Travel

NASCAR is by far the country s biggest spectator sport, with crowds of 100,000 and more attending single events

With two of the biggest events in international sports being held this year the FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver travel agents are working overtime to snare tickets and accommodations for their sports-crazed clients. U.S. visitors make up the number-one market for both these events, outside of the host countries themselves, and agents are dealing with the challenges of sold-out room blocks, complicated schedules and the bureaucracy of purchasing event tickets through the host organizations and the operators they ve appointed.

Visitors to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby have the options of value-based packages, all the way up to seats in Millionaire s Row

The important thing for agents to remember about sports travel is that it s a year-round profit center. For us, it starts with college football bowl season in January, says Andre Gower. Virtuoso specialist at North Carolina -based Premiere Sports Travel . (In fact, Gower was onsite in Pasadena for the Rose Bowl Parade and game when we spoke.) Then you have the Pro Bowl . Super Bowl and head right into the NASCAR season in February with the Daytona 500 and Las Vegas 400 .

On it goes throughout the year, with the NCAA s March Madness. the Masters. Triple Crown horse racing, Major League Baseball, the U.S. Open Tennis Championships. U.S. Open Golf and then back into the NFL and college football seasons (not to mention the NBA and NHL). Premiere Sports Travel has pre-set packages for all these events on its website, but Gower emphasizes that agents can customize any of these to fit the special needs of their clients, from value-based to high-end luxury.