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≡ SPORTS TOURISM ≡
It’s well known that sports tourism is big business, but the size was underscored by the Sports ETA “State of the Industry” report released on Tuesday (22nd). The short summary regarding 2025:
“The report reveals that sports tourism has evolved into a $274.5 billion total economic impact industry, generating $111.2 billion in direct spending, supporting 1.6 million jobs, and producing $20.5 billion in state and local tax revenue nationwide.
“In total, 339 million sports travelers generated 124.3 million room nights, reinforcing the industry’s role as one of the most powerful and reliable drivers of economic development in the United States.”
The most interesting aspect of the summary report is the type of events which generated the spending:
● “Participatory Sports Tourism driven by primarily youth and amateur events, generated $60.1 billion in direct spending and $149.1 billion in total economic impact, driven by 227.6 million travelers, supporting more than 880,000 jobs and producing $11.3 billion in state and local taxes.”
● “Spectator Sports Tourism driven by fans traveling to attend sporting events, generated $51.1 billion in direct spending and $125.4 billion in total economic impact, driven by 111.4 million travelers, supporting more than 730,000 jobs and producing $9.2 billion in state and local taxes.”
That’s not what many people would have guessed: 54% for participation events and 46% for spectator events. It will be fascinating to see how the FIFA World Cup may change that for 2026. The report noted that as for international travel for 2025:
● 3.6 million international travelers to the U.S.
● 3.4% increase in travelers over 2024
● $6.3 billion in direct spending
Traveler volumes have not only recovered from the pandemic, but have hugely surpassed 2019 levels:
● 2025: 339 million
● 2024: not available
● 2023: 205 million
● 2022: 192 million
● 2021: 175 million
● 2020: 96 million due to Covid-19
● 2019: 179 million
The significant lesson from the data is this: those national, regional or statewide youth or masters track, swimming or volleyball championships can be a lot less hassle and a lot more profitable than an Olympic Games, Olympic Trials or a World Cup (of any sport).
It may not seem immediately logical, but it certainly appears to be true.
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