How Big Sports Events Turn Fans Into Tourists
Skift Take
Key Points
- Canadian travel businesses face potential shutdowns due to high pandemic-related debt.
- Travel brands are using major sporting events to engage customers and boost sales.
- India experienced a 166% increase in foreign tourists from January to April 2023, with expectations to reach pre-pandemic travel levels.
Summary
The article discusses the challenges faced by Canadian travel businesses due to high debt levels accrued during the pandemic, the strategy of travel brands leveraging major sports events to attract tourists, and the significant increase in foreign visitors to India in early 2023. It highlights the potential risk of business shutdowns in Canada's travel sector, the marketing advantages of sports events, and India's efforts to revive its tourism industry with a notable rise in inbound travel and revenue.
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Episode Notes
Canadian travel brands took on large amounts of debt during the pandemic to weather the Covid-induced slowdown. But with those companies still struggling due to the country’s sluggish recovery, Global Tourism Reporter Dawit Habtemariam writes Canada’s travel industry could face business shutdowns in the near future.
Tourism Industry Association of Canada CEO Beth Potter said a large number of travel companies are worried they’ll have to close up shop. A survey by the organization found nearly a third of businesses had more than $250,000 in outstanding debt. In addition, more than half of companies said they weren’t confident about making debt payments due in the next two years. Habtemariam notes a large portion of those debts are to the Canadian government, with the country’s businesses receiving loans from Ottawa to stay afloat during the pandemic.
The tourism association is calling on the government to move payment deadlines, among other requests. About 45 percent of Canadian travel businesses said they could shut down within the next three years without government help.
Next, a growing number of travel brands are turning to major sporting events to upsell and market their core services, writes Travel Experiences Reporter Selene Brophy.
Mark McLaughlin, CEO of Dublin-based ticket distribution platform Coras, said travel companies can use sporting events to increase customer engagement. McLaughlin, whose company has partnered with some of Europe’s elite soccer clubs, added that fans visiting Barcelona consider going to a game as much of a bucket list item as seeing the city’s other major attractions. He also described sporting event tickets as high volume compared to the number of trips a tour operator can sell daily.
Finally, India saw a 166 percent year-over-year increase in foreign visitors from January to April this year, writes Middle East and Asia Reporter Amrita Ghosh in Skift’s India Travel Daily.
India’s Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy said the country expects inbound travel to reach pre-pandemic levels later this year. India welcomed more than 6 million foreign tourists last year. The country’s tourism boom has also resulted in India’s revenue from the sector more than doubling in 2022 from the previous year. Indian authorities have also unveiled plans for marketing campaigns targeting international travelers.
Photo Credit: Santiago Bernabeu, the home of Real Madrid football club. Unsplash / Vienna Reyes
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