Salary and Bonuses

Six-figure salaries are not the norm, as two-thirds of respondents (67%) indicated a salary of less than $100,000.

• For organizations with a budget under $1M, this number rose to 74%. Even 49% of those employed by organizations with a budget larger than $1M had a salary under $100,000.

• 84% of respondents earned $120,000 or less.

• 95% were under the $200,000 per year mark.

• More than 85% of survey respondents said they had received a salary increase in the last 12 months, with 3-5% being the most common answer (47%). 74% received 5% or less and 5% did not earn a raise at all.

Select the option that best describes your percent base salary increase in the last 12 months (Since July 1, 2021). Exclude discretionary, goal accelerators, etc.

Slightly more than 50% of sports tourism leaders receive bonuses.

• 45% of respondents selected “none” when asked about their current annual bonus potential as a percent of base salary.

–This number rose to 55% for those employed by an organization with a budget less than $1M.

• A closer look at bonus potential revealed 41% of respondents were between 1% and 15%.

• When asked about their most recent bonus percentage earned, nearly half answered “none” and the numbers were almost identical to the previous question (bonus potential).

Small and Mid-Sized Market salary and bonus information

Small and Mid-Sized Market Salary Data

Here is data related to salaries specific for sports tourism destination leaders serving organizations that have a sports budget under $1M:

• Average Salary: $78,500

• 80% of respondents had a salary of $100,000 or less

• 83% were between $55,000 and $120,000

• 60% were between $55,000 and $85,000

• 25% were between $55,000 and $65,000

• Most common salary ranges (mode):

– $55,001 to $60,000 (5 respondents) – $60,001 to $65,000 (5 respondents) – $100,001 to $120,000 (5 respondents)

Small and mid-size market bonus information

The small/mid-market follow-up results were very similar to the original survey.

• 53% small/mid-market respondents said they had no bonus potential.

• Individual leader performance is based upon the following metrics:

Key Insights

• Industry salaries vary widely across organizational structures, market sizes, and geographic regions. This does not come as a surprise due to the greatly varied organizational structures and funding mechanisms in the sports events and tourism industry, even among its sports destination leaders.

• Expert Insight: “Having a structured process for the leaders’ annual performance review, and compensation review is critically important. In addition, establishing effective metrics focused on KPIs and agreed-upon goals is equally important. All of these will lead to executive success and retention.” – Mike Gamble, President & CEO of SearchWide Global