Impact of sports tourism on the social mass and the economy of a football club. The case of the F.C. Barcelona

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the impact that sports tourism has on the members and fans of the football club F.C. Barcelona and on the economy of the club and the city where it is located. Quantitative methods have been used to both analyze primary data (survey to F.C. Barcelona members) and secondary data (mainly from renowned consulting firms). The results show that the revenues generated by tourism represented 12.33% of the club’s global revenues and 22.73% of the commercial and stadium revenues in the last full season before COVID-19. In addition, according to the results of the survey, most of the club members (82.15%) consider that marketing campaigns are necessary to attract tourists to the sports events, both from a financial perspective (94.77%) and to promote the club’s image and brand (91.08%). However, 84% of the participants of the survey are critical of the marketing and communication strategies that are more focused on tourists than members and 80.31% estimate that the presence of tourists in the stadium hides the reality of a lower presence of local fans. Finally, the sociodemographic profile of the club members may be determinant of their behavior, both as tourists when they visit other clubs’ facilities and stadiums and when they are the hosts. Women and the younger members are the most critical of the campaigns and actions to attract tourists to stadium.