Fresh Ideas to Bring in Sports Tourism

Sports tourism is an ever-growing industry, and youth sports are a huge sector of it. It hasn’t always been this way, but that’s quickly changed over the past years. Whether it’s youth soccer, baseball, volleyball, basketball, or any number of sports, kids and parents are willing to travel far and wide to compete in tournaments. This high level of competition has provided huge opportunities for communities to bring in sports tourism revenue. By holding these tournaments and events at your sports facility, you put yourself in a unique position to capitalize on this still growing trend in sports tourism. Let’s talk about some ways your sports facility can make the most of these opportunities.

Create Marketing Strategies for Your Tournament

If it’s the first annual tournament, make sure you’re spreading the word heavily to make the first one a success. Social media is a great way to reach your potential sports tourism customers. You should also have your marketing or design team make a logo for the tournament, one that can be used in apparel and marketing materials. If this is any year after the initial year, see what worked in years past and what didn’t. Look for ways your marketing efforts could be improved. If it’s a multi-day event, try to get attendees to spread news while they’re there. Setting up booths that offer free swag for posting on social media is a great way to do this. To appeal more to the younger demographic, consider purchasing a temporary Geofilter from Snapchat that people can impose over their picture when posting to their stories.

Choose the Right Vendors

If your tournament is well-established, vendors will often make bids to have the opportunity to sell their wares at your tournament. Typically, vendor contracts will either be a fee or a percent of sales deal. If it’s percent of sales, make sure you’re choosing vendors that you know will do well. Screen printing services who print the tournament logo on shirts are great sellers and additional marketing opportunities. Make sure your food vendors have selections that appeal to adults and children to make the most revenue possible. It’s important to screen vendors to make sure they’re a good fit.

Consider Sponsors

If your tournament gets big enough, you may be offered sponsorship opportunities. These are great ways to bring in revenue, so you’ll want to carefully consider your options. Watch out for conflicts of interest, and make sure you establish loyalty with sponsors that are paying the most.

Contact the Sports Tourism Experts

Sports Facilities Management are experts in sports tourism and making the most of marketing opportunities. If you’re in need of management services for your sports complex, contact us today. A representative will help you choose the best service for your needs.