Skift Take
Indian travelers want to experience live events. But India has a long way to go before it can fully monetize the potential of sports tourism.
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India’s sports tourism market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 17% and reach $53 billion by 2033. A new report by KPMG – ‘Harnessing India’s Sports Tourism Potential’ – looks at the challenges India faces in capturing this potential.
“The sports tourism sector, while lucrative and rapidly expanding, also poses several weaknesses and threats that need to be addressed persistently to harness its full potential,” the report said.
It listed challenges such as outdated and poor-quality infrastructure, road congestion and pollution, and over-dependence of some destinations on sports tourism. It also raised the seasonality of sporting events as an issue, and the need for heightened security at high-profile events.
To offset these, the report suggested certain measures:
Diversifying offerings by including lesser-known amateur and adventure sports to attract local or repeat visitors. That can help deal with seasonality by providing alternatives for down times. Using technologies suc