This year, which kicked off with the Olympic Games in Beijing and wound up with the World Cup in Qatar, has been one for the books and it’s not even over yet. But wow – what a ride it has been so far. This issue includes sports that made the news in 2022 (along with great business information) but the real star is our award winners. What is our takeaway from those? That our industry is moving ahead. The economic impact for just those winners was $2.42 billion. Winners covered a wide range of sports, disciplines and abilities but they all enriched the communities that hosted them. There's a lot to learn, and a lot to celebrate. Get started here.
Our annual awards program, Champions of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism, is exceeding its pre-pandemic numbers. This year alone, the economic impact of all award winners was more than $2.42 billion, nearly tripling our highest number prior to the year 2020. And that’s just winners – who represent a very small fraction of the entire industry. Read on! more....