Sports Tourism

Sports tourism involves people traveling to participate or to observe sports. These activities may include people competing in an international event, such as the Olympics, or simply sitting amongst the audience watching the World Cup match.

The British Tourism Authority claims that 20% of the tourist trips are for the prime purpose of sport participation, and 50% of the tourist trips include among other purposes sport participation.

There are various health impacts involved when looking at sports tourism. People are generally interested and motivated to play sports when participating in sports tourism. Many people all over the world travel to Hawaii to surf as it is a popular destination for big waves. The physiological impact of sports tourism can be seen in athletes who are actively involved, going overseas to compete with other people. These athletes typically have a good physique as it is naturally normal for them to want to improve and train to be better. They lead a lifestyle which centers on their health and physical well-being.

Sports allows for the mind to relax when done for recreation. People who engage in sports tourism in a non-competitive environment typically use it as an opportunity to get away and re-charge. Sports also cause the brain to secrete endorphins, which prevents stress and strengthens the body against pain. At the same time, it makes people increase their self-confidence and boosts their self-esteem.

The health risks involved in sports tourism applies to both the athletes and fans. They might train too hard to compete, risking injuries. Also, one needs time to adapt to another country and this may sometimes be difficult, sometimes even causing sickness (for example, jet lag). Similarly, because of the internal time difference, fans all over the world purposely stay up to watch games, and this leads to an irregular sleeping pattern. Cases of fans falling ill during these periods are common, with increased consumption of junk food combined with late nights.

The environmental impacts of sports tourism is classified as negative impacts. It consists of pollution and depletion. In this case, it refers to depletion of resources. For a sports events to be held (which is the main reason for sports tourism), many resources are required.

Pollution can occur in terms of air, land, water and sound. Air pollution happens basically due to the emission of harmful gases from vehicles. For example during major world games such as the Olympics and World Cup, there will be more vehicles than usual thus increasing the amount of air pollution. Sound pollution occurs due to the noise made by the spectators. As for land pollution, it usually occurs in natural habitats. For instance, sports like mountain climbing pollute the land as the equipments use can destroy the natural surroundings. Apart from that, littering caused by the masses also contribute to land pollution.

Among the sociocultural impacts of sports tourism are land use, cultural exchanges, preservation of traditions, national identity, and, unfortunately, violence. The use of land is necessary to sports tourism. Sports take up space. Some of these sports may even require facilities to be specially built. For instance, golf will definitely require land to be allocated to build its course. Singaporeans, who want to experience golf in a bigger and more fulfilling golf course, may seek to travel to nearby Malaysia instead, and this is a form of land use for Malaysia resulting from sports tourism.

It is certain that cultural exchanges will take place whenever people of different cultural backgrounds meet. Sports tourists will nevertheless learn about the culture of the country they visit when they arrive at their destination, although their main purpose of travel is to participant in sports, or to observe sports (but not for cultural purposes).

Once-dying traditions can also be ‘revived’ through sports tourism. The need to display these traditions to tourists will bring these traditions ‘back to life’. Showcasing traditional food, traditional costumes, culture and ethnics will not only enrich these sports tourists’ experience to the country, but also help preserve the traditions, instead of letting them gradually disappear from this world.

Violence usually occurs among the spectators who are unsatisfied with the announced results. The spectators/audiences usually from the losing side will create fights with the other side. Violence is one of the negative impacts that can arise from sports tourism. It is an unhealthy scene as this can sour the relationship between two counterparts. Violence in sports tourism does not only happen among countries, but also within one country itself.

The national pride and prestige one feels when a mega event is held in his country is perpetual. It is a proud feeling to know that your country is able to hold an international event, because it will be broadcast worldwide, and therefore known to the rest of the world.

In Germany "national pride" ("Nationalstolz") is often associated with the former Nazi regime. Strong displays of national pride are therefore considered poor taste by many Germans. There is an ongoing public debate about the issue of German patriotism. The World Cup in 2006, held in Germany, saw a wave of patriotism sweep the country in a manner not seen for many years. Although many were hesitant to show such blatant support as the hanging of the national flag from windows, as the team progressed through the tournament, so too did the level of support across the nation. By the time the semi-final against Italy came around, the level of national pride and unity was at its highest throughout the tournament, and the hosting of the World Cup is seen to have been a great success for Germany as a nation.

Water tourism (also known as a boating holiday) is traveling by boat while on holiday, with the express purpose of seeing things meant for the water tourist. This can be traveling from luxury port to luxury port, but also landing a boat for lunch or other day recreation at specially prepared day boat-landings.

Wildlife tourism can be an eco and animal friendly tourism in both captive and wild environments. It has experienced a dramatic and rapid growth in recent years worldwide. Wildlife tourism, in its simplest sense, is watching wild animals in their natural habitat.

Wildlife tourism is also a multi-million dollar industry offering customized tour packages and safaris.

A safari is an overland journey. It usually refers to a trip by tourists to Africa, traditionally for a big-game hunt; today the term often refers to a trip taken not for the purposes of hunting, but to observe and photograph big game and other wildlife. There is a certain theme or style associated with the word, which includes khaki clothing, belted bush jackets, pith helmets or slouch hats, and animal skins — like leopard's skin.

Entering the English language in the late 19th century, the word safari means "long journey" in Swahili. Originally from the Arabic سفرة (safra) meaning a journey. The verb for "to travel" in Swahili is "kusafiri", the noun for the journey is "safari". These words are used for any type of journey, e.g. by bus from Nairobi to Mombasa. The person generally attributed to having used the word in English is Sir Richard Francis Burton, the famous explorer.

Although the word safari came to popular usage in reference to hunting and touring expeditions in East Africa, it is now also used to mean watching and photographing wildlife in all parts of Africa. The term has also spread to cover other adventurous journeys and expeditions, including whale watching safaris, Arctic safaris, Amazon safaris, eco-safari, etc.

The most well known safari areas in Africa include The Masai Mara and Serengeti in East Africa, Kruger National Park in South Africa, Etosha in Namibia, and The Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park in Botswana.

A big-game hunter is a person engaged in hunting for large animals for trophies or game. The pursuit of the major objective might place the hunter at risk of personal harm. Potential big-game sought include, but are not limited to, bears, big cats, boars, elephants, buffalo, kudu, antelope, rhinoceros, hartebeest, moose, elk, and deer. Big game hunters hunt in places such as New Zealand, British Columbia, Montana, Ethiopia, Zambia and other parts of Africa. The weapons they use include, but are not limited to, rifles, shotguns, crossbows, and some types of handguns.

Wine tourism refers to tourism whose purpose is or includes the tasting, consumption or purchase of wine, often at or near the source. Wine tourism can consist of visits to wineries, vineyards and restaurants known to offer unique vintages, as well as organized wine tours, wine festivals or other special events.

Many wine regions around the world have found it financially beneficial to promote such tourism; accordingly, growers associations and others in the hospitality industry in wine regions have spent significant amounts of money over the years to promote such tourism. This is true not only to "Old World" producers (such as Spain, Portugal, France or Italy), but also for the so-called "New World wine" regions (such as Australia, Argentina, Chile, United States or South Africa), where wine tourism plays an important role in advertising their products. In Argentina, for example, the Mendoza Province is becoming one of the tourist destinations in the country as Argentine wine strides to gain international recognition. Similarly, the National Wine Centre of Australia showcases the Australian wine industry, and visitors from around the world visit Northern California's Wine Country.

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