The world is slowly on the rebound following the pandemic. Many questions remain regarding the direction of the sports events and tourism industry, but one thing that continues to be at the forefront is the importance of planner-destination partnerships.
This year, SportsEvents magazine sent out two versions of its 18th annual trends survey. One targeted event planners and rights holders, the other went to host destination organizations. The results offer a snapshot of the industry from its overall health to upcoming trends to post-pandemic recovery and everything in between.
Relationships with CVBs
Ninety percent of surveyed planners reported utilizing convention and visitor bureaus (CVBs) or sports commissions when planning their events, with 70 percent noting CVBs were “very important” to their event planning business.
This importance likely comes from the capacity for CVBs to provide a “complete package” beyond just a sports event venue. When asked if excursions, restaurant fares, and the overall vibe of a city have a direct effect on location planning, 70 percent of respondents answered “yes.”
This trend is not lost on host destinations. Indeed, when asked “how important are the following factors to sports events planners in selecting your site/destination?”, 83 percent indicated the number of restaurants near hotels/venues and availability of area attractions as “important.”
Sports event renaissance
Survey respondents reported near-unanimous growth in 2022, a trend that appears to be continuing this year, according to both event planners and destination hosts.
“We expect the energy to continue as more non-traditional/niche sports begin to find their footing and organize, create RFPs, and access more destinations via sourcing platforms like PlayEasy and Scout, and attend industry networking events,” noted one host destination.
“[Our] outlook is that the sports events industry will continue to increase in the [the] number of tournaments and visitors for the destinations,” said another.
Consulting firm Huddle Up Group (HUG) says the optimism stakeholders are reporting is not misplaced.
“If anything positive came from the pandemic, it’s that everything we have been saying about the sports tourism industry being insulated from market trends proved true,” says HUG CEO and founder, Jon Schmeider. “Anecdotally, our industry has been saying no matter what happens (economic downturns, 9/11, international conflicts, etc.) sports tourism will continue forward. The pandemic showed the tourism industry this premise is absolutely correct.”
Some destinations reported the expansion of facilities to match this new growth. New baseball facilities came up more than once among responses.
However, Schmieder cautions destinations against going all in on new facilities.
“When asked about when the facility ‘arms race’ may end, we used to say we didn’t think it would in our lifetimes,” he says. “Now we have data through our Sports Tourism Index and Scout platform that we think indicates there may be a saturation point coming soon for certain facility types.”
“As we consult with destinations, facilities are always part of the equation,” he adds. Today, we are treading a little more lightly in what we advise our destination partners to build or not to build, and we are very cautious about the projections we predict for any new venue that is developed.”
It’s going to be busy
From the perspective of event planners, respondents were comfortable in predicting a busier 2023, with many bullish on their own future saying they were “likely” or “very likely” to continue a career in sports planning. This is good news to surveyed destination hosts, who reported more than 60 percent of their clients provide repeat business.
That said, some planners were a little more cautious with their future predictions. When asked, “What is your outlook for the sports events industry in 2023?,” economic volatility and inflation were flagged as areas of concern.
“[We expect] ever-increasing numbers, but—with inflated costs—we don’t expect quite the same revenue increase,” saidone planner.
Another pointed to rising travel costs as a reason for concern, noting: “We are seeing our delegates having to choose which events they attend due to the cost
of travel.”
It’s a concern destinations have heard before. Indeed, surveyed destinations report “ease of drivability” as an important factor for planners choosing them, and 33 percent percent rated it as “very important.” Likewise, 83 percent percent reported “ease of air travel” was an “important” or “very important” factor for planners choosing them as a host destination.
Hosts may consider improving the availability and affordability of transportation to their venues. On the flip side, this may present an opportunity for event planners to partner closely with local destinations wherever possible, cutting down on accommodation and transportation costs.
Rising prices
One concern both planners and host destinations highlighted was rising costs, which they’ve noticed in everything from amenities to food to—as noted above—travel. Forty percent of the surveyed event planners and rights holders cited rising costs as a concerning trend, with 30 percent pointing to rising travel
costs, specifically.
This trend is not lost on destination hosts. When asked the multiple-choice question, “What are the main reasons sports event planners’ book with you repeatedly?”, 33 percent of destinations gave “cost” as an answer, and half said, “amenities.”
Hosts and destination respondents alike appear to be aware of the risk of future economic uncertainty. Based on these responses, destinations may want to consider strategies to mitigate these costs where possible in order to maintain event planner confidence.
