Football is consolidated as the favorite option for doing sports tourism among Spaniards: 71% state that they would travel mainly for this sport, placing it at the forefront of the growth of this type of travel, according to a survey conducted by OnePoll for eDreams.
After football, the events that generate the most interest for travel are the Olympic Games (26%), tennis (25%), and motor sports (22%). On a global scale, football also leads the list, with 53%, followed by the Olympic Games (32%), while tennis and motor sports share third place with 18% each.
The report indicates that half of Spaniards (50%) would be willing to go abroad to attend a sporting event, and that 94% would take advantage of the trip to extend their stay and get to know the place better, either for one or two days (35%) or even between three and four days (41%).
Regarding budget, 51% of participants assure that they would pay the same for a trip to attend a sporting event as for their summer holidays, with a greater inclination among men (55%) than among women (47%). Furthermore, 7% state that they would even allocate a similar amount to their honeymoon to not miss a sporting event.
The survey also collects contrasts by gender and generation. While women are more inclined to travel within Spain (36%), men show a greater willingness to travel outside the country (56%). By age groups, 42% of young people aged 18 to 24 state that they would go to any country in the world to experience a sporting event, compared to 44% of those over 65 who would only travel within national territory and 37% who would not travel for this reason.
Advance planning and boom in major competitions
Regarding trip organization, the study emphasizes that Spaniards are the Europeans who book these types of getaways furthest in advance: 66% do so as soon as their team's presence in the competition is confirmed. The data also reveal that many are willing to make personal sacrifices to be able to travel, such as reducing spending on leisure (34%) or even missing private commitments, especially among the younger generation.
The report also highlights the strong pull of major competitions, which translates into sharp increases in flight searches to tournament venues. For the Conference League final, with Rayo Vallecano facing Crystal Palace in Leipzig, flight searches from Madrid multiplied by almost 15 compared to usual levels. In the case of the Women's Champions League final between FC Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais in Oslo, searches from Barcelona increased four and a half times more than the previous week.
The study concludes by pointing out that these sporting events are driving a new way of traveling, in which fans combine their passion for sports with the opportunity to discover new destinations.