One of my father’s favourite quotes to illustrate the importance of hard work is from Tiger Woods. The tale goes that at one of his numerous golf tournaments a journalist quizzed him on his amazing talent and the fact he made the game look so easy. In response to the interviewer’s gushing, Tiger Woods responded, “…The more I practice, the easier it gets…”
Professional athletes are nothing, if not devoted individuals. Their focus, discipline and pure dedication to their sport are phenomenal. It permeates every aspect of their lives – their daily schedules, their diets, their thought processes. A true athlete will allow their game and talent to consume their lives similar to an artist. Sport is their art and we, the spectator, are simply partaking in their exhibitions. We’ve even churned out a few of these individuals right here in Trinidad…
These individuals make fantastic ambassadors for both the country and the region and, ideally, they should represent the best of a society. However, sport tourism goes beyond the athlete. It is those of us who travel to watch and hopefully enjoy the glories of our teams that make large international sporting ventures financially worthwhile for the countries that host them and there is no doubt that travelling to watch a sporting event has increasingly become an important cultural, social, political and economic activity over the recent years. “Sport tourism is one of the largest and fastest growing segments of the tourism industry, valued globally at $118 billion (Sports Travel). While the global tourism and travel market is expected to grow by five per cent per annum up to 2020, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN WTO) forecast a ten per cent growth for sport tourism.”
The Soca Warriors’ qualification to the 2006 World Cup left a lasting impression internationally and reaffirmed Trinidad’s place on the world platform. I was fortunate enough to visit Frankfurt in October 2007. All I can say is that the Germans I met certainly remembered the Trinidadian contingency that had visited the previous summer. But what about using sport as a catalyst for local tourism? Certainly academic reports note the importance of these events to a larger strategic marketing plan, “the hosting of sporting events is often undertaken for various reasons, including marketing of countries, regions and cities as tourist destinations; to attract business and investment; or the use of events for economic, environmental and social regeneration and revitalization” [Journal of Sport & Tourism]. The first commonwealth conference on sport tourism held in May of this year in the Malaysia, further displayed to an international audience the benefits offered by the sporting package. And touched on themes such as the benefits that can arise, “sport tourism is the glue for the strategic vision of a destination…sport tourism generates peace and goodwill and inspire young people”. Never a bad thing, in my opinion, and something that is desperately needed in the Caribbean region. Even Cuba has gotten on the bandwagon with their Marabana Marathon scheduled to take place in Havana in November.
However, these international sporting events are not always as successful as we would like. Last year’s Cricket World Cup would be the primary example for the Caribbean region. Trinidad certainly did not get the visitor numbers that we expected, but arguably, this may have been due to the games package that our government bid for…
The largest sporting display carded for this year would be the Olympic games and, as we all know, it is to be launched in Beijing China on the 8th of August. The success of these games remains to be seen, however, response to the upcoming games has been far from smooth – riots surrounding the Olympic torch because of China’s treatment of Tibet; displacement of Chinese nationals to build large stadiums; earthquakes and, as of this morning three separate bombs on buses, resulting in a security clamp down for the upcoming games. The last thing China needs is the threat of terrorist attacks.
There is no doubt that sport is a powerful tool for the tourism industry. Similarly to music, sport is an international language, bringing different cultures together in celebration and camaraderie. Needless to say, I have no doubt that this year’s Olympic Games will be an extravaganza and I’m sure I’m not the only person that is anxiously anticipating the opening ceremony, in which China will be displaying their traditional culture and art on an international stage. I think most of the world will be watching and what better way to market your tourism package.
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