The Sport for Business Irish Sports Tourism seminar took place at the GAA Museum in Croke Park on Thursday November 7th. Here are ten of the ideas and thoughts to emerge from the high powered group of individuals from sport, business, government and society that gathered to make things happen.
1. Sport for Business members are coming together to form the Irish Sports Tourism Alliance. This coalition of the willing will make connections that will position Ireland to the fore of a rapidly growing international shift in how and why people travel.
2. 20% of events that took place under the umbrella of the Gathering throughout 2013 were directly based around sport. Aer Lingus, which played an enabling role in a number of the events revealed that they were “very impressed at the return on the investment they made in bringing the enthusiasm around sport to life in ways that created memorable events.”
3. Sports Tourism in Canada between 2008 and 2012 grew by 8% while general tourism declined by almost 1%. It is a similar story on countries all around the world that have developed a concrete strategy to go after this market.
4. Sporting tourism goes way beyond the major events that grab the headlines. German cruise liners are docking at Dublin Port and spilling out hundreds of cyclists who climb into the saddle as soon as they hit land and head for the Wicklow mountains where they see Ireland as a wonderful environment for what matters to them.
5. 163,000 golf tourists visited Ireland in 2012. The average spend of those who came from America was $1,800, almost twice the average of a ‘regular’ tourist.
6. The value for the economy of the sport of rugby this month will be as much as €60 million. Research consistently across Ireland, Britain and further afield shows that sporting tourists whether to watch or to participate spend more than 20% over and above the average. This filters through travel, accommodation, food, drink and experiences. It goes way beyond the value of the event itself.
7. We have a wonderful natural and built infrastructure to accommodate sporting tourists. This extends from that stadia of Croke Park, the Aviva Stadium and Thomond Park to the forests and trails of Wicklow, Kerry and Mayo, the Golf courses of Kildare, Limerick and Antrim and the rivers and seas that surround us.
8. It raised a laugh but one of our major advantages is our temperate weather. Golfers and adventure racers from Scandinavia, Russia and Canada can only play at home during limited windows of the year. Ireland is open for business from January to December.
9. When Real Madrid visited Carton House one of their requirements was that the playing surface on which they were to train be cut to a height of 23mm and that it be watered precisely 30 minutes before they stepped out. Few venues could guarantee this. Carton delivered.
10. We live in a world of opportunity. After the seminar yesterday I had the privilege of hearing Lord David Puttnam speak about the ways in which we as individuals can change the world. He echoed words spoken by British Irish Chamber of Commerce Vice President John McGrane only a few hours before about breaking out of the stultifying grip of the status quo. He said that ‘Democracy is not a spectator sport.’ We need to act in order to build a better future for sport, for business and for Ireland. The Irish Sports Tourism Alliance is such an action.
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