It promises to be a bumper year for sports tourists with options aplenty for Irish people seeking to catch a big event while overseas.
The big one on the calendar for rugby fans is the Lions tour down under against Australia, which runs from late June to early August. The resurgence in form from the Wallabies has boosted interest among would-be tourists.
“With Australia performing positively in the November series, people are more excited than they were beforehand,” says Mark Pinsent, managing director of Rugby Travel Ireland. “It looks like it will be a competitive series. There’s a lot of variety on what to do between the test matches as well,”
“You can go to places like Cairns and Uluru or Hunter Valley. It’s a big country with lots to do.”
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That’s not the only southern hemisphere trip arousing interest. Leinster’s pair of games in the United Rugby Championship against South Africa’s Bulls and Sharks in March is also proving popular.
“It’s a good time of year. Temperatures aren’t crazy hot, it looks pretty and it’s quite cheap once you get out there,” says Pinsent.
While the Lions tour is the highlight for international rugby travel, the IRFU is expected to announce a tour of Georgia and Romania this summer with players not selected for the trip to Australia. Even without fixed dates, this once-in-a-generation trip is already appealing to sports tourists.
“It’s a bit like when Ireland toured Argentina in 2014. Not many people would go unless there was a reason like the test matches. This should be a great trip. The registration of interest has been substantial.”
The tail end of the year also features a likely bumper trip for fans as Ireland face the All Blacks in Chicago, where Ireland famously recorded its first men’s victory over New Zealand in 2016.
“It’s one of the biggest registrations we’ve ever had for a trip. Those who went there in 2016 had such a great time and told everyone they knew about it. That has grown interest.”
There may not be any Euros or World Cup for Ireland fans to consider in 2025 but football tourism is growing. League of Ireland clubs have witnessed this first-hand in the post-Covid years and Irish football fans are stretching their legs beyond the traditional hotspots.
“Manchester and Liverpool are the two most popular cities for people to go for football. We signed new deals with Real Madrid and Bologna in 2024 and they’re proving very popular for 2025,” says Jonathan McDaid, sales and marketing manager at Champions Travel.
“With Bologna, it’s a really good city for foodies. If a couple is going away, they’ll go to the football match but there’s lots more to do as well. People aren’t going just for sporting events any more. They want to cram in as much as they can while they travel.”
Those who are travelling solely to get as much sport in as possible are treating London, home to multiple English Premier League clubs, as an attractive destination.
“If people go to a game in London, like for an Arsenal game, they might try and combine it with a smaller team like QPR, Millwall or Wimbledon. People try to get as much into the weekend as well,” says McDaid.
“Our main packages are built around hospitality and hotels. With the hotel it’s flexible, you don’t have to book the hotel. You might just get the match ticket and book your own hotel around that.”
The variety in cycling holidays, such as Eurovelo routes, is increasing but the trends in travel have adjusted somewhat in recent years.
“A lot of people in central and southern Europe are experiencing issues with climate change, with summers getting hotter. As a result we’re seeing ‘chill-cations’ where people go to somewhere colder than where they live, like routes along the Baltic Sea,” says Jessica Casagrande, communications and projects officer at the European Cyclists Federation.
“That being said, the classic destinations like the Mediterranean remain popular. We have a route that follows it, called Eurovelo 8, which goes from Spain to Turkey including along the Adriatic.”
Outside of the coastal routes, there are plenty of ways to see Europe while on your bike.
“Fluvia routes, which follow a river, like the Danube and Rhine, are quite popular. There are lesser-known ones like the Meuse which is shorter. It’s nice and easy for everybody, particularly for families,” says Casagrande.
“Cycling tourism is really for everyone. Whatever your budget or needs, there’s something there. Most trips are self-organised so we provide information and inspiration to help people with that.”
For the more hardcore cyclists, Etape du Tour, which matches a stage of Tour de France, is a popular choice.
“This year it’s from Albertville to La Plane, which is the same as one of the later stages of this year’s Tour de France. That will see 15,000 amateurs ride it a week before the pros do it,” says Ross Litherland, marketing manager at Sportive Breaks.
“It’s always very popular. We look after logistics for those travelling with us. You can pick a hotel and we commit to get you to the start line in plenty of time and back to it after the event.”
For those who want an even tougher test, the Mallorca 312, which runs for 312km on the Balearic island, is in high demand.
“It’s every April. We’re down to only about 10 or 20 spots left, we’ll probably take 300 people in total. It’s a big ride. There are shorter options, 225km and 167km, but the start is the same or similar so it still requires a lot of climbing,” says Litherland.
“If you can get in a group and work with people, you can surprise yourself with how you can take it on.”