After being postponed in May last year, it has now been confirmed that the World Sports Tourism Congress is rescheduled for 25-26 November 2021. Organised by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Catalan Tourist Board (Agència Catalana de Turisme), the event will be held in Lloret de Mar, Catalonia, Spain.
In a statement on its website, the UNWTO said: “Sports tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in tourism. More and more tourists are interested in sport activities during their trips whether sports are the main objective of travel or not. Sport events of various kinds and sizes attract tourists as participants or spectators and destinations try to add local flavours to them to distinguish themselves and provide authentic local experiences. Sports events can be a catalyst for tourism development if successfully leveraged in terms of destination branding, infrastructure development and other economic and social benefits.
“Within the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, this congress seeks to explore the relationship between sports tourism and sustainable and inclusive development and how sports tourism can serve as a tool for tourism dispersal, differentiation and deseasonalisation. In line with this, the congress will challenge all participants to further explore these topics and discuss innovation and current and future trends in the sector, as well as successful governance and private sector strategies.”
Major topics for the event include:
- Sports Tourism and its contribution to Sustainable Development Agenda 2030
- Innovation in the development of Sports Tourism: Stadiums, Olympic Games and Mass Outdoor sports
- Successful destination governance and public-private strategies in Sports Tourism
- Sports technologies, eSports and Digital Transformation of Sports Tourism
About the event: World Sports Tourism Congress
- Organisers: UNWTO and the Catalan Tourist Board
- When: 25-26 November 2021
- Where: Lloret de Mar, Catalonia, Spain
- More details: worldsportstourismcongress.org and unwto.org
Main image: UNWTO