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Rise in international paddlers for 2019 Vaka Eiva in the Cook Islands

28Aug

By Sports Tourism NewsNo Comments

Events, Sports Travel

Rise in international paddlers for 2019 Vaka Eiva in the Cook Islands

This year’s Vaka Eiva canoe racing festival in the Cook Islands will see an increase in international paddlers taking part. The Matson Vaka Eiva - the biggest event on the Cook Islands’s sporting calendar - will take place from 22-29 November and is the 16th edition of the festival. It will feature the coveted Pacific Cup and Pacific Paddle trophies for the open women and men’s 36km race around Rarotonga. Eva Allsworth, the Matson Vaka Eiva event coordinator, said: “Preparations for the event are going well, with the number of international paddlers already up by 15-20% in comparison to last year. “We are extremely thrilled to bring the juniors ‘Oe Mapu’ event back after a three-year hiatus and will be hosting this across two days. The event has been made even more exciting as we hav...

Event focus: 2019 Scottish Golf Tourism Week, Fairmont St Andrews

25Aug

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Events, Sports Travel

Event focus: 2019 Scottish Golf Tourism Week, Fairmont St Andrews

The 4th Scottish Golf Tourism Week (SGTW) will see more than 90 golf organisations participate in the event at the five-star Fairmont resort in St Andrews. Taking place from 28 October to 1 November 2019, SGTW features familiarisation trips around Scotland, a gala dinner and more than 4,000 face-to-face meetings between industry buyers and suppliers. According to the organisers last year’s event is expected to directly contribute £19.1m worth of additional business to Scotland by 2021, and it’s expected that the 2019 edition will be even more successful. What the organisers say Tom Lovering, event organiser: “We’re hugely excited to be returning to Fairmont St Andrews. We identified that there was a gap in the market for an event such as this and, following a full evaluation, we wer...

Video: British Olympian Tom Daley films Japan travel series ahead of Tokyo 2020

24Aug

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Sports Travel

Video: British Olympian Tom Daley films Japan travel series ahead of Tokyo 2020

Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) celebrated its Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games campaign with the launch of an ongoing collaboration with British Olympic diver Tom Daley. Held at Japan House in London, JNTO hosted An audience with Tom Daley to screen some of the content created by the 25-year-old for his mini-series focusing on Japan. Daley talked through his recent experience in Japan and showcased previously unseen footage from his trip, followed by a brief Q&A. To highlight one year to go until the Games, Tom travelled to Japan from 1-8 August 2019 to film a six-part content series showcasing some of the culture and events the country has to offer ahead of Tokyo 2020, where he will be competing. The 2020 Olympics will be held in Japan’s ...

China’s winter sports industry boosted by Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

25Jul

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Events, Sports Travel

China’s winter sports industry boosted by Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games is having an immediate effect on China’s winter sports industry. An International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission meeting in July was told how there are plans to get 300 million Chinese people involved in winter sports. There has also been an increase in events and facilities. According to information published by the IOC, by the end of 2018 there were 742 ski resorts and 596 ice rinks throughout the country, with more facilities being built every year. During the 2018-2019 snow sports season, there were 4,401 district level, municipal and national level winter sports events in China, with 8.15 million people taking part. The Beijing 2022 Organising Committee said there has been an overall growth of the winter spo...

The Open 2019: 237,750 attend golf major at Royal Portrush

17Jul

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Sports Business, Sports Travel

The Open 2019: 237,750 attend golf major at Royal Portrush

The 148th Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland will see a crowd of 237,750 attend the golf major in July - a record for a championship held outside of St Andrews in Scotland. Organisers of the British golf major have announced that this year’s attendance will beat the 237,000 who went to St Andrews in 2015 and the 235,000 at Royal Birkdale in 2017. The attendance at St Andrews in 2000 - 239,000 - remains the highest with Royal Portrush now in second place. Martin Slumbers, chief executive of The R&A, said: “This is a huge week not just for The Open but for golf as well. We are making history with a record attendance for a Championship staged outside of St Andrews and the levels of excitement among fans this week have been phenomenal. “I said last year that big time sport ne...

Clipper Round the World Yacht Race partners with ATPI Sports Events

17Jul

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Sports Business, Sports Travel

Clipper Round the World Yacht Race partners with ATPI Sports Events

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has announced a sports travel partnership with ATPI Sports Events. ATPI will arrange travel for the Clipper Race staff between each stopover and also provide a dedicated travel desk for Clipper Race crew and supporters throughout the event, which starts in London in September. The biennial Clipper Round the World Yacht Race will see more than 700 international crew from 45 nations take part in one of the world’s toughest endurance challenges. The 2019-20 circumnavigation is made up of eight legs and has stopovers in 16 destinations around the world. Starting from London on 1 September 2019, the route will take the fleet of 11 stripped-out racing yachts to host ports including Punta del Este, Cape Town, Fremantle, the Whitsundays, ...

Airbnb sport report: four events in 2019 to generate $62m in host earnings

5Jul

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Sports Business, Sports Travel

Airbnb sport report: four events in 2019 to generate $62m in host earnings

An Airbnb sport impact report has revealed that major events continue to be a key driver for reservation numbers and host earnings. Since launching in 2008 the hospitality service giant has grown to more than six million listings worldwide and there have been more than 500 million guest arrivals. The contribution of sport and major events have been crucial for the company’s growth. According to data published in the study - Sports and Airbnb: A Winning Combination - 44% of hosts welcomed guests who were travelling for a sporting event. In the United Kingdom the figure rises to 54% while in the United States it increases to 55%. In 2016 80,000 guest arrivals for the Rio Olympic Games booked with an Airbnb host. While in 2018 for the Fifa World Cup finals hosts in Russia welco...

Premier League creates a buzz for international visitors to Britain

20Jun

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Sports Travel

Premier League creates a buzz for international visitors to Britain

New research from VisitBritain shows the power of the Premier League in driving inbound tourism amongst overseas football fans, with more than three-quarters of those surveyed intending to visit the UK during the next two years. Chinese football fans surveyed showed the greatest intention with 92% intending to visit the UK within the next two years followed by India, 85% and the US, 80%. VisitBritain’s International Football Research also found that the Premier League had a greater pull for tourists than the top leagues in other countries. Two-thirds, 66%, of those who had travelled to watch a football match in the UK saw a Premier League match, making it the most popular. This compared to 39% who had watched a top league match when they had travelled to watch football ...

US sports make big impact on London’s tourism industry

20Jun

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Events, Sports Travel

US sports make big impact on London’s tourism industry

American sports will be in the spotlight in London this year as more US athletes and events choose the UK capital as their second home. According to Visit London 2018 saw a record 2.6m visits to London from the US, with live sports events playing a key role in attracting tourists. Upcoming highlights include the Boston Red Sox going head to head with baseball rivals New York Yankees and US tennis icon Serena Williams aiming to win a 24th grand slam title at Wimbledon. In October and November four matches will be played in London during the NFL's 100th anniversary. Two games will take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and two at Wembley Stadium. Speaking of his experience playing in the capital, Tom Brady, the six-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback of the New England Patriots ...

UNWTO and Barça Innovation Hub launch sports tourism start-up competition

20Jun

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Sports Business, Sports Travel

UNWTO and Barça Innovation Hub launch sports tourism start-up competition

The 1st UNWTO Sports Tourism Start-up Competition has been launched by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in collaboration with the Barça Innovation Hub (BIHUB). With the support of the Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC), the initiative is designed to identify projects and innovations that can transform the sports tourism sector in the near future. Competition organisers are seeking entries from start-ups that have disruptive ideas focused on solving real needs and addressing knowledge gaps in the growing sports tourism sector. In all, 20 start-ups will be shortlisted by a panel of international experts and industry stakeholders. The panel will then select five semi-finalists who will all be invited to Barcelona to pitch their ideas to sports experts, government representatives,...