Do you get inspired when watching those videos about Olympic athletes overcoming personal and sporting obstacles? If so, you’re not alone. And with Olympic fever rising ahead of the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina (Feb. 6-22), many ardent sports fans are planning to level up their experience by catching events live and in person in Italy.
That’s just the tip of the sports tourism iceberg. 2026 is poised to be a huge year, from the Super Bowl to the FIFA World Cup. Per UN Tourism, sports tourism currently accounts for about 10 percent of global expenditures on tourism. According to a recent Expedia report, 57 percent of travellers say they are likely to go to a local sports event during their trip. But those numbers don’t tell the whole story.
Related: Sports Tourism Surges: Studies Show Massive Impact on Travel
Roadtrips: An Expert Perspective on Sports Tourism
“Sports is definitely having a moment, post-Covid,” says Duane Penner, the vice-president of sales for Winnipeg-based Roadtrips. “More and more, sports travel is not gender-specific. Sports and entertainment are coming together, and people are looking to build serious memories around attending iconic events.”
According to Penner, whose sports tourism expertise stems from nearly 30 years of experience, Roadtrips has evolved its business model over time. The 1992-founded company originally focused on hockey fans – Canadians, Americans, and Europeans – who wanted to visit Original-Six NHL arenas like Maple Leaf Gardens and the Montreal Forum.
The Olympic opening ceremonies are always a major draw for sports travelers. (Photo Credit: Lucas Aykroyd/TravelPulse Canada)
Today, Roadtrips is an official sports tourism provider for luxury consortiums. Working closely with travel advisors, it caters to upscale leisure travellers – often just one or two at a time – and builds fully customized itineraries for high-demand events like the Masters at Augusta National. From marking a milestone birthday to celebrating a young person’s university graduation, clients’ motivations for sports travel vary widely.
“You don’t have to be an auto racing fan to go, ‘I want to be in Monaco for the Grand Prix at least once in my life,’” says Penner. “You watch a Netflix show like Formula 1: Drive to Survive or a Brad Pitt movie like F1 and say, ‘That just looks fantastic!’”
In tandem with Penner’s insights, here are some sample tentpole sporting events for 2026.
2026: A Year of Big Sports Events
The annual Australian Open (Jan. 18-Feb. 1) draws tennis fans from around the world to Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena. The first of four Grand Slam events pairs beautifully with (for example) a stay at the glassy new 1 Hotel Melbourne – home to more than 2,000 live plants – and steaks and seafood at Maison Batard or Gimlet.
“People come for the sports event, but they’re also often looking to immerse themselves in the culture, the cuisine, and the destination,” says Penner.
Intrigued by the nearby 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground? Sports fans can return between March and September to check out the Australian Football League (AFL) season. Nine of the 18 Aussie rules football teams are based in Melbourne.
The Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct features world-class sports venues like Rod Laver Arena and the Melbourne Cricket Ground. (Photo Credit: Visit Victoria)
For Winter Olympic spectators, the thrills go beyond Sidney Crosby’s quest to lead Canada to the men’s hockey gold medal and American skiing legend Lindsey Vonn’s bid to top the podium again at age 41. Guided tours of Milan’s Duomo – Italy’s largest Gothic cathedral – and culinary tours spotlighting Lombardy’s food and wine are on the menu. The upscale fashion shopping at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is another between-events magnet.
Super Bowl LX (Feb. 8) takes place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Ticketmaster estimates that the historical cost of the average Super Bowl resale ticket is between $4,000 and $6,000 [USD]. Yet that may be on the conservative side for this year’s event at the home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers with Bad Bunny headlining the halftime show. With high demand and unscrupulous resellers out there, fraud prevention in ticket sales is one of the hot-button areas where travel advisors can add value.
“The trophy value [of attending a major sports event] is higher than regular tourism,” Penner says. “But with globally popular events like these, the traveller needs more help than ever. Hotels are hard to get. With tickets online, who knows who is legit? We provide that extra layer of information and expertise.”
Planning Ahead Is Key for Sports Tourism
Events like the World Baseball Classic in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Japan (Mar. 5-17) and the FIFA World Cup (June 11-July 19) present different rewards and logistical challenges.
The World Cup features 48 national teams this year for the first time ever, spread out over 16 host cities in Canada (including Vancouver and Toronto), the U.S., and Mexico. It’s expected to be the biggest and most-watched sports event in history.
Fans of the German Bundesliga (pictured: Berlin’s Olympic Stadium) will flock to North America to watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (Photo Credit: Lucas Aykroyd/TravelPulse Canada)
In view of the current political situation, visitors to the U.S. need to be advised about potential immigration issues and longer-than-average visa wait times. On the brighter side, travel advisors can also offer guidance to soccer fans keen to take advantage of World Cup promotions, like Marriott Bonvoy’s special packages and activations as the tournament’s Official Hotel Supporter.
“At Roadtrips, we believe that if you’re going to live out your sports travel dream, you should do it your way and not buy something completely pre-packaged,” Penner says. “We ask for quite a bit of
information about what people want to do and what they’re looking to spend. And if what we come back with doesn’t fit, it’s a bit like building a house – we can build it a lot of different ways.”
Sports Tourism Opportunities Abound Canada-Wide
There are always new niches to explore in sports travel. For instance, the popularity of women’s sports is surging across Canada, presenting an exciting opportunity for women travellers and multigenerational group getaways.
The expansion Vancouver Goldeneyes of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) are attracting big crowds to the Pacific Coliseum this year, while the 2027 IIHF Women’s World Championship will showcase the world’s top 10 women’s hockey nations in Quebec City. The Vancouver Rise soccer team won the inaugural Northern Super League (NSL) championship last year. The Toronto Tempo is slated to debut in 2026 as the WNBA’s newest pro women’s basketball club.
You can also build out a hockey-themed vacation in a sports-centric city like Edmonton, which will co-host the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship (Dec. 26, 2026-Jan. 5, 2027) with Red Deer. Dedicated NHL fans can bunk down at the JW Marriott Ice District next to Rogers Place before catching an Oilers game from the swanky loge tables with in-seat service.
A mural at Edmonton’s Rogers Place captures the sports and entertainment excitement in the Alberta capital. (Photo Credit: Lucas Aykroyd/TravelPulse Canada)
Enjoy pre-game cocktails and charcuterie at Bar Trove, which is owned by Lauren Kyle McDavid, the wife of Oilers superstar Connor McDavid. Or fuel up on Indigenous-inspired takes on elk tartare and West Coast oysters at Bernadette’s. View classic Oilers memorabilia at the Royal Alberta Museum or play retro hockey video games at the Edmonton Public Library. The options are never-ending.
“The goal is to create a sports trip where you can soak it all in,” Penner says. “Where even if your team doesn’t win, it’s quite a weekend!”
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