Sports Travel & Tours Business

Been a busy week at Sportsnet Holidays. Best bit so far is Phil Anderson (Aussie Cycling Legend) being in the office. One the of the interesting things I have noticed over the years is that with a couple of obvious exceptions few professional cyclists are very tall. Given the stamina and sheer grit involved in the Tour de France , Tour of Spain or Giro I some how always expect them to be as big as AFL Football players.
The team here have been spending time reworking some of our bigger events post the Australian Open and pre Australian F1 Grand Prix. Feb is a big month for football codes. We get the pre season comps; AFL & NRL, A-League Soccer wraps up (its Victory vs Sydney United, which could get ugly) & we have the first of the Super 14 Rugby Union matches.
So in Feb we have to get NRL Grand Final, AFL Travel, Bledisloe Cup tickets & Tour De France Packages sorted out before we get really busy again.

Australian Open 2010 Update

The world’s hottest tennis players return to Melbourne Park in January, 2010, when the Australian Open tennis hits town. Sportsnet holidays have been flat out producing the best Australian Open packages for the event & I am happy to say we are caning last years figures (thanks everyone).
Roger Federer returns after a successful year in which he completed his career Grand Slam, whilst Rafael Nadal will be back to defend his throne as Aust Open Champion, as will Serena Williams. Australian Open tickets will be at a premium as young guns like Del Potro, Djokovic, Murray, Ivanovic, Dementieva and Safina aspire to the crown, as Australia’s own Lleyton Hewitt, Bernard Tomic and Sam Stosur try to do us proud on Rod Laver Arena.
Will we see a repeat of last years epic Mens Final battle between Fed and Rafa, or renewed hostilities between the Williams sisters and the Russians? My money in on Kim & Justine to make the front page in the first week and with wild cards you could see them close up in the outer courts . I am having a break before the tennis as we have hundreds of tickets to get out and there are always loads of last minute bookings once Hopman Cup & the feeder tournaments like Medibank & Hobart kick in. So I dont need to remind you not to wait until its kicked off to book as it will be tight in 2010 judging on business volumes to date.

2010 Basketball World Championship Draw

2010 FIBA World Championship Basketball Draw in Istanbul Australia has drawn in Group A with Argentina, Serbia, Germany, Angola and Jordan. Package is currently through Show but we are hoping to do our own to compliment our Sportsnet Holidays NBA All Stars Weekend package
Turkey is a great destination and it is Boomers & Opals together in a location where you are a bus ride from Galipoli and a ferry ride from the Greek Island need I say more......

Motor Sports are keeping me busy.

It been a busy time for Sportsnet Holidays favorite friends “petrol heads” of all kinds. The Bathurst 1000 has been a sold out success for us 2010. This year’s Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang was our best to date, then we sold out our Philip Island MotoGP offer and to top it off the good weather turned up and Casey burned up the track in his come back on home soil. This weekend was the Gold Coast V8 Supercars or is it the NitroGP or Surfers Paradise V8s or maybe it’s the Queensland A1GP or the Gold Coast Indy 300? Email me if you can work it out. I was offered a spot on a boat moored just off the start/finish line by my good mate John at CruiseawayHolidays.com.au but I didn’t take it (kids cricket match) as it turned out this weekend as far as thrills and spills goes was a cracker and I am kicking myself. Putting aside our flurry of last min Derby Day Packages and the 2010 Australian Open Tennis, we have Clipsal 500 out for next year, we have the Townsville 400 up which was a sell out for us last year and we have just made a big booking for the Hamilton 400 V8 in NZ today (AB take a bow). For those who like their open wheel racing and still feel let down by the whole A1GP farrago our Melbourne Grand Prix packages are getting a bit of traction so don’t spend too long thinking about it. While I can’t promise the Gold Coast grid girls or the Surfers Paradise beach front I reckon this year’s evening race format for the 2010 Australian Grand Prix will be a scorcher.

Spring into action

September always heralds a period of madness in the sports travel business as it means we literally spring into action and it rarely pauses until after the Australian F1 Grand Prix in late summer.

September means footy finals and we have huge numbers for the AFL Grand Final packages and NRL Grand Final packages. There are a few late nights coming up with last minute bookings as fans realize their team is going to get there and as we assemble hundreds of travel packs with grand final tickets, hotels documents and various other goodies while organizing our Sportsnet functions and speakers.

As that one day in September (or early October) passed for both codes there is no time to take a breather as hard on the heels of footy is the Philip Island Moto GP event and the Bathurst V8 races. Both events have something challenging in common for a sports travel company. They are in the country; there is limited accommodation and huge demand. We had booked out most of our top flight accommodation in and around both events months ago. No matter how hard you want to please the fans, at this time of year you are either staying up in Melbourne and transferring down to the track or looking at dorm accommodation around Bathurst for the Mount Panorama races. That all said it never seems to distract the fans from the enjoying what they really came for the sights, sounds and smell of motor sports.

“Oh to be in England” (well Britain actually), it is not often that you will hear anyone who lives in the beautiful Melbourne saying, “oh to be in England” but if you are a sports fan and a traveller you can’t help looking enviously at the British summer of sport. They have Formula One drivers taking pole position and winning F1 meets. They have had a compelling Wimbledon Tennis Tournament with their own man Andy Murray nearly going the distance. They have the Ashes which is shaping up to be a sensational final match with plenty of grudge and controversy,that’s the way we like it. The British Open Championship Golf has been on and the course looks like it has been cut out of picture book, sophisticated magnificent & lush. As if that is not all their man Cavendish has been tearing up the sprints in the Tour De France and grabbing the headlines. Even on the bikes the three cylinder Triumph is ripping it up on the track. To make matters worse we Aussies have gone down to the Kiwis in the Bledislow Cup when even the UK Lions have managed a few wins. If you are still up for a bit of self torture the EPL is on this weekend.

So what is the good news? Summers is just around the corner and I live in Melbourne and let me tell you it does not get any better than this in a single city of just over 3 million! We have: the Phillip Island Moto GP, the Australian Masters Golf in Melbourne the Tour Down Under with Lance Armstrong and a host of Aussies cyclists, The Australian Open and the soon to be announced dates for the Australian Grand Prix. If I had a friend called Willis I’d be tempted to say, “That’s what I am talking about!”

AFL Grass roots footy

Kids are doing the Kevin Sheedy Footy Camp in Melbourne this week. It is based in Parkville and its kids from tackas to teens and all between. Interesting there is also a residential program at International House for country and interstate kids that seems popular.

So what has a kids Aussie Rules camp got to do with sports travel and sports tours? Well I spend allot of time online at http://www.sportsnetholidays.com trying to sell AFL travel packages to Melbourne and AFL Grand Final Packages, and when I am not doing selling AFL Grand Final ticket packages on the site I am doing it in Google. All in all it is technical and a lot of time. So it was great to see the kids out there having fun in one of the few times that I have seen that grass roots footy comes together with mainstream AFL.

There were a heap of players & coaches there helping the kids and having fun. How often does a kid get to talk to Presty form the Pies or do a ruck drill with Eddie Betts ? It is not often you see Pagan or Laidley looking relaxed but they were (according to my kids). It was bugging me, why is this so different what is the buzz that is so good around the place. I have been to allot of footy with my boys, the feel was not professional footy like AFL home and away or Port Melbourne vs. The Bullants ,and it wasn’t NAB Auskick or Fitzroy Junior Football Club vs. Brunswick or The Community Cup.

I still don’t know what it is but I think it was the real footballers (kids and a few wide eyed Dads) & the young guys running the Kevin Sheedy Footy Camp combined with the professional footballers and coaches together in a non commercial atmosphere. Everyone was having fun, no press, no sponsors, no logos, no booze, no boff heads and hangers on, just youngsters enjoying their footy and grown up youngsters now living the dream as players & coaches.

Xmas sports gift, what do you really need on a sports tour?

You have either done the Xmas shop by now or you haven’t it is a big natural divide in society with some gender variations. So if you haven’t, what gift idea would the travelling sports fan need in 2009? What could Santa’s Elves knock up out the back in the shed for use in sports travel and tours? After all the intrepid sports tour participant faces some challenges and we often are prepared to suffer for our passion.

When you get to the tennis or you are in pit lane in the blistering heat or your bum is numb and you are half frozen and half dead with worry at the footy you often think, "one of them" would be a good idea or why hasn’t someone invented "x". So I asked the team at Sportsnet holidays what gift would you have the Elves bang out in the shed for this year.

This was their list of ideas:
An easy to fold inflatable travel cushion for a numb bum on the plastic seats at the 20:20 or the Bledisloe Cup. Thermally heated gloves with a USB recharger for those freezing NRL games or winter AFL footy days.An event tee shirt with sun screen imbedded in the right sleeve so every time you wiped your face or neck you topped up your sun screen at the Australian Open or the Johnny Walker Golf.A sports drink with statins or beta blockers in it to lower your blood pressure and anxiety at crucial points in the grand final when your team is looking wobbly.A portable periscope for the occasions when you end up sitting behind a giant at any event but especially the Tennis.A back pack with special non crumple Chip and sandwich pouch for the cricket and those other all day events.A posture enhancing device for those inevitable periods of standing sitting and waiting in general admission areas at the V8 Supercars, F1 or Horse RacingAn MP3 player with AM receiver for serious cricket and other sports commentary. A hat with Camera on continuous stills record so you don’t miss those magic moments trying to get ready for a photo at the Horse Racing, the Superbowl or your only game of EPL while in England.
A credit card that automatically orders and gets delivered either, chocolate, flowers or wine to the other half by remembering the dates of the event from your online ticket purchase so you can enjoy the event with a clear conscience
A dictionary of witty retorts & come backs for all sporting occasions where you get bagged by the opposing fans and various BBQ smart @rses about the performance of your beloved team, country, state or player. A Sports top in team or event colours that doesn’t make you smell and has a sliming factor of 10 in photos and videos.
Finally, a special taxi detector and public transport decoder for getting back to the hotel after the event because we can always get there but for some reason but getting back often turns into a mystery tour.

Have a great Chrissy and I hope stocking (sporting orthopedic support doesn’t sound as nice) contains the gifts you wished for.

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...

Booking a sports holiday

It has struck me recently that it is not as easy as it seems to book a sports holiday.

Firstly there is a lot on offer including: sports travel, sports tours, sports holiday, sports vacations and so on.

Secondly, I guess the key thing that separates sports travelers or travellers if you are in the US or have your computer settings on US English. For us there is a sports event or activity that is the lynch pin around which the whole trip sits. From then on in it gets kind of messy as everyone is after something different and no two travelers seem to want the same thing.

Thirdly there are a lot of sites to choose from and being able to answer, “what term do I start putting into the internet to search is a good start? "

Whatever sports travel agent website site you come up with the most important thing is to check it has a real street address and phone number and if you can’t find it on Google Earth or another mapping site don’t go putting any money into that website payment gateway.

For my money I think buying a package that is built around official tickets and a hotel is the key to getting what you want. From this point in you can build your trip around this cornerstone because every event is different and everyone has a different budget and that is where some websites get it wrong.

If you are going all the way to Malaysia to watch the Sepang F1 Grand Prix you are probably going to take in a bit more of Malaysia or South East Asia than just the race event, so you are going to need a full service travel agent, but you may want to get your sports holiday from one guy and the rest of your travel through your regular agent. If you are working in Singapore, Jakarta or Hong Kong you could hop over to Kuala Lumpur and head down to Sepang Formula 1 GP for the a few days so you are going to make different arrangements and don’t want to be locked by the package. It is the same rules for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, if you are booking a Melbourne GP F1 tour then Australia is a long way away and Melbourne is far from Sydney so keep the grand prix travel package simple so I can be flexible with how I get there and how long I stay.

So I reckon they should keep sports travel packages simple, just make it a minimum of: tickets & a hotel, anything extra is great, offer a range of hotels because fans come is all budget sizes and TICKET or GRAND UPGRADES are a must please. If you have been to an event before or you know your sport then you probably know where you want to be at the stadium or at the track and if it is a once in a life time experience you are probably going to spend up big, so keep those sports holiday package options flexible.