This session details our destinations journey in building a true sports tourism program for the Greenville-Pitt County, North Carolina MSA from virtually nothing to being a funded sports council in only a three-year period. This session will give attendees the opportunity to interact with their peers as time will be allowed for them to share their challenges in starting a sports tourism program. This session will be especially useful for smaller to mid-size destinations that are starting their programs from scratch as we did here in Greenville, North Carolina or that have experienced push-back from their community/elected leadership during their efforts to start a formal sports tourism program.
Key takeaways for attendees include the following:
Understand the educational process that must take place within the community to garner support for sports tourism
Learn to identify key community members and stakeholders to advocate for your organization and develop partner relationships
Identification of potential funding sources to assist with sports tourism development
How to best utilize return on investment values to augment your argument for a sports tourism program or formal sports organization.