Sports Tourism Boosts Economy with Record $52.2 Billion in Direct Spending in 2023

The sports travel industry generated a record $52.2 billion in direct spending in 2023, with Americans taking a staggering 204.9 million sports event-related trips. This information was presented at the Sports ETA conference in Portland, attended by over 700 members.

According to the State of the Industry Report by Sports ETA, a sports traveler is someone who participated or attended adult or youth amateur events, collegiate sports tournaments, races, or other events. Professional sports and collegiate regular season games were excluded from the analysis.

The study was conducted by Tourism Economics and Northstar Meetings Group Sports, using data gathered from multiple sources including the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Travel Association, STR and official event attendance figures. It found that youth and amateur sporting events were the top generator of room nights in 2023, with 73.5 million room nights generated representing a 6.5% increase from 2019.

Lodging accounted for 21% of all sports-related travel spending and lodging taxes serve as a primary funding source for destination marketing organizations. According to Sports ETA President & CEO John David, sports tourism has been a significant support to the tourism industry in recent years. Additionally, over $1.5 billion was invested in building youth and amateur sports facilities from 2020-2023 and an additional $1.6 billion is expected to be completed by the end of next year.

SETA membership has grown significantly in the past two years indicating the growth of the sports travel segment which accounts for 757,600 jobs and generates $20.1 billion in total tax revenue highlighting its significant impact on local economies and communities across the country