TourismToday

The government is setting ambitious targets for sports tourism, predicting it will pump $12.3 million into the economy this year and $100 million by 2014.

Speaking at the third annual Sports Tourism Interface, David Johnson, the director general of the Ministry of Tourism, laid out the projections based on recent growth and the addition of new facilities and infrastructure.

“Three years ago we had one column in sports tourism, called expenses.  It made no business sense,” Johnson said.  “The situation has rapidly changed.  We had $10 million in revenue from sports tourism last year, and by 2014, it should be responsible for five percent of total stopovers.”

There was indeed an air of possibility and expectation at the Wyndham Nassau Resort & Crystal Palace Casino yesterday.  The conference brought together dozens of local and international representatives from a wide cross-section of athletic disciplines – all eager to find their place in the sports tourism product.

An ideal climate, close proximity to North America, and a strong sports tradition have made stakeholders confident on the niche market’s potential.

Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, the minister of tourism and aviation, threw his weight behind the figures.

A strong roster of annual events, the new 15,000-seat Thomas Robinson National Stadium and a host of smaller “under-utilized” assets throughout the country make the $100 million estimate a reasonable goal.

“We went from zero to $10 million in a couple of years,” he told Guardian Business.  “I have no quibble with it whatsoever.  I am confident it can be achieved.”

Vanderpool-Wallace highlighted the role of asset utilization.

While events such as Battle 4 Atlantis, Bahamas Speed Week, the Atlantis Crown Invitational and Marathon Bahamas tend to get the most attention, he felt the true success of sports tourism lies in the full utilization of pools, fields and facilities throughout the country.

In particular, he told Guardian Business the focus should be on amateur sports that draw large numbers of “families, friends and fans”.

“We have tremendous excess inventory.  We have the hotel rooms and we have the space.  There is more potential for wind surfing, diving, boating, track and field, swimming… the list goes on.  If you really look at the assets and then the rate of utilization, it is so slow and there are great opportunities,” Vanderpool-Wallace said.

The minister highlighted that the millions in revenue now coming into the country is an incremental spend – money that simply did not exist before.  He said he was “amazed” at the progress made in sports tourism over such a short period of time.

The niche tourism product has also served as a much-needed shot in the arm for the sector during traditionally slow periods.

In November of last year, for example, Battle 4 Atlantis, the NCAA college basketball tournament, increased the resort’s occupancy rate by an incredible 40 percent, from the mid-50s to the mid-90s.

Paradise Island registered millions in profits as families, friends and fans flocked to Nassau to take in the games.

“Sports tourism is a wonderful business,” Vanderpool-Wallace told Guardian Business. “As long as we stay focused on the business side of it, the $100 million mark is attainable.”