Have you ever booked a flight just because you heard the courts were better on the other side of the planet?
I hadn’t either—until I started noticing something strange among my friends. Weekend trips to Bali weren’t for yoga retreats anymore. They were for pickleball camps. Flights to Dubai? Not shopping, but evening tennis sessions after work. Even the surfers I know in Florida are flying to wave pools in Australia because the breaks back home just don’t cut it anymore.
Something big is happening in travel right now, and it’s being led by people born between 1981 and 1996. Millennials aren’t just traveling to see the world—they’re traveling to play in it. Hard.
The Rise of Sports Tourism: More Than Just a Vacation
Forget lounging by infinity pools with overpriced cocktails (though nobody’s against that from time to time). A growing wave of travelers now plans entire trips around their favorite racket, board, or paddle. And they’re willing to pay serious money to do it.
The numbers are honestly kind of wild. The global sports tourism market already sits at over $700 billion and is expected to nearly triple in less than a decade. Europe still holds the crown, but Asia-Pacific is growing faster than anywhere else—projected to hit close to $150 billion this year alone.
But statistics only tell half the story. The real shift? It’s personal. It’s emotional. It’s about identity.
Pickleball: The Unexpected Passport Magnet
Two years ago, most people outside North America had never heard of pickleball. Today? It’s becoming the ultimate excuse to hop on a plane.
Take someone like Vince, a 39-year-old entrepreneur living in Vietnam. He plays two to four hours nearly every day. When he travels for tournaments or just to try new courts, he thinks nothing of spending several hundred dollars on flights to Taiwan or Malaysia. Add hotels, court fees, meals out with new pickleball friends, and those short trips easily hit $500–800. Longer hauls to Canada? Closer to a grand.
“Every country plays with a slightly different style,” he told me. “You feel the local vibe on the court—the pace, the trash talk, even the music they play between games. It’s addictive.”
He’s not alone. Surveys show millennials in the U.S. are almost 90% more likely than other generations to plan an entire vacation around pickleball. And it’s spreading fast across Asia, where new courts are popping up weekly.
Tennis: Therapy You Can Take Anywhere
Then there’s Nirbhay, a 35-year-old based in Singapore. For him, tennis isn’t just exercise—it’s medicine.
He’ll fly to Phuket for intensive training camps. When business takes him to Dubai or Abu Dhabi, he books private coaching sessions in the evenings. Six tennis-focused trips a year, easy.
“After a good hit, I’m calmer at work the next day,” he says. “I stopped late-night drinking on Fridays. Quit social smoking completely. Tennis gave me better habits without feeling like a sacrifice.”
For many, the court has replaced the bar as the main social hub. You meet people, you laugh, you sweat—then you go for dinner instead of shots. Same connection, better hangover.
Chasing Perfect Waves Around the Globe
If you think ocean surfers are committed, meet the new breed chasing man-made perfection.
Mike, 39, from Florida, has surfed 140 hours in 26 different wave pools across 10 countries. He rarely repeats the same park twice. Each one has its own personality—some fast and hollow, others long and mellow.
His budget? Between $6,000 and $10,000 per trip when you factor in flights, accommodation, and session fees that can hit $170 an hour. He’s already spent over $18,000 just on surfing time.
“When you pay for a wave pool, you’re guaranteed perfect waves every single time,” he explains. “Back home I might wait days for a decent swell. Here? Progress happens fast.”
He documents everything—photos, videos—for his social channels. The community he’s built online now funds part of the obsession. Turns out people love watching someone chase the perfect ride around the world.
Why Millennials Are Different
So what’s really going on here? Why are so many of us willing to spend rent-level money on sports trips?
First, we grew up being told experiences matter more than things. Second, many of us spent our 20s grinding careers and delaying “real life.” Now in our 30s and early 40s, we’re making up for lost time—hard.
Add social media into the mix, and suddenly there’s proof that perfect courts and epic waves actually exist. FOMO is real.
- We want vacations that make us better, not just rested
- We crave communities built around shared passions
- We’re willing to pay for guaranteed quality (no more praying for swell)
- We value stories over souvenirs
In my experience, the best trips aren’t the ones with the nicest hotels. They’re the ones where you come home physically tired but mentally lighter—where you made new friends who get why you’d fly 15 hours for a game.
The Relationship Bonus Nobody Talks About
Here’s something fascinating: sports tourism is quietly becoming one of the best things you can do for your relationship.
Couples who travel together for tournaments or training camps report higher satisfaction than those who only do traditional vacations. Why? Shared challenge creates deeper bonds. You celebrate wins together. You laugh about losses over dinner. You have inside jokes nobody else understands.
Even solo travelers often come home better partners—calmer, healthier, with fresh energy. As one tennis traveler put it: “If I don’t play for two weeks, my wife notices. I’m not as fun to be around.”
Where This Is All Heading
The future looks ridiculously exciting.
New pickleball resorts are opening from Thailand to Portugal. Surf parks are under construction in London, Tokyo, and Abu Dhabi. Tennis academies now offer “bleisure” packages—business class by day, private coaching by night.
Hotels are catching on too. Some properties in Asia now guarantee court access or partner with local clubs. Others fly in pro coaches for guest clinics. The line between resort and training facility is blurring fast.
And perhaps most interestingly—this trend shows no signs of being just a phase. As millennials settle into higher earning years, the budget for these trips only grows.
So next time someone asks why you’re flying halfway around the world for a weekend tournament, just smile.
You’re not crazy.
You’re part of the biggest shift in travel we’ve seen in decades.
And honestly? It feels pretty damn good to be playing the game—wherever in the world that may take us.
