“SPORTS EVENT AND DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT:A CASE OF FIFA AT

QATAR”

DISSERTATION

Submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of Degree of¬

MASTER OF TOURISM ADMINISTRATION

Under the supervision of

Prof. MOHD. MOHSIN KHAN

Submitted By:

MD ASAD KHAN

EN.No.GJ1479

(Roll No.16-MTA-01)

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

FACULTY OF COMMERCE,

ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY, ALIGARH

2017-18
TABLE OF CONTENT

PAGE NO.

CERTIFICATE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Chapter- 1.Introduction

(a)Review of literature

(b)Objective of the study

(c)Methodology of the study

(d) Limitation of the study

(e) Presentation of the study

Chapter-2

An overview of sport tourism for tourism development

Chapter -3

Tourism promotion through FIFA at Qatar

Chapter-4

Tourism development through sports event in context to India

Chapter -5

Conclusion and Suggestion

Bibliography
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I praise Almighty ALLAH the most beneficent and ever merciful who blessed
me with strength to complete this dissertation. I am extremely grateful and remain
indebted to my supervisor. Prof. Mohd Mohsin Khan(Chairman), faculty of commerce
for being a source of inspiration and for their constant support in the design,
implementation and evaluation of this dissertation work. I am thankful to him for their
constant constructive criticism and invaluable suggestions, which benefited me a lot
while developing the dissertation on Sports Event and Destination Development:A Case
of FIFA at QATAR.

I am indebted to Prof. S.M Inamul Haque(DEAN) department of commerce for

supporting me during my dissertation work. I am also grateful to all the teachers of the
department of commerce AMU, Aligarh for being very co-operative throughout this
dissertation work. Through this column, it would be my utmost pleasure to express my
warm thanks to them for their encouragement and co-operation without which I might not
be able to accomplish this dissertation.

I also express my gratitude to staff member for providing me the infrastructure to carry
out the dissertation and to my family who were directly and indirectly involved in
enabling me to stay committed for my work. I want to thank all who have supported me
and gave their timely guidance. Last but not least I am very grateful to all those who
helped me in one way or the other way at every stage of my work.

(MD ASAD KHAN)

 CHAPTER -1

INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION

TOURISM
DEFINED BY UNWTO

"Tourism comprises the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places

outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure,
business and other purposes."

Tourism involves the short term movement of people to destinations outside the places
where they normally live and work. It also involves the activities of people, referred to as
tourists or visitors, during their visit to these destinations and the facilities and services
patronized during their stay.

Tourism is the temporary travel of non-residents, who employ various forms of transport
to and from a destination where different impacts and benefits are involved for the
destination.

Tourism and sport are key elements of today’s culture and have a specific influence on
the behavior of society. Especially since the 1960’s sport has become a huge international
matter with large amount of media attention, money and also political interest. On the
other hand tourism remains the world’s largest industry as well as very developing and
growing. For this reason a combination between the two can be very lucrative and has a
lot of cultural influence. Sport and tourism can in different ways contribute to each others
development. The tourism industry can help evolve local sport facilities or giving
communities the opportunity to create them where that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.
Also tourism can benefit from sport because a lot of sport-activities take place during
holidays. Therefore it’s clear that greater co-operation would be very attractive to both
sectors in order to use mutual advantages. Within sport tourism the distinction between
active participation and passive spectatorship is an essential difference which should be
deliberated. As Tourism specialist states ‘Sport tourism falls into two categories, travel to
participate in sport and travel to observe sport’
SPORTS TOURISM

Sports tourism is traveling from one region, country, state, etc. to another in order to
watch a sports competition or game. While sports tourism has not always been extremely
popular, during the recent decade the amount of people attending out of area sporting
events has drastically increased. People are now traveling far and wide just to attend their
favorite events, and it is no wonder as to what has encouraged the sudden spike in
popularity. For Example people from India, China etc are going to watch FIFA 2018
Russia.

Besides the fact that normal people had now the possibility to watch sport, they also had
the opportunity to participate in sport far away from their home environment. As Weed
said ‘Sport and travel became central aspects of people’s life. For various reasons sport
and tourism were seen as important factors in life. Sport was perceived as a way of
fitness, health or achievement but nowadays it’s more a matter of pleasure and fashion.
Also the thought about holiday changed over the years. Increasingly it became an
important factor in people’s life.

The life-style choice of combined sport and travel was becoming more popular. This is
particularly outlined by two types of sport tourism: outdoor pursuits and international
mega-events .The growth of big sport events is a result of different factors which
influenced daily-life in the twentieth century in general, namely commercialization and
globalization. As a result of global development sport has become more and more
commercialized .The reason for this is the internationalization of economic activity,
growing impact of sport culture, the expansion of communication possibilities, rising
mobility of people, acceleration of international migration and global regulations of
organizations like UNWTO which are important for sport and the sport-industry

Hard and soft sport tourism

The "hard" definition of sport tourism refers to the quantity of people participating at
competitive sport events. Normally these kinds of events are the motivation that attracts
visitors to the events. Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, F1 Grand Prix and regional
events such as NASCAR Sprint Cup Series could be described as hard sports tourism.
The "soft" definition of sport tourism is when the tourist travels to participate in
recreational sporting, or signing up for leisure interests. Hiking, skiing, running and
canoeing can be described as soft sports tourism. Perhaps the most common form of soft
sports tourism involves golf in regards to destinations in Europe and the United States. A
large number of people are interested in playing some of the world's greatest and highest
ranked courses, and take great pride in checking those destinations off of their list of
places to visit.

History of Sport Tourism

The sport tourism began in ancient Athens. Sport tourism has a long history and it is
symbolic that the turn of 20th century ,, which witnessed the most substantial growth and
development of sport tourism, “the revival of the modern Olympic Games in Athens in
1896 is the most remarkable event” as the Olympic Games clearly reflect the importance
and significance of contemporary sport tourism. “The developments of sports make the
participants travel and develop sporting activities that involve travelling”. "The history of
the development of sports tourism in the twentieth century has been largely about
overcoming various constraints to enable such opportunities to be widened to involve
most people rather than just a privileged few" “Sport and tourism were seen as important
factors in modern life”. Sport which used to be regarded as a way of achieving fitness,
health is more a matter of pleasure nowadays. The opinions on holidays have also
changed over the years. Increasingly it has become an important factor in people’s life

At present large numbers of people are participants or spectators of sport. The connection
between tourism and sport does exist already a long time, but the relationship is gaining
more and more meaning nowadays. A growing awareness of people’s health is one of the
main reasons. From this trend sport and tourism can both benefit. An important aspect in
the development of sport tourism is the industrialization. What makes this so important is
the fact that from that time two clear trends can be discerned: The development of sports
requiring the participants themselves to travel and the development of sporting activity
involving travelling spectators. Related to the sport participant’s two different groups
originate at the same time. On one hand there is the group who travels to participate in
competitions and on the other hand those who travel because they can’t find their own
facilities in their surroundings. Besides the big changes which occurred over the
centuries, by far the most important era was the 20th century. Where in the beginning of
the century different forms of sport tourism where only for the middle and upper class, in
the end this would have changed dramatically. Important occurrences were for example
the diminishing of the working week. This meant more leisure time and therefore more
holiday time. Also the paid holiday time was an important happening for the development
of tourism. Although these happenings were quite significant the most important changes
were in the last quarter of this century. One thing was that people got four or five weeks
holiday per year. Also leisure time and holidays were from then onwards seen as essential
and necessary life-cycle parts which has important implications for sport tourism.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
In Qatar, tourism is a relatively new but growing sector and Qatar's tourism industry
which did not exist 10 years ago is now vigorously advertising the country as a luxurious
travel destination . The Qatar Tourism Authority 2013 Tourism Statistics Report indicates
a positive outlook of the tourism sector as in 2013 the number of visitors grew 10% from
1.2 million in 2012 to 1.32 in 2013. This growth was facilitated by the introduction of
new events and festivals as well as other tourism products. Other important tourism
related structures, activities and documents, such as the Doha Exhibition and Conference
Centre, the Hamad International Airport, and the National Tourism Sector Strategy, have
been just finalized or will be soon finalized.

Like many other areas of academic study, numbers of works have been made on the topic
of sport tourism. Especially since the beginning of the 1990’s such work has appeared
more regularly. In general we can say that most works are so-called ‘reviews’ or
‘overviews’. They are used in different forms by e.g. sport or tourism agencies, published
as articles or made out of conference keynotes. However the diversity, the biggest part of
these works are subjective overviews based on opinions of the authors itself. The
different kinds of reviews as mentioned above are basically more descriptive rather than
analyzing. As Weed said, ‘as introductions to sport tourism research they are very useful,
but as evaluation of research in the area they may often been lacking’.

Taking a general look at research in the field of sport tourism it can be seen as twofold.
The two big examined areas are sport events on the on hand, and on the other hand so-
called outdoor & adventurous activities. Furthermore some specific sports like skiing
have been researched as well. The most featured topic in the literature is about behaviors,
profiles and motivations of sport tourists. Although the number of works is reasonable,
most works are fairly basic, giving more profiles of sport tourist behaviors rather then
trying to give explanation for this behavior. Another popular item which is described
quite a lot is impacts of sport tourism, and then in particular the impacts of sport event
tourism on host-destination. There is a discussion in the field of sport tourism research
about the contribution which articles have to the body of knowledge. Often studies
published in journals or books are clear to the agencies that funded them, but have no
significant meaning to a broader understanding of sport tourism.

As said before a significant number of studies have been made in sport tourism on
behaviours, profiles and motivations of sport tourists. Although the quantity of the
researches is sufficient the quality of these studies is often lacking. The understanding of
sport tourism participation is limited. Already in 1998 Gibson identified a number of
problems related to the field of sport tourism. He stated that there is a ‘lack of integration
in the realms of policy, research and education’. Furthermore he said that ‘at a research
level, more multi-disciplinary research is needed, particularly research which builds upon
existing knowledge bases both in sport and tourism’

The overall picture of sport tourism research is that is a broadly covered area but it needs
more deepening. Not much literature tries to give answer to the questions‘why’ but gives
more a general overview.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

 To study the growth of sports tourism
 To understand the effect of sports tourism in country economy.
 To study the effect of mega events for country tourism promotion.
 To analyze sports tourism in Indian market.
Methodology
 Based on the objective of the study, the exploratory research method is used.
exploratory study is taken up when the researcher collected data through the
secondary sources.

Secondary data
 Previous works in the topics related with Sports tourism in Qatar like dissertations,
books, journals, online sources etc have been used.

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

• Shortage of time was main constraint for the study

• The limited period of study may not be detailed and full- fledged in all aspects.

• Non-availability of finance is also a major problem

• Problem of data availability related to the topic.

PRESENTATION OF THE STUDY

The entire study is divided into five chapters .The first chapter deals the “Introduction”.
The second chapter is devoted to “An overview of sports tourism for tourism
development” .The third chapter deals with “tourism promotion through fifa at qatar”.
The chapter four deals with “tourism development through sports event in context to
india” and the fifth chapter deals with “Conclusion and Suggestions” The study focused
on exploring destination development and tourism promotion through sports event.
 CHAPTER-2

AN OVERVIEW OF SPORTS TOURISM FOR

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
Sports tourism: A Fast Growing Niche in the Tourism Market
Tourism is one the fastest growing industry in the world, Nowadays most of the country
established their image as tourist destination by organizing sport events. For example
Qatar is one of the emerging nation in developing Sport tourism in the country.

The global surge in the popularity of mega sports events such as the Olympics Games and
FIFA World Cup has resulted in sports becoming the primary industry in the leisure
sector. In this context, sports have become inextricably linked to the tourism industry.
The first World Conference on Sport and Tourism, organized by the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Tourism Organization (WTO), which took
place on 22 and 23 February 2001 in Barcelona, Spain explored the linkages between
sports and tourism and highlighted that “Sport and tourism have similar objectives: to
help us draw closer to and understand other cultures and lifestyles, and to promote peace
among peoples. From that vantage point, they have brought together two complementary
worlds that seek the betterment of humans as beings who need to have relationships with
others”.

Today, the concerted action between sport and tourism sector has grown in all directions.
According to a study released in February 2018 by a US based research agency, sports is
the fastest-growing sector in the global tourism industry, estimated to be worth US$800
billion globally.

Today, tourism is the world’s number one industry while sports are regarded as the
number one industry in the leisure sector. Sports are an integral part of all culture, and
while often viewed as a separate activity, it is inextricably linked to tourism. Sports can
now be viewed as an attraction within the broader tourism industry.
Sports Tourism is emerging as a key component of tourism supply. Major tourism
destinations are developing tourism product concepts revolving around pleasure sports.
These concepts enable destinations to stand out amongst their competitors and increasing
their competitive edge in the international arena, attracting consumers who are keen on
getting in touch with nature, and interacting with the community to enjoy more healthy
and interactive holidays.

Leap for the multi-billion dollar business in sports tourism

Sports Tourism is a multi-billion dollar business, one of the fastest growing areas of the
$4.5trillion global travel and tourism industry. It has become vast international media
coverage, investment, political interest, traveling participant’s and spectators. By 2011,
travel and tourism is expected to be more than 10 percent of the global domestic product.
The economies of cities, regions and even countries around the world are increasingly
reliant on the visiting golfer and skier or the traveling football, rugby or cricket supporter.
In some countries, sport can account for as much as 25 percent of all tourism receipts.
Thus, Sports Tourism has started to earn its reputation to be a multi-million dollar
business. Trends in tourism over the last decade have shown that sports tourism is
emerging as a very significant segment of the global tourist market. While tourism
industry in the Philippines continues to grow, a significant expansion in the worldwide
sports and recreation industry has also been felt. These industries come together in the
sports tourism sector and with the emergence of niche markets as a major factor in
tourism development, the potential for growth in the sector is considerable.

Sport events
Sport tourism activities regularly add value to host communities through enhancing
community facilities, improvement of transport and communication services, increasing
visitor’s expenditure, creating provisional and stable employment, and acting as a method
of physical and social renewal. It is said that “lower levels of awareness and attendance
of the events by the host community” is a critical issue that “sport tourism has provided
significant economic impact not only because of hosting of major sports events but also
as the result of developing of sports resorts and sports attractions. The increased
marketing of sports tourism by countries, regions and communities suggests that there is
a potential for improved tourism receipts. For example the cruise industry has made the
sports celebrity an important element of sports tourism. These advancements contribute
to the positive impact of sports tourism. The importance of the sports tourism is now well
recognized and has given rise to a professional association- the sports tourism
International Council".De Knops says “Sport tourism can be passive or active “and he
adds says “two-part division of tourism states that sport tourists can be on holiday or can
travel and participate in sport for business reasons. Based on active sport tourism may fall
into ‘sports activity holidays’ in which sport is the major purpose of the tour or into
‘holiday sport activities’ in cases when attending sport events is not the main activity”.
He also adds that there are two categories of “sport activity holidays: the single-sport
movement holiday (and the multiple-sport activity holiday” Passive sport tourists can also
be grouped according to how important sport is to the purpose of their trip. Expert
observers are those who have extensive passive involvement, and are discriminating in
the sports activities they watch and venues they visit as spectators or officiators. Casual
observers are those who simply enjoy watching an event and who usually happen to be
present rather than plan their visit .
Impact of events
According to Regan “Some sports events are used as ameans to introduce tourists to a
particular area, and to generate repeat visits, either to other sports-related events and
activities or to other tourist related aspects of the destination. Hingham, suggest “Sport
tourism developments are more commonly pursued in the interests of short-term
economic returns, as the long-term strategic visions are less clear. Given that many sport
tourism events are “short-term events with long-term consequences for the cities that
stage them studies have shown that the long-term consequences for destinations hosting
sports mega-events are often negative”.

Hingham added that “small-scale sport events can have more positive impacts on host
communities. Such events include regular seasonal sporting competitions such as soccer,
rugby, ice hockey, and adventure/outdoor events such as cyclotron or skiing. These sport
events require less investment, usually operate within the infrastructure, and are more
manageable that mega sport events .

In Malaysia, sport events are not just for big cities; much benefit is gained through
amateur sporting events in small communities. For example the small-scale sport events
at Lake Kenyir bring economic benefits to being a rural community that might have
limited attractiveness .Duran, 2005, says “Barcelona was an industrial and business hub
in Spain. The organizers hoped that the Olympic Games convert Barcelona’s Manchester
into the Copacabana of the Mediterranean. As continue he adds “Barcelona is now a
major urban tourist centre in Europe offering not only the facilities of a large city but also
sand-and-sun tourism of the highest quality. It was only in 1997-1998 that the Barcelona
tourist phenomenon came into and the number of holiday-makers rose to 63% of total
visitors .

The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa is a further example of major events.South
Africa’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup in June 2010 meant more than a 30-day football
tournament even for this football-loving nation. It was about a Legacy. As stated
emphatically by Danny Jordan, CEO of South Africa’s 2010 Organizing Committee.“It’s
not about football– it’s about nation building. South Africa has been chosen to not only
stage the World Cup in 2010 but also to carry the hopes, dreams and aspirations of Africa
and especially African football. This provides a golden opportunity to change perceptions
about Africa and to influence public opinion around the globe through the 2010 FWC we
can leave a legacy of growth, unity and pride. Hosting a mega event is an immediate
boost to tourist industry. Tourists’ spending injects cash into the local economy and
stimulates the service sector long before and after the actual event. Even it is noticed that
anticipation in the months and years ahead of an event drives tourists to host cities .

The 1996 Atlanta Games can be regarded as an example of the” negative social impacts
of a mega-sporting event. A task force that investigated the social impact of the Games
found that 15,000 residents were evicted from public housing projects to make way for
Olympic accommodation. Moreover, between 1990 and 1995, 9500 units of affordable
housing were lost, and $350 million in public funds was diverted to Olympic preparation
during the same period. In addition, homeless shelters were converted into backpacker
accommodation during the Games .It is noted by Delamere say that “awareness of the
event impacts and of residents’ attitudes towards the event impacts enables the game
authorities to take actions to reduce the unwanted disruption of local community life”.

According to Kearney (2005)” regarding second-rate cities, this boost is particular

essential. For example tourism in “the sleepy town of Lillehammer increased up to 43%
in the four year preceding the 1994 Winter Olympic Getting the strategies in place early
will help ensure that the tangible benefits remain solid and strong for years to come .
Researchers have found that sport tourism could “promote peace among nations” report
on the sports tourism development policy conference held at the holiday inn hotel, 2006,
On the local level, sport tourism creates employment and work opportunities for members
of host community with cultural exchange outcomes. Sport tourism attractions are not
only for tourists but also for media attention, community side view and economic
development.

Sport tourism may have a positive impact on social health and well-being. The present
study investigates the influence of sport tourism on economic development of the host
community.“Sports tourism, if properly developed and planned with the commitment of
all stakeholders, should bring the following economic, social and community benefits”
report on the sports tourism development policy conference held at the holiday inn hotel.

• Bringing values to people

• Representing diversity

• Creating communication

• Generating physical benefits

• Providing happiness.

Social impacts
• Promotion of culture and information
• Transformation and restructuring of society

• Enhancement and development of culture

Environmental Impacts
• Promotion of the preservation of natural assets

• Awareness education by sports bodies

Social/Cultural Impacts
• Employment

• Interaction: cross cultural exchange

• Pride to local community

• Develop sport locally

• Up skilling/capacity building”

Categorizations of events
Events exist in various forms. They may differ in size, volume and impact, and they
reasons for hosting might be different, but one aspect is always is always the same, they
are of limited time duration. A particular type of event are the so-called special events.
These kinds of events are one-time or infrequently occurring events. Within the field of
sport events the focus in this research will be on big events or in literature described as
‘hallmark’ or ‘mega’ event. But what makes a mega-event ‘mega’? There is several
literature about ‘local’, ‘hallmark’ or ‘mega-events’ (Witt1988; Roche 2000).Events can
be characterized according to their scale and size.
Local events
Events with a low scale of impact are local events. Other used terms for these events are
minor events or community-based events. Most sport events held fall in this category.
Almost every town or city runs small annual sport events. They are as well of limited
time duration but held more often then special events.

Hallmark events
The second event listed in the figure above is the hallmark event. This term is used to
describe a certain type of event; nevertheless it can hold various meanings. According to
Getz (1997), hallmark events are those that posses such significance, in terms of tradition,
activeness, image or publicity that the event provides, the city, community or destination
with a competitive advantage. Ritchie defined it this way:“Major one-time or recurring
events of limited duration, developed primarily to enhance the awareness, appeal and
profitability of a tourism destination in the short and/or long term. Such events rely for
their success on uniqueness, status, or timely significance to create interest and attract
attention” An example of a hallmark sport event could be Wimbledon, the tennis
tournament in London or the Grand Prix Formula One in Monaco.

Mega events
Two main characteristics of contemporary mega-events are firstly, that they have
significant consequences for the host-city, region or nation where the event is held.
Secondly they will also attract considerable media-coverage. Therefore we can conclude
that events with less media-attention can’t be categorized as a mega-event. Especially
Roche’s definition is used a lot nowadays. He states that mega-events are best understood
as, “Large-scale cultural (including commercial and sporting) events, which have a
dramatic, mass popular appeal and international significance”

One Another author is Roberts (2004) who defines certain sport events as mega when
they are so-called discontinuous, out of the ordinary, international and simply big in
composition. Mega he means in this case, events that have the ability to transmit
promotional messages to billions of people. Examples of mega sport events are the
Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup Football.

How destinations can benefit from sport tourism

The economic impact of different sporting events is well documented and varies by the
type of sporting event, the average length of stay, and the type of sport tourist attracted to
the destination. Yet, in general, more tourists represent increased. The more sport tourists
who travel to a destination, the greater the revenues generated. In addition to direct
economic impact, the monies spent by tourists create a need for more workers who, in
turn, are likely to spend their earnings in the local community. Therefore, there are both
direct and indirect economic benefits of sport tourism. The more sport tourists who travel
to a destination, the greater the employment created.

Besides the economic benefits of sports events, broader strategies can also be aimed at
increasing awareness of the destination or improving the image of a city/destination.
Especially for those attending an event, special images, and feelings toward a city can be
formed during their visit. If positive experiences can be created during their stay in the
city, they will have a more positive image of the destination, and be more likely to
include the destination in their travel consideration set in the future. This is even truer
when event attendees are highly “involved” or interested in the sport or event, because
they are more likely to spend time processing information about the event and
destination. Even for non-sports fans points out that the general popularity of sport in our
society makes sporting events more likely to penetrate consumers’ minds than other,
more obscure themes. It is also important to note that despite varied individual attitudes
toward sport, destinations are viewed as more interesting and exciting in general for
hosting a sporting event.

Hosting a sporting event can raise the evaluation of a city as active, whether or not the
city’s current image is active or leisure, in that cities hosting events are more likely to be
view as “ambitious, progressive, and pro-active”. The more sport tourists who travel to a
destination, the more positive the image of the destination. The long-term benefits behind
promoting the attributes previously listed is that the more people who know about a
destination’s offerings and culture, the more likely it is that the destination will become
more widely known and attractive to future and return visitors. Further, these sport
tourism segments have both direct and indirect economic impact on a destination, with
the potential for long-term impact in the form of economic development of a community
through increased employment, small business development, and enhanced tax base.

The worldwide phenomenon in sports tourism

To date, sports and active recreation have become very large and successful industries
worldwide. A 1994 European Commission Report of the European Community and Sport
estimated that sports industry is responsible for 2.5 percent of world trade. Over the last
10 years, the global sports industry has seen rapid changes and innovations fuelled by a
range of driving factors such as the increase in leisure time and spending, the appetite for
spectacle and participation, new distribution methods and the deregulation of the
broadcast industry. This resulted to travel worldwide mainly for sports purposes. Sports
tourism is now a multi-billion dollar business - one of the fastest growing areas of the$4.5
trillion global travel and tourism industry. By 2011, travel and tourism is expected to be
more than ten (10) percent of the global domestic product. The economies of cities,
region sand even countries around the world are increasingly reliant on the visiting golfer
and ski error the traveling football, rugby or cricket supporter. In some countries, sport
can account for as much as 25 percent of all tourism receipts. An analysis by The Bureau
of Tourism Research recently published in Sports Tourism: an Australian Perspective
states that 6 percent of day trips and 5 per cent of overnight trips taken by Australians in
Australia, were taken with sport as the primary motivation. This corresponds to
expenditure of $1847 million by domestic sports tourists, of which $461million was spent
on day trips and the remaining $1386 million on overnight trips. In a separate study in
Australia, sports tourism sector accounts for about 55% of the total tourism market.
Across both international and domestic tourism, sports tourism in Australia account for
annual expenditure of about $3 billion per annum.

In 1998, 37% of Canada’s 73.7 million domestic trips were for sports tourism purposes.
In Canada, sport tourists are defined as individuals who traveled and in doing so
participated in or attended a sports event during the reference period. Sport tourists
account for between 2.5 and 5 million individuals from June to September, July and
August being the most popular months for sport tourist activities (15% and 18%).
(Statistics Canada - 1998Canadian Travel Survey) (Note that this does not mean that 37%
of tourism activity was sports tourism –rather which 37% of travelers traveled at least
once for sports purposes).

While sport tourism in South Africa is yet to be established, sports tourism (spectator and
participant) makes up four percent (4%) of its domestic tourism market. This appeared
following the launching of South Africa Sports Tourism (SAST) by the Ministry of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism, and the Ministry of Sport and Recreation in
October1997, after it specifically identified sports tourism as an avenue for the
development and promotion of tourism in its study.

In the case of the United States of America, the Travel Industry Association of America
found that in the past five years, 38 percent of US adults attended an organized event,
competition or tournament as a spectator or participant, while on a trip of 50 miles or
more. The British Tourist Authority and English Tourism Board claim as many as 20
percent of tourist trips are for the prime purpose of sports participation, while up to 50
percent of holidays include incidental sports participation. This level of activity is broadly
consistent with Canadian data, with the 1998 Canadian Travel Survey finding that 37% of
domestic trips that year were for sports-related purposes. Based on the 2005 Annual
Survey of Philippine Business Industry (ASPBI), sporting and other recreational
establishments generated the highest revenue amounting to Php44.7 billion or45.4 % of
the total revenue.
 CHAPTER- 3

TOURISM PROMOTION THROUGH FIFA AT QATAR

THE STATE OF QATAR
The State of Qatar, a sovereign Arab State, has recently embarked on an ambitious
sports-led venture. This has seen the state host numerous global sporting events, secure
overseas sports-related acquisitions, and fund the infrastructure of world-class sports
infrastructure.

Qatar is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Persian Gulf peninsula, which gained full
independence from the UK in 1971. An absolute monarchy, ruled by the Al-Thani family
since the mid-19th century, Qatar has a population of just over 250,000 Qatari citizens,
and an expatriate workforce of approximately 1.5 million, employed predominantly in the
construction industry. Economically, Qatar is the globe’s third largest oil producer, and
one of the wealthiest nations worldwide: in 2012, Qatar’s GDP per capita (citizens) stood
at approximately US$100,889 compared to approximately US$51,704 for the United
States (IMF 2012). 1 Much of the state’s wealth is invested overseas, with Qatari backers
obtaining large holdings in numerous international franchises, such as Barclays Bank,
Harrods, Siemens, and BlackBerry. Internally, the state’s progressive philosophy
emerged in 1995, when Shaykh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar until
2013, toppled his father from power in a peaceful coup d’état. From that point, Qatar
underwent a rapid transformation, with the goal of modernizing the country, enhancing
its international status, and improving its security and competitiveness. ‘Education City’,
for example, looks to allow Qatari citizens the competitive opportunity of a modern
‘world-class’ educational system; and the hosting of numerous conferences around
climate-change and safety adds to a state-led strategy to put Qatar on the map by raising
international awareness of its contribution towards confronting contemporary global
concerns. Global sport also plays a significant role here.

Global Sport At QATAR

Annually, the state welcomes the ATP and WTA Tennis Tournaments, and the FIM
Motor Racing Championships. Intermittently, Qatar has also looked to host/acquire
numerous sporting tournaments .

Qatar’s recent acquisition of sports tournaments

Tournament Year

West Asian Games - (hosted) 2005

Asian Games - (hosted) 2006

Asian Indoor Athletics Championships - (hosted) 2008

FIVB Club World Championships - (hosted) 2009

IAAF World Indoor Championships - (hosted) 2010

Asian Football Cup - (hosted) 2011

Arab Games - (hosted) 2011

IHF Handball World Championships – (hosted) 2015

FIG Artistic World Gymnastics Championships (hosted)2018

FIFA World Cup – (hosting) 2022

Furthermore, the Qatar Sport Investment group has been particularly active, with major
acquisitions including the London 2012 Olympic Village, European football clubs Paris
Saint-German and R.C.D. Mallorca, whilst also securing the original Qatar Foundation-
F.C. Barcelona sponsorship deal. In addition, the state widely invests in sporting leagues
and infrastructure. The Aspire complex, for example, originally designed for the 2006
Asian Games, is home to the ‘Aspire Academy of Sporting Excellence’, the Academy’s
‘Football Dreams Programme’, and ‘Aspetar’ – the only FIFA medical centre of
excellence in the Middle East. Incorporating two five-star hotels, a 50,000 seat stadium,
an Olympic swimming pool, and state-of-the-art sports science labs, the complex
attempts to add to Qatar’s desire to ‘rise as a global player through creative focus and
development of new talent infused with world class talent’ .While the Academy is
occupied with development, world-class athletes are predominantly found in the state’s
football league: the ‘Qatar Stars League’. Notable acquisitions here have included Frank
de Boar, Gabriel Batistuta, Raúl González, and Pep Guardiola. In Qatar, however,
drawing on overseas talent is commonly taken further, with the naturalization of athletes
serving as a desired route at the national level. When athletes do not qualify through
lineage, Qatar writes migrants into its national narrative through an invented association:
a re-naming according to a national blood or tribal lineage .Examples here include two-
time steeplechase world champion Saif Saaeed Shaheen – originally born‘Stephen
Cherono’ in Kenya; or the Bulgarian, Angel Popov, renamed Said Saif Asaad, who
secured one of Qatar’s two Olympic medals at the Sydney Games in 2000.

A MEGA SPORT: FIFA

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup,
the quadrennial international men's football championship contested by the national
teams of the member associations of FIFA. It is scheduled to take place in Qatar in 2022.
This will be the first World Cup ever to be held in the Arab world and the first in a
Muslim-majority country. This will be the first World Cup held entirely in geographical
Asia since the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan (the 2018 competition in
Russia featured one geographically Asian venue, Yekaterinburg). In addition the
tournament will be the last to involve 32 teams, with an increase to 48 teams scheduled
for the 2026 tournament.

This will also mark the first World Cup not to be held in May, June, or July; the
tournament is instead scheduled for late November until mid-December.

[1] It is to be played in a reduced timeframe of around 28 days, with the final being held
on 18 December 2022, which is also Qatar National Day.

[2] Accusations of corruption have been made relating to how Qatar won the right to host
the event. A FIFA internal investigation and report cleared Qatar of any wrongdoing, but
the chief investigator Michael J. Garcia has since described FIFA's report on his inquiry
as "materially incomplete and erroneous".

[3] On 27 May 2015, Swiss federal prosecutors opened an investigation into corruption
and money laundering related to the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

[4] On 7 June 2015, it was announced that Qatar would possibly no longer be eligible to
host the event, if evidence of bribery was proven. According to Domenico Scala, the head
of FIFA's Audit and Compliance Committee: "Should there be evidence that the awards
to Qatar... came only because of bought votes, then the awards could be cancelled.

[5] Qatar has faced strong criticism due to the treatment of foreign workers involved in
preparation for the World Cup, with Amnesty International referring to "forced labor"
and stating that workers have been suffering human rights abuses, despite worker welfare
standards being drafted in 2014.

France are the defending champions, after their second title in the 2018 edition.

HISTORY OF FIFA
The FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930, when FIFA, the world's football governing
body, decided to stage an international men’s football tournament under the era of FIFA
president Jules Rimet who put this idea into place. The inaugural edition, held in 1930,
was contested as a final tournament of only thirteen teams invited by the organization.
The 1930 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match contested by Uruguay and
Argentina to determine the champion of the 1930 FIFA World Cup .The final was played
at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay, on 30 July and the winner of FIFA
world cup 1930 was Uruguay.

Since then, the World Cup has experienced successive expansions and format
remodeling, with its current 32-team final tournament preceded by a two-year qualifying
process, involving over 200 teams from around the world.

Unlike Olympic football, World Cup teams are not limited to players of a certain age or
amateur status, so the competition serves more nearly as a contest between the world’s
best players. Referees are selected from lists that are submitted by all the national
associations.

The trophy cup awarded from 1930 to 1970 was the Jules Rimet Trophy, named for the
Frenchman who proposed the tournament. This cup was permanently awarded in 1970 to
then three-time winner Brazil (1958, 1962, and 1970), and a new trophy called the FIFA
World Cup was put up for competition. Many other sports have organized “World Cup”
competitions.
FIFA AT QATAR
In 2010 the Federation International de Football Association (FIFA) astounded the world
when it bestowed upon the small Persian Gulf State of Qatar the opportunity to host the
2022 World Cup finals. This decision added to Qatar’s desire to become a global centre
for sport excellence.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be the 22nd FIFA World Cup, an international football
tournament that is scheduled to take place in Qatar in 2022. It will be the first Arab
country to host the World Cup and the first time it is held in the Middle East region. The
tournament will involve 32 national teams, including that of the host nation, and will
consist of a total of 64 games, assuming the current format of the finals is maintained.
The scheduling of the event remains uncertain. Owing to the climate in Qatar, concerns
have been expressed since the bid was made about holding the event during the
traditional months for the World Cup finals of June and July. In October 2013, a task
force was commissioned to consider alternative dates. The first five proposed venues for
the World Cup were unveiled at the beginning of March 2010. The stadiums aim to
employ cooling technology capable of reducing temperatures within the stadium by up to
20 °C (36 °F), and the upper tiers of the stadiums will be disassembled after the World
Cup and donated to countries with less developed sports infrastructure. All of the five
stadium projects launched have been designed by German architect Albert Speer &
Partners. Leading football clubs in Europe wanted the world cup to take place from 28
April to 29 May rather than the typical June and July staging, due to concerns about the
heat.

The Al-Khor Stadium is planned for Al Khor, located 50 kilometres north of Doha. The
stadium will have a total capacity of 45,330, with 19,830 of the seats forming part of a
temporary modular upper tier. The Al-Wakrah Stadium, to be located in Al-Wakrah in
southern Qatar, will have a total capacity of 45,120 seats. The stadium will also contain a
temporary upper tier of 25,500 seats. The stadium will be surrounded by large solar
panels and will be decorated with Islamic art. The Al-Wakrah and Al-Khor stadiums
would have been built regardless of whether Qatar was awarded the World Cup,
according to the bid committee. However, the temporary upper-tier sections will now also
be added as Qatar has won the right to host the tournament.

For Qatar, we argue that soft power is a critical strategy for international relations, as the
state wields limited ‘hard power’. Although Qatar receives a level of attention from U.S.
foreign policy, independently, the state has a distinct lack of military or diplomatic
capabilities, despite its oil-based wealth. Nonetheless, as Qatar has recently
demonstrated, exercising a soft power strategy, within sport or elsewhere, inevitably
carries some risks; here we introduce the concept of ‘soft disempowerment’ to refer to the
other side of a soft power strategy; that is, the loss of influence, attractiveness and
prestige, in absolute or relative terms, which a state may experience in the international
context.

Qatar and Global Sport: Three Key Themes

The rationale behind Qatar’s engagement with global sport – its naturalization of migrant
athletes, and investment in sporting leagues and infrastructure - can be explained via
three overarching themes which look to address complex internal and external state
motives; in this section, we turn our attention towards uncovering the state’s objectives
through sport.

Health and Well-Being

According to the International Association for the Study of Obesity (2012a), Qatar has
some of the worst levels of obesity worldwide amongst its adult populace, as well as
some of the worst rates internationally amongst its male youth population likewise, the
International Diabetes Federation (2012) situates Qatar’s diabetes rate over twenty
percent higher than the world’s average. This critical public health issue is rooted in a
failure to confront the negative consequences of rapid socio-cultural changes. For
example, Qataris have become overly accustomed to extravagant levels of fast-food
consumption, yet exert exceptionally low levels of physical activity (Qatar National
Health Strategy 2011-2016).

Progress and Modernization

The purpose of the second theme, ‘progress and modernization’, is the attempt to debunk
specific negative, ‘oriental’s’ images that may be held about Qatar and the ‘East’ in
general at the international level. Western-based orientalist stereotypes have tended to
portray Arab peoples as irrational, unreasonable, lazy and lacking a sense of
responsibility. Hence, successful engagement with, and leadership of, global sport is seen
by Qatar as an effective mechanism for promoting better understandings of Arab and
Eastern cultures. In the broader sense, sport has the ability to confront negative images by
presenting the nation as modern, progressive and considerate. Other states, for example,
Germany, have used sport and sport mega-events to challenge successfully long-held
stereotypes (see Grix in this volume).
One way the Qataris look to portray such capability is through the carefully-managed
construction of the 2022 World Cup stadiums. Designed by the world’s leading
architects, in blending the old and the new, such stadiums act as a shrine to the state’s
progressive objectives. The Al-Wakrah stadium, designed by Aecom, for example,
attempts to weave together Qatar's past with its progressive vision for the future. Such
architecture, and others like it, acts as a ‘dramatic symbol of change’, exerting notions of
modernity and national ambition similar to additional sports-led nation/city-branding
projects: Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul, etc.

The hosting of major sport conferences is an additional sport-based soft power initiative.
The annual Doha GOALS Forum, for example, attracts world-leading athletes, industry-
professionals, academics and students from across the world; and the yearly ICSS
‘Securing Sport’ conference which accommodates over 400 of the world’s key
stakeholders from the sport and security sectors with the fundamental aspiration to
safeguard sport’s regional and international integrity.

Peace and Security

The third theme associated with Qatar’s involvement in sport centres on peace and
security. An important point here relates to the contemporary problems across the Middle
East. We were informed that one of the ‘main goals’ in securing the 2022 finals was to
target the vast majority of Westerners who lack a good understanding of the Persian Gulf.
A critical aim here is to target those who are unable to differentiate Gaza or Baghdad
from Doha or Abu Dhabi.

Associating Qatar with peaceful, safe and security-conscious notions strongly adds to one
of the state’s wider objectives: the development of a powerful tourism industry. In-fact,
according to the Q22SC, sport’s role is highly significant in the drive to extend the state’s
profile at different levels. Consequently, global sport, in raising the profile of the state, is
intended to function as a mechanism for attracting and retaining tourists in a rapidly
globalizing marketplace. Indeed, for Qatari authorities, the World Cup finals’ role in
raising awareness of the state is unrivalled: as put by the Q22SC, the acquisition of the
tournament alone has ‘catapulted us maybe 100 years in terms of profile, in terms of [the
wider world] knowing who Qatar is, in terms of knowing where Qatar is’. Reputational
Risk and ‘Soft Disempowerment’

Infrastructure Development
Qatar’s World Cup strategy includes continued infrastructure development, which will
not only enable visitors and residents to enjoy the tournament, but will provide the
foundation for future growth and national development.

Qatar has pledged to spend as much as $70 billion to build and expand a world-class
infrastructure network. Although much of Qatar’s road network was built during the past
10 years, the government has committed $20 billion to expanding the network until 2016.
These commitments include major new roads connecting the Hamad International Airport
to all cities in Qatar, and also the new motorway to neighboring Bahrain.

For the first time, Qatar is also developing a world-class rail network after Qatar
Railways Company (RAIL) and Deutsche Bahn signed a $26 billion agreement in 2009.
The agreement set out a joint venture to construct an environmentally friendly and
attractive metro network in Doha, with four lines connecting 98 stations across 300
kilometers. Depending on the need, the lines will run through tunnels, at ground level and
as an overhead railway, and will connect major locations such as Hamad International
Airport, the Lusail City urban development area, Education City and West Bay.

The agreement also set out plans for a long-distance network that will provide mobility
for passengers and freight, with links to neighboring countries Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
The long-distance network will include a 180-kilometer long high-speed line to Bahrain,
with a top speed of 350 km/h, and a 100 km passenger transport line to Saudi Arabia with
speeds of up to 200 km/h. In all, the plans call for 325 km freight transport network, with
270 km used by passenger services.
Finally, Qatar’s World Cup strategy envisions the construction of over 55,000 hotel
additional hotel rooms to manage the influx of World Cup guests.

There are already plans to double the supply of rooms in hotels and guest apartments by
2022 to cover the everyday requirements of an economy, and the government, as part of
its Qatar National Vision 2030 economic diversification policies, intends to contribute
substantial investment in excess of $17 billion in the next years. The Qatari government
has also pledged to construct 64 “team base camp” facilities, which include 32 hotels and
32 training sites to accommodate every team.

TOURISM GROWTH IN QATAR ON GLOBAL LEVEL

“Qatar’s well-paced national tourism sector strategy 2030 will steadily boost tourism
numbers over the coming decade, with the first milestone of four million visitors a year
by 2020, well on track,” said Simon Press, the ATM senior exhibition director.
“The government, hotel operators, airlines and other stakeholders are now beginning to
see a return on their investment into the country’s tourism sector. ”

Qatar among the fastest-growing destinations in the region in terms of visitor arrivals,
averaging 11.5 per cent growth over the past five years, according to the QTA. The
authority recorded arrivals of 2.18 million visitors in the first nine months of2016,
including more than one million GCC nationals.

Qatar’s Hamad International Airport saw passenger traffic jump 20 per cent in 2016,
handling some 37.3 million passengers, a rise of 7.3 million from the previous year. The
surge is partly attributed to Qatar Airways’ addition of 14 new destinations last year. The
airline has also announced the world’s longest flight by duration – a 17-plus hour route
from Auckland to Doha.

Arrivals in 2017 will also receive a boost from the cruise season, running from October
2016 to April 2017, the QTA said. It is expected up to 30 ships will dock in Doha during
the current season, generating 55,000 visitors. This could reach as many as 250,000
passengers by the 2018/19 season.

To deal with the expected demand, Qatar currently has 22,921 hotel rooms with a further
15,956 rooms under contract, representing a 69 per cent increase in total stock in the
current pipeline. However, the country posted a decline in hotel performance across all
key metrics over 2016, as overall occupancy dropped 12.2 per cent and RevPAR, or
revenue per room, fell by 18.8 per cent.

In 2015, investment in travel and tourism activity comprised 2.2 per cent of the country’s
total spending, with this expected to rise by 8.6 per year to 2026. The introduction of new
demand drivers is seen as vital to supporting the continued rise in leisure spending, which
is expected to reach 44.9bn riyals in 2026, while business travel spending is expected to
rise to 17.5bn riyals in 2026.

Experiential travel, the main theme of this year’s Arabian Travel Market (ATM), is
driving tourism growth in Qatar, as the country works towards its 2030 ambitions to
welcome 10 million visitors a year and generate US$17.8bn in tourism receipts.

According to research released ahead of ATM 2017, which takes place at Dubai World
Trade Centre April 24-27, Qatar will look to generate 5.2 per cent of its GDP through
tourism over the coming years, creating 98,000 jobs and managing an inventory of
63,000 hotel rooms.

Qatar is also set to invest up to $45bn in new developments under the national tourism
sector strategy 2030. These include $2.3bn earmarked for 2022 World Cup facilities and
$6.9bn for transport infrastructure and associated projects.
 CHAPTER-4

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SPORTS EVENT IN

CONTEXT TO INDIA
SPORTS TOURISM IN INDIA
India has seen a surge in sports tourism in recent years. According to a recently
conducted market studies, sports tourism has been growing at 10-12% in India which is a
manifestation of the ever-growing enthusiasm of India sports fan to visit a destination
with the primary objective of attending a sport event. These destinations are both
domestic and international. After organizing commonwealth games 2010 in Delhi, India
makes the presence of sports tourism industry. On successfully organized commonwealth
games 2010, India gets the more sport event to be organized in the country and it helps to
make the country goodwill and helps in growth of the tourism in the country.

Tourism development in India has passed through many phases. At Government level the
development of tourist facilities was taken up in a planned manner in 1956 coinciding
with the Second Five Year Plan. The approach has evolved from isolated planning of
single unit facilities in the Second and Third Five Year Plans. The Sixth Plan marked the
beginning of a new era when tourism began to be considered a major instrument for
social integration and economic development. But it was only after the 80’s that tourism
activity gained momentum. The Government took several significant steps. A National
Policy on tourism was announced in 1982. Later in 1988, the National Committee on
Tourism formulated a comprehensive plan for achieving a sustainable growth in tourism.
In 1992, a National Action Plan was prepared and in 1996 the National Strategy for
Promotion of Tourism was drafted. In 1997, a draft new tourism policy in tune with the
economic policies of the Government and the trends in tourism development was
published for public debate. The draft policy is now under revision. The proposed policy
recognizes the roles of Central and State governments, public sector undertakings and the
private sector in the development of tourism. The need for involvement of Panchayati Raj
institutions, local bodies, non-governmental organizations and the local youth in the
creation of tourism facilities has also been recognized. The other major development that
took place were the setting up of the India Tourism Development Corporation in 1966 to
promote India as a tourist destination and the Tourism Finance Corporation in 1989 to
finance tourism projects. Altogether, 21 Government-run Hotel Management and
Catering Technology Institutes and 14 Food Craft Institutes were also established for
imparting specialized training in hoteliering and catering.
India has always been big in the tourism industry because of its extreme diversity.
However, India’s sports tourism is also carving a niche for itself in Indian tourism
industry, attracting many adventurers to grab flights to India. Sports tourism in India is an
absolute must for all the thrill and adventure seekers. The Historical and geographical
diversities of India open up great avenues for adventure sports and activities. India is a
huge country with an extremely varied topography. Be it skiing on the great Himalayan
ranges, bicycling on the wobbly Indian roads or rafting on gushing rivers – India holidays
offers a range of opportunities to its visitors to test out their sporting skills! Not
surprisingly, cheap flights to India are increasingly becoming more popular among sports
freaks! With adequate support from relevant authorities, sports tourism in India is indeed
gaining immense prominence and popularity. People from different parts of the globe
have started looking towards India as a world class holiday destination with top of the
line sporting infrastructure. Sports tourism in India is also being encouraged by the
tourism providers in India. It means that vacations to India are sports-oriented. Travelers
book tickets on flights to India not only to enjoy some of the world’s finest attractions but
also to experience a vacation that is sports-oriented!

Tourist Attractions
India is a country known for its lavish treatment to all visitors, no matter where they
come from. Its visitor-friendly traditions, varied life styles and cultural heritage and
colorful fairs and festivals held abiding attractions for the tourists. The other attractions
include beautiful beaches, forests and wildlife and landscapes for eco-tourism, snow,
river and mountain peaks for adventure tourism, technological parks and science
museums for science tourism; centers of pilgrimage for spiritual tourism; heritage trains
and hotels for heritage tourism. Yoga, ayurveda and natural health resorts also attract
tourists. The Indian handicrafts particularly, jewelry, carpets, leather goods, ivory and
brass work are the main shopping items of foreign tourists. The estimates available
through surveys indicate that nearly forty per cent of the tourist expenditure on shopping
is spent on such items.

TOURISM GROWTH IN INDIA

Domestic tourism is as old as the Indian society. According to available statistics,
domestic tourism has grown substantially during the last one decade. It increased to 167
million in 1998 from just 64 million in 1990, thus registering a compound annual growth
of 12.8 per cent.

The growth of inbound tourism since Independence has been quite impressive. It was just
around 17 thousand in 1951. From this level it rose to2.36 million in 1998. Tourism
receipts on the other hand have grown at a phenomenal rate of 17 per cent to Rs.11,540
crore in 1998 from Rs.7.7 crore in 1951 ture which gave India a cultural stability which
lasted for thousands of years.” Such glorious traditions and rich cultural heritage of India
are linked with the develop-ment of tourism. India has an exceptionally varied climate
ranging from the extreme cold in high altitudes to the hot summers in the plains.

These climatic con-ditions, the wealth of cultural traditions extending over thousands of
years, the natural surroundings, the architectural master pieces, the music, dance, sports,
paintings, customs and languages – all these go to make India a tourists paradise.

Diversity of India
India is a land of climatic contrasts from tropics to snow. India is the second most
populous and sixth largest country in the world. Lying entirely in the northern
hemisphere, it covers an area of 37,870,000 square kilometers of different varieties of
landscape (and stretching spatially from 8.4 degrees to 37 degrees 6, north latitudes and
68 degrees 7 to 97 degrees 22 longitude). India’s 5000 years of history offers many
insights for the tourist. Compared to other Asian countries, India has more to offer
tourists for many other reasons as well. From north to south and from east to west, the
people’s languages and customs are different. There are few countries on earth with the
enormous variety that India has to offer.

India as a Mosaic of Living Traditions

India is more remarkable for it extreme diversity of Physical features. It offers everything
in rich variety – mountains and hills, valleys, highest peaks, sea beaches, landscape,
scenic beauty, movements and memorials, traditional arts and dances, fairs and festivals
and dozens of other precious things which make the country a mosaic of living traditions.
Tourism needs variety and India with its vast dimensions and diversity offers to every
class of visitor something not found elsewhere – from the snake charmer to the eternal
snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas and from the system of the folkdances to the big
game hills.

Commonwealth Games 2010— a boom to

Indian tourism
With innumerable infrastructure disasters and last minute hiccups, the Commonwealth
Games 2010 in New Delhi turned out to be a politically tumultuous event. Many major
travel agencies and tour companies in the country also decided to play it safe and backed
out from promoting the Games.

However, the Games played a vital role in creating a major chunk of long over due
infrastructure in the capital and also showcasing ‘Incredible India’ to the world. The
opening ceremony was a spectacular mélange of our diversity and culture. The Games
went off without a hitch and gave great exposure to the country. As per information from
the Immigration authorities at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport Foreign Tourist
Arrivals (FTAs) from October 1-14, 2010 (Commonwealth Games period) stood at
75,606.

Also, according to industry feedback, FTAs to India in October 2010, saw an upsurge by
9.2 per cent (about 4.87 lakh tourists), as compared to the same period last year. During a
recent tourism expo, RH Khwaja, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India,
said, “The tourism industry in India is set to grow at a higher pace. Our endeavour
remains to upgrade the infrastructure and other facilities to a world class level. We’re
expecting a growth of up to ten per cent per annum in the forthcoming year.”

Cricket World Cup Mania

While the 2010 Commonwealth Games fever has barely left India, the country is all set to
co-host another important sporting event of relatively greater popularity: the ICC Cricket
World Cup (CWC) 2011, to be held from February 17 to April 2, 2011. As the cricket
mania gathers momentum in the country with a massive cricket craze, most travel agents
and tour operators in India seem to be making the best of the opportunity by designing
packages around the tournament to change the outlook of Sports Tourism, which is still a
niche trend in the country.
The response has so far been good that most travel and tour operators foresee shortage of
tickets due to increasing demands from fans. Mayank Khandwala, President, Cutting
Edge Events Pvt Ltd said, “We recently introduced our packages surrounding the
tournament in December last year through a soft launch and the formal launch was done
on January 5, 2011. We have already received registrations and enquiries primarily from
high-end corporates and Free Individual Travellers (FITs).”

Inbound Sports Tourism in India

The Sports Tourism phenomenon has been evidenced through world wide popularity of
sports even – such as the Olympic Games and professional “Super Champion-ships”.
Present day communication networking, in terms of roads, airways, water-ways,
computerized scheduling, maintenance communication world wide – are contributing to
and stimulating the mobility of sport-interested people regardless of language, culture,
mores, beliefs or geographical location. India is a country of festivals and there a number
of places and times that are not to be missed. During festival seasons, people used to have
different type of sports activities which give fun and enjoyment. Apart from these, Indian
Peoples follow a variety of sports including field hockey, soccer and cricket. Kabbadi and
kho-kho are played throughout India. Tourists in India can also experience the traditional
ways of competition. Among all these Sports Tourism activities, a few are mentioned
below.
 a) Nehru Cup Snake Boat Race

In Kerala, one of the big events of the year is the Nehru Cup Snake Boat Race on the
back waters of Alappuzha (Allappey) which takes place on the second Saturday of
August. On that day, scores of long, low-slung dugouts with highly decorated sterns and
up to 100 rowers shaded by gleaming silk umbrellas compete for the cup. The race is
watched by thousands of spectators. No other sport in India thrills the tourists and
participants like these boat races. This mega-event motivates large scale domestic and
foreign travel.

b) Winter Sports
Sport is among the many attractions of Kashmir. Winter sports are still in their infancy in
India. One can however, skate in hill resorts and ski at Gulmarg, Kashmir and Kufri (10
miles from Simla). Sportsmen, anglers, lovers of skiing and trekking find the valley of
great interest and can spend a holiday in a houseboat. Winter sporting activities brings
many visitors and the Dal Lake house boats serve as attractive accommodation. Skiing at
the top of Mt. Apharwat, Kashmir is an interesting tourist sport. The slopes vary from
beginner to intermediate and equipment could be hired inexpensively. All lifts are
operated during the day.
c) Trekking
Treks in Kashmir are particularly popular and have been for some years. The Pahalgam to
Amarnath Cave Trek is well known not only for its superb scenery, but also for the great
religious festival that takes place in these caves. A trekking fee is charged based on the
length of the trek.

d) Golf
Golf has always been a rich man’s sport in India. Nevertheless, recent interest has caused
a “storm of activity”. Golf courses are springing up over the country. For example,
Sarvasti, a small town in Uttar Pradesh is getting a nine-hole course, since it is frequented
by “golf-crazy” Japanese tourists. The Indian Tourist Corporation is the biggest sponsor
of golf in India. With international interest in golf, have come “international standards”
and “Championship Courses” for golf – which are new catch phrases in India.

Tagging India as a Sports Tourism destination

When an international sport enthusiast comes to India, he should also experience the rich
cultural heritage of the country. Watching a round of the snake boat race in the
Backwaters of Kerala or a bullock cart race in Tamil Nadu, will provide the spectator
with diverse experience while touring the country. The Rural Olympics 2010 held in Kila
Raipur, Punjab, attracted hundreds of international tourists. It was organized by the local
Grewal Sports Club. Some tourists from England, who had come to watch the event, felt
that the Punjab government should promote it internationally.

Skiing, which is a prominent sport in New Zealand and various European countries is
also possible in North India. Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand have
world class ski slopes and skiing tournaments in these states can attract large number of
international visitors.
Another traditional sport in India which can be capitalized upon for Sports Tourism is
Polo whose origin dates back to AD 15th Century Mughal era. After the British rule in
the country, during which the sport suffered a dip, it is not only played by the royal
families and the Indian Army, but in recent years, corporate sponsorship too has been
able to make a contribution to the sport. Today, Polo is played primarily in the state of
Rajasthan and a few remote mountainous enclaves of the subcontinent, notably Gilgit,
Chitral, Ladakh and Manipur. State tourism boards and the travel trade should focus on
developing such sporting events and marketing the same as they deliver unique
experiences.
 CHAPTER-5

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

CONCLUSION

Sports and tourism industry closely related topics in the world. Tourists are participated
in sports while on their travels and spectators and athletes travel in search for competition
or in pursuit of their sporting passions. Increasing media exposure of sports events over
the last decades has raised the profile of many sports. Sports tourism is just at its
beginning stage, Sports tourism market is an important aspect of the foundation for sports
tourism development. The case of Qatar shows that a wealthy country can successfully
become a global sports hub from scratch. However, there is a need for significant changes
in Qatar to successfully use sport as a domestic and foreign policy tool. Gaining soft
power is not the result of short-term measures such as becoming the host of a specific
mega sporting event. However, the FIFA World Cup and other international sporting
events can be necessary – but not sufficient – elements in building long-term
relationships with other countries. Building such long-term relationships relies on various
measures also in other areas such as culture, education, economics and politics.

Whereas Qatar is very successful in hosting international sport events, it is facing more
difficulties in accomplishing elite sport success. Successes achieved so far were often by
people not born in Qatar. The practice of naturalization receives a very critical coverage
in the international media. The global perception would be a different case if Qatar tries
to broaden its small population base by integrating the kids of migrant workers better into
the society, including the sport sector. This action would have more credibility than
bringing foreigners to Qatar who neither speak Arabic nor live in the country. However,
such an action is not very likely since Qatar is a very closed (or as some might argue,
tribal) society. If it comes to elite sport success there is a lack of strategic planning in
Qatar. The small country is promoting many sports instead of focusing on few
disciplines. The current promotion of team sports such as football and handball
withdraws a large number of potential athletes from individual niche sports with better
prospects for success.

SUGGESTION
1- Creating awareness and people's participation in decision making process for
developing tourism products and services, maintenance of heritage tourism sites
and exposure cultural deposits.
2- Developing tourist friendly culture and strict enforcement of laws. Tourist police
may be introduced to provide assistance to tourists and conservation of heritage
sites, flora and fauna.
3- Concentrating on a few sports rather than investing in numerous professional
leagues might contribute to the development of a professional sports sector that
will also persist when Qatar’s fossil resources run out and subsidies are not
available any more.
4- There is indeed a need for proper regulations and corporate governance measures
to minimize if not eradicate corruption as interwoven and close relationships
between state actors, sport organizations and wealthy investors can make
corruption flourish.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
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• Beech, J., & Chadwick, S. (2006). The Business of Tourism

Management. Pearson Education

• A K. Bhatia International Tourism Management (2011)

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