As a region well reputed for showcasing its competitive streak, it’s perhaps not surprising how much emphasis the GCC has placed on the development of sports tourism.
With investment opportunities, sunny climes and a vast amount of space on which to develop, the region would seem to be the ideal location for this particular branch of tourism to grow. And grow it has with more events than ever before. F1 racing, horse-racing, golf, triathlons, rugby, and more, the Gulf has played host to them all, cementing its position even further with the appointment of the World Cup in Doha. One of the world’s most watched event, this is no mean accomplishment and will bring an incredible amount of awareness to the region. Doha as a destination has set up a variety of measures to make sports tourism a part of their core drive; Doha Goals, an organisation with a mission to create initiatives for global progress through sport, concluded at their last forum in December 2012, to process more than 300 initiatives as a result of the conference. With almost 3000 participants from 60 countries, including policy makers, government officials, heads of business, athletes, and NGOs, Richard Attias, executive chairman of Richard Attias and Associates and executive producer of Doha GOALS, summed up the event at the time:
“Today, on 12/12/12, we have witnessed the birth of a new driving force, driven by government, the private sector and by the next generation, which has announced its commitment to create change. And we will be held accountable: to the public, and to each other, to deliver that change.”
Sports tourism is valued at $600 billion and in 2010 made up 14 per cent of all travel and tourism receipts (source: Worldwide Sporting Development and Events). While it is unclear how much the region contributes to this, there is no doubt that events across the GCC are getting bigger and better with existing events increasing in popularity year on year as well as sponsorship deals bringing new events to the region or flying the regional flag worldwide.
An example of the former is the Bahrain International Circuit which opened in 2004 and hosts the annual Bahrain Grand Prix.
Jassim Al Bardooli quantifies the impact: “The Grand Prix has put the Kingdom of Bahrain on a pedestal globally. Prior to having the race, few people knew about the country. Now, Bahrain is part of an exclusive club of about 20 nations worldwide that host Formula One, which is a great honour especially for such a small country. Since the country first had the Grand Prix in 2004, we have seen a meteoric rise in visitors to the island, not just during the race weekend but throughout the year. We now welcome hundreds of thousands of foreigners annually, we are a popular destination for luxury cruises and for those looking for a true Arabian experience, and we have opened the doors to so many possibilities in all industries.”
Obviously, such events are great news for hotels and other businesses as Bert Plas, general manager of Sofitel Bahrain Zallaq Thalassa Sea & Spa reports: “It is indeed the busiest time for us being the closest hotel to the circuit and the preferred destination for most of the drivers participating in the race. Other minor events do also have some impact such as the Gulf Cup and endurance races held in Bahrain.”
The Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens has also grown from strength to strength according to Ben Faber, account director at Fast Track Middle East: “Fast Track has been working with HSBC on its sponsorship activation at the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens for the past four years where we’ve witnessed burgeoning spectator numbers, new sponsors and improved fan engagement activities.”
As with any successful development, sponsorship plays a key role and the recent statement of Emirates announcing a five-year agreement appointing the airline as a Global Partner of Formula 1, will showcase the Emirati brand at some of the most historic circuits across Europe, Australasia, North and South America.
The sports sponsorship approach seems to be effective for Etihad Airways who recently posted a net profit of $42 million in 2012 resulting in a 200 per cent increase. Their involvement includes the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Manchester City Football Club, the Harlequins Rugby Football Clun and the Abu Dhabi Golf Championships.
The benefits of such sponsorship extend beyond brand awareness, as Faber explains: “Whilst major sporting events naturally attract tourists from overseas, the business benefits are equally striking. Formula One is perhaps the best case study for this. Abu Dhabi’s staging of a Formula One Grand Prix race has seen the emirate invest in huge infrastructural projects including hotels, theme parks and much more on Yas Island. F1 is global platform for business development and the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix sees global brands and businesses converge on the UAE in November each year. Many UAE businesses have invested in and partnered with F1-related organisations and a number of long-term UAE partnerships and opportunities have resulted from the UAE’s involvement in the sport.”
With hotel guest numbers during November 2012 standing at 207,335 in Abu Dhabi, largely attributed to the capitals hosting of this event, the Tourism Cultural Authority (TCA), should be well on track to achieve their 2013 target of achieving 2.5 million hotel guests and the activities of the Tourism Cultural Authority will be one of the strategies to achieve this.
Faisal Al Sheikh, events manager at TCA explains how such events contribute to destination awareness: “Whether it is through leveraging celebrity attendees, media, advertising, FAM trips, marketing or word of mouth, we believe the staging of sporting events of this pedigree deliver exposure well beyond the race track and provide us with a compelling destination marketing platform to capitalise on all year long. In terms of the social and cultural benefits, the event is a fantastic opportunity for local and regional motorsport fans to engage with the F1 experience, interact with visitors from across the globe and celebrate the portrayal of Abu Dhabi on the world sporting stage. It is also inspirational and allows companies and organisations to leverage the F1 experience to encourage career uptake in other industries.
Hotels across the region also recognise the power of sponsorship agreements. Carl Palmlund, vice president Group Sales, outlines plans for Atlantis, The Palm: “We are the official resort of the $8 million DP World Tour Championship, Dubai in 2013 – the final event of the season-long Race to Dubai – and have been a partner since 2009.” Atlantis also signed Swedish pro-golfer Joel Sjoholm as brand ambassador for the resort on the European Tour for the next three years.
We wanted to support him to achieve his dreams, and also have him share his passion for Atlantis with his peers and followers.
“For Atlantis, the main aim in these sport sponsorships is increasing the attention of the sport and supporting to establish the sport even more in the UAE. The extra funding the sporting bodies receive from these sponsorships help grow the sporting events. It allows them to offer better attractions, celebrities and prizes,” added Palmlund.
While the region is being internationally recognised as a platform for sport and has grown significantly, part of this success is looking to the rest of the world and seeing what learnings can be taken.
Al Bardooli explains how they have been inspired by other sporting events from around the world to improve BIC: “In visiting various drag strips in the US, where the sport is huge, we have learned about the best kind of track surface that can be used for racing. As a result, we have implemented that by renovating our entire strip at BIC and laying out the quarter-mile track with a special Superflat concrete.
“Another example is our hosting of the WEC. We went to what is probably the biggest WEC event of the year, the Le Mans 24 Hours race in France, and we loved the Open Paddock atmosphere as it really made the event much more enjoyable. We wanted to do the same thing here for the Six Hours of Bahrain, and we did, and we’re pleased to say that it was a great decision as it really added to the uniqueness of the weekend,” he added.
by Karen Osman