The big business of sports tourism
At the end of July the Americas Cup returns to the windy waters of the Solent for the first time since that fateful day in 1851 when the yacht ‘America’ beat the best that Britain had to offer in front of Queen Victoria.
Now in the 21st century version of the cup, contestants from six countries will compete in what is known as the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series to try to gain a points advantage when the challenger series starts in Bermuda in 2017.
The winner of that series in turn will take on the might of Team Oracle USA for the cup itself. Other World Series events are planned for later this year – August in Gothenburg and then Hamilton, Bermuda in October. Up to six more are planned for 2016 including another in the Portsmouth area in July (21-24) and an additional one on Lake Michigan, Chicago.
In all the races the exciting AC45F yacht will be used, by all competitors, which is for sailing what Formula 1 cars are for motor sport. We are in for fast, over 40mph, exciting challenges that can be viewed from the shoreline and in some cases no more than 50 metres from the beam of the yachts. In 2013 the final series in San Francisco between New Zealand and America was watched by over 1 million visitors to the official public sites plus hundreds of thousands more catching a free one from the city front. In tourism terms, there can be no doubt it’s big business.
For the 35th Americas Cup kick off in Portsmouth the locals have teamed together with the yacht authorities and the Royal Navy to put on a spectacular event lasting over four days starting on 23rd July with the official opening ceremony followed by music (Spandau Ballet, and McBusted amongst them), aerial displays and a fan zone.
Over half a million visitors are expected to attend and Portsmouth City Council have organised special park and ride facilities. In addition to this around 190 countries around the world are expected to televise the series plus, of course, millions of social media views and posts.
The power of sport in tourism is difficult to overestimate and for Portsmouth (and indeed Bermuda), this is a marvellous opportunity to showcase its resurgence over the past ten years.
At the recent opening of the LandRoverBAR (Land Rover and Ben Ainslie Racing) centre in the old part of the town it was obvious that from every person within the team, the determination to #bringthecuphome is top of the priority list but not far behind is the resolve to do the area and the nation proud in maximising the benefits that this sporting event can bring.
Even though the Americas Cup was started in the Solent all those years ago Great Britain has never won it but perhaps in Bermuda in 2017, it will finally come back.
Picture Sir Ben Ainslie of Ben Ainslie Racing, the British Challenger for the 35th America’s Cup.
Diane
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports