Female Fans Are Travelling More Than Men For Sport
Hotels.com® – the Official Travel Partner of the UEFA Champions League, has uncovered that female fans are more likely than men to travel for sport, cancel date nights or anniversary plans and ditch their mates to watch the football.
The Destination Football survey, which was conducted by Hotels.com, part of Expedia Group, polled over 16,000 male and female football fans from around the world, and showcased some fascinating insights into the changing landscape of female football fans.
The survey revealed nearly three quarters of women plan their holidays around sporting events, marginally more than men (71% v 67%). Female fans are also prepared to sacrifice more to watch a live match. Almost a quarter of women (24%) would cancel date nights (v 19% of men) or anniversary plans (18% v 15% of men) and over 40% of women would sacrifice a night on the town with friends to watch the football.
The survey revealed true commitment to the sport, as over 60% of women don’t leave home without their beloved football shirt for an away game and almost 1 in 10 women would travel 11+ hours to watch a match. Male fans mostly watch games with their mates, whereas 45% of female fans watch football with their partner (v 17% of men) and are more likely to watch with their Mum, Dad or siblings (13% v 9% of men).
Amongst the insights, over 46% of women said they’d avoid social media to not find out the result. The excitement of traveling to an away game was another key finding from the survey with 53% of women wanting accommodation close to the match day stadium to soak up the atmosphere.
Whilst the game is the main attraction, female fans are keener than men on embracing local culture and attractions when travelling for football. Three quarters of women check out the local opera, theatre or museums (vs 60% of men) and shockingly they’re more likely than men to embrace the local pubs (32% vs 30%) or watch other sports in the city (21% vs 16%).
Emma Tagg, Senior Global Brand Communications Manager from Hotels.com brand, said: “As the Official Travel Partner of the UEFA Champions League, we know that football fans are some of the most passionate travellers out there.
“They travel near and far to support their team. It is great to see the diversity of fans and it’s exciting to see female football lovers leading the way when it comes to embracing the culture of the local cities they visit, and really making their trip as rewarding as possible.”
Image: PA Images
