The Camp Nou welcomes this June for the first time a rugby match
Camp Nou Stadium Barcelona
For sporting reasons tourism is a growing phenomenon. According to the Yearbook of Sports Statistics published this May in 2014 residents of Spain made travel two and a half million sports grounds and spent 474.9 million euros on them. As for tourists, average about ten million entered the country for sporting reasons and spent 11,483.8 million euros, more than a billion more than the previous year.
In this context of growing opportunity on the day that the UPF Sports Tourism Barcelona School of Management organized last June 1 in collaboration with Indescat falls. Introduce linked to tourism and sport experiences that are taking place and to acknowledge the relevance and impact of the sector were some of its main objectives. But what exactly is the sports tourism?
Carlos Murillo, professor and director of the Master in Sports Management and UPF Barcelona School of Management, explains the concept from its variants, and defined from the point of view of supply and demand. He explains that from an economic perspective is not the same ‘sport vacation “than” sports holiday “since the first case involves people who travel and take advantage of the destination for a sporting activity, while in the second trip is motivated by the sporting event, and cultural and recreational attraction of the place goes to the background.
In this sense, in the opinion of Murillo, “one of the legacies of the Olympic Games 92 has been keeping Barcelona in the calendar of the organizers of sporting events, attracting a major tourist contingent”. Therefore, to the expert, this is the main challenge of the city, “keep the brand of Barcelona linked to sport”.
Thus, the nuances between types of tourism are important because Murillo states marked difference between classical tourism and sports. In the first, the ‘core business’ or main activity is based on the service of the tourist establishment classic, ie in offering relaxation, dining and entertainment, while in the second there is an added in terms of resources and equipment for facilitate the practice of sport.
The teacher gives as examples the hotels reserved spaces for bicycles and grease and mountain establishments located at the foot of the slopes where it is allowed to enter with snow boots. A close and known case is that of El Montanyà, a hotel in which professional teams like FC Barcelona usually do training sessions before the season starts. Murillo speaks higher for professional basketball players and weight rooms and massage beds.
In his view, sports tourism is linked to a type of “respectful” tourist, especially when their “personal goal is to enjoy the sport and conditions offered by a city and territory.” However, he warns that there is also a “passive sports tourism,” referring to the large majority attracting events, such as football competitions, which can lead to less pleasant situations. On June 24, the Camp Nou will host for the first time a rugby match attracting more than 90,000 French, says Murillo. “It is an example of entertainment tourism. Once through the event, have to see how the city has turned to.
EXECUTIVE CHAUFFEUR BARCELONA 