Just a mere scan of world media between Friday evening and Saturday morning showed that Mr Michael Johnson’s inaugural Grand Slam Track is receiving the type of attention associated with major sporting events.

The fact, too, that Grand Slam Track got off to a flying start at the National Stadium here, with strong performances from some of the world’s top runners on Friday, has no doubt whetted the appetite of track and field’s millions of fans globally. Those fans, we expect, tuned in to Day Two of the event on Saturday and will most likely be watching today’s final day of elite competition.

Our congratulations, therefore, to Mr Johnson, the American four-time Olympic Champion, who conceptualised and brought to reality this new league which, he has said, will elevate the sport’s global footprint.

We are told the event is being broadcast in 189 countries and territories worldwide. That kind of exposure for Jamaica is priceless. As such, the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) must be commended for embracing the event and adding its promotional muscle to the marketing weight that Mr Johnson, by his superstar status and fixity of purpose, had already brought to Grand Slam Track.

Kudos, too, to the sponsors who saw the value in Mr Johnson’s idea and have helped to make the event financially viable to the athletes.

We saw it fit to comment on this event and the benefits it offers all-round because it is a fitting demonstration of a point we have been making for years — sports tourism has tremendous value and is a market that Jamaica cannot afford to ignore.

Readers will recall that just two months ago we highlighted the 2023 report released by Sports Event and Tourism Association (Sports ETA) last year which revealed that sports tourism had a total economic impact of US$128 billion in the United States alone.

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 revealed 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.

As we said, Jamaica can claim a substantial share of this lucrative business as we already have a history of staging sporting events at the highest levels in a variety of disciplines, namely athletics, tennis, golf, cricket, boxing and horse racing.

We reiterate that what is now required 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.

The JTB, we note, has stepped out onto the pitch with heavy support for Grand Slam Track, utilising the event to further promote Kingston as the cultural and sporting hub of Jamaica.

Most appropriately, the JTB has labelled as the ‘Season of Excitement’ the staging of three major events here — the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships held March 25–29; Grand Slam Track, April 4–6; and Carnival, April 21–28.

The economic impact of these three events cannot be discounted, neither can their contribution to our tourism industry be challenged.

Champs and Carnival are already successful annual events here. Our hope is that Grand Slam Track will have similar frequency and fortune.