With the Winter Olympics currently underway in Milano Cortina, Italy, hardcore cold-weather sports fans are making their way over to watch their favourite athletes in action.
The Winter Games, of course, aren’t the only events on the global slate at the moment, given how the third round of the Rugby Six Nations Championship is on this weekend and motoring fans are making their way to Australia and Japan in March for two exciting rounds of Grand Prix.
This year, a number of Asian nations are set to host some of the most prominent sporting events and this points out a significant development: the continent is rising as a hub for global sports tourism.
The Asian sports tourism sector in a nutshell
Given how the Olympics began in Greece and the way sports like football and golf kicked off in what used to be the Roman Empire, it is easy to assume that Europe has welcomed sports fans from the world over throughout the centuries.
Today, the balance is shifting eastward; but this isn’t really surprising given how sports are a fundamental aspect of culture and tradition throughout the region.
Sports tourism, however, is relatively new to the region, but it is a sector that is experiencing rapid growth.
As business journalist Craig Lebrau put it in a 2011 op-ed for Pitchero:
“The history of sports tourism in Asia is short but the industry has grown rapidly since the 2000s. Sports tourism is predicted to become one of the most lucrative sectors for growth over the next decade and this trend will likely continue.”
Indeed, Grand View Research reports that sports tourism in the Asia Pacific earned a cumulative total of US$151.8 million in revenues as of end-2024, and the market is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 19.3 percent.
Barring catastrophic regional conflict and natural disasters, this rate will remain constant straight to 2033.
A similar study from Fortune Business Insights points out that the Asia Pacific is the third largest sports tourism market in the world, driven primarily by domestic and international sports events that draw in sporting fans and athletes from various nations.
The big players in APAC sports tourism
To further cite the Fortune Business Insights study, three countries in the region are setting the pace for their peers.
China leads the pack as the nation earning the most from the sector: as the broader Chinese sports industry generated over US$700 billion as of end-2025, its sports tourism sector is forecast to be worth around US$55.2 billion by the end of this year.
India comes in as the second biggest regional player as its sports industry’s worth is currently pegged at US$19 billion and its sports tourism sector is fuelled constantly by a strong fan economy thanks to stadium tours, fan-meets with popular teams and players, as well as active sports tourism.
Growing at a compound rate of 8.9 percent per annum, Japan’s sports tourism sector easily slides into third place, generating revenues worth US$8.9 billion as of end-2024, spurred on by the country’s curated mix of traditional athletic meets and immersive modern travel.
Could Southeast Asia become the next sports tourism superpower?
With Filipinos and Indonesians all mad about basketball, Singapore all over racquet sports and swimming, and Thailand raising the bar for motorsports and martial arts, the next regional growth centre for sports tourism may well be Southeast Asia.
Indeed, with individual nations ramping up their respective sporting venues and facilities, along with training camps for would-be athletes, the regional sector stands to grow over the next several years.
Also, given the number of developing nations that are part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), sports tourism may serve as a powerful economic driver.
According to Preston James IV, director of the School of Management at Hesston College: “Sports tourism brings significant economic benefits, from increased visitor arrivals to job creation and business growth in sectors like hospitality, retail, and local vendors. When Thailand hosted the 2023 Southeast Asian Games, the country saw a major boost in tourism, underlining the importance of sports events in driving economic activity.”
