Galveston Presentation – Parter International Inc
Galveston Presentation – Parter International Inc.Introduction: Today we have handpicked outside experts and industry leaders from all over United States to speak to you about Sports Tourism and the impact of it on the community. They’ve come here to share their insight and expertise and most importantly, their experiences. Today, your role is to apply your strengths and knowledge on Galveston and your community to assess its potential fit in accessing the lucrative market of Sports Tourism. I want to encourage everyone to take each session and each lecture you sit in as a learning exercise and really question why the community of Galveston should tie itself into this Sports Tourism industry, what will come of it and how you can move forward to do exactly that. One trend that seems to come into play, time after time, is that the sports tourism industry has been described as “recession-resistant” and with good reason. The nature of the sports travel industry hosts events for all ages, skill-level, and take place throughout the year. Oftentimes, we see a correlation of a sporting event to a mini-vacation, specifically when families travel with and in support of their young athletes. But before we delve into that, let’s take a step back for a minute and try and gain a larger perspective on industry itself.
Sports Tourism and Travel: [pic 1]In 2010, sports tourism began to be recognized as an emerging market at not only international levels but national and regional levels as well, according to the World Tourism Organization (WTO). In previous years, studies have shown 38% of US adults attended an organized event, competition or tournament as a spectator or participant while on a trip of 50 miles of more (source: Travel Industry Association of America). [pic 2]Presently, travel and tourism as an industry generates over 15 million jobs and generates $2.1 trillion in economic output. As you can see, leisure travel’s direct impact remains the biggest factor in generating these numbers. In 2014, 1.7 billion U.S. residents logged going on leisure trips with the top activities being:1. Visiting relatives 2. Shopping3. Visiting Friends[pic 3]4. Fine Dining5. BeachesThe top sources of travel spending are: 1. Food services 2. Lodging 3. Public Transportation 4. Auto Transportation 5. Retail 6. Recreation/Amusement. And where exactly does Galveston stand amidst that information? Galveston’s advantage in this industry lies in the fact that it: a. Already has a top 5 leisure activity destination (Beach) and b. Is able to target every different source of spending with the Sports Complex.