Sports travel in 2009

Who would of imagined that two English Premier League teams would take to the field in 2008 with no sponsorship logos on their guernsey (or is the jersey?) but it happened and in perhaps the best known sports league in the world the EPL.

How will the current turmoil affect sports travel in 2009?

There are a number of variables that illuminate this question but there will be some ups and downs, hopefully mostly ups for sports tours fans.

The sports teams, administrative bodies and venues will be directly effected by the loss of sponsorship revenue. Apart from there being less bucks to go around sponsors will want more bang for less buck.

This will mean less money for clubs in sports where there is a draft or other forms of central support so so well financed (low debt) or big clubs will thrive but for others there are tough times are ahead.

Less sponsor money will mean either much less or even more sponsorship of more aspects of the events. In 2009 expect to hear, "oh a what a controversial decision from Reynolds the Axesmith Bank personal home loan match referee" and other such things like, "that's 22 hits to 14 on the maths utopia home study DVD score board".

On the dip side for the fans it will mean no new stadium facilities and either lower cost or a hike club memberships and season tickets with less add on benefits depending on the state of your club or sporting bodies finances.

So what is the upside for the sports traveller ?

There is plenty of up from what we can see so far as we roll out the 2009 Sportsnet Holidays events. Most importantly pricing is very much in line with 2008 so far which in an era when every thing cost more is great. We are seeing that we have to work much harder to keep and gain new sports travelers. This means that we have to offer more than just great seats and good hotels.

I think 2009 will shape up to be the year of the options. What that means for the traveller is more grand stands more up grades more features in a package. We have just called all our early bookers for the 2009 Townsville V8 Supercars to offer grandstand upgrades and I can see this becoming a regular event.

A slowing economy will see the airlines offering more spot specials to keep bums on seats and for the Aussie or Kiwi traveller who has to travel great distances to get to the events especially motor sports, tennis and footy this is good news.

As the corporate travellers seek to cut business travel expenses top end hotels for the premium sports traveller will become better value.

Lastly tough times economically bring out the best in many people it comes down to go hard or go home and this leads to innovations in travel so I expect 2009 to bring some new and interesting ways of doing things, proof of this is simple we did a Melbourne Cup package with a breakfast before the race meeting at the Eureka Tower Sky Deck, it sold out so we doubled the size and it sold out again! AB one our product whizzes came up with a Darwin Hidden Valley V8 Supercar package featuring a Ford vs Holden fishing charter option and you guessed it, its gone off.

So I think 2009 will be great for the sports traveller, cheaper airfares, in line event pricing, better hotel options and some cool new products. Lets see how it goes only a month to go...

Summer sports travel

Sunburn at the Horse Racing this past week has been a gentle reminder that summer is coming. For the sports traveller that means motor sport and tennis. What about cricket I hear you say? Well the Ashes are being staged in England this time round so that means pride of place on the Australian sporting calendar goes to The Australian Open (on the turf) to The Australian Grand Prix (on the track).

At Sportsnet Holidays, ticket & hotel packages to both Tennis Australia’s 2009 Australian Open and the Melbourne F1 GP have been hot off the blocks this year with no sign that the economy is stopping sports fans from booking sports packages.

Although both events are in Melbourne and sports tour packages have been released for a while now, it should be remembered that for the tennis and motor sports fans there are lots of other events going on across the country.

Tennis travel to Adelaide, Perth and Sydney are as popular as ever. The Adelaide international, this year is called the World Tennis Challenge and is a great opportunity to take in a few stars, a few premium wine districts and a gourmet food region or two. If that’s not your style, try the beach at Glenelg or Victor Harbour.

Perth’s Hopman Cup is the slow burner of Tennis Travel, always popular and always excellent value. Hopman attracts great names and is an excellent opportunity to see Perth, take a dip in the Indian Ocean at Scarborough Beach, wander through Freemantle or escape the heat on Rottnest Island. For those with more time and a car there exist the delights of Margaret River and the tall timbers of the Jarra forests.

Although it is off topic, if you can’t make Perth for the tennis, the 2009 Johnny Walker Golf Classic is also in Perth and has a host of big names have signed up to attend.

For those of us who like our sport with lashings of noise and loads of torque, then aside from the Australian F1 GP there is the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide. This is a massively successful event that has maintained its premier position among V8 Supercar sports fans as the other must see event after The Bathurst 1000. Another big V8 Supercar event worth travelling to in the near future includes The Townsville 400 where you can stay on Magnetic Island and take the ferry to the track every day - not so much “surf and turf” but more beach and bitumen. Don’t forget Hidden Valley V8 Supercars in Darwin which in 2009 comes with a Ford boat versus Holden boat fishing trip option. While the 2009 Darwin V8 with fishing trip is my choice I reckon the other half in my life is firmly locked into the Townsville 400 with Magnetic Island option…and my guess is she will not be taking the ferry to the track every day.

We’ve learned from all the sunburn so like last year, our packages will again include a hat and small tube of sun block in our tennis and grand prix tour packages.

If the dollar picks up I might review the great options for the 2009 northern hemisphere summer with Masters Golf, The Ashes Series, Wimbledon, The French Open and the Tour De France all being released between now and Christmas (and I didn’t say that word, it wasn’t me).