Sports tourism is on the rise, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, which says sprots tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in travel. Sports tourism can be defined as either traveling to play a competitive sport or traveling to watch a sport. One expert at the George Washington University says the numbers are all over the place, but one estimate projects the global sports tourism industry was valued at 587.87 billion USD in 2022 and is expected to reach a growth rate of 17.5% by 2030.
Lisa Delpy Neirotti is the director of the MS in Sport Management Program and an associate professor of Sport Management at the GW School of Business. She has been a professor of sport, event, and tourism management GW for more than 30 years. Delpy Neirotti helped develop the Sport Philanthropy Certificate, which serves to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of non-profit organizations using sport for social good. She also directs the GW Green Sports Scorecard to help increase the sustainability of sport facilities, organizations and events, and serves on the faculty of the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Master's In Management of Sports Organizations (MEMOS). Since 1984, she has attended 19 consecutive Olympic Games, 5 World Cups, and hundreds of other major sport events as a consultant, volunteer or researcher.
Delpy Neirotti also founded the first sports tourism conference in 1997 called TEAMS: Travel, Events, and Management in Sports. It is now managed by the company Northstar Travel Group.
In a recent interview with CNBC, Delpy Neirotti said:
“'The sport tourism market will continue as long as new opportunities to play and compete exist,' she said. 'The numbers are all over the place, so it is hard to get a good figure. The biggest takeaway is that it is huge and growing.'
Sport tourists spend money 'by staying in hotel rooms, eating at restaurants, filling up gas tanks, shopping in local stores and visiting other tourism attractions,' noted Delpy Neirotti.
More professional teams are playing in international locations, and their fans are following them, said Delpy Neirotti. This can bring attention to destinations through social media and word of mouth, she said."
If you would like to speak with Prof. Delpy Neirotti, please contact GW Senior Media Relations Specialist Cate Douglass at [email protected].
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