Last Wednesday we published a story that we hope caught the attention of the Government and sports administrators.

The story stated that Google’s annual Year in Search report listed Miami, the coastal city in the US state of Florida, as the third-most trending travel destination in the world for 2024.

Also, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens gained additional distinction as the fifth-most Googled stadium in the United States, highlighting the city’s growing prominence in global sports and entertainment.

According to the report, Hard Rock Stadium’s prominence as a premier location for world-class events continues to grow, hosting international football matches, including the upcoming Fifa Club World Cup, the Miami Open tennis tournament, and the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix.

The stadium will serve as a key venue for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, further amplifying Miami’s position on the world stage.

The recognition, we are told, reflects years of investment in Miami’s cultural, culinary, sports, entertainment, and hospitality sectors. As such, the destination now boasts 14 Michelin-starred restaurants, including Florida’s only two-star Michelin restaurant, highlighting its evolution into a premier gastronomic hub.

The information is significant to Jamaica for the fact that, for some time now, efforts to bring this country to the point of being recognised globally as a sports tourism destination have been sporadic. The intention has always been noble, but it lacks the type of commitment and energy needed to realise success.

In our view, there was a clear lack of commitment last year when the Jamaican Government declined the opportunity to host games in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup because the $450-million costing was considered too high.

Yet, sport is a subsector of the travel industry that is providing huge financial returns to destinations that take the time and effort to invest.

Consider for a minute Sports Event and Tourism Association’s (Sports ETA) State of the Industry Report for 2023 released last year showing that sports tourism had a total economic impact of US$128 billion in the United States.

According to Sports ETA, the trade association for the sports events and tourism industry, “This monumental contribution supported 757,600 full-time and part-time jobs and contributed US$20.1 billion in taxes to various sectors of the economy.”

The report also told us that in 2023 sports travellers spent US$13.5 billion on transportation; US$10.9 billion on lodging; US$9.7 billion on food and beverage; US$6.9 billion on recreation; US$6.5 billion on retail; and US$4.7 billion on tournament operations — a grand total of US$52.5 billion.

Those are not numbers to sneeze at, especially considering that they represent what obtains in just one country.

We have no doubt that Jamaica can claim a substantial share of this lucrative business. Throughout our more than six decades of Independence we have staged events at the highest levels in a variety of sports, including athletics, tennis, golf, cricket, boxing.

Indeed, the professional execution of the recent Mouttet Mile at Caymanas Park has earned respect in horse racing circles overseas.

What we now require in order to capture our share of this growing sports tourism market is substantial investment in facilities and equipment’ world-class maintenance of infrastructure; organisation; heavy, consistent marketing; and, just as important, the will to get it done.