Sports tourism is defined as all forms of active or inactive participation in a sports activity which are done either in an informal way or are coordinated with commercial or non-commercial purposes and which require travelling to the venue. Sometimes the integration of sports and adventure goals has affected the proper understanding of this market.
Sports tourism is generally divided into the following three types:
-Active sports tourism in which tourists actively take part in a sports activity.
-Sports Events sports tourism in which tourists watch a sports event.
-Nostalgic sports tourism in which tourists travel to a special stadium or sport figures memorial.
In many countries of the world, the required attractions for the nostalgic sports tourism are not in place. This is also true for the sports events sports tourism which is reliant on the overall policies of the host country, global considerations as well as the competitors' features. Therefore, these two types will generally fit into the general branch of tourism with special interests; active sports tourism is usually considered by the drafters of management plans for faster development of the market with special interests.
For decades, this branch of the sports tourism has been at the center of attraction mainly because it resulted in the reputation of the region in which sports camps were set, and many cities in Europe especially some regions in Germany, Switzerland and France have always been popular places for such camps.
These centers are popular for the following reasons:
-Brilliant services in sports medicine
-Several world-class facilities for sports activities
-Having the necessary expertise in the management of camps
-Having special geographical features
-The required infrastructures such as easy access and good transportation network both inside and outside cities for reducing the time wasted between the accommodation and sports facilities.
-Appropriate natural potentials for certain sports
-Quality and Quantity of Camping areas.
- Appropriate weather and healthy food
The sports camps can also be divided into the following ………
- Pre-event camps, pre- and post-sports seasons camps, professional coaching camps, medical camps pertinent to sport events.
Generally sports camps, especially the pre-event ones will influence all areas of tourism and require careful planning and coordination. For example, Gold Coast in Australia once hosted the camps for the Olympic games. For this purpose, the city council helped the professional committee to provide the best facilities for the camps. During the camps held for Olympic Games, the city was able to host 1300 athletes and sports personnel and provide for around 40,000 beds which led to approximately 15 million dollars profit for the business owners. In addition to the immediate and direct effect on the local economy, the presence of media created an atmosphere for business relations for sports councils and relevant organizations. Eventually, the success stories like Gold Coast and other host cities of sports camps place them at the top of the list for the tourism industry which in turn will increase the investment opportunities. Gold coast now has the potential to become a center for sports camps of different types. The development of sports centers and infrastructures play key roles in obtaining good results in setting sports camps.
Iran may not have a remarkable history in competitions or preparation camps, but has the primary facilities needed for some of these sports.
In some sports like skiing, horse riding, mountain climbing, boating and some other adventure sports, having the primary facilities and natural conditions is the key to their success and development. Ski pistes in Iran can be used for 8 months of the year and there are suitable conditions for different types of mountain climbing in different areas of Alborz and Zagros mountain ranges. Calm and rough rivers and the lakes behind dams are also considered as the primary conditions for establishing boating programs. Golestan, Tehran and Azerbaijan too are potentially suitable for horse riding programs. It should also be noted that the natural attractions in Iran provide the possibility of having different sports competitions and programs ranging from rallies to aviation sports in all seasons. Iran’s traditional sports competitions are also effective in attracting tourists. Polo competitions, Chookheh wrestling, Guilehmardi wrestling, Turkmansahra horse riding and nomadic horse riding are examples of the traditional competitions.
It should also be said that the Azadi sports complex in Tehran, built 39 years ago, has still the potential to host high quality sports camps. This is mainly because of the rich medical facilities in Tehran which can adequately support sports medical services. At present, Qatar enjoys the most suitable sports facilities of the region for sports tourism; however the climatic conditions of Iran can make it fit for investment and competition in sports tourism.
