Commonwealth Games 2010 and destination branding

Sport events are being increasingly used by destinations to enhance their image and promote tourism. The 2010 edition of the Commonwealth Games will be organised in India. This is the first major sports event to be hosted by New Delhi since the 1982 Asian Games. Indian tourism industry is the one which will benefit the most from Commonwealth Games 2010. But as the global recession nibble, most countries, including India is prompted to ask the question, ‘How we can use sports event such as Commonwealth Games2010 to promote tourism and brand destination?’ This paper will describe, what benefit sports events brings to tourism, how sport events can be part of destination branding exercise and what steps are needed to do it effectively with specific reference to India’s Commonwealth Games 2010.