Editorial: Event Sports Tourism

In 2004, Deery et al. (2004, p. 243), in a paper entitled ‘Sport Tourism or Event Tourism: Are they One and the Same’, argued that ‘sport tourism is sport event tourism and that it is focused on competitive sport…rather than recreational activities’. While aspects of their argument, such as the importance of event sports tourism within sports tourism, are clearly valid, it would appear that the existence of the golf and the ski tourism industries undermines their argument to a certain extent. Furthermore, a cursory glance at the papers published in this journal in the last year would highlight adventure sports tourism as a key component of sports tourism. However, Deery et al. (2004) might argue that their approach defines sport narrowly as competitive sport and that golf, ski or adventure sports tourism are largely recreational pursuits. Yet, many sports events have a recreational or cultural focus that can be much more significant than their competitive element (see McCartney & Osti's paper in this issue and Hinch & Higham, 2005). Furthermore, the use of a more narrow ‘competitive’ definition of sport is a preference, not a definitive approach, and it diverges from the approach of JS&T which:

takes an inclusive and wide-ranging view of the definitions of both sport and tourism, and therefore considers professional and amateur, competitive and non-competitive, social, recreational, and informal activities, as well as leisure, business, and day-trip tourism, to fall within its scope.

As such, JS&T is interested in receiving submissions from researchers working on any aspect of the relationship between sport and tourism1 and sees sports tourism as being much more wide-ranging than simply event sports tourism.

However, event sports tourism is a key part of sports tourism. My systematic review and meta-evaluation (Weed, 2006a) found that 40% of peer-reviewed research on sports tourism published in hard copy journals in the sport, tourism and leisure areas between 2000 and 2004 focused on event sports tourism. This reinforces Getz's (2003, p. 49) view that ‘events are a major component of sport tourism’. It is appropriate, therefore, for this issue to present a range of papers, and a book review, that focus on event sports tourism.

The previous issue of JS&T noted that sports tourism is a far from homogeneous phenomenon (Weed, 2006b), and the same applies to event sports tourism, which ranges from mega-events that will only come to a destination once-in-a-generation, such as the Olympic Games and Football World Cup, to very small local participation-dominated events, such as 10k running races or the sort of cycle races referred to by Bull (2006) in JS&T volume 11, no 3/4. Furthermore, the issues associated with event sports tourism are wide-ranging, including, inter-alia, the decisions made to host events, the behaviours and expenditures of visitors to events, the cultural importance of events, and the relationship between spectators and participants at events. These diverse issues are addressed by the three substantive papers in this issue.

The relationship between the decisions to host events and the information used to inform such decisions is the starting point for the first paper in this issue: ‘Profiling Major Sport Event Visitors: The 2002 Commonwealth Games’, by Holger Preuss, Benoit Seguin and Norm O'Reilly. Preuss et al. argue that decisions to host events are often based on estimated economic consequences, but that such estimates regularly and routinely miscalculate the potential impact of event sports tourists as consumers. As such, it is argued that a greater focus is needed on understanding basic behavioural profiles in order to accurately measure event impacts. Preuss et al. use Preuss' (2005) model of event-affected persons as the framework within which to understand the profiles of visitors to the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Preuss et al. identify a varied range of consumption patterns, with distance travelled (and therefore economic and psychological investment in the event) and interest (i.e. which sports were attended) being key determining factors. Such variations in consumption patterns obviously create problems for those seeking to measure the impact of such events, as a complex and multi-faceted consumption model is required that recognises the variations in sports tourists behaviour patterns.

The second paper in this issue examines the way in which a sport event is hosted or ‘staged’, and speculates on the implications this may have for the sustainability of the event. ‘From cultural events to sport events: a case study of cultural authenticity in the Dragon Boat Races’, by Glenn McCartney & Linda Osti examines the transformation of Dragon Boat Racing from a traditional Taoist ceremony to an international racing circuit. McCartney & Osti discuss the extent to which the internationalisation of the event detracts from the authenticity of the event and the event experience, and changes the nature of the event to one that is a ‘staged’ performance rather than a genuine cultural event. The paper compares the motives and perceptions of participants in Dragon Boat events in Macao, China (the cultural origin of the event) and in Melbourne, Australia. In Macao, the cultural rituals and celebrations are important, whereas in Melbourne the event is seen as simply another sports event, where having fun is the key factor. McCartney & Osti speculate that the removal of the event from its origins (both geographically and culturally) may mean that the event is less unique, and by extension less sustainable. As such, the greater emphasis on ‘staging’ the event as a sporting competition may detract from its long-term viability as a tourist attraction.

While the previous papers examine aspects of the hosting and staging of sports events, the final substantive paper in this issue explores a key market for event sports tourism and, indeed, for sports tourism more generally: that of visiting friends and relatives (VFR). Many authors have discussed the importance of friends and relatives as spectators at sports events (Hinch & Higham, 2004; Weed & Bull, 2004), but there has been little empirical research since Seaton (1997) first suggested that ‘watching friends and relatives’ (WFR) might be a key aspect of event tourism. Amy Scott & Douglas Turco, in ‘VFRs as a Segment of the Sport Event Tourist Market’, investigate, through a case study of the Little League World Series, the extent to which those visiting to watch friends and relatives exhibit distinct consumption patterns. Significantly for event sports tourism planners, managers and marketers, Scott & Turco found that the WFR market stays longer in the destination and spends nearly three times as much as other spectator segments. This resonates with previous work (Weed, 2003) that suggests that those spectators more highly identified and emotionally invested with participants in an event will exhibit distinct behavioural patterns. In this respect, Scott & Turco's paper clearly highlights the need for a more widespread investigation of this type of sports tourist in future research.

The event sports tourism focus of this issue continues with Rob Wilson's review of Guy Masterman's book, Strategic Sports Event Management: An International Approach. Wilson highlights the emphasis on strategy rather than operational concerns (which Wilson believes often pre-occupy other texts) as a key strength of the book. Dovetailing nicely with many of the arguments in the substantive papers in this issue, Wilson believes that the book will enable event managers to construct ‘a strong conceptual and strategic understanding of the decisions required to stage successful events, both nationally and internationally’.

Taken together, the three substantive papers and the book review in this issue highlight the importance of a strategic approach to the planning of sports events informed by a clear understanding of the behaviours of spectators at those events.

In recognising the importance of understanding the nature of sports spectator tourism behaviour, JS&T has invited Ian Jones of Bournemouth University to be Guest Editor of a Special Issue of JS&T on ‘Sport Fans and Spectators as Sport Tourists’, and the Call for Papers for this Special Issue is contained at the end of this issue. The submission deadline for the special issue is Friday 9 November 2007, and any enquiries or expressions of interest should be directed to the Guest Editor at: [email protected].

Notes

[1] Submissions, in this or any other area of the relationship between sport and tourism, should be made by email to the JS&T Editorial Office at Canterbury Christ Church University ([email protected]). Any queries or comments can be directed to the Editorial Office, or to the Editor, Mike Weed ([email protected])