?
Typically, this audience plans an average of two sports-related trips each year. But these travelers don’t hold back when it comes to budget – they spend an average of between $2,800 and $3,400 per vacation.
What kind of sports tourism are U.S. travelers looking for?
Traveling to watch professional games is the most popular option for American sports tourists. When it comes to reasons for historic trips, almost two in five (39%) said a pro-game is what they traveled for. In the future, this is set to become the factor in almost half (49%) of trips.
But it’s not just the major leagues that are propelling sports tourism in the U.S. Collegiate sport was the reason for 27% of trips historically and this is set to rise to 35%. And amateur sport is also a draw – 22% said that they had travelled to take in (or take part in) amateur events in the past, with 24% saying they would do so in the future.
What factors help U.S. tourists decide on a sports trip?
Assuming they can make the dates work and get hold of tickets, we asked potential sports travelers what other factors they consider when choosing a trip like this.
As you’d expect, a wide variety arise but first among them is affordability – so although we know this segment is willing to spend, many are still price conscious when it comes to tickets (48%) and to travel and accommodation (37%).
The ability to combine a sports event with other favorite activities is a factor for two in five of these travelers (38%).
One interesting driver of decision-making is the matter of personal participation. Nearly a third of our segment (32%) say that they, a friend or family member taking part in an event is an important factor – revealing the significance of mass participation event hosting in driving sports tourism.
What barriers do hosts need to clear to encourage sports tourism?
What factors either discourage or deter altogether the potential sports tourist? High ticket prices will make a trip less attractive for almost a half of travelers, with poor value travel and accommodation a factor for more than a third (34%). But there are red lines too – factors which just put an event or a host out of the reckoning altogether. They include poor quality accommodation options, inflated prices for food and hotels and concerns about weather conditions (for example, high temperatures).
Is sports tourism effective?
As well as filling beds and tables, our research found that 79% of people who travelled to a destination for sport said they would return to that place. The same proportion (77%) told us that sports travel had improved their view of the city they’d visited. Perhaps most tellingly of all, 81% said they would recommend it to others, making sports travel a great way of creating ambassadors for a place.
Methodology
We asked 6,000 people across 12 countries for their views on sports travel. Our sample was people who have stayed stayed in the past couple of years or intend to stay in the next couple of years, for at least one night to watch professional or amateur sports or take part in organized sport. The research was in field across January and February of 2025.
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