Beyond the Scoreboard: 7 PR Tactics to Leverage Sports Offerings

Sports tourism means big business for destinations. One recent study estimated the economic impact of sports tourism to grow to $583.14 billion in 2024. Another report expects it to reach $1.2 trillion by 2030!

It’s not just big international events like the Olympics fueling growth. National events like the Super Bowl brought in $500 million to New Orleans, while smaller regional sporting events support local economies in smaller but just as important ways.

By leaning into sports tourism, destinations can differentiate themselves and attract new visitors. Also, sports tourism offers more chances to market year-round travel to attend events outside of the normal travel seasons in a destination.

But we need to look beyond just covering a big game or match. Sports tourism needs to filter down into a destination’s storytelling and its people, to show how it’s part of the culture and how visitors can experience it for themselves—at least in ways different from watching at home! These tactics will get you started.

1. Destination Story Development

Think more broadly than just the game experience for visitors and start telling more of a sports heritage story. Why is the local regatta so special? What sport developed in your destination? These are the questions to ask to showcase your sports tourism story and not just your gameday potential.

Consider the people and places connected to whatever sport is important—Louisville and its baseball bat producer, Barbados and its beach-bathing horses—to tell a better story. Give local sports heroes a platform through your pitching and storytelling.

2. Travel and Sports Media Relations

Blend travel and sports media relations more seamlessly by creating customized press trips and FAM itineraries to attract both types of journalists. They don’t have to be siloed!

And when there are big events, provide behind-the-scenes media experiences to elevate sports coverage beyond the expected angles. Or piggyback off any major sporting events to hold VIP media events, even organizing interviews with famous local athletes when possible. Finding any occasion to draw the media into the sports tourism world is a chance to elevate your story.

3. Digital Influencer Programs

A clear way to tell your sports tourism story is through sports content creators. Influencer partnerships are the perfect way to connect more directly with niche audiences, whether they are keen on your adventure experiences or your sports teams. It may seem like a tall order to market a croquet match or a handball tournament, but you know there are influencers out there who have those markets cornered.

Influencers also allow you to reach new audiences by tapping into diverse creators, finding Black or LGBTQ+ travelers interested in sports who may not be following mainstream media accounts. Free yourself from the notion that sports tourism marketing happens in a vacuum and spread your reach.

4. Integrated Marketing Partnerships

Leverage your destination’s brand through collaborations with professional teams and get in front of their fans. There’s even a chance to partner with another destination and engage in some co-op marketing, perhaps by piggybacking off a big game between two competitors. DMOs from both team’s home cities can work together to tell their stories. Leave the competition on the field!

Engaging in consumer and media activations is another obvious way to leverage your sports tourism resources by bringing sporting experiences to other markets in fun and innovative ways.

5. Travel Trade Media Engagement

Sports tourism is also a powerful tool for the trade, offering easy-to-package promotions for events throughout the year. This is a clever way to enhance tour operator relationships by offering clear opportunities to fill limited seats at sporting events on packaged events. It could mean negotiating a limited number of race bibs for a big marathon or limited seats for a sold out game that people will be clamoring to attend.

Let the travel trade tap into your seasonal programming or else propose a longer, multi-sport itinerary for the truly enthusiastic sports traveler.

6. MICE Media Focus

Sports tourism is adaptable and can even lend itself to MICE attraction, with team building programs and VIP sports experiences on offer for events and meetings. 

There’s also a lot of marketing to be done around stadiums and other sporting arenas, renting them out as unique venues for events. Pitching these stories to MICE media will help frame your destination’s sports tourism potential for decision makers.

7. Sports Event Planner Outreach

Your sports tourism offerings are equally appealing to, of course, sporting event planners. Different from traditional meeting planners, they require more messaging around facility capabilities.

This is a chance to highlight support service and logistics like transportation and accommodation that will frame your destination as an obvious choice for their big sporting event. This is especially important for smaller destinations who can tap into the potential of a big high school or college tournament that might not bring in celebrities, but still fills hotels for a week.

Having a stadium is one thing, but having the infrastructure to welcome all of the fans and team members is even more important!

Thinking more and more about how your destination should be the next big sports tourism destination? We won’t fight it. Get in touch with Ayana Young at ayana.young@old.aboutdci.com to learn how our agency can help organize your next big play.