Sports ETA’s State of the Industry Report is a crucial resource that offers a comprehensive analysis of the impact of the sports-related travel industry. It is widely recognized as a leading tool for advocacy among all industry segments.
The report is produced with the valuable support of our partners at Northstar Meetings Group and is conducted every two years to track trends on key metrics, including industry direct spending, economic impact, tax revenue, and job creation.
The report also provides vital destination profile information, such as budget sizes, event dynamics, staffing, and key performance indicators. To ensure the accuracy and reliability of the report, Sports ETA also partners with the leading firm, Tourism Economics, in its development.
The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the tourism industry; however, sports-related tourism served as a catalyst for pandemic recovery. This is evident in the strong bounce-back seen in several indicators, including traveler volume, spending, and economic impact.
In 2021, the direct spending and economic figures for sports-related tourism were nearly 10% less than pre-pandemic numbers ($39.7B vs. $45.1B, respectively). However, it is worth noting that the improvement seen in the sports-related tourism industry is much steeper than that of other tourism segments.
The economic impact of sports events and tourism in the United States was $91.8B in 2021. This figure is even greater than the combined net worth of the top 17 NFL franchises, highlighting the immense value that sports-related tourism brings to the US economy, according to Forbes 2022.
The 2019 State of the Industry Report is a critical tool for understanding the state of the sports events and tourism industry before the COVID-19 pandemic. The report provides valuable insights into the industry’s growth and performance, offering a benchmark for evaluating the sector’s recovery from the pandemic’s impact. As the pandemic has caused unprecedented disruptions and challenges in the tourism industry, the 2019 report serves as a crucial reference point for understanding the industry’s pre-pandemic baseline, including its trends, challenges, and opportunities.
Use the arrows to scroll through our collection of state-level industry research and resources.
2021 State Association Budget Study
Dive into state association structures, budgets, memberships, and funding parameters.
2019 State Association Research Study
Gain insight into state associations and distribute information to better resource Sports ETA members.
In this podcast, SportsTravel Editor and Publisher Jason Gewirtz, speaks with the president and CEO of Sports ETA, Al Kidd, and Jennifer Stoll, the founder of Stoll Strategies, to talk through, not only the details of the statistics in the report, but how we can all use this information to advocate for the importance of sports-related travel and tell a more global story of why the work we do day in and day out matters.
In this podcast, SportsTravel Editor and Publisher Jason Gewirtz, the president and CEO of Sports ETA, Al Kidd, and Jennifer Stoll, the lead researcher on the project, discuss the data in the new survey and how destinations and event organizers can take advantage of the numbers that will serve as a benchmark as the industry continues its recovery.
Sports ETA is grateful to Northstar Meeting Group, our State of the Industry sponsor,
for their support in making these industry-wide resources possible.
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