"Sports tourism generates new business models"
Sport is one of the engines of Barcelona's economy. Not only does the city offer top-quality sporting facilities and venues, it is also the gateway to natural environments for sport (sea, mountains, parks and ski resorts) and has an extensive network of associations and businesses that are recognized worldwide.
21-02-2020 | Barcelona Sports
Oriol Serra
INDESCAT clúster manager
This is the assessment of Oriol Serra, cluster manager at INDESCAT, a group representing more than 80 businesses that offer products and services to the sports market, a sector that accounts for nearly 2% of Catalonia’s GDP and provides employment for 23,800 people. According to Serra the value chain of active tourism “is extremely broad and encourages the practice of sport throughout the province”. He underlines the fact that “sports tourism is generating new business models which, in many cases, don’t require major investment”. Digitization and new technologies, with the hyper-segmentation allowed by social networks, are key. Ticketing and ecommerce tools make it easier to sell to any country and reach every possible target group.
An increasing number of travellers are seeking to combine their physical well- being with their experience of the destination, and sport is the “perfect answer” to this joint demand. 2020 is the Year of Sports Tourism and the initiative will help us study the economic impact of this phenomenon. Barcelona is playing in the major league with quality events that attract visitors from around the world. More than half the participants in the Zurich Marató Barcelona come from abroad, travel with other people and spend more than one night in the city.
There are visitors with a high purchasing power who spend large amounts when they come to see a Barcelona game or a competition at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The city also attracts middle-class families and groups who stay in three- and four-star hotels and do sport or attend the many sporting events held in Barcelona. Activities in the natural environment, including hiking, climbing, scuba diving, sailing, golfing, mountain biking and bike touring are just a few examples. Barcelona is often a “key bridge” for people wanting to go bike touring in Girona.