Tourism Ministry Highlights Sports Tourism to Accelerate Sector Growth

Jakarta - Tourism Ministry spokesperson Nia Niscaya has highlighted the opportunity presented by sports tourism to accelerate the growth of the national tourism sector. Nia stated that the sports tourism segment is the fastest growing in the world. Citing data from UN Tourism (UNWTO), she noted that the sports tourism sector accounts for 10 percent of global tourist spending and is projected to grow by 17.5 percent annually by 2030. “This growth is driven by the tendency of tourists seeking memorable and healthy experiences, not just entertainment,” Nia said in Jakarta on Wednesday. Nia also assessed that sports tourism events are effective in driving tourism growth. In this regard, the Tourism Ministry consistently provides support for the development of sports tourism as one of the engines of growth for Indonesian tourism. She also conveyed that the Tourism Ministry, together with the Youth and Sports Ministry, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as a strategic step to strengthen cross-sector synergy in developing Indonesian sports tourism. The MoU includes collaboration in mapping event potential, standardising event organisation, developing tourist-friendly sports venues, and joint promotion for national and international scale events. However, the economic impact of organising sports tourism events is currently still relatively smaller compared to its main supporting activities, namely fitness, adventure, and experiential tourism. Therefore, the Tourism Ministry continues to strengthen coordination with regional governments to organise quality events with distinctive Indonesian characteristics that will raise the country’s profile on the global stage across various topics, including sports tourism. These attractive events will then be included in the Karisma Event Nusantara (KEN) programme, which is strictly curated each year. The Tourism Ministry also encourages regional governments to develop sports tourism supported by fitness, adventure, and experiential activities as the main supporting elements of sports tourism to increase quality tourist visits, characterised by longer stays and higher spending, as well as a high level of concern for the environment and sustainable tourism.