Visit Quad Cities Releases Regional Sports Tourism Recommendations

Quad Cities (Wednesday, December 11, 2019) – As Visit Quad Cities, the region’s official destination marketing and management organization (DMMO), re-engineers its sports tourism direction, it engaged the services of the Huddle Up Group to assess the region’s current sports tourism market and provide insights for future positioning.

The sports tourism and events industry is as competitive today as it has ever been.  In the Midwest region surrounding the Quad Cities, there is a significant level of competition in this industry and a high-level geographic overlap among these communities.  There are 30+ markets with similar offerings within driving distance of the Quad Cities.

In the opinion of the Huddle Up Group, Visit Quad Cities has a strong opportunity to solidify itself as a significant sports tourism destination in the Midwest. Throughout the research process, Quad Cities community leaders showed a desire to grow sports tourism in the region.

This strategic planning project included a six-step process including stakeholder meetings with community leaders, venue owners and managers, athletic administrators, event owners, and hospitality industry executives; local venue site visits; a town hall meeting with over 40 of the area’s sports tourism leaders; benchmarking against other high performing sports commissions both regionally and nationally, and a rating through the Sports Tourism Index™.

Throughout the research process, it became apparent there is an opportunity for Visit Quad Cities to enhance its presence in the sports tourism market.  The key to moving forward is for community stakeholders to work together in building and managing an expanded sports tourism marketing program, and to focus on building relationships locally that can deliver on a recurring basis from one year to the next.  

“Sports tourism is a priority for our regional destination and Visit Quad Cities, as an organization,” said Dave Herrell, President, and CEO, Visit Quad Cities.  “We are grateful to the team at the Huddle Up Group for their insights and for mapping out a series of thoughts that we can use to strengthen our competitive identity in this space.  We needed their national perspective as we attack this sector, develop our playbook, and continue to build our portfolio and brand.”

The opportunity at hand is to put in place an enriched sports tourism support system that engages all stakeholders throughout the Quad Cities region.  This support will, therefore, drive more economic development and improve opportunities for local user groups as well.