Strategic alliances in sport tourism: National sport organisations and sport tour operators

•We demonstrate how national sport organisations can facilitate development of sport tourism around major sport events.•Strategic alliances between national sport organisations and sport tour operators can produce mutual benefits.•Flexible, ‘bottom-up’ strategic alliances with tour operators may allow sport organisations to capitalise on sport tourism.

This qualitative case study provides a sport-oriented perspective of sport tourism. It examines a strategic alliance between an Australian national sport organisation (NSO), the Australian Rugby Union (ARU), and a sport tour operator (STO), FanFirm. The study contributes insights into how NSOs can facilitate and develop sport tourism for major events through alliances with STOs. Findings indicate that by collaborating with the STO, the ARU accrued a range of intangible and financial benefits, which in turn provided an impetus for ongoing maintenance of the strategic alliance. In addition, the alliance was perceived to deliver advantages beyond the NSO–STO nexus, with rugby fans and host governments of rugby events also benefiting. The study demonstrates that sport organisations can play a role in maximising the tourism outcomes of major events and also suggests that smaller-scale, ‘bottom-up’ cross-sector alliances can contribute to maximising tourism outcomes of major sport events.