The Sports Tourism market is projected to expand from $1.4 Billion in 2018 to $2.9 Billion by 2028 there is a great market for growth which can benefit the Cape Girardeau region for years to come.
Many people hear the term “sports tourism” and they think of traveling to St. Louis to watch the Cardinals or Blues play. This is one type of sports tourism, “Event Tourism” but there are actually four different areas of sports tourism that communities can engage with and that can be positive for local business.
The two areas of sports tourism that are perfect for this region are “Active Sport Tourism” and “Passive Sport Tourism.”
Active – is when a person travels to actively participate in their chosen sport or activity. In Cape Girardeau we have found great success as a host site for a variety of events. Softball and Baseball tournaments at Shawnee Park bring hundreds of teams to the area throughout the summer. The Sportsplex host events year-round including volleyball and basketball tournaments that can bring in upwards of eighty teams for one competition.
Passive – is when someone travels to a community to engage in a sporting activity in a non-competitive way. This can include cyclist coming to ride the roads and trails in the area, disc golfers taking advantage of courses in our local parks, golfers visiting for one of the many great courses in the area and even hikers and kayakers taking advantage of the natural environment all around.
Continuing to invest and support ways that visitors can engage in their chosen activity can be a wonderful way to continue to build business and attract people to the region. The success we see now is just the start if we keep thinking and being a great host community, more success is sure to follow.
