Sports Tourism
Sports Tourism
SPORTS TOURISM
Mailing address: Marina Gozalova, Moscow State University of Tourism and Service, Department of Foreign
Language, 99 Glavnaya Street, Pushkin district, item Cherkizovo, 141220 Moscow,
tel.: +7 926 2648708, fax: +7 495 9933317, e-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Introduction. This article is devoted to sports tourism. The purpose of this article is to examine theoretical material on
sports tourism, to analyze sports tourism in Russia and to search for promising areas for the study of sports tourism in our
country. Material and methods. In this part the authors develop the idea of the role of doing sports and keeping fit.
For anyone who really wants to be healthy, fitness has become an integral part of their lives. Results. The purpose of this
research is to study theoretical material on sports tourism, to analyze sports tourism in Russia and to search for promising
areas for the study of sports tourism in our country. On the basis of their research the authors come to the conclusion that
sports and tourism are interconnected. There are important factors affecting the situation of sports tourism in Russia.
The paper examines sports tourism attractions in Russia. Conclusion. The authors conclude that there exists a high corre-
lation dependence of foreign and domestic development of sports tourism on resources allocated for sports infrastructure.
All in all, sports tourism tours draw visitors to their favorite sporting event, facility, or destination throughout the world.
Key words: tourism, good health, sport, healthy living, sports tourism
Introduction And they really travel a lot. Traveling is the favorite occupation
of almost everyone. We are taught by historians that many thou-
Certain sharp-witted people are fond of saying that what sand years ago our ancestors traveled from one place to another
they really love is the universe. The whole world turns out to be because they were seeking excitement. Perhaps the historians
far more wonderful, and even far more interesting, than they are right. Obviously people moved from one place to another
expected. It is the universe itself which should be valued above because they hated the idea of sitting in the same place. In fact
all. So people should enjoy living in this wonderful world. Sci- they were fond of traveling. They liked gaining new impressions
entists say that in the future people will live longer. With health- of the surrounding world, which was so beautiful that they did
ier lifestyles and better medical care the average person will live not take all the dangers into account. Hunting, fishing, picking
to 90 or 100 instead of 70 and 75 like today. Incurable diseases berries and fruit appeared later than traveling. People killed
will be cured. But that is tomorrow. And today? We are always wild animals when they were very hungry or when the ani-
in a hurry. We have no time to enjoy ourselves. We all know that mals showed that they were hungry and people were forced
the healthier we are, the better we feel. The better we feel, the to kill them to protect themselves. The fitness boom of the past
longer we live. So why not take care of ourselves? Unfortunately decades has led to a big rise in the number of people partici-
a lot of people are not fit nowadays. It is a big problem today. pating in sports and other physical activities. A healthy body
If you want to feel fit you should take up one kind of sport or becomes fashionable, an ideal of the life of today. Those who
another. pursue the latest fitness trends are convinced that staying
in good physical form requires much more than regular exercise
and balanced meals. For anyone who really wants to be healthy,
Material and methods fitness has become an integral part of their lives. There are many
opportunities for keeping fit. First of all, it is necessary to ex-
Sport is probably as old as humanity itself. It has developed ercise. People of different ages can design exercises that suit
alongside the development and growth of mankind. We can them. Running, jumping, swimming, bending and stretching
hardly overestimate the meaning of sport in our lives and day- are among the most popular exercises. Many people prefer jog-
to-day activities, because its main purpose is to bring up a har- ging, which is the cheapest and most accessible sport. Walking
moniously developed generation – a generation of strong and is a very popular activity too.
healthy people. Sport makes our bodies strong, quickens our Even moderate physical activity can protect against heart
reactions, and shapes the wits. It also prevents us from getting disease and strokes as well as improve general health and qual-
too fat, gives us valuable practice in making our eyes, brains and ity of life [1]. Everyone can benefit from being a little more
muscles work together and makes us more self-organized and active. Making small changes like using the stairs instead of the
better disciplined. lift or walking or cycling instead of taking the bus can help
For some people there is nothing so exciting as traveling. people lead a more active, healthier and enjoyable life.
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93 Pol. J. Sport Tourism 2014, 21, 92-96 Gozalova et al.: SPORTS TOURISM
But nowadays people travel for different reasons [2]. They comes for residents in communities when sharing and preserv-
travel to see other countries and continents, modern cities ing their culture and natural environment could be seen as con-
and the ruins of ancient towns, they travel to enjoy picturesque flicting goals. In this paper we will briefly try to establish the
places, or just for a change of scenery, to relax or do business. significance of the relationship between sport and tourism and
Regardless of the motive, all means of travel have their advan- discuss how sports tourism might be conceptualized and un-
tages and disadvantages. And people choose according to their derstood. Research in the field of sports tourism has burgeoned
plans and destinations. Never before in the history of the world over the last 15 years. The focus of these early works was on
have businessmen traveled as much as they do today. It is not advocacy, attempting to establish sports tourism as a legitimate
surprising because we are living in a world of growing interna- field of study with a potentially significant range of effects.
tional trade and expanding economic and technical coopera- Sports tourism is an independent and socially-oriented field,
tion. Though it is fascinating for the traveling tourist, it has be- and a lifestyle that is shared by a considerable percentage of so-
come the most tiring of all occupations for many businessmen ciety. It is an effective means of furthering the spiritual and
and experts. But business trips are very important because face physical development of the individual.
to face meetings are more valuable and profitable for business The purpose of this article is to study theoretical material
than any other type of strategy. On a business trip people might on sports tourism, to analyze sports tourism in Russia and to
meet colleagues and business partners for the first time. Often, search for promising areas for the study of sports tourism in our
colleagues from different countries experience cultural difficul- country.
ties, that is, they are surprised by what strike them as strange There are some articles relating to sport and tourism
social conventions in a new place. Different cultures do things which, while remaining largely descriptive, outlined the range
differently. Management styles also differ from country to coun- of economic, socio-cultural, environmental and health effects
try. It is often useful, when doing business in a foreign land, of sports tourism. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a range
to get some advice from a special agency which consults on of authors carried out more detailed examinations of the sports
questions of international business. tourism field in relation to policy, destination, development,
But are there any practical rules for healthy living and seasonality, participation patterns, economic impacts and spec-
traveling? There are hardly any rules. The formula for healthy tators [4]. The existence of these works demonstrates academic
living and traveling cannot be put into words – it can only be interest in the area, while their content clearly establishes
practiced. sports tourism as a real and significant phenomenon in contem-
Many people say: if you want to see a place, go on foot. And it porary society. In recent years the field of sports tourism has
is no wonder. The walker leaves the dull, broad highway and clearly grown, alongside developments in outdoor and adven-
follows little winding lanes where cars cannot go. He takes ture tourism, skiing and winter sports.
mountain paths through the heather, he wanders alongside Implicit in this research is the recognition that sports
quiet lakes and through shaded woods. He sees the real country tourism is a significant cultural, social and economic phenome-
– the wildflowers, the young birds in their nests, the deer in the non. There have been a number of attempts to define sports
forest; he feels the quietness and calm of nature. And besides, tourism. We define sports tourism as all forms of active and
you save a lot of money by traveling on foot. No one can deny passive involvement in sporting activity, participated in ca-
that walking is the cheapest method of traveling. sually or in an organized way for non-commercial or commer-
People all over the world are very fond of sports and games. cial reasons and necessitating travel away from home. Sports
That is one of the things which unite people of every nationality tourism simply identifies tourism activities involving sports.
and class. It goes without saying that while traveling people It is the simple combination of both sport and tourism.
have to stay somewhere. So hotels nowadays play a big role. Sport can be seen as involving some form of activity, be it
Each year more and more new hotels are opened. Sometimes it formal or informal, competitive or recreational, active or pas-
is even difficult to decide which to choose while traveling. sive. Furthermore, sport also involves people as competitors
There are luxury hotels, which seem expensive, B&B hotels, and/or participants. Passive participants are spectators and ac-
where you get only breakfasts and a place to sleep, youth hos- tive participants are competitors. Also, there are activities that
tels, where you have to serve yourself and many other places are sometimes participated in alone, e.g. mountaineering and
to stay. Some people enjoy staying in a hotel, where all the nec- running.
essary sport facilities are provided for them. Similarly, tourism involves people, as co-travelers and/or
hosts. It is rare for a tourist to complete a trip without encoun-
tering other travelers. Tourism also involves visiting places
Results outside of the tourist's usual environment. There is, of course,
a travel element, but this is either an instrumental factor con-
Therefore, it can be concluded that sports and travel have nected with arriving at an unusual place, or the travel takes
become an integral part of modern society. Regardless of peo- place in or through unusual places.
ple's reasons for traveling – for business or pleasure – they pre- Considering the interaction of these features of sport and
fer to combine their trips with recreational activities, i.e. sports. tourism, sports tourism could be understood as a unique inter-
150 people from different walks of life: businessmen, students, action of activity, people and place. Consequently, the defini-
young families with children and the elderly were interviewed. tion used in this article is as follows: sports tourism is a social,
It was found that 90% of respondents prefer active leisure and economic and cultural phenomenon arising from the unique
only 10% (families with children) prefer passive recreation. interaction of activity, people and place.
Tourism is the world's largest and fastest growing industry There are several types of sports tourism: tourism with
[3]. In recent years there have been increases in international sports content, sports participation tourism, sports training and
tourism for the purpose of experiencing another culture. There sporting events. In considering the features of these sports
is a wide-spread opinion that the economic impact of tourism tourism types, perhaps the most obvious feature is that sports
is always positive while the social and environmental impact tourism may involve multi-sport or single-sport participation.
is always negative. Indeed, increases in regional incomes due Each of the sports tourism types discussed here may also
to tourism are readily identifiable, as are numerous host-tourist involve both active and passive participation. Many sports
conflicts and destruction of the environment and local cultures. spectators consider themselves to be much more than passive
However, tourism can have both positive and negative out- participants, although they do not actively take part in the sport
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itself. Such spectators feel that they are interacting with the increased in recent years. Fantasy sport camps have been espe-
active participants and, as such, might be described as experi- cially successful in capturing the adult market.
encing the sport through the participants. But some active par- The sports tourism cruise category includes all boat-related
ticipants are really very active. They prefer speed, excitement, trips that have sports or sporting activities as their principal
danger. They find all of these in the different extreme sports that marketing strategy. Many ships built today resemble hotels and
have become popular in the past 10 years. Take bungee jumping resorts and have unique sports installations. They also utilize
or skysurfing, for example. guest sports celebrities as a marketing tool. To further satisfy the
Winter sports have always had an element of danger [3], for sport tourist, cruise ships often arrange special transportation
example snowboarding, which has all the excitement of surfing to provide guests opportunities for golf, tennis, snorkeling, wa-
but is even more dangerous than skiing. Probably the most dan- terskiing, etc., in unique and varied water environments. Other
gerous of all the new winter sports is snow rafting, while ice planned activities include onboard sports competitions and/or
diving is only for those who are absolutely crazy. Of course, modified games (e.g. a golf driving range on deck), and special
water sports have always been fun. presentations or clinics from invited sport celebrities. Cruise-
The features described above are: multi-sport, single-sport, and-drive programs also exist, whereby tourists board private
and active participation, which may be a feature of every type vehicles and are taken to desired sports destinations. Private
of sports tourism. Sporting events may be either multi-sport, yachts that sail directly to the sports destination of choice can
e.g. the Olympic Games, or single-sport, e.g. the FIFA World also be chartered. The use of watercraft for sporting activities
Cup. They may be active for participants and passive for specta- (e.g. recreational and competitive sailing, jet skiing) is another
tors. Sports tourism is associated with travel to various sporting important dimension in this category.
events. The popularity of this type of tourism is growing. It al- Sports tours may include visits to sport museums and stadi-
lows participants to engage in selected sports (skiing, swim- ums as well as events or games in multiple locations lasting
ming, sports fishing, hunting, etc.). anywhere from one to two weeks. Some sports tour compa-
Sports tourism involves travel to sporting events in different nies cater to common interest groups, while others specialize
countries and regions. It can be further divided into profes- in corporate incentive programs, educational tours to a specific
sional and amateur tourism. conference or location, or outdoor adventure challenges. The
Broadly defined, sports tourism includes travel away from sports tourism event category refers to those sports activities
one's primary residence to participate in a sports activity for that attract a sizable number of visiting participants and/or
recreation or competition, travel to observe sports at the grass- spectators. Visitor types vary depending on the sporting event,
roots or elite level, and travel to visit a sports attraction such as as some events are obviously more spectator-driven than oth-
a sports hall of fame or water park. Sport, in itself, is defined ers.
in various ways and from different perspectives. Sport and ac- Our research has led us to conclude with absolute certainty
tive recreation have become very large and successful indus- that a combination of sports and tourism is the best way to keep
tries worldwide. fit. There is always a kind of sport which will suit you, and there
Given the trends emerging in both the tourism and sports are many different kinds to choose from. If you like team games,
sectors, it is not surprising that significant growth is also oc- try hockey, football, volleyball or basketball. Games you can
curring in travel for sports related purposes. In fact, this growth play with a friend include badminton and tennis. And if you
is also linked to another trend: that of traveling for specific enjoy doing things on your own, you might take up swimming,
purposes, of which sporting activity is one. golf or athletics. We believe that everyone should do every-
Sports tourism attractions are destinations that provide the thing they can to be healthy. Good health is better than the best
tourist with things to see and do related to sport. Attractions can medicine. Physical exercise is very useful for making our bodies
be natural (parks, mountains, wildlife) or manmade (museums, strong and keeping us fit and healthy.
stadiums, stores). General characteristics represented in this Having examined the various types of sports tourism, we
core area of sports tourism include visits to: will now analyze the situation of sports tourism in the regions,
- state-of-the-art sports facilities and/or unique sports fa- towns and major cities of Russia.
cilities that generally house sporting events, such as sta- Sports tourism entered the 21st century as a relatively new
diums, arenas and domes; but steadily growing part of the economy, one that exerts a pro-
- sports museums and hall/walls of fame dedicated to found influence on the socio-economic development of our
sports heritage and to honoring sports heroes and lead- country. Not long ago, Russian sports tourism was still devel-
ers; oping, and Russia as a country held a very small share of the
- sport theme parks including water parks, summer ski world tourism market. Tourists entering Russia accounted for
jumps, bungee jumping; about 5% of world tourist traffic. This is a low figure, given that
- hiking trails developed for exploring nature; the cultural-historical and natural potential of Russia is much
- sports retail stores. higher than that of many countries with traditionally high
Sports tourism resorts are well-planned and integrated tourist traffic.
resort complexes with sports or health as their primary focus Consequently, the Russian tourism industry was faced with
and marketing strategy. In many situations, these vacation the problem of finding a method for building an effective man-
centers offer high-quality facilities and services to the sport agement system that would strengthen the market position of
tourist. each Russian organization dedicated to serving tourists, and
Sports camps are hosted at resorts, universities and in the thus contribute to developing the tourist trade as a whole and
wilderness, and offer organized, intensive training sessions to integrating Russia into the world tourism industry.
in just about every sport imaginable. There are camps for tra- Russia's big cities have all had numerous opportunities
ditional sports such as baseball, basketball, golf, soccer, tennis, to develop sports tourism, which cannot be said of the country's
volleyball, figure skating, swimming, gymnastics, hockey and regions. But today we see how quickly sports tourism developed
sailing, as well as more adventurous camps that lead partici- in the regions – so quickly in fact that our regions have been
pants down white-water rapids, over rugged canyons, or off recognized by the WTO (World Tourism Organization).
steep cliffs (hiking, biking, paddling, horseback riding or climb- Therefore, we would like to consider the tourism industry
ing). Although sports camps are commonly considered an activ- of the Russian Federation today as one of the most promising
ity for young people, the number of family and adult camps has sectors of our economy, with the Krasnodar region serving as an
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