State of Endurance

Queensland, a stunning combination of sandy beaches and rich outback adventures, known to Aussies as being beautiful one day, perfect the next. Given Queensland’s glorious year-round climate and unmatched natural features, it’s also a world leader in fitness and wellness tourism.

Queensland: beautiful one day, perfect the next:

Research commissioned by Tourism and Events Queensland in 2017, which surveyed nearly 4,000 endurance event participants across sports including running, swimming, cycling, triathlon and surf lifesaving, showed that Queensland ticked all the boxes for an increasingly active and connected segment of holiday makers.

Just over half of respondents were male, with the majority being working professionals aged between 35 and 54. Astoundingly, 94% of respondents travel up to four times a year outside of their home state/country to compete in endurance events. And most travel in with groups, with 87% reporting to travel with family and friends, and 58% saying their friends or family also compete in endurance events with them.

According to the findings of the study, endurance athletes are motivated by the joy of participating in the sport; they compete for the love of it. The majority are not professional athletes, but they often train like professionals, with 54% of respondents training more than 6 times a week. Despite the amount of training, winning is not the objective for most people, with 81% saying personal goals, health and sporting achievements were their main driver for participation.

The research was conducted as part of a long-term strategy to understand what influences these people in deciding where to train, race and recover. The research suggests that climate, sunshine, fresh air and warm water were all significant reasons why endurance athletes chose to travel to events in Queensland. In the open-ended questions Queensland’s climate was frequently mentioned, with respondents indicating they were able to train and compete year-round thanks to the warm water and mild winters.

Queensland is also home to a number of iconic ‘bucket list’ destinations in which to race and enjoy a holiday after the event. 97% of respondents were motivated by the opportunity to compete in bucket list destinations such as the Great Barrier Reef and 61% took a holiday in Queensland after an event.

Sports and events in Queensland were rated very highly as welcoming and inclusive, with 88% rating mateship and camaraderie as an important reason they compete in endurance events. Similarly, quality time with family and friends was a key driver, with 77% of athletes rating Queensland as a family friendly destination for a post event holiday.

So whether you’re striving to be the best, or just want to do your best, click here check out some of our Queensland based sports training holiday camps, where life is beautiful one day, perfect the next.

At Come See Do we love ocean swimming. If you love swimming too, check out seven of Australia’s best ocean swims in the video below.