Sports Tours International has partnered with Raccoon Events as the official tour operator for its flagship event The National Running Show at Birmingham’s NEC, plus The Run Show Los Angeles and The National Outdoor Expo in 2022.
Founded nearly 50 years ago Sports Tours International is the UK’s leading mass participation travel operator. The Manchester based team specialise in taking runners, cyclists and triathletes to leading events around the world, including the world famous TCS New York City Marathon and the Tour de France.
With travel and events making a triumphant return with the recent success of the BMW Berlin Marathon and the Virgin Money London Marathon, the tour operator is looking to the future with optimism as 88%[1] of customers having said they would like to take part in an overseas sporting challenge by the end of 2022.
Chris Bird, CEO of Sports Tours International said: “Travel is back, and we are already seeing an enthusiastic return from our customers. So we are really excited to be teaming up with the team at Raccoon who share our values and purpose to bring more awareness of the benefits of an active lifestyle, and it is great to be working with them not only on events both here in the UK but also at the Running Show in LA.
“We can’t wait to share our passion for travel and events with the Raccoon events’ community.”
The partnership with Raccoon Events will include the National Running Show 22-23 January and National Outdoor Expo 18-19 March, both at the NEC Birmingham; and Run Show USA held in Los Angeles 24-25 September. The partnership will also include content collaboration on Raccoon’s digital platform www.outsideandactive.com.
Mike Seaman from Raccoon Events said “Our team and our community enjoy living an active lifestyle, and many of our events, especially our flagship event, The National Running Show, aligns with everything that the team at Sports Tours offer customers; the world’s biggest events delivered with fantastic customer service. We look forward to working with Chris and the team and sharing everything that they offer with our community.”
The Sports Tours International family of brands also includes Club La Santa in Lanzarote, Freewheel Holidays and Whereabouts active holidays.
[1] Sports Tours customer survey – September 2021