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Article published 19/05/2026

What is Athleisure?

Social fitness competitive events, such as HYROX and CrossFit, are influencing the travel habits of millennials, particularly amongst men. Our insight team have identified Athleisure as one of seven new travel trends to make an impact in 2026.

Find out more about Athleisure in our report, Trends for 2026: The transformation economy.

According to the report, the popularity of social fitness has the potential to replace the traditional group and "lads" holidays with health-based trips. 

Hobbidays

Choosing a destination in pursuit of a hobby, Hobbidays, was previously identified in our 2025 travel trends report. Fast forward a year and this trend has evolved with the increased interest in largescale competitive fitness events, such as HYROX and CrossFit.

These events can be the driver for a trip, part of a trip or can provide inspiration for future trips to the destination.

More than 589,000 domestic overnight trips in Great Britain included participation in sporting events or competitions in 2024, with 70% of these trips taken by male visitors, and 53% of these trips taken by men and women aged between 25 and 44.

 

As many events can be held outside of the traditional holiday months, the trend presents seasonal-driven businesses with the chance to extend their season by engaging with participants.

When the fourth HYROX Glasgow took place at the SEC in Glasgow in March, more than 40,000 people, including 23,000 competitors, attended across its five days.

Tourism businesses could promote longer stays to coincide with the event or offer experiences that focus on rejuvenation and relaxation as a post-event activity.

Learn ways to plan your event

Trend in action: The Dramathon

The Dramathon, founded in 2017, is a trail-marathon-distance race along the Speyside Way from the Glenfarclas to the Glenfiddich distillery.

Inspired by the world-famous "Marathon du Medoc" in the French wine-making region, the organisers of The Dramathon wanted to create an event that showcased two of Speyside’s greatest assets, the whisky industry and the outstanding scenery along the River Spey.

The route passes several distilleries (though no whisky is consumed enroute) and finishers receive a goodie bag filled with a selection of miniatures, promoting both local distillery brands and "guest" whiskies.

With the choice of a full (Full Dram) and a half (Half Dram) marathon, a 10k race (Wee Dram), or a relay race (We Dram), the number of miniatures is dependent on the length of the race. 

 

Since its inception, the race has grown from 600 to 1,500 runners and has proven popular with international visitors (around a third of runners in 2025 were from outside of Scotland).

Organisers work with local suppliers and businesses to ensure the economic benefits are felt beyond the event itself, encouraging runners to stay longer and explore the area.

They estimate that half of participants stay an average of two nights, and the race’s position in the calendar (at the end of October) has extended the visitor season for many businesses in the area and helped boost the profile of the Speyside d istilleries.

Find out more about The Dramathon

Our analysis of spring 2025 revealed a noticeable shift in domestic visitor behaviour, with more trips being taken by larger groups and by male travellers compared with the previous year.

As we explored this evolving pattern, it developed into our Athleisure trend, focusing on "social" fitness events where groups of friends travel to participate.

Social sporting events often require significant recovery time, providing an opportunity for Scottish tourism businesses.

If visitors are already travelling as a group, there is real potential to encourage them to extend their stay and enjoy everything the local area has to offer.

Lesley Whitehill, Senior Insight Manager, VisitScotland

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