Sports Tourism Marketing Strategies

The 2014 Commonwealth Games will definitely be another major event that will see the rising popularity of Sports tourism in Scotland, United Kingdom and the rest of the World. It will be the second biggest sporting event to take place on British soil in recent memory, and doubtless there will be speculations before Scotland’s biggest city hosts the event after their counterpart had some issues hosting the London Olympics 2012. So what opportunities do the Games present in terms of tourism marketing, and how can Glasgow 2014 build on the success of London 2012, is still a matter of inquisitiveness.

In terms of the Sports tourism marketing, the Games present the ideal opportunity to attract visitors to Scotland. Although UK tourist numbers took a five per cent dip in August last year in comparison with August 2011, visitor numbers actually increased one per cent for the whole year – a first for any Olympic host country since Sydney in 2000.

“It’s less about the Games themselves for us, ” explains Joss Croft, marketing director of VisitBritain. “It’s about the opportunities it offers us to promote the UK as a destination. The big opportunity is the media opportunity to get you on screen in front of people who have no idea about Britain, or if they think they know about Britain, it’s giving them new reasons to travel.” That is how Sports Tourism works for destinations hosting major sporting events.

Glasgow 2014 is working “hand in glove” with a number of organizations to promote both the destination and the Sports Tourism in the lead up to 2014, explains Gordon Arthur, chief communications officer for Glasgow 2014.

Media relations will play a huge part in the marketing activity promoting the Commonwealth Games and the prospects of Sports Tourism, with rights-holding broadcasters in participating territories being briefed on the wealth of programming opportunities offered. Croft explains that from a destination marketing perspective, the opportunity lies in liaising with these broadcasters to provide them with storylines, imagery and other content to ensure they are capitalizing the event and the Sports Tourism on the coverage.

Changing perceptions about the outlook of Sports Tourism and the UK is one of the key outcomes of the Olympics, according to Croft, who explains that the UK’s ranking for ‘welcome’ in the GfK Nation Brand Index increased as a result of London 2012.
“People who feel welcome are twice as likely to recommend it to friends and family, and word of mouth is the most important method of marketing that we have. We went from 12th to ninth, and that’s the incredibly important difference that the Olympic Games have made.”