Sport Tourism in Cyprus - Case Study Example

Running Head: Sport Tourism in Cyprus 10 Sport Tourism in Cyprus Name; Institution affiliation; Date; Sports tourism and its importance The process of sports tourism is defined as a person or a group of persons traveling outside their usual community to take part in a sporting competition either passively or actively, and sporting is the main motivating factor of this traveling. The leisure tourist element may also act as a motivational factor, but mainly sports are the main reason that this person travel. Sports tourism is an important element of tourism of a country as industry players see it as a new niche whereby sports can be combined with the tourism industry to produce a business concept for a country. During the recent years, the desire for people to travel to spectate and take part in competitions has increased, with the Cyprus government through the ministry of sports and the Cyprian tourism organization combining efforts to encourage the promotion of sports tourism in the country[Akh12]. The idea of sports tourism is wider than just hosting events and sporting occasions. The idea offers the potential for the creation of something bigger, such as opportunities for Cyprus as a country and Nicosia as a city to show the world that it can be a sporting destination where people can come and enjoy their time while also spectating for their favorite games. Elements of the business proposal concept Event Idea To increase the level of sports tourism in Cyprus and more so in the city of Nicosia, the business proposal will seek to form a business with funding from both the Ministry of sports and Cyprus tourism organization, to construct and manage the necessary infrastructure that will be able to boost tourism through sports. So far, the Cyprus has been shy to bid for big events such as UEFA finals, Euro finals, Olympics and world cup games since the infrastructure in place does not allow this[Rav10]. Purpose The proposed business idea will be an example of private-government partnership that will be seeking to promote sports tourism in Nicosia, Cyprus. The event will be hosting the Euro finals, an event that brings together all European teams as they battle for one trophy. The purpose of the business proposal is seeking ways to fuse sports and tourism in such a way that football fans who will be coming to cheer there teams will also be tourists. Proposed event title The event title will be Euro finals, pitting national teams of all countries in Europe that come together to battle it out for the ultimate trophy, the Euro Cup. This event brings a lot of fans and spectators along and could be a great way of starting the idea of sports tourism in the country. The overall title of the proposed event will be "Euro 2020; Cyprus the place to be." Who? The event brings together all the best football teams from Europe including real Spain, England, Germany, Belgium and much more. Some of the country's clubs have also participated in major tournaments across Europe in the past, and they include APOEL Nicosia, Omonia, and Olympiakos. Cyprus has a national team that also participates in these tournaments even though it has never won the cup. Where? The event will be hosted in Nicosia, the capital city of the island because of the football sports culture that exists in the city for a very long time. Many fans of soccer exist in the city of Nicosia where it boasts three champions' league clubs. For the event to be successful, the agency selected will make sure new stadiums are constructed as well as renovating the new ones to make sure that they attain international standards[Mik04]. When? The event will be organized early and will take place in the summer of 2020, so as to give ample time for the agency to build stadiums, accommodation and other necessities that are needed to facilitate such an event. This is also the time when most leagues in Europe are on the break hence the event will not interfere with the leagues. Why (there and then this one)? The city is also home to different football clubs that play in the prestigious UEFA and Europa leagues, and they include APOEL, Omonia, and Olympiakos. Football is the most popular sport in Cyprus as many people in Nicosia support the three clubs whenever they are playing. Hosting the event of UEFA champion's league final will be an honor. Possible outcome(s)? There are two main possible outcomes of the event; first, the economy of the country will be boosted through sports tourism. The business proposal between the government and the private sector will create an agency that will be responsible for developing the necessary infrastructure in order to accommodate the dreams of benefiting from the fruits of sport journalism. Secondly, the tourism sector will be boosted because the government will aim to provide the same types of excellent services when the sports tourists return for their personal vacations on the island. Through this way, the tourism sector in Cyprus will receive a major boost as tourists appreciate its sun, climate, cool temperatures as well as other attraction sites such as museums and heritage sites. Potential impact? The event has a lot of potential because of the high number of people that is expected to grace the event. People travel across Europe to witnesses their team's play it is always a major event including thousands of people. The main idea behind sport tourism is the involvement of people who travel long distances in order to cheer and support their teams as they play. Sports tourism is driven by the revenue that is gotten from the spectators as well as media broadcasting rights. Getting funds from sponsors also goes a long way in helping in the initiation and planning of the event. Such spectator events are only potential tourism activities if they attract visitors who stay overnight or travel from over 80 kilometers. The tourism potential is for out-of-town visitors to travel to the city from nearby communities to watch a specific spectator event, as they may for a regular professional sports team league game[Rav10]. Planning of the event The euro 2020 will be a big event hence it needs to be initiated and prepared early so as not to disappoint fans and footballers alike. Different considerations were put in place during the planning and execution of the event. First, the selected team assessed the types of assets that exist at the moment, such as stadiums, skilled and knowledgeable sports fans, volunteers and sponsors. There facilities even though they are not enough at the moment in terms of capacity and standards. By the year 2019, the country hopes to have invested in new and large capacity holding stadiums. Sponsors of the vent will include the government and the Cyprus tourism organization as the government agencies come together with the private sector to form a partnership. Another key factor taken in consideration during the planning period is determining what kind of sport is the community. The Cyprus community is a soccer one as evident in having three clubs that play champions league football. This shows the positivity that the event will also attract fans from the home ground. Other facilities will also be taken into consideration such as hotels, transport systems, restaurants and entertainment sports in order to make sure that the sports tourists will have a good time while visiting the country[Akh12]. The budgeting philosophy of the event Budgetary planning needs to be conservative with the revenue and also being generous with expenses at the same time. The revenues that can be realized from the event include Revenues include concession revenue, athlete fees, sponsors, government partners and fees for social and cultural events. For major events such as the World Police and Fire Games, government funding assistance is essential. Expenses include $750K sanctioning fee and professional staff. The main point and idea of budgetary planning is to make sure most of the things are either sponsored or they are accessed under minimal costs. Sport tourism in Nicosia, Cyprus; SWOT analysis SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) Conducting a SWOT analysis can be beneficial to any city or community that seeks to develop sports related tourism in its area. Nicosia strengths The city, which is the capital city of the island of Cyprus, boasts a number of strengths such as having many tourist attracting sites because it has elements of the ancient empires and kingdoms that stretch as far as the Bronze Age. The city's streets are also an attraction as they beautifully lead to the Cyprus museum, consisting Neolithic and roman time artifacts. The city's climate offers four different seasons of sport, thus being suitable for sports such as football, tennis and badminton. The city is also home to different football clubs that play in the prestigious UEFA and Europa leagues and they include APOEL, Omonia and Olympiakos. Football is the most popular sport in Cyprus as many people in Nicosia support the three clubs whenever they are playing. The natural environment in Nicosia allows the sports tourists to have a good time playing games like football, tennis and basketball. The population in Nicosia supports a wide range of sports in Cyprus thus making it the city with the highest percentage in the whole of Cyprus. The city also has many different facilities that ensure that it has the priority of hosting the events in sports. Such facilities include hotels, casinos, entertainment places, accommodation and a great climate, judging from the fact that the country is an island. Cyprus also has a great reputation of hosting great events such as the 2000 ISSF World cup final and the games of the small states of Europe help in the year 2009[Mik04]. Weakness of Nicosia The city has few corporate head offices, hence meaning that sponsorships for the sport tourism project can only come from the government sponsored agencies. Because of the low capacity of its football stadiums, (Neo GSP Stadium, with capacity of 23,400 and Makario Stadium which has a capacity of 16,000) bidding for hosting big sporting events has become a challenge. Transport around the country is also problematic with the country lacking a rail system and also poor road network. This hinders the movements of teams from one point to another. Hard data on the market segment is lacking. Indeed there is little consistent data within the sport system about the size of events and a lack of evaluative tools. Once again, the CTO is developing some of these tools, but they focus on national rather than provincial needs. Opportunities The 2009 games of the small states of Europe focused the attention of the world on Nicosia's sporting society, tourism community and business community leading up to and beyond 2010.The national framework for sport tourism is emerging through the CTO It provides a means to learn from other communities' experiences, as well as to get more direct access to national sport and tourism organizations. Business travel was severely affected by the events of September 11, 2001 and technology continues to make personal interaction less essential. But there is no electronic substitute for participation in sport events• Canada's linkages to the world, and its international standing, make BC an attractive venue for international competitions• BC's multicultural community makes hosting the world an easy task, and offers opportunities for many sports. Our image as a province with clean cities, pure water and unpolluted air enhance our reputation as a great place to compete. The funding for sport and recreation is increasing – there is opportunity to leverage this renewed investment in the provincial sport and recreation system. Volunteerism in Cyprus has increased significantly over the past few years[Rav10]. Threats BC's sport infrastructure is aging and will require significant investment if we are to compete with the world for major events. Other countries, such as Ireland, the UK, Spain, South Africa and many US cities have moved the competitive level in sport event bidding to new heights. BC and Canada could easily be left behind. Amateur sport, which offers the majority of sport competitions, gets little media coverage. The highest profile events are becoming very expensive to bid on, win and host. Deep pockets are needed, and often bid organizers require these to be government pockets, meaning that the government will be required to finance the project. A focus on the major international multi-sport events, such as the Olympics and Paralympics, obscures the value of the smaller, regional events, and those in lesser-known sports. More of the economic value of sport events must flow back to the sport sector if event organizers are going to be persuaded to continue running these events. Conclusion on the SWOT analysis of Nicosia, Cyprus Without question, however, the strengths outweigh the weaknesses, and the opportunities outweigh the threats making sport tourism a worthwhile investment for the city of Nicosia. The sporting event will show case the country and city to the world while encouraging them to visit later on vacations. This act will go a long way in ensuring that the country's tourism sector is promoted while at the same time promoting sports tourism. References Akh12: , (Mathur, 2012), Rav10: , (Verma, 2010), Mik04: , (Weed & Bull, 2004), Read More