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Sports Tourism Learning Institute
Sports Tourism Learning
Institute – Two Certificate Highlights
Start Your Sports Tourism Strategist Certification Now! It’s never too late to begin your certification as a Sports Tourism Strategist (STS). To acquire your STS designation, you must complete a total of 32 credits. You can now earn STS credits by enrolling in the Sports Tourism Learning Institute’s self-paced and self-guided Certificate Playbook courses. Attending in-person STS classes at the Symposium this October will also earn you credits. What’s keeping you from achieving your goals?
Certificate Playbook Highlights:
The Sports Tourism Certificate Playbook is your source for in-depth knowledge on a range of essential industry topics. Each certificate consists of three to five hours of content, presented by the industry’s most highly regarded experts, to take your understanding of a given topic to a new level.
Online certificate courses are self-paced so you can consume the content at your convenience, and in-person certificate courses will be held in conjunction with a variety of Sports ETA live events throughout the year. Completion of the course material will earn you a designated Certificate of Achievement from the Sports Tourism Learning Institute, as well as increased knowledge to separate you and your organization from the pack.
Content Provider: Nicholas Povalitis
About the Course: Introduction to Sports Tourism is designed to provide existing, new, and aspiring sports tourism professionals with a comprehensive foundational understanding of the industry’s inner workings. The course will explore concepts including the history of the industry, business relationships, trends and issues, and professional development.
After nearly two decades of business development and marketing work in university, private sector and tourism settings, I recently launched Plus Seven Company as a content marketing company that specializes in delivering winning experiences and events, brand building and public relations, and tourism marketing and sales advisory work.
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I had the pleasure of getting to know sports tourism firsthand during my nine years at my hometown tourism agency, where I competed for and won the rights to host a multitude of signature events, developed national marketing and media partnerships, and created and executed events that generated global media reach. These are all results that can be produced for brands and destinations near and far, regardless of market size or location. The beauty of tourism is that every community has its own unique story to tell. I’ve been fortunate to find success by figuring out what that story is, telling it with creativity and tact, working hard with the long-term in mind, building relationships with like-minded professionals, and remaining committed to what’s next.
It’s for anyone new to the industry and for those who work in ancillary spaces who find value in getting a comprehensive look at sports tourism. We are a $100-plus billion industry that blends the efforts of event operators, governing bodies, destinations and sports commissions. And while we all lean on each other for this to work, we also need hoteliers,
Content Provider: Greg Pepitone, Tourism Economics
About the Course: Income statements, balance sheets, cash flow, accounting methods, pro formas and more. This course is designed for anyone who has ever wanted a clearer understanding of the core components of finance, applicable to any industry. Elevate your knowledge of this key area of business through this 5-session course breaking down principles of finance in an understandable and intimidating way.
I am a Senior Economist at Tourism Economics with more than 13 years of experience providing strategic advisory services to clients in the sports, convention, and tourism industries. I focus in the areas of economic and fiscal impact assessment, market viability and strategy, business planning and analysis, and facility and other capital project planning.
This course was made for employees in the sports events and tourism industry that have little to no finance experience, but are interested in learning about introductory financial concepts to further advance in their current role or elsewhere within the industry.
In addition to learning how to read financial statements, learners will discover how to develop a program for a potential project and determine whether or not it will be financially beneficial to take on that project.
The first project I worked on was a market analysis for an NFL stadium in the Las Vegas market. Over the years, we worked on multiple iterations of that project to understand the demand for and utilization of a stadium under various scenarios and later for an arena for numerous scenarios. Eventually, an arena was built. It was one of the most memorable projects because it was interesting to see how the project evolved over time and to ultimately see it come to fruition. I also had the opportunity to tour the venue when construction was nearly complete and attend a concert at the venue shortly after it opened.
Cost: Members: $399 | Non-members: $499 Register Now
restaurants, shops, media and so many more because of the holistic nature of what we do. The goal during the course build-out was to feature some of the industry’s best work samples and practices while underscoring the reality of change and disruption. The pandemic reminded us all of the importance of remaining committed to lifelong learning and growing, and that aligns well with SportsETA’s doubling down on providing quality educational content and data. Like the Sports Tourism Learning Institute, the intent of this course is to help lift up the industry from the entry level on.
Success is on you, but you’re not alone. We are going to get curveballs thrown our way throughout our careers and lives, and that’s a reality that becomes manageable when we know our value, prepare to the best of our abilities, and are willing to embrace change. And if you’re ever feeling lost or in need of advice, pick up the phone and call an industry colleague. Conversation and idea-sharing is invaluable and it’ll be a refreshing break from your screens!
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There have been quite a few times where I’ve said yes to or created opportunities that have made me uncomfortable and excited. These are the decisions that only a few people see in real-time, but they continuously yield the best and furthest-reaching results for me professionally and personally. These are the decisions that laid the foundation for securing first-time national and international events, creating viral events and developing programs that earned many national recognitions. But it’s those event concept sketches, the discussions about dream projects and the thrill of saying yes that mean the most. And once you put the work in to see a new idea through, my absolute favorite sports tourism memories include those where my family is in attendance to enjoy the program’s end result.
Cost: Members: $399 | Non-members: $499
