Lloret de Mar, March 13, 2023.- The municipal sports facilities of Lloret de Mar will host this first quarter of 2023 70% more international athletes compared to the same period in 2022 and 9% more compared to the figures of 2019. A total of 6,029 athletes will go through the sports facilities (905 in January, 1499 in February and 3625 in March), representing a total of 112 training sessions for different teams, among which the Metec cycling team (Netherlands) stand out, the Ligue Occitanie team from Thriatlon (France) and three American football teams who have already confirmed that they will repeat their stay in Lloret next year. Ana Garcia Castany, councilor for sports, explains that “we have recovered the presence of international athletes, especially those from Sweden, France, Poland, Norway and Switzerland”. In terms of sports disciplines, the football, triathlon, swimming and athletics training camps stand out.
This week, Lloret Tourism has carried out two actions linked to sports tourism and which continue the strategy of positioning the destination in this segment. On the one hand, there was a familiarization trip organized by the Catalan Tourism Agency and the Costa Brava Girona Tourism Board with different tour operators from the Nordic countries specializing in paddle tennis. During their time in Lloret they were able to visit the sports area and specifically the municipal padel courts, and they participated in a networking lunch with different specialized companies from the territory at the L’Azure hotel, accommodation certified in sports tourism by the Catalan Tourism Agency.
In addition, last Friday the manager of Lloret Turisme, Elizabeth Keegan, participated in a round table of the day “Tourism and Sport” organized by the City Council of Calvià in Peguera (Mallorca). Under the title “Sport as a way to change the tourism model of mature destinations” he shared the experience, strategy and specialization of Lloret de Mar in the sports tourism product together with the managers of the municipalities of Salou and Calvià, Marc Espasa and Xavier Pascuet. Elizabeth Keegan highlighted that “the success of the sports tourism project in Lloret de Mar lies in the public-private collaboration and that the destination has key local agents to develop strategic actions”
Since 2006, Lloret de Mar has been certified as a Sports Tourism Destination in the sports of football, athletics, cycling, swimming, team sports and triathlon. The municipality currently has 12 accommodation companies and 2 reception agencies certified in sports tourism by the Catalan Tourism Agency, in addition to 17 establishments and 2 reception agencies certified in cycle tourism.
