Houston and Dallas were recently in the spotlight as hosts for the NCAA Men's and Women's Final Fours. Each of the destinations hosted tens of thousands of visitors from out of town, providing a spotlight for Marriott, which has sponsored the NCAA for seven years through its Marriott Bonvoy program. The sports-related travel market was the first segment of the travel industry to come back in big numbers as the world started to reopen from the pandemic and the pace has only continued in the months since, a trend that Marriott executives have watched with interest.

In this conversation between SportsTravel Managing Editor Matt Traub and MandyGill, Marriott vice president of global marketing for the United States and Canada (recorded on location at the Men’s Final Four in Houston), we discuss the current state of the sports-related travel industry, Marriott's NCAA partnership and much more from the hotelier’s point of view on the strength of the industry.

Houston and Dallas were recently in the spotlight as hosts for the NCAA Men's and Women's Final Fours. Each of the destinations hosted tens of thousands of visitors from out of town, providing a spotlight for Marriott, which has sponsored the NCAA for seven years through its Marriott Bonvoy program. The sports-related travel market was the first segment of the travel industry to come back in big numbers as the world started to reopen from the pandemic and the pace has only continued in the months since, a trend that Marriott executives have watched with interest.
In this conversation between SportsTravel Managing Editor Matt Traub and Mandy Gill, Marriott vice president of global marketing for the United States and Canada (recorded on location at the Men’s Final Four in Houston), we discuss the current state of the sports-related travel industry, Marriott's NCAA partnership and much more from the hotelier’s point of view on the strength of the industry.

In-depth discussions with leaders in the sports-event industry.

SportsTravel Podcast

Mandy Gill: Marriott's NCAA Partnership, NIL and State of Sports-Related Travel

Skip Gilbert is no stranger to the sports industry. As a former professional soccer player, the sport may well be his true love. But his previous stints included one with the USADA, the anti-doping agency, as managing director of operations, marketing and development; managing director of professional tennis operations and tournament manager for the U.S. Open in New York; CEO of USA Triathlon; a vice president for the Arena Football League; and chief marketing officer of USA Swimming. Along the way, he’s also become one of the industry’s staunchest advocates for kids being involved in sports for their own health and well-being — and being involved in as many sports as possible to avoid specialization.

Since 2020, he has been at the helm of US Youth Soccer, the largest youth sport organizations in the United States, which is focused on having a positive impact on the lives of America’s youth through the game of soccer. The group’s mission is to make soccer the preeminent youth sport in the country, and they are well on their way. Soccer participation has held steady or grown in recent years and the big events headed to the United States, including of course the FIFA World Cup in 2026, may only serve as a catalyst for continued growth, or at the least an aspirational event that could well fuel future growth in the sport.

In this discussion, we sit down with Gilbert to discuss the state of youth soccer, the opportunities and challenges ahead for the sport, the rise of the professional leagues for both men and women, and the importance of diversity when it comes to kids getting active in sports. 

Skip Gilbert is no stranger to the sports industry. As a former professional soccer player, the sport may well be his true love. But his previous stints included one with the USADA, the anti-doping agency, as managing director of operations, marketing and development; managing director of professional tennis operations and tournament manager for the U.S. Open in New York; CEO of USA Triathlon; a vice president for the Arena Football League; and chief marketing officer of USA Swimming. Along the way, he’s also become one of the industry’s staunchest advocates for kids being involved in sports for their own health and well-being — and being involved in as many sports as possible to avoid specialization.
Since 2020, he has been at the helm of <a href="https://www.usyouthsoccer.org/">US Youth Soccer</a>, the largest youth sport organizations in the United States, which is focused on having a positive impact on the lives of America’s youth through the game of soccer. The group’s mission is to make soccer the preeminent youth sport in the country, and they are well on their way. Soccer participation has held steady or grown in recent years and the big events headed to the United States, including of course <a href="https://www.sportstravelmagazine.com/fifa-world-cup-2026-host-cities/">the FIFA World Cup in 2026</a>, may only serve as a catalyst for continued growth, or at the least an aspirational event that could well fuel future growth in the sport.
In this discussion, we sit down with Gilbert to discuss the state of youth soccer, the opportunities and challenges ahead for the sport, the rise of the professional leagues for both men and women, and the importance of diversity when it comes to kids getting active in sports.

Skip Gilbert: The State of Youth Soccer

In 2019, the Sports Events and Tourism Association, or Sports ETA, embarked on an ambitious State of the Industry report to attempt to put a value on the economic impact derived from sports events and sports-related travel. The timing was fortuitous as it set a baseline for future studies just before the pandemic. In 2022, a second report analyzed the pace of recovery from that pandemic, looking at data from 2020 and 2021. But the latest report arguably paints the fullest pictureyet not just at how the industry has recovered, but how it continues to thrive.

The headline numbers are that sports-related travel had a $52.2 billion direct economic impact in 2023. More than 200 million travelers were reported, generating more than 73 million room nights. But perhaps most impressive of all, some 63 percent of destinations surveyed said that sports are their largest generator of room nights. Think about that statistic for a moment and you can start to grasp the true power and potential of this market.

John David took over as Sports ETA’s president and CEO last year after decades as an event organizer and executive himself at USA BMX. So his perspective, and his support of continuing this vital research, are the perfect match to wade into the details of the full report. And Greg Pepitone from Tourism Economics, as the lead researcher in the project, also brings his perspective on where sports fit into the mix since his organization is one of the leading data providers for the overall travel industry. In this discussion, we talk with John and Greg about the not only the headline numbers in the report, but deeper insights that were analyzed about how event organizers make their decisions on locations, what kinds of services travelers are spending their money on, which areas of the country are sourcing the most events and much, much more.

In 2019, the <a href="https://www.sportseta.org/">Sports Events and Tourism Association</a>, or Sports ETA, <a href="https://www.sportstravelmagazine.com/study-45-billion-spent-in-2019-on-sports-related-travel/">embarked on an ambitious State of the Industry report</a> to attempt to put a value on the economic impact derived from sports events and sports-related travel. The timing was fortuitous as it set a baseline for future studies just before the pandemic. In 2022, <a href="https://www.sportstravelmagazine.com/study-sports-related-travel-worth-39-7-billion-in-2021/">a second report analyzed the pace of recovery</a> from that pandemic, looking at data from 2020 and 2021. But <a href="https://research.sportseta.org/industry-reports/">the latest report arguably paints the fullest picture</a>yet not just at how the industry has recovered, but how it continues to thrive.
The headline numbers are that sports-related travel had a $52.2 billion direct economic impact in 2023. More than 200 million travelers were reported, generating more than 73 million room nights. But perhaps most impressive of all, some 63 percent of destinations surveyed said that sports are their largest generator of room nights. Think about that statistic for a moment and you can start to grasp the true power and potential of this market.
John David took over as Sports ETA’s president and CEO last year after decades as an event organizer and executive himself at USA BMX. So his perspective, and his support of continuing this vital research, are the perfect match to wade into the details of the full report. And Greg Pepitone from <a href="https://www.tourismeconomics.com/">Tourism Economics</a>, as the lead researcher in the project, also brings his perspective on where sports fit into the mix since his organization is one of the leading data providers for the overall travel industry. In this discussion, we talk with John and Greg about the not only the headline numbers in the report, but deeper insights that were analyzed about how event organizers make their decisions on locations, what kinds of services travelers are spending their money on, which areas of the country are sourcing the most events and much, much more.

The $52.2 Billion Case for Sports-Related Travel

If you’ve ever seen traditional diving at the Olympic Games or in real life, you know that the cleaner the dive, the better the score. The goal in that discipline is to enter the water as straight as possible with as little splash as possible. But starting in the 1970s, a new generation of divers began something just a bit different. Starting in Norway, these diving daredevils started jumping from substantial heights, doing crazy stunts on the way down, entering the water in a hunched position not just for safety but to create the largest splash possible. Imagine something that combines the flips of snowboard halfpipe with the satisfaction of a cannonball and that gets you close.

But now Døds Diving or Death Diving if you’re Norwegian isn’t up to speed, has become a legitimate event circuit, hosting world championships since 2008. Leading the charge is Paul Rigault, CEO and Co-Founder of the Døds Diving League and Døds Federation, and Stine Brun Kjeldaas, the league head of sports and media, and a World Champion, X Games gold medalist and silver medalist in snowboarding at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano. In this episode, we talk with Paul and Stine about what it takes to host one of these events, what an ideal host venue looks like, what the atmosphere is like at a Døds competition and why in the world anyone would want to hurl themselves off a high dive platform, spin around on the way down and splash their way to victory. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

If you’ve ever seen traditional diving at the Olympic Games or in real life, you know that the cleaner the dive, the better the score. The goal in that discipline is to enter the water as straight as possible with as little splash as possible. But starting in the 1970s, a new generation of divers began something just a bit different. Starting in Norway, these diving daredevils started jumping from substantial heights, doing crazy stunts on the way down, entering the water in a hunched position not just for safety but to create the largest splash possible. Imagine something that combines the flips of snowboard halfpipe with the satisfaction of a cannonball and that gets you close.
But now Døds Diving or Death Diving if you’re Norwegian isn’t up to speed, has become a legitimate event circuit, hosting world championships since 2008. Leading the charge is Paul Rigault, CEO and Co-Founder of the <a href="https://dodsdivingleague.com/">Døds Diving League</a> and Døds Federation, and Stine Brun Kjeldaas, the league head of sports and media, and a World Champion, X Games gold medalist and silver medalist in snowboarding at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano. In this episode, we talk with Paul and Stine about what it takes to host one of these events, what an ideal host venue looks like, what the atmosphere is like at a Døds competition and why in the world anyone would want to hurl themselves off a high dive platform, spin around on the way down and splash their way to victory. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Mandy Gill: Marriott's NCAA Partnership, NIL and State of Sports-Related Travel

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