Sports tourism has been increasing significantly over the last years and further growth is expected in the future. International Sports Tourism is defined as any trip of one night and over made outside one's normal country of residence, during which athletic activities predominate.
Sport is evolving from being a highly organised form of exercise to one that is adapting to the different behaviours that are normally associated with leisure time activities.
Nowadays people are more conscious about their health and quality of life, and this is one of the reasons why activity and wellness holidays have become a new growth segment in the tourism industry.
This has provided an opportunity for tourism destinations to include physical and sporting activities in the supply of tourism products either as principal activities or as an added value. Small states like Malta cannot develop high volume tourism industries because of carrying capacity considerations, and destinations such as Malta are increasingly targeting segments like 'sports tourism', short break holidays' and 'other specialist holidays'.
These segments ensure economic delivery, environmental preservation and social inclusion.
Sports tourists can be participants or spectators. Participant sports tourists can be classified into two main categories, recreational and competitive. Recreational sports tourists travel to engage in sporting activities for fun, whilst competitive sports tourists travel to train in their particular sport or to participate in competitions.
Such classifications are important for any country wishing to diversify its tourism offer as these define the magnitude and quality of the facilities demanded by the participants.
Diving is a well established tourism segment for Malta, having a share of approximately 4% of total tourist flows into the country. Football training camps, athletics and a host of other events already attract varying quantities of visitors to Malta and some of these activities possess strong prospects for growth.
The organisation of events also contributes to attracting sports tourists to the destination. Every year, Malta hosts a number of international sport events including the 'Middle Sea Race', 'Le Baillie de Suffren' classic boat race, la 'Bordée Maltaise' boat race and the Malta Marathon.
The ability of countries and regions to host successful sports tourism activities and events depends on the availability of an adequate infrastructure.
This includes sports facilities, accommodation, air and road transport networks, both to and within the country. Taking into consideration the current facilities and resources available in Malta, a starting point to adopt a strategic approach to sports tourism development would be to identify the recreational and competitive sports that present the greatest potential for Malta.
Cost-effectiveness is a key consideration in attracting funding for facility development. Investment in facilities can rarely be justified for community use alone or solely for the sake of sports tourism.
To overcome this, better linkages need to be established between the sporting and tourism groups at all levels. Sports tourism opportunities and especially benefits for tourism are sometimes lost or not maximised because the linkages between the sports and tourism sectors need to be consolidated.
Clearly sports tourism has enormous potential. A sporting culture and a good sporting and tourism infrastructure, together with target marketing, are key factors for growth to be achieved.
The challenge is to maximise growth in a manner that can provide economic and social benefits.
Tania Sultana
Research Manager Malta Tourism Authority