Sports Event Tourism in Hospitality Management: FIFA World Cup Russia

This report analyzes sports tourism within the context of hospitality management, using the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia as a case study. It discusses the concept of sports tourism, highlighting financial opportunities arising from sporting events for local businesses. A business proposal for a sporting accessories shop named ‘SocX’ is presented, including market research, a business model canvas, proposed management and production strategies, pricing, and projected income and expenditure. The report details the importance of understanding the target market's preferences and spending habits, outlining the operational aspects of managing the SocX business, including raw material procurement, branch management, and internal responsibilities. The aim is to capitalize on the influx of tourists and sports enthusiasts during the World Cup to maximize sales and revenue, emphasizing the potential for sports-related businesses during major sporting events. Desklib provides more solved assignments for students.

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1SPORTS EVENT TOURISM IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
Executive Summary:
The following report has been prepared keeping in mind the novel concept of sports
tourism. Sports tourism is relatively a new concept. This concept deals with the financial
opportunities, which could be provided by different sporting carnivals and tournaments for
various groups of people, who are ready to take the opportunity of receiving some kind of
financial aid from these tournaments by selling some products, making make shift hotels for
the tourists, opening a food joint or any cafe in the vicinity of the stadiums and hotels. With
this in mind, a similar kind of business idea has been discussed over here. This business idea,
along with its proposed management procedures, estimated sales and expected income and
expenditures have been provided in the subsequent paragraphs.

2SPORTS EVENT TOURISM IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................3
FIFA World Cup 2018:..............................................................................................................3
Market research Section:............................................................................................................4
Business model Canvas:.............................................................................................................6
Proposed management and production section:.........................................................................8
Pricing of the different products:.............................................................................................12
Projected Income and expenditure:..........................................................................................13
Forecasted Sales:......................................................................................................................15
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................15
References:...............................................................................................................................17

3SPORTS EVENT TOURISM IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
Introduction:
Sports tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world right now. The
economic importance of sports has led to the creation of a vast industry worldwide.
Currently, .it stands at $ 7.68 billion. It mainly contains two kinds of participants; one who
are the athletes, who gather to take part in a sporting event held in various parts of the world,
along with their coaching staff and the other participant is the audience or the fans of these
sporting events, who gather up and visit these foreign countries in order to support their
favourite teams and athletes. The genre of sports tourism is mainly classified into two
categories, hard and soft sports tourism. The hard one refers to the big genre of events such as
the Olympics, FIFA World Cup and other major sports carnivals, while the soft one refers to
the occasional short period of sporting events like skiing, running and hiking, which are
mainly signed up by tourists for leisure purposes (Hui, 2013). There are two events which
attract the most tourists from all over the world, which are the Olympics and the Football
World Cup. They are held every four years. These two events are backed by huge
sponsorships, star athletes and players. A wide range of activities are planned from the
construction of stadiums to the booking of hotels, everything is done on a prior basis, for the
visiting tourists as they bring a lot of economic opportunities for the host countries.
FIFA World Cup 2018:
With the upcoming FIFA 2018, which is coming up in Russia, efforts are being made
to savour the business opportunity. With this intention, a sporting accessories shop named
‘SocX’ has been proposed to open with two outlets at Moscow and St. Petersburg. It is
expected that the shops would be able to make most of the World Cup which is due to take
place in June 2018. A total of thirty two teams have qualified for the grandest stage of them
all. Each of these teams have been divided into eight groups consisting of four members.

4SPORTS EVENT TOURISM IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
Russia, being the host country gets the automatic qualification nodes. In this year, a number
of footballing giants have failed to qualify, while on the other hand, for the first time in the
history of the game’s biggest spectacle, four Arab teams have qualified, leaving the big guns
behind them. These four Arab teams are Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. As the tournament
begins its Russian journey, the addictive fever of the world cup has taken over the entire
world. From selling of Panini stickers, sale of jerseys of Football stars like Cristiano Ronaldo,
Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr and others have taken place, including the sale of football boots,
bands, face paints etc. A promotional poster of football’s biggest spectacle has been provided
below:
(Source: fifia.com, 2018)
Market research Section:
Market research refers to the assessment of the needs of the target market of the
business. In this regard, important information are realised with regards to the target market’s

5SPORTS EVENT TOURISM IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
taste and preferences, their spending habits, duration of their stay and a host of other factors,
which are necessary for the success of the business.
With regards to the FIFA World Cup, at Russia, some vital research was done by the owners
of SocX. This business proposal was the brainchild of Mr Reeves, a prominent resident and
business man of St. Petersburg, Russia. He is an ardent fan of the beautiful game which
compelled him to achieve his dream of opening this shop apart from his business
preoccupations. It was his objective to set up two branches of his SocX sport accessories with
the help of his family members and business staffs. It was only because of his zeal for the
game, which compelled him to meet the Chief of the Organising staff Mr John D’Souza for
helping him in arranging the stalls around the stadium. Mr Reeves had no problem in
convincing his Italian friend Mr Barzgali for arranging the distribution rights of the famous
Italian Panini stickers. The owners, being the residents of St. Petersburg, had no issues with
arranging parleys with the team of the organising staff and the head of the organising staff of
the Krestovsky stadium. Some important market related information were collected during
these meetings, some of which have been listed below:
 In accordance with the past reports, the average attendance at the 2014 world cup
tournament was around 53,000; such figures can be expected in this summer too.
 It is viewed by a total of over a 3 billion people across the globe, which makes it a
prospective lucrative investing opportunity (‘2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ -
FIFA.com’, 2018).
 Setting up of at least total of 20 stalls in associations with Rostelecom, Russia’s
largest telecom services company is being done, by providing the rights of using LED
board, ticket raffles and the local support of the host cities. There is also a scope of
more to be added later.

6SPORTS EVENT TOURISM IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
 Over 1.5 million foreign are expected to be arriving in the country of Russia, these are
based on the preliminary reports, although, the figure might increase after the ticket
sales are over in May.
The above information is very important for the setting up of up of the two sporting
accessories of SocX. The daily intake of tourists and the domestic folks would help in
increasing the various kinds of products, which would be up for sale during the sporting
carnival of the world cup (Stehle & Weber,2013). This would serve as a big opportunity
for the owners of SocX. As the footfalls of the tourists and the ardent fans of the beautiful
game increase, the sale of sporting accessories would continue to rise. The sporting
carnival of world cup would provide an excellent platform for selling of the sports related
accessories. Thus, it can be said, that for opening a sports accessories shop or any of its
branches across the country of Russia during the time of world cup is a wonderful
opportunity, which must be exercised to the hilt.
Business model Canvas:
Key Partners Key Activities Value
Propositions
Customer
Relationships
Customer
Segments
 Local
raw
materia
l
supplie
rs
 Local
employ
 Buying of
raw
materials
for jersey
making
 Making of
the
necessary
 Providing
top
quality
sporting
accessori
es.
 Helping
the
 Dedicate
d
personal
service to
be the top
most
focus.
 Best
 The
target
market
id the
sports
enthusi
asts
and

7SPORTS EVENT TOURISM IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
ment
agency
 Friends
and
Profess
ional
associat
es
goods to be
sold
 Distributio
n of the
sporting
goods to
the second
branch
outlet in
Luzhniki
Stadium,
Moscow.
customer
s feel a
sense of
pride by
making
the
national
team
jerseys
with top
quality
polyester
fabric.
ambience
for
providing
self-
service.
 Special
cases for
providing
best
quality
auto
mated
services,
if need
arises.
tourists
.
 Mainly
SocX’s
main
focus
lies on
two
main
target
groups,
the
(12-25)
group
and the
(25 to
45) age
group,
keepin
g in
mind
the
love
for
football

8SPORTS EVENT TOURISM IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
across
diverse
age
groups.
Key Resources Channels
 Local
friends and
professiona
l associates
 Employers
and sports
enthusiasts
 Internet
services.
 Good
source of
suppliers
 Personal
channels
 Local
transport
facilities
in and
around
St.
Petersbur
g and
Moscow.
Cost Structure Revenue Streams
 Raw material acquisition
cost
 Production cost
 Transportation cost
 Marketing cost
 Cost of other extra services
 Sales of sporting accessories (through offline
mode)
 Gaming machines
 Sponsorships
 Fun games and other allied activities.
 Web based sales.

9SPORTS EVENT TOURISM IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
 Employee cost (Salaries)  Sale of Panini stickers.
Proposed management and production section:
In this section of the entire report, the proposed management and the production
section would be discussed in detail. The first part would vividly describe the proposed
management structure of SocX. In the case of the proposed management system which would
be adopted by the owners of SocX is the system of minimum investment and maximum
returns. The proposed management of the company involves the following activities:
 Purchase of raw materials and production: The first and foremost priority for the
owners at SocX is the purchase of the best quality raw materials for the production of
the jerseys. This includes mainly purchasing best quality polyester fabric at the
minimum possible prices from the local retailers such as ‘Unique fabric’ in St.
Petersburg. Additionally, the owners have also decided to purchase quality jerseys,
football boots , footballs, player designed socks and other accessories from the
locally available retail stores, in order to cut down on the cost.
 Management of the branches: There would be a total of two branches, one at St.
Petersburg and the other at Moscow. These are going to be the two most prominent
attractions for the world cup, which is due to take place from the 14thof June. Each
of these two branches have been incorporated on behalf of the Government of
Russia’s aim of making the world cup more friendly, robust and fulfilling experience
for both the visiting tourists as well as for the sports enthusiasts from all across the
globe. Each branch would consist of the following members who would have the
below mentioned responsibilities too:

10SPORTS EVENT TOURISM IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
 Internal Management: The internal management of any business organisation or any
small business venture plays a pivotal role in its overall success. The main outlet in
St. Petersburg near the Krestovsky stadium deals with all the primary activities of the
business. In the subsequent paragraph a detailed understanding of each of the job
positions in both the branches of SocX has been vividly described.
Detailed understanding of each job post and their roles:
There will be a Head Manager that may be the owner, who would oversee every
operations of the branch (shop). Along with him, there would be a person who would be
in charge of the sales; he or she would look into the sales activities of SocX. Next, a
person would be there who would be in charge of the online activities of the shop,
advertising, selling online, taking orders online, would be his or her main job (Wäsche,
Dickson, & Woll, 2013). There would be another person who would be in charge of the
gaming department, which would be provided to the visiting audience, by providing an
opportunity of gaming services to the. Along with this, another person would handle the
accounts and monetary items of the shop. It includes keeping a track of the money
Manager/Owner
Head of Sales
Head of Gaming
Head of Accounts
and financial
necessities
Head of Online
activiites
Head of supply
and distribution

11SPORTS EVENT TOURISM IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
received from sales, all the expenses incurred and the revenue received from different
sources. Additionally, along with the person mentioned above, there would be a person,
who would look after the supply and distribution of the raw materials and the different
goods and merchandise, which have been ordered online. He would ensure that the St.
Petersburg branch of SocX, get the right quantity, right quality of raw material (good
quality polyester fabric) at the right time, in order to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted
production procedure. Along with this, the person would also be responsible for ensuring
timely supply of the different kinds of goods which have been ordered online.
Objectives of SocX:
In order to show that the shop has been opened to spread the love of the beautiful game of
football and to cater personally to the requirements of the different sports enthusiasts, it
will be the management’s objective to ensure that all the above positions, would be filled
by the close friends, family members and other known associates. The most imperative
objective of the owners of SocX remains the fact, which is the owners want to enjoy
themselves in the mirth of the world cup and continue to do so for many years to come,
just for the love of the beautiful game.
A picture of the draw could be provided as a part of the promotional strategy:

12SPORTS EVENT TOURISM IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
(Source: FIFA.com, 2018)
Hiring objectives of SocX:
Additionally, a need of hiring different assistants for the purpose of helping them out
would be necessary. In this case, hiring of relevant people with or without the required
experience would be done. Even the fresher’s could also apply or any teenager from the
list of family and friends. The objective remains to become a sports family oriented shop,
which have a great deal of warmth and love for the beautiful game. Moreover, these steps
would also put less strain on the limited financial resources of SocX. It remains the
foremost objective of the owners to portray themselves as the lovers of the beautiful
game, who have set up the shop in order to promote the feeling of brother hood and This
would help the owners to ensure smooth running of the Moscow outlet, without putting
any kind of financial or man power pressure.
Pricing of the different products:
Products/Services Price($)
Football jersey 25$ and so on (price per jersey)
Football boots 30$ till 90$

13SPORTS EVENT TOURISM IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
Gaming consoles charges per hour 10$
Panini stickers (album) 103$
Player identification fun games 10$
Sales from online orders (per day) 500$
Total 678$
Panini Stickers are going to be back in the FIFA World Cup, 2018 after a gap of several
decades:
(Source: Hindustantimes.com, 2018)
Projected Income and expenditure:
As any other business setup, SocX would also incur various kinds of expenditure for
the day to day running of the business. The aim of incurring these expenses is to ensure that a
smooth and effective business goes on without any kind of untoward interruptions. All these
expenses, sales, and efficient organisation is being done under the veil of the primary
objective of the owners, which is to enjoy the fever of the 2018 world cup at Russia

14SPORTS EVENT TOURISM IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
(Zimbalist, 2016). The detailed mentioning of all the necessary expenses of the shop and the
overall business has been provided below:
Expenses: 2018 ($) 2019($) 2020($) 2021($)
Monthly rental 800 1050 1500 1700
Transportation
charges for bringing
in and sending
materials and
products
150 200 300 450
Gaming consoles
and T.V(x4; two
each for both
branches)
500 550 600 1000
Payment to
suppliers
1050 1300 1500 2500
Raw material +
acquisition cost
1200 1500 1900 2500
Cost of setting and
maintenance of
online marketing
websites and
domain
500 550 600 1000
Employee expenses 3000 4000 5500 8000
Miscellaneous
expenses
200 250 300 500
Total 7400 9400 12,200 17650

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A forecasted income and expenditure for the three years since inception has been provided
below:
Revenue Sources: 2018($) 2019($) 2020($) 2021($)
Revenue from
sales of sporting
accessories
750,000 900,000 1050,000 1140,000
Gaming console 36000 72,000 90,000 108,000
Panini stickers 3000 - - -
Player
identification fun
games
90000 120,000 225,000 270,000
Sponsorships 20,000 30,000 35,000 45,000
Total 899,000 1122,000 1400,000 1513,500
Forecasted Sales:
As the income section mentioned in the above portion constitute a major portion of
the sales forecast for the mentioned period of three years, from the inception year of 2018,
which is why the sales figure have been reproduced over here:

16SPORTS EVENT TOURISM IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
It can be seen that the total amount of sales for the period has continued to increase,
especially the revenue from sale of sporting equipment’s have been tremendous. The forecast
is based on the after math of the Fifa world cup. Due to the world cup, the economic well-
being of the residents of St. Petersburg would increase, consequently the popularity of the
game in the area would increase. This bodes well for the economy of Russia.
Conclusion:
Through this report, a detailed understanding of the event of sports tourism has been gained.
The aims and objectives of sports tourism and the various activities involved in it has been
discussed below. The report throws ample light on the FIFA world cup 2018, which is bound
to take place in Russia. There remains a series of items which would be sold through the
setting up of the shops near the two branches of St Petersburg and Moscow. Thus through
this, a robust business proposal about the various kinds of expenses and incomes have been
discovered and seen.

17SPORTS EVENT TOURISM IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
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