E-Sport Events within Tourism Paradigm: A Conceptual Discussion

Abstract

E-sports (electronic sports) refers to organized video gaming events or tournaments that culminate in championships at either the regional or international level. The e-sports market is experiencing rapid growth. By 2020, the market is expected to generate over US$1.48 billion in revenue. The number of viewers who regularly follow the industry and tune in to watch international competitions is projected to reach 589 million by 2020. There are many reasons why esports events are attractive and remarkable experiences: fans get the chance to (a) watch the best players in the world compete; (b) meet their favorite players; and (c) share their passion with hundreds of like-minded fans. This hip version of event tourism, e-sports tourism, has been flying under the radar for a long time but has finally, in recent years, entered the mainstream. This study discussed the relationship between e-sports and tourism by examining esports events within the tourism paradigm. Consequently, e-sports events, as a growing market, constitute an important attraction for the tourism sector.

The rise of E-Sports and potential for Post-COVID continued growth

“…The number of tourists who are willing to travel other cities or countries to attend e-sports events has increased dramatically over the decades (DiLek, 2019). This trend created a new type of tourism: e-sports tourism.…”

Evaluation of the tourist perception of the spectator in an eSport event

“…Currently, attendance at sports events, as a participant or spectator, has become one of the options for occupying the population's free time and leisure (Theodorakis, Kaplanidou, & Karabaxoglou, 2015), becoming the most important element of sports tourism and maybe the one that generates the greatest number of tourists and economic impact, which is why it is being used to attract tourists to the communities (Deery, Jago, & Fredline, 2004). The technology´s development of in the 21st century has created a disruptive impact on current society, the adoption of digital technology and Internet age has generated as tourism an unprecedented change in the global economy and society (Dilek, 2019).…”

“…Along with the development of tourism and technology, the sports sector has grown in parallel with this trend of change and electronic sports events (eSports) have become an essential element of modern society, mainly gaining ground among young people (Dilek, 2019;Funk, Pizzo, & Baker, 2017).…”

“…Esports have experienced a year-on-year increase in both the number of spectators and revenues. It is estimated that by 2020 the industry will be worth more than 1 trillion euros and have nearly 600 million spectators worldwide (Dilek, 2019). According to data from the World Game Market Report (Newzoo, 2018), the game "League of Legends" was the electronic sport with the highest number of players, reaching a total of 100 million registered players.…”

“…Sports events are a tourist attraction for eSport fans, where spectators have the opportunity to see the best players in the world compete, meeting their favorite players or sharing their passion with other attendees with the same interests (Dilek, 2019). For this reason, in recent years different proposals have been developed which aim to increase the visibility of these events, to size up the venue for the competition and to contribute to the dissemination of the brand of the city or region in which they are held for tourism purposes (Antón, 2018).…”