Op-Ed: Spiros Karavoulis on the future of sports tourism

Sports tourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors in tourism worldwide. Its global market size was valued at $323,420.0 million in 2020 and it is projected to reach $1,803,704.0 million by 2030. The main competitive advantage of sports tourism opposite other themed tourism forms is the attraction of big spenders – medium to high income tourists – during the low season, thus resulting in the much anticipated and discussed, tourist season extension.

Opportunities for sports tourism growth in Greece were massive amidst the Athens Olympic Games 2004, when state-of the-art infrastructure with brand new sports facilities were constructed, complemented by the new airport, contemporary highways, and hotel renovations. However, Greece didn’t snatch the opportunity, leaving most of the facilities unexploited after the Olympic Games, and failing to capitalize on the international awareness that the games provided. The momentum was lost and the country was left behind compared to other Mediterranean destinations like Spain, Italy, Portugal, Cyprus and Turkey.

Of course, there were some bright exceptions for Greece, such as the “Athens Marathon. The Authentic” being the most prominent, with thousands of participants and leading Athenian hotels to full operational capacities every November.

Despite the shortcomings, during the last few years, Greece has started to turn the tables around and make up lost ground as far as sports tourism is concerned, due to joint initiatives by the private and public sectors. For the first time, Sports Tourism was established as a Themed Tourism Form by the Greek Ministry of Tourism although the complete clarification of its subcategories is still pending.

The Ministry of Culture and Sports takes initiatives consistently and actively supports all private sector proposals that aim to establish Greece as a prime sports travel destination. In terms of sports facilities, the government renovates most of the Olympic facilities and further develops sports infrastructure all over Greece such as OAKA (Athens Olympic Stadium), SEF (Peace and Friendship Stadium), the Olympic Village and more.

Mutual efforts have started to pay off resulting in the creation, organization, and implementation of mega sports events that have a huge impact, amongst which the International Cycling Tour of Greece, Ironman, Athens World Company Sport Games, WRC Acropolis Rally, Beach Games, and many other events. The rise of Sports Tourism is also endorsed by the Hospitality industry, and this is demonstrated by the widespread construction of sports facilities inside hotel premises in many destinations. Sports facilities and hotel capacity have led to the compilation of sports tourist packages that the international b2b travel industry finds attractive for their clientele.

Greece is linked with sports from antiquity, a fact that the international sports tourist is familiar with. The timing is right to further grow and develop our Olympic legacy and combine it with tourism, which is the steam engine of our economy. Adding to the equation our excellent Mediterranean climate, we possess the perfect marketing mix to prevail in the Sports Tourism industry. Cooperation between public and private sectors in all areas is key to long-term success.

The future is bright for Sports Tourism if we further join forces today.

Sportcamp President & CEO
Spiros Karavoulis

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