Sports travel and tours are often the most thrilling and memorable way to follow one’s favorite sports team, and fans of soccer, football, hockey, and more may indulge in sports travel and tours and travel packages. What does this mean? It is one thing to watch a baseball or soccer game on the television or at a sports bar, and it’s a whole different world to see rugby or the Kentucky Derby in person. A sports travel package may vary in contents, but the concept is the same: sports travel and tours in style to follow one’s favorite team. These packages may be bought ahead of time online, and for popular teams and big games, earlier is usually better for arranging sports travel and tours. How big is the American sports industry today? How can someone get tickets, hotel bookings, and more for their favorite team?
American Sports Today
Americans love to watch sports and cheer on their favorite team, whether at a sports bar or in person. This makes for a big industry, where revenue for ticket sales, packages, merchandise, and more adds up fast. In fact, recent estimates suggest that by the year 2020, not far from now, this industry may grow to a net worth of $74 billion or so. Already, the North American sports industry is set to make nearly $69.4 billion, from ticket sales, media rights, sponsorship fees, and more. This is according to data available from PricewaterhouseCoopers most recent sports outlook. What kind of sports are driving this huge industry? Right now, the top five sports are, in no particular order, baseball, basketball, football, soccer, and hockey. Some of the other popular sports include golf, wrestling, martial arts, badminton, and tennis, which also attract large followings from coast to coast. Who is watching what? American football (not to be confused with soccer/football elsewhere) is most popular, with 37% of American adults saying that this is their favorite sport to watch. Baseball, a longtime staple, has experienced a decline in viewership lately, currently at a low point of 9%. College and professional sports alike gather huge followings, such as college basketball and football.
Sports Travel and Tours
It is one thing to watch soccer or basketball on the television at home, but as mentioned earlier, seeing it live is a whole different experience. Home and away games alike can be watched in person when an interested party buys tickets ahead of time, and many college students will fill up the on-campus stadium to watch a game. This can be taken a step further, however, when a person goes online well before the big game and buys a sports travel package. Buying packages like these actually isn’t much different than buying plane tickets or hotel bookings for a popular vacation spot. Earlier is better, especially if a game is going to be very popular. Some packages may include more items and perks than others, and this reflects in price. It’s a matter of personal preference.
In such a package, a person will certainly at least get their hands on tickets for the game, and there may be several tickets. Some packages might have several tickets for a small party for one game, or other packages might have tickets for one person across multiple games during a season or tournament. These packages often include peripheral items as well, such as hotel bookings and parking lot reservations, or reservations for shuttles to and from the stadium. On top of that, some packages may include memorabilia, such as bumper stickers, signs, shirts or hats, or other items celebrating the particular sports team or a specific game. All of this may be thrilling for any sports fan, and a person can go online ahead to buy these packages for themselves, or may even receive one as a birthday gift. A big sports fan is bound to be pleasantly surprised when they find tickets, hotel reservations, and more dumped in their lap, to say the least.
