Executive Summaries - Profile of Travelers Who Attend Sports Events

• U.S. resident travel has increased significantly in volume during the 1990s. In addition, Americans have been taking a much wider variety of trips than in earlier decades. Sports events-related travel has been growing in popularity.

• Two-fifths of U.S. adults are sports events travelers. In the past five years, 75.3 million U.S. adults attended an organized sports events, competition or tournament as either a spectator or as a participant while on a trip of 50 miles or more, one-way, away from home.

• Men outnumber women as sports events travelers. 45 percent of men (42.7 million) and 31 percent of women (32.6 million) attended sports events while traveling in the past five years.

• Baseball leads as the most preferred sports event during travel, followed by football, basketball and auto/truck racing. Men and women report similar preferences in these activities.

• Professional and amateur sports events are attended equally while traveling. Among amateur events, high school and college sports are most popular.

• Attending the sports event is the primary purpose of trip for most sports events travelers (76%).

• Most sports events travelers are spectators (84%). One-fourth of all sports events travelers attended events to watch their children or grand-children play.

• Two out of five sports events travelers made a special purchase of sports equipment or clothes for their trip, spending an average of $119 each.

• Attending sports events ranks 10th as a trip activity. Six percent of all 1997 U.S. resident person-trips (60 million) included sports events as a trip activity.

• Summer is generally the most popular season for sports events travel. "Sports events only" travelers (i.e., participating in no other trip activities) and the lowest spending group of sports events travelers (i.e., those spending less than $100 per trip), however, show a slight preference for the fall.

• Most sports events travelers are on pleasure trips (78%), usually focused on entertainment and outdoor recreation. "Multi-activity" travelers (i.e., those enjoying other trip activities in addition to sporting events) are more likely to be visiting friends and relatives, while those in the highest spending category ($500 or more), are more likely to be traveling on business.

• Most sports events travelers drive to their destinations, as is true for U.S. travelers overall. Air travel is more common among multi-activity travelers, and among those spending $500 or more per trip.

• The average party size of sports events travelers is similar to all U.S. travelers, but a higher percentage of sports events parties have children (30% vs. 21%).

• Most sports events travelers stay overnight in a hotel, motel or bed and breakfast (52%). Although a higher percentage stay in a hotel/motel/b&b, sports events travelers average fewer nights in the hotel than do U.S. travelers overall. Multi-activity travelers and those in the highest spending category are most likely to stay at a hotel/motel/b&b and report longer trips, on average. Sports event only travelers and those in the lowest spending group are much more likely to travel just for the day.

• Sports events traveler spending is similar to the spending done by all U.S. travelers. Multi-activity travelers spend more than sports event only travelers ($615 vs. $235, mean).

• Similar to all U.S. travel, the largest share of sports event travelers come from and go to the South census region. Sports events travelers, however, are more likely than all U.S. travelers to originate from and travel to the Midwest census region.

• Sports events travelers are generally younger than total U.S. travelers. They are also more likely to have children and be employed full-time. Sports events only travelers are more likely than multi-activity travelers to be married and have children.

• Sports events travelers like all travelers, are most likely from the Parents Lifestage. Coinciding with the higher share of children, sports event travelers, and especially sports event only travelers, are more likely than other travelers to be in the Parents Lifestage.

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