Dubai: When the Dubai World Cup takes place on April 6 at Meydan Racecourse, a fair few of the attendees will have Allan Holt to thank for their experience.
The 58-year-old Englishman has spent the past 34 years in the travel industry, and the past two decades connecting sports fans with events in the UAE and around the globe through his travel agency, recently rebranded as ES Sport. With offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, his business has taken major strides in the sports tourism industry in recent times.
Recently, ES Sport expanded its executive team, which includes group managing director Holt and group financial director Paul McSorley, by welcoming new chairman Sheikh Mohamed bin Saif Al-Nahyan to lead the agency in a new strategic direction, leveraging his Emirati perspective and a deeper understanding of the Abu Dhabi market.
Holt has come a long way since he cut his teeth in the travel industry in his native UK before moving to the UAE, where he initially set up a travel agency that would eventually become Expat Sport, focused on sports tourism.
“When I moved to the region 18 years ago, I continued that business, which is travel and tourism,” Holt told Arab News. “But we always had a strong focus on sport because I’m passionate about it.”
As the digital age transformed the travel industry, Holt realized the need for differentiation in a market increasingly dominated by online bookings.
“We were looking for something unique that could add value,” he said. “So when I moved to the UAE, I continued the business here. I saw an opportunity because the service levels at that point weren’t at the standard of what our business provided in the UK.”
This gap in service quality motivated him to create a travel agency that catered to the needs of British expats living in the UAE, ensuring they received the same level of service and trust they were accustomed to in the UK.
With time, Holt recognized the increasing demand for sporting events. “We started doing more and more sport as we realized the opportunities available here were far greater than in the UK, which was saturated.”
Holt said that sport has always been in his DNA.
“So we always had a strong focus on sport,” he said “Even in 2009, we did a tour to South Africa for the (British & Irish Lions) Science Alliance tour. And on that trip, we met some huge corporates, CEOs, because they’re all passionate (about sports).”
His agency began organizing tours for high-profile events, including, after specific requests, the Hong Kong Sevens and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which led to a shift in focus from general travel to sports tourism.
As the agency evolved and business grew, Holt made a pivotal decision to rebrand.
“We said this is what we love doing, this is where we can really make a difference,” Holt said. “We’re not going to be a travel business that does a bit of sport, we’re going to be a sports business.
“We wanted to make sure we were identified as a sports business, not just a travel agency that does a bit of sport,” he said. “Our name should reflect that. That’s when we changed our name to Expat Sport.”
Holt said the company has since gone from strength to strength, growing globally and developing an international network of tour operators and clients.
With the rebranding came new opportunities. The agency became the exclusive hospitality agency in the UAE for the FIFA World Cup.
“So we’re moving on now from only selling other people’s events to having something that we either add exclusivity to, or we provide a meet and greet or some other added value,” Holt said.
With the expansion to more and more inbound offering to the UAE, Holt said it made no sense to stick to an agency name that targeted a specific audience only.
“Expat Sport doesn’t really mean anything to (inbound clients),” he said. “When we were mainly focused on outbound from here, taking people outbound, then that made sense.”
The eventual change to ES Sport, which stands for “Experiences and Sponsorship Within Sport,” was a milestone in the agency’s journey. “This name reflects our commitment to creating unique experiences and engaging with sponsorships.”
When discussing the most popular events that draw international visitors, Holt highlighted the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. “It consistently attracts a significant percentage of international attendees,” he said, adding that recent events such as EuroLeague basketball and the UFC have also gained traction with international visitors in recent years, strengthening the UAE’s status as a sporting hub in the region, and globally.
Holt also emphasized the importance of collaboration with local authorities and sports organizations. “Working closely with rights holders and tourism boards allows us to create a cohesive strategy that benefits the region,” he said. Holt believes this collaborative approach not only enhances the visitor experience but also promotes the UAE as a premier sports destination. In that sense, working directly with Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) to identify opportunities has given Holt’s agency an advantage over competitors.
“I’m astounded by how popular (EuroLeague) is,” he said. “So whoever goes out and gets these events on behalf of DCT have obviously done their homework, because we’ve done our research when we were looking at our numbers in terms of what we could provide in support of DCT, because of course they wanted us to bring people from the international market over to Abu Dhabi.
“Our focus is on bringing people from outside the region to experience these events and explore the rich culture of the UAE,” he said, adding that almost all of ES Sports’ general ticket sales come from international markets, with UAE offerings tending to be mostly for corporate clients.
Holt also pointed out the trend of visitors to extend their stays to enjoy several events. “People are increasingly looking to combine their trips — attending one event and then exploring others,” he explained. The idea of “twin center holidays” is gaining traction, where travellers can enjoy various sporting events while immersing themselves in local culture.
Holt’s vision for the future of his agency includes creating packages that cater to diverse interests, ensuring that fans can experience a range of events on a single trip.
“The idea is to provide multisport experiences that allow travellers to immerse themselves in the excitement of various events, all while enjoying the beauty of the UAE,” he said.
While in the past ES Sport has been primarily focused on bringing visitors to the UAE for events such as the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and other international sports tournaments, Holt highlighted the potential for more outbound travel to events such as “Premier League football matches or Formula 1 races” and that his agency has long been involved in that as well.
“We’ve been doing outbound trips for 18 years,” he said, highlighting past successes such as taking thousands of fans to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and organizing trips to major events such as Wimbledon and the ICC T20 World Cup in the US.
The agency has also established itself as an official partner for Manchester City, offering ticketing solutions and unique experiences that allow fans to engage with the team in ways that go beyond just watching a match. This includes exclusive training sessions and meet-and-greet opportunities with players.
While the recent partnership with the DCT in Abu Dhabi has shifted some of Holt’s focus back to inbound travel, he remains committed to developing outbound services.
“We’re careful about how we expand,” he said, indicating that while there is a desire to broaden their scope, the quality of service remains paramount. Holt’s strategy involves not just selling tickets but also creating comprehensive travel packages that include experiences and hospitality.
Looking ahead, Holt is enthusiastic about the potential for new events and sports to enter the regional market, highlighting Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the AFC Asian Cup 2026 and, down the line, the FIFA World Cup 2034.
Holt said that ES Sport is actively seeking to bring more international events to the UAE, including potential partnerships for Grand Prix races in Saudi Arabia and Singapore. He also emphasized the importance of tapping into Asian markets as sports tourism evolves, noting that the agency is already working with teams and fans from Japan and China, which will help to diversify the clientele that ES Sport serves.
Holt said his commitment to enhancing the sports travel experience through ES Sport is as strong as ever. As he navigates the complexities of expanding the agency’s services, he is poised to make a significant impact on sports tourism in the UAE and beyond.
