Delaware conducted its first study on how sports tourism affects the local and state economy. (Photo from DE Turf)WILMINGTON – Sports tourism in Delaware is thriving, with a total economic impact of $403.2 million on the state last year.
In the first study of its kind, the Delaware Tourism Office released a report Friday that showed 1.1 million out-of-state visitors attended an event as a participant or spectator throughout the state in 2023.
But how the state arrived at those numbers is more than a bit confusing, and likely reflects an impact that’s well below the actual figure because of who was excluded from the total..
The survey conducted by Wayne, PA-based Tourism Economics estimated $250 million in spending that generated $403.2 million in total business sales. In addition, sports tourism also generated a $47.4 million impact on federal, state, and local government revenue in 2023, driven primarily by taxes, said Tourism Economics Associate Director Greg Pepitone.
At the report release event, Pepitone said its study of sport tourism was confined to adult and youth amateur events and collegiate tournaments. That means the study excluded professional sports, collegiate regular season games, and spending by local athletes and their families.
The study focused on sports tourism, which only includes events that are being attracted to the state by Convention and Visitor Bureaus/sports commissions/event operators, said Jessica Welch, director of the tourism office.
“UD, DSU, Blue Rocks, and Blue Coats are tenants and will continue to play in the local community” with or without those agencies’ and venues’ efforts, she said.
She said the study includes tournaments that have local participants, but local teams are excluded from the impact analysis as it focuses on the spending generated by non-local participants and spectators only.
Bill Sullivan, managing director of the Courtyard Newark at the University of Delaware, said he’s surprised the study excluded some of those prominent teams. However, he suspects it was mainly to highlight youth sports.
He said it’s more good news that the study showed such a great economic impact even without teams like the Blue Coats and Blue Rocks, who bring in visiting fans and athletes from out of state who stay at hotels and spend money at restaurants and shops.
The same can be said about out-of-state alumni of schools like the University of Delaware and Delaware State University, and about local fans who head to neighboring restaurants and retailers before or after a game.
Given the venue exclusions of the study, Sullivan thinks the economic impact of sports tourism is actually higher than the report suggests.
“I see a lot of success in this marketplace because, despite the pandemic and the economy, parents continue to travel,” he said. “They’re very loyal with their young people, and they’re looking for them to develop and become high school and college athletes, so it’s a rea
Lun. Dic 23rd, 2024
