Vince Nguyen, a 39-year-old entrepreneur based in Vietnam, spends a number of a whole bunch almost every month traveling to other countries to play pickleball.
The game, which began as a pastime after injuring himself in American football, has since develop into central to his lifestyle, as he plays it for 2 to 4 hours almost day by day.
Since he picked up the game two years ago, Nguyen has played leisurely in Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Canada. Next month, he’s planning to go to China for an upcoming tournament.
He says he forks out a number of a whole bunch on round-trip flights to Taiwan or Malaysia for tournaments and leisure play with friends. Moreover, he pays the court fees, starting from $4 to $8 for open play, and about $38 an evening for hotels. In total, the trips cost him between $386 to $772.
Nevertheless, he spends almost $1,000 when traveling to Canada, where flights and indoor courts are pricier than in Asia.
“I wish to spend per week … playing a number of times, trying out different courts, going to different restaurants,” he said.
Vince Nguyen (top right) at a pickleball tournament in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.
Source: Vince Nguyen
Nguyen believes traveling to play pickleball makes a difference as “every country has a bit bit different style” in playing the sport, and he just isn’t alone. He’s certainly one of the various millennials which are fueling a rising trend in travel: sports tourism.
Based on Hilton’s 2026 Trends Report, which polled over 14,000 travelers across 14 countries, about 67% of millennials have planned a visit for events related to their interests, including sports, wellness and live shows.
Within the U.S. alone, millennials are 80% more more likely to plan a vacation for tennis and 87% for pickleball, in accordance with a survey by online travel agency Priceline on travel trends in 2025.
And there aren’t any signs of the sports tourism slowing down. The sports tourism industry is already a $707.29 billion market and is forecasted to almost triple by 2032, in accordance with Fortune Business Insights.
Europe leads the market with a valuation of $248.23 billion last 12 months. Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific has been marked the fastest-growing region, anticipated to be price $149.50 billion in 2025.
Sports tourism in Asia-Pacific is projected to have a compound annual growth rate of 17.85% from 2025 to 2032.
“Good on your soul”
One other millenial, 35-year-old Nirbhay Handa who relies in Singapore, also travels abroad for tennis.
“I’ll go to a tennis camp in Phuket … once I travel to Dubai and Abu Dhabi I even have a tennis coach that I just go and play with within the evenings after work,” he said. “I feel this makes me higher at work, because I’m in a greater mood. I’m not irritated,” the entrepreneur said.
He takes about six tennis trips a 12 months including ones for business, spending around $200 per week on sessions in Dubai.
Handa said that the game is greater than a hobby to him. “It just became very therapeutic, and it put me on to some good habits … not drinking till late on Friday … giving up social smoking completely,” he added.
He makes it a degree to play a game of tennis when he’s abroad for leisure or business.
Tennis, which he deems “good on your soul,” not only helps him unwind but additionally fulfils his social life.
“It does a bit little bit of what going out to a pub would do for loads of people, you already know, which is meeting people, meeting your folks over a drink,” he said, but “I feel like I can do this on the tennis court.”
Hitting personal goals
Mike Goldys, who lives in Florida, travels to surf overseas with a goal of playing in as many alternative surf parks as possible. The 39-year-old has logged 140 hours to date across 26 cities in 10 countries.
“Each surf park … could be very unique for me. I … just cannot get enough of it, he said. “I need to maintain checking them off and seeing what this one was like on this state.”
“I rarely return to the identical wave pool twice,” he added.
Goldys has spent $18,500 on surf sessions alone, budgeting $6000 to $10,000 per trip depending on flights and accommodation, he said. He also sets aside money for photography and videography to share on social platforms.
Mike Goldys browsing on the Atlantic Park Surf in Virginia Beach, USA.
Source: Andrew Tonra
As a social media strategist at a non-profit organization, he takes one to 2 weeks off for browsing trips — only tending to work matters for emergencies.
“Once you pay to surf in a wave pool you are guaranteed waves that they are really powerful and like fine condition… a solution to speed up progress,” he said. “[It’s] very quick for somebody who doesn’t have the proper waves on a regular basis” near his residence in Florida.
At $170 an hour, surf parks aren’t low-cost. But Goldys insist they’re price it.
“So long as it doesn’t put you in a nasty position afterwards financially,” he said.
