Jamaica is the latest holiday location to specifically promote itself as a sports tourism destination.
Jamaica Sport is a simple initiative, effectively building a calendar of events, many of them already existing, which can tell a story to potential visitors for whom sport is a key motivator in determining travel plans.
“As a country, we are well-known for our rich sporting legacy, whether for our remarkable successes or our indomitable spirit, especially in the sporting arena” said Paul Pennicook, Jamaica’s Director of Tourism.
“The dominance of our athletes, including sprinters, cricketers, netballers, swimmers and footballers has been tremendous, but it is this achievement in combination with the ‘can-do’ attitude of our bobsledders that defines a sporting culture found only in Jamaica.”
The Jamaica Tourist Board built the programme under the guidance of Christopher Dehring who was CEO of the Cricket World Cup in 2007.
The first event on the calendar will be the Pineapple Cup, an Ocean Racing classic which dates back to 1961 and sails between Fort Lauderdale in Florida and Montego Bay next month.
Through the year there will be mountain biking, tennis, athletics, triathlon and other sports featured, with the last event being the internationally know Reggae Marathon in December.
If a country like Jamaica or Ireland has a reputation as a destination for sport it can generate huge revenues and become a critical part of the tourism infrastructure.
Telling the story well, and simply, in what will always be a very crowded marketplace makes all the difference and starting small with only a few events, to which others can be drawn under a single umbrella of Jamaica Sport or Sporting Ireland.
It’s something we should be doing.
