Running Tourism
Marathons and running events move millions of travelers who choose their destination based on the race. The 8 Abbott World Marathon Majors inject more than US$ 2.7B a year, and the runcation phenomenon is now a category measured by the hotel industry.
01 · Scale and growth
A multi-billion-dollar industry that is no longer local.
Running events turn cities into travel destinations. The impact isn't in the entry fee: it's in lodging, food and local commerce.
Top 50 marathons worldwide
Global annual estimate of the economic impact of event running.
8 Abbott World Marathon Majors
Combined annual impact of the 7 original Majors (2024). Cape Town joins in 2027.
Annual growth
YoY growth of the Running Tourism segment on TravelTrends.io.
Stay 3–5 nights
Share of marathon participants who overnight in the race destination.
Six Star Finishers
Runners from 139 countries who completed the 6 original Majors.
New York acceptance rate
Out of 200,000+ annual applications; pushes demand to operators with guaranteed bibs.
'Workout holiday' searches
Accor reported this growth in exercise-linked stays in 2025.
Majors across 6 continents
Sydney joined in 2025; Cape Town will be the first African host in 2027.
02 · The 8 Majors
The circuit that globalizes the travel calendar.
From 6 founding cities to 8 hosts across 6 continents. Every new Major is another reason to fly.
Boston
New York
Chicago
London
Berlin
Tokyo
Sydney
Cape Town
03 · Impact by event
What a race leaves behind in the city.
Every Major generates measurable impact in the millions. Spend concentrates on lodging, food and local commerce.
Chicago Marathon
2024, +22% vs. 2023. Daily spend: US$ 322 lodging, US$ 111 food, US$ 147 shopping. 33% international.
Boston Marathon
2024; US$ 330.5M in labor income tied to the event.
New York (TCS)
NYRR's 34 annual races injected US$ 934M in the fiscal year to March 2025 (+58% vs. 2020).
Berlin Marathon
2024; 74,000+ participants.
London Marathon
2025; record 56,640 finishers; £ 73.5M raised for charity.
Tokyo Marathon
National impact in 2025; ¥ 56.2B concentrated in the capital.
Sydney Marathon
Official 10-year additional impact projection; 25,000 runners in its first edition as a Major.
Cape Town Marathon
~US$ 33–44M. 8,500 international participants; 200 local small businesses; 2,500 weekend jobs.
Honolulu Marathon
2025; 43,000 runners. Fills hotels in a week that would otherwise drop to 60% occupancy.
04 · Stay behavior
The runner is a guest, not a day visitor.
Long stays and a high share of international travelers are what sustain the HORECA sector.
59% of marathon participants stay 3 to 5 nights
Extended stays turn the runner into a guest of hotels, restaurants and local commerce — not just a one-day attendee.
The more international, the more spend
In Chicago, 33% of runners are international. In Montevideo 2026, 77% were international and 41% stayed 4+ nights. HORECA spend scales with the share of foreign visitors.
'Runcation' is now a measured category
Accor reported +50% in 'workout holiday' searches in 2025; Tripadvisor named the 'sweat-jetting' trend in its 2026 Trendcast.
05 · Six / Seven / Nine Star
A medal system that generates repeat demand.
The finisher model isn't just recognition: it's a loyalty program that pushes the same traveler to return year after year.
22,480 runners completed the 6 original Majors
As of April 2025, runners from 139 countries have earned the Six Star medal. It's a highly loyal club of destination-event travelers.
Enter the 'Nine Star' medal
With Sydney and Cape Town, the travel commitment extends to 8 cities across 6 continents. It widens customer lifetime value for tour operators.
Demand outstrips supply by 30×–50×
New York accepts only 2–3% of 200,000+ annual applications. Bib scarcity pushes runners toward packages that bundle hotel + guaranteed entry.
06 · Latin America
The region where event running is growing fastest.
From Montevideo to Rio de Janeiro, running events attract international runners and mobilize entire cities.
Montevideo Marathon
Uruguay
77% international participants, 48% from Brazil. 41% stayed 4+ nights and 38% stayed 2 to 3 nights.
Bogotá Half Marathon
Colombia
60+ countries represented. One of the largest running events in Latin America.
Barranquilla Marathon
Colombia
Grew from 4,500 in 2017 to over 11,000 in 2025; 55% travel from other cities.
Rio de Janeiro Marathon
Brazil
Latin America's largest athletics festival; holds Elite Label status and is on track to become a Major.
Patagonia Run
San Martín de los Andes, Argentina
Up to 80% hotel occupancy on peak days; a benchmark event for trail + running tourism in the region.
07 · ONLINE SEARCH DEMAND BY ORIGIN MARKET
How each source market is searching this trend.
DataForSEO · Google Trends 5-year interest for the terms this brief tracks, by origin market.
United States
July 2026
running travel
Related: running shoes · on running · time
best running destinations
Related: best travel destinations · travel destinations · best running shoes 2025
2027 marathons
Related: marathon · marathons 2026 · half marathons
trail running travel
Related: trail running shoes · men's trail running shoes · on running
Sources
DataForSEO · Google Trends · United States · retrieved July 2026
United Kingdom
July 2026
running travel
Related: on running · travel insurance · running shoes
2027 marathons
Related: marathon · marathon 2027 · half marathons
best running destinations
Related: best holiday destinations · best budget travel destinations
trail running travel
Related: trail running shoes · best trail running shoes · travel insurance
Sources
DataForSEO · Google Trends · United Kingdom · retrieved July 2026
07 · What makes it different
Running tourism ≠ generic sports tourism.
Four structural differences that change how hotels, agencies and destinations should capture this segment.
International spend is the multiplier
Foreign runners stay more nights and spend more per day than local attendees. HORECA impact scales with the share of international travelers.
Repeat demand driven by medal chasing
Six/Nine Star Finishers travel year after year to event-type cities. It's a loyal cohort with extended stays and proven spend.
Activates the low season
Honolulu prevents hotel occupancy from dropping to 60% in a slow week. Cape Town and Sydney aim to shift tourism impact outside traditional peaks.
Operators with guaranteed bibs win a premium
New York's 2–3% acceptance rate manufactures scarcity. Agencies and hotels bundling lodging + entry capture the value of unmet demand.
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Share your view08 · Methodology
How to read these numbers.
Economic impact studies of marathons are usually commissioned by organizers or sponsors. Academic economics literature repeatedly questions their methodology. These figures should be read as industry estimates of interest, not as independent audits.
- Brand Finance — Marathons 50 (2025)
- The Boston Globe — Chicago 2024 Marathon generated $683 million
- Chicago Council on Global Affairs — Runners from 140+ countries
- Sportsin.biz — Six major marathons turning sports tourism into a multi-million-dollar industry
- Destination NSW — Sydney becomes a World Major
- Daily Maverick — Cape Town Marathon bounces back with World Major ambitions
- Sanlam Cape Town Marathon — Africa's first Abbott World Marathon Major
- The Boston Globe — Cape Town joins the World Marathon Majors
- Travelers Today — Marathon Tourism Reaches Every Continent
- Intendencia de Montevideo — Montevideo Marathon boosts tourism
- Cali Escribe — Colombia's marathons, big business
- La Tercera — The Rio de Janeiro Marathon
- Neuquén Informa — Patagonia Run: tourism and economic impact
- Adventure.com — Running vacations: the 'runcation' trend
Curator · Practitioner in residence
Who curated this travel trend.
Carmen Gerea
Runner · Product & research lead · Santiago, Chile
Endurance runner focused on running tourism. I have raced international marathons — including Chicago 2024, one of the six World Marathon Majors — traveling from Chile to run them. I curated this brief from the real experience of planning, training, booking accommodation, and running in new cities, cross-checking every claim against the sources listed below.
Personal curation lets us verify claims against lived experience, not just desk research.