EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Sports tourism is set to become one of the world’s biggest industries according to numerous projections and studies conducted by entities like the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Sports tourism is the act of travelling from one location to another with the purpose of being in some way involved in a sporting activity or event.
Georgia’s Sport Sector is a vibrant sector with infrastructural projects underway in almost all major sport categories. There are numerous sports where Georgia is considerably successful among the world’s elite: with rugby, football, and basketball the three major sports with the highest number of fans.
The Georgian rugby team can boast being among the best in the world, and this is proven in the World Rugby ratings, where Georgia ranked 12th as of 2019 and has been in the top 15 for the past 4-5 years.
Georgian rugby teams and clubs have a total of 11 training bases and stadiums, with the biggest of them being the Shevardeni training base. Most of the high-profile games of the national teams are played at the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, which is
owned by the Georgian Football Federation and is considerably larger in terms of capacity. Georgia also held the U20 World Rugby Championship, one of a major events in the world. Each year Georgia is visited by approximately 10 international
delegations for reasons ranging from practice games or for team retreats. These delegations are mainly made up of between 20 and 40 people ranging from teams' physicians to players. Delegations stay in Georgia ranges from 2-3 days to 2 weeks.
The Georgian basketball team is also successful, ranking among the top teams in Europe and constantly making it to the playoffs of the EuroBasket. Tbilisi is among the four cities set to host the prestigious EuroBasket in 2021. The Georgian team will be playing, having auto qualified for it due to their performance in the previous championship. Notably, the Basketball Federation does not own any stadium and spends a considerable amount on rent every year. The Georgian basketball team takes part in annual international events.
The Georgian Football Federation has by far the most developed infrastructure in the country, with four major stadiums under active construction, and more already in use.
There are minor but still developed sports that Georgia and Georgians take part in around the world extremely successfully. Chess is a good example where Georgian women are some of the best in the world.
A Georgian ice-skating couple also made history when they won gold in the Junior Grand Prix in Italy. Futsal and swimming teams are also successful among other national teams. There are some sports that Georgia can naturally support due to location and geography. Good examples would be rafting, mountain climbing and several other extreme sports.
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