I received a press release yesterday about the Tour de Corse Historique, which takes place on the island of Corsica each year.
While this might be slightly different from the type of motorsport you take part in, there's a lot to be learned from the event when it comes to motorsport tourism.
A few things I'll cover in this email:
- The impact of motorsport on a local area
- Getting across stats when you pitch
- How to take inspiration from this
- (Plus some sponsorship opportunities at the bottom of the email)
Setting out the problem and solution
"It is considered one of the most beautiful destinations in the world, thanks to its varied landscapes of sea, mountains and steep roads. And yet, with a 10% drop in air traffic in July 2024 and visitors consuming less and less, Corsica's tourism figures are mixed this season."
The organiser makes it quite clear what the problem is but then goes on to present the event as the solution.
"Over five days, [the competition and visitors] represents 14,770 nights booked, over 26,000 meals served by local restaurants and caterers, and sea and air transport costs of €358,000 and €48,000 respectively. [...] All in all, the Tour de Corse Historique generates over €3 million in economic spin-offs for Corsica."
How to take inspiration from this
There are two things you can take away from this approach.
- Setting out the problem and then providing a solution - You can base this on what you know about the sponsor, what their challenges are, and what you can offer as a driver.
- Motorsport boosts tourism - Could you work with a tourism board to promote motorsport? Is there a way to drive traffic from your championship to local businesses? This could be a nice out-of-the-box offering.
Example
You could pitch to a local business offering to drive new customers their way during the race weekend and beyond.
For instance, on visiting your area in the paddock, people can get a discount for that brand to use during the weekend. This would work well for restaurants, retailers, farm shops, etc.
You might even add some promotional work ahead of the race weekend to get people excited about the business and what you're going to be doing together.
This works because you can lean on the number of people a race weekend brings to the local area. This doesn't just have to be about spectators but all the teams, media, and officials too.
Let me know what you think! As always, you can reply directly to this email.
Keep up the great work.
Jess