The unprecedented growth rate of sports and music tourism, plus more stories

For PropertyGuru’s news roundup, sports and music tourism are growing at unprecedented rates and are forecast to represent a USD5 trillion industry by 2032. In other updates, the Philippines will be testing the Indian market with initial chartered flights to be out by the end of the year. Lastly, a list of the world’s shortest international commercial flights.

Sports and music tourism will soon represent a USD5 trillion economy

If you have lost track of how many people in your orbit have recently posted pictures of themselves at a Formula One race or Taylor Swift concert, chances are you are not alone.

According to new research from Collinson International, which owns Priority Pass and LoungeKey airport lounges around the world, sports and music tourism are growing at unprecedented rates and are forecast to represent a USD5 trillion (THB53 trillion) industry by 2032.

Sports tourism represents the overwhelming majority of that figure. Valued at USD564.7 billion in 2023, it’s expected to skyrocket to USD1.33 trillion in the next eight years. Music tourism, meanwhile, is projected to contribute an additional USD13.8 billion, more than doubling its current valuation of USD6.6 billion.

For this Bangkok Post report, published on July 29, Collinson defined travellers as anyone who flew to an event, whether internationally or within their own country. Of 8,537 surveyed travellers from 17 countries, more than four in five (83 percent) have flown to a sporting event while 71 percent have boarded a plane for a concert in the past three years, or plan to in the next 12 months.

The Philippines wants to test the Indian market; chartered flights eyed by 2024

Talks are ongoing for flights between the Philippines and India, with initial chartered flights testing the Indian market expected to be out by the end of the year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said on 23rd July.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 2024 post-State of the Nation Address (SONA) discussions in Pasay City, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said in PNA that talks between the two countries are progressing well.

“There have already been successful talks in terms of air talks together with the CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines), of which the DOT is a member, in trying to entice our local carriers plus carriers from India to mount flights to the Philippines,” she told reporters.

She said the DOT has proposed to “test the market through charter flights,” as well as through coordination with local tour operators and travel agencies to mount group travel from India to prove there is a growing demand for them to come to the Philippines.

World’s 10 shortest international commercial flights

The world’s longest flights, tallest buildings, and largest countries all make records, but it’s rare for the tiniest or the smallest to make a list. When we checked, we found that some flights are so short that it would appear that a road trip would be faster.

Economy Middle East takes a look at some of the world’s shortest international commercial flights, as per the global travel data provider OAG. This list includes the flight from Dammam, Saudi Arabia to Bahrain, with a distance of 87km.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].