engleski

ESPORTS: the investment opportunity of the decade for regional tourism development

Esports refers to professional, competitive to a live audience. It is the fastest-growing sport in the world. Similar to traditional sports, skilled players join teams, organizations and leagues. Its widespread appeal makes events and tournaments a potentially major draw for tourism. They are increasingly popular spectator events, which drives major investment and interest. The size of the audience is staggering: The global eSports audience has reached 380 million in 2017, made up of 191 million eSports enthusiasts and a further 194 million occasional viewers. The experience is similar to watching a professional sporting event, except that instead of watching a physical event, spectators watch video gamers compete against each other in a virtual environment. In 2017 eSports revenue hit $696 million and is expected to increase by a staggering 38% in 2018. Estimates value global eSports market revenue to reach $1.5 billion by 2020. As of today 10% of all sports viewing is eSports. Esports has already drawn the attention of traditional sports team owners and franchises. Major traditional sports leagues have already identified eSports as the best way to connect with the next generation of fans. Furthermore eSports is already “in talks” to be included as demonstration sport in Paris 2024 Olympics. It is evident that the development of eSports significantly can have a significant contribution for the tourist offer development. Eastern Croatia is a region with a significant potential for development of an even more competitive and recognizable tourist offer, and eSports plays an important factor in it. The main purpose of this paper is to present the role and the advantages of eSports as a developer of tourism of Eastern Croatia in the future. This paper is focused on determining the current state of eSports in the world, analyzing the best practices, and determine what is the true potential of Eastern Croatia in this segment. The research is based on the data obtained from secondary sources, respectively desk research method, method of comparison, as well as methods of analysis and synthesis.

Tourist destination ; eSports ; innovation ; emerging trend ; positioning

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