• European tourist boards account for roughly two thirds of the sectors active sponsorship agreements with the sports industry.
• The tourist board sector sees 123 active deals in 2021, with European tourist boards accounting for 80 partnerships.
• France and Spain, the two most popular travel destinations globally, are the most active countries with a combined 40 active sponsorship deals.

The soccer sector currently represents the most lucrative sporting sector in terms of tourist board sponsorship, with over $62m worth of 2021’s $82m tourist board sponsorship agreements driven towards this particular sporting sector. With most regions, cities and towns in Europe’s chief tourism hotspots boasting at least one soccer side, tourist boards see soccer as the most attractive sector with which to partner. Soccer is perhaps the most popular and watched sport worldwide, affording tourist boards the best chance of generating location awareness, or better yet, increased bookings to their destination, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Patrick Kinch, Sport Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The current landscape of tourist board sport sponsorship highlights the significance of tourism to major European destinations. With tourism being a significant driver of income and jobs for economies in France, Spain and Italy, Europe’s most popular travel destinations, it is unsurprising that tourist boards from these countries are the most committed to the sport sponsorship market. France and Spain are the most active countries with a combined 40 active sponsorship deals.”

The soccer market represents the most important sport market to tourist boards in this region, with the majority of brand spend directed to a sport with worldwide popularity. In a continent which boasts some of the world’s biggest sport properties, such as the Premier League, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga there are plenty of sponsorship options open to tourist boards hoping to encourage pre-emptive holiday bookings as vaccines are rolled out worldwide.

Kinch continues: “While the majority of deals are driven by European tourist boards, the sector’s most lucrative deals are with boards based beyond Europe. Visit Rwanda, Tourism Malaysia and the Thailand Tourism Board account for the four biggest partnerships in the sector, with each board sponsoring soccer clubs based in Europe’s major soccer leagues, highlighting the marketing appeal of European sport to both European and international tourist boards.”