Outbound travel for sports tourism has witnessed a notable surge compared to 2025, particularly around major sporting events across the UK and Europe, says Shashank S Mishra, Founder & CEO, Sports Konnect. He is seeing strong demand for the British summer sporting calendar, especially driven by the India cricket team’s tour of England and Wimbledon. “Travellers are no longer planning short event-specific trips but are increasingly extending their stays into full-fledged holidays around these marquee events. Fans are actively blending cricket and tennis experiences with leisure travel across destinations such as London, Manchester, Scotland and nearby European countries, making “Sportscation” one of the biggest travels trends this year. The focus has clearly shifted towards experiential travel, with consumers showing higher interest in premium hospitality, curated itineraries and multi-city vacations aligned with major sporting calendars,” he says.
Additionally, the back-to-back Formula 1 races across Europe during June and July are creating another strong opportunity for sports-led family travel, Mishra adds, particularly as these coincide with school summer holidays and allow travellers to combine motorsport experiences with extended European vacations.
Travellers today are evaluating destinations based on a mix of sporting access and overall holiday value. “Yes, key considerations include availability of match tickets and hospitality, visa convenience, flight connectivity, safety, weather, family-friendly experiences, and opportunities to combine sports with sightseeing, shopping and entertainment. For example, many Sports Konnect clients travelling for Wimbledon are also attending concerts, exploring the English countryside, or extending trips to Paris and Switzerland, while cricket fans attending India matches are planning broader UK holidays around the series schedule. The idea is no longer just attending an event but creating a complete experiential travel itinerary,” shares Mishra.
Comparing 2025, booking patterns have become much more proactive for him, particularly for high-demand properties and premium sports inventory. He feels that sports travellers are booking earlier to secure better match access, central hotels, and hospitality packages. “At the same time, there is still visible budget sensitivity in the mid-market segment, with travellers balancing premium experiences with smarter travel planning such as shorter stays, flexible flight combinations, and group travel.
However, overall spending intent for bucket-list sporting events remains strong and will continue to grow in our forecast,” he says. Fortunately, he is only seeing robust demands, apart from a few instances due to cancellation of events in Middle East. “Instead, we saw a surge in early planning by travellers aiming for European sectors in summer to avoid visa appointment delays, fluctuations in airfares, changes in match schedules and personal travel budget adjustments due to currency movements. We have also seen some travellers modifying plans instead of cancelling completely like reducing trip duration or combining fewer cities and still retaining the core sports experience. Overall, demand for premium global sporting events continues to remain resilient despite these operational challenges,” Mishra adds.
With over 17 years of experience in the B2B travel and hospitality sector, she brings deep insight into travel trade dynamics, industry challenges and market developments. She holds an MA in English Literature and a Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai, which underpin her strong editorial expertise. An avid nature enthusiast, she prefers outdoor and adventure-led travel, including hiking and trekking.
