A call for weather condition revaluation in mega-events management

This article provides a new insight into knowledge-based management of mega-events by highlighting the significance of weather at destination selection and scheduling events as an adaptive strategy toward climate change. Concerning the environmental and socio-economic costs of weather ignorance in event management, which may result in cancelation and change of the event time, it is recommended that planners perform a preliminary study prior to publicizing an event plan. Doing so, the organizer and visitors can benefit from optimal weather at the destination, as this study advises the decision-makers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games to reschedule the dates of this international event.     

An evaluation of the transport to employment (T2E) scheme in Highland Scotland using social return on investment (SROI)

This paper presents findings from an evaluation of transport to employment (T2E) in rural Highland Scotland. T2E is a centrally co-ordinated shared transport service which provides access to workplace, training and childcare where no alternative transport is available. The paper assesses the social as well as economic impacts on the local community through social return on investment (SROI) analysis. Measurable social benefits were found to outweigh the investment by 3:1 suggesting the concept to be a viable solution in a climate where public transport options are limited and typically restricted by low density and dispersed populations and challenging conditions for delivery.     

Death of a Backpacker: Incidental but Not Random

This case study of the fatal shooting of a backpacker by a policeman in the otherwise peaceful town of Pai in northern Thailand aims to show that, though incidental, it was not just a random occurrence. Rather, the event can be interpreted in terms of wider social structural processes and personal agency. The growing tension between the police and the backpackers in town, partly resulting from pressures to upgrade the community for more up-market domestic tourism, created the conditions for the occurrence of the event; but the personal predispositions of the main antagonists exacerbated these tensions, eventuating in tragic consequences. The article examines the contrasting versions of the event, and the ‘ethno-victimology’, implicit in the manner various groups of foreigners allocated the responsibility for the shooting between the antagonists. The article concludes that the event may have a negative effect on backpackers’ image of Pai (but not on the domestic tourists’ image), while the growth in the number of foreigners killed in Thailand may have an accumulative effect on the touristic image of the country as a whole. Some ideas for the further study of events in tourism are suggested.     

Changes in Host Community Reactions to a Special Sporting Event

Special events are a popular component of tourism and economic development strategies for communities and regions in many parts of the world. Researchers continue to develop an understanding of the positive and negative aspects of the events, and to assess residents' support for these events and their views about impacts. The main objective of this paper is to assess residents' reactions over a one-year period to hosting a special sporting event. The analysis is based on three community surveys, one undertaken before the event, the next immediately following the event, and the final one six months later. The research found that support remained high over this period, though a decline in overall support was evident. Over time, views about changes to facilities and services in the community shifted and there were distinct differences in residents' opinions on the impacts of hosting the event. The paper concludes that longitudinal studies must include a time-frame that extends beyond the immediate post-event period and, further, that a comprehensive event hosting impact scale would be useful for research in this field.     

Fostering the social utility of events: an integrative framework for the strategic use of events in community development

Although the use of planned events for achieving community development has received academic attention from different disciplines, the findings of these literatures are not systematically used towards developing a common understanding aimed at fostering their social utility. The challenge then is to study from an integrated interdisciplinary perspective how the social value of events can be fostered and leveraged for community development. In addressing this challenge, the purpose of this conceptual paper is to shed light on the multi-layered processes that foster the social utility of events. To this end, the theoretical tenets of social leverage, event dramaturgy and social capital are employed and integrated. On this basis, a conceptual framework linking event processes and outcomes is proposed aimed to guide future interdisciplinary research towards strategically incorporating events in community development. This line of research can eventually help create synergies between different event genres and implement joint social leveraging strategies, hence, fostering and magnifying their overall social utility for host communities.     

Urban Mega-Events,Evictions and Housing Rights: The Canadian Case

This article examines how community-based groups have dealt with the potential housing impacts of urban mega-events (also known as 'hallmark events') in the city. Three Canadian case studies are used- Expo '86 in Vancouver, the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, and the rejected proposal for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Toronto- to discuss a range of issues including the nature and impact of community action in forcing the organisers of mega-events to address the potential of event-related housing impacts. The research findings suggest that mega-eventrelated forced evictions should be viewed as an expected result of this form of urban restructuring as these events are used to bring new people, new facilities, and new money to cities ata rapid pace,and this goalis rarely evaluated in an open democratic manner. Further, the critical prerequisite for any effective community action to occur is the presence of an organised, strategic and resourceful coalition of community-based groups which have the capacity to analyse complex situations, act forcefully at a variety of levels, and use diverse strategies in order to take advantage of key 'openings' when seeking to achieve their goals.     

Developing Local Citizenship through Sporting Events: Balancing Community Involvement and Tourism Development

Cities throughout the world have struggled to remain competitive in an era of globalisation and devolution. As a result, many have turned to tourism-related activities, such as hosting sporting events or mega-events, as part of development strategies (Hall, 1992). Within this context, questions of how these short-lived events affect resident and nonresident identities have been raised. In essence, questions of citizenship, community, and identity have become central with the on-going use of itinerant tourism strategies. Lepofsky and Fraser (2003) reasoned that community citizenship can no longer be viewed as a static concept, where rights to local citizenship are guaranteed by virtue of residential status. They propose the notion of flexible citizenship, where residents and nonresidents alike determine their level of citizenship by their ability to negotiate their contributions within the community. This paper uses this conceptualisation of citizenship to explore how community involvement in the hosting of sporting events – by organising, watching, or participating in an event – affects notions of community citizenship, and how these newly articulated citizenships affect tourism development.     

Re-enactment Events and Tourism: Meaning,Authenticity and Identity

Re-enactment events have began to play a significant role in the calendars of individual attractions, regions or even nations to generate media exposure, develop inbound tourism activity and raise the cultural heritage profile of a locality for community development and/or regeneration purposes. The (re-)presentation of cultural heritage in these forms creates a unique set of interactions between landscapes, local communities, tourists and heritage organisations. In the recent past however, re-enactment events have been subjected to increased debate and criticism as to their educational value and meaning and for their contribution to understandings of cultural heritage in post-modern consumer societies. This paper presents an interdisciplinary review of these debates and draws on small scale research findings to reassess the value of re-enactment events as a means of presenting heritage to audiences. The paper argues that re-enacted historical events achieve a range of purposes and provides examples of evidence from a range of differing perspectives including: public policy and event organisers; re-enactors and academics in the field. It argues that the professional heritage industry, tourists, and re-enactors all contribute to making such events meaningful and as such they represent unique frames through which to understand issues of authenticity and identity in the production and consumption of post-modern cultural heritage attractions.     

Recreating heritage in the southwest of Scotland

This paper studies the role of heritage tourism in the creation of uniform identity. The recently developed heritage tourism products in the southwest of Scotland are encouraging the promotion of the dominant heritage of Scotland, largely marginalising the regional one. This paper examines the cases of the heritage of Robert the Bruce that stresses Scotland's militaristic tradition, the eventful organisation of the Border Gathering which showcases Highland culture and the marginalisation of the Covenanting heritage of the region. The data are gathered through a questionnaire survey, in-depth interview, non-participant observation, archival records and other secondary sources. It shows how tourism is gearing towards recreating and establishing heritage which is largely new to the region. The paper argues that the promotion of dominant heritage is meaningfully directed towards forming a uniform and homogenous identity. The introduction of the dominant heritage in the region is important because it encourages commonality within Scotland, which plays an enormous part in advancing Scottish nationalism. This study helps us understand how tourism can be a medium to advance a nationalistic message.     

Assessing preferences for mega sports event travel products: a choice experimental approach

Hosting mega sports events spreads positive destination images and generates massive tourism arrivals for the host communities. It is, therefore, important for tourism businesses to better understand what types of travel products, tailored for particular mega sports events, are purchased by sport tourists. Using a choice experimental approach, this study aims to examine how sport tourists formulate their preferences for travel products customized for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games by making intricate trade-offs among various product attributes. We utilize a gender perspective to further understand the preference dynamics embedded in segmented sport tourism markets. Study results suggest that sport tourists put distinctive weights on each of the attributes comprising the Olympic travel products. Gender differences are also identified in sport tourists’ choice decisions for sports event travel products. Based on the study findings, this paper proposes several marketing strategies to meet the needs of targeted market segments.     

Measuring the Socio‐Economic Legacies of Mega‐events: Concepts,Propositions and Indicators

Legacies have become a key rationale underpinning the bidding process for hosting mega‐events. These long‐term effects are deemed to hold benefits and costs, and measurement is important. However, there is limited theory or empirical evidence on legacy impacts. In this article, the literature on legacies of mega‐events is reviewed and event tourism isolated to develop an interdisciplinary conceptual model to measure tourism legacies, and develop propositions on measurement issues. This paper develops a framework of key indicators, propositions and measures to evaluate socio‐economic legacies, which will support event organizers and decision makers to formulate policies for improving event legacies. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

To go or stay home and watch: exploring the balance between motives and perceived constraints for major events: a case study of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

The current study offers insight into the role of motivation and constraints on behavioural intentions prior to a mega event. The Psychological Continuum Model framework was used to integrate motivation and leisure constraints theory to examine attraction towards the 2008 Olympic Games. Semi‐structured interviews (N = 47) and a questionnaire (N = 235) distributed in Australia and the USA were used to identify and measure three motivational themes: cultural learning, cultural experience and olympic event interest, and three perceived constraints: structural, interpersonal and intrapersonal. Structural Equation Modelling revealed that motives were positively related to behavioural intentions while constraints were negatively related. Analysis further revealed the interaction between motives and perceived constraints led to two different forms of behavioural intentions; intentions to travel and attend the event vs. stay home to watch the event on TV. Policy and marketing implications are discussed that illustrate the benefits of understanding both motives and perceived constraints for tourism travel. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding the residents’ social impact perceptions of an African Cultural Festival: the case of Macufe

ABSTRACT

The Macufe is one of the Africa’s largest cultural festivals, and takes place annually in Bloemfontein, South Africa. This 10-day event attracts approximately 140,000 attendees, meaning that the residents have to share facilities and services with tourists. The effects of such interactions can be both positive and negative. Community members are stakeholders in any tourism ventures that take place in their area, meaning that their goodwill is of utmost importance. Therefore, the social impacts of this event should be well managed to foster community support. For this reason, a quantitative study was done to determine residents’ social impact perceptions towards the event. A total of 425 questionnaires were completed by willing residents who lived in proximity to festival activities. From an exploratory factor analysis, four factors were extracted, namely community enhancement, community degradation, tourism growth and increased public spending and interaction. It was found that the event does not generate significant levels of positive social impacts, and that the negative social impacts are viewed almost equal to the positive social impacts. This was one of the first social impact perception studies done on an African arts festival, which contributes to the sustainable management of such crucial events.     

Visitor Loyalty in Sport Tourism: An Empirical Investigation

This paper reports research regarding the relationship between consumer loyalty, satisfaction, and novelty seeking, including an analysis of these constructs as reflected in the published literature. A telephone survey was conducted of 500 city residents, focusing on their visitation of special events, including sporting events. It was found that satisfaction was somewhat positively related to interest in attending the same sporting event, and the intention to actually visit the sporting event again. However, novelty seeking was virtually unrelated to both interest in attending the same sporting event, and the intention to actually visit the sporting event, and unrelated to satisfaction. Novelty seeking in general, or in relation to special events particularly, performed similarly as a predictor. Further research is needed to clarify the role of other moderating variables, such as the feeling of involvement in sporting events, and to investigate segmentation aspects which might be operating in relation to specific sporting events and tourists.     

Exploring resource procurement for community-based event organization in social enterprises: evidence from Piedmont,Italy

ABSTRACT

This research contribution aims to shed light on the key role of social tourism entrepreneurship in community event management through the combination of innovative strategies for resource procurement. An exploratory qualitative case study was undertaken with 67 social tourism enterprises in Piedmont, Italy. The analysis shows that these social tourism enterprises have specific resource procurement strategies for community-based events. A business model emerges where the fundamental resource mobilization processes are based on three strategic approaches: (a) stakeholder participation and partnership; (b) sharing ideas, materials and knowledge; (c) capturing dispersed resources and assets from the local community. The identified variables provide a new perspective for the study of resource procurement in community event management.     

Airport user experience unpacked: Conceptualizing its potential in the face of COVID-19

Given the unprecedented challenges imposed on the aviation industry by the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper proposes a new perspective on airport user experience as a field of study to unlock its potential as a basis for strategic roadmapping. Through an integrative literature review, this study points out a dominant focus, in practice and research, on customer experience and service quality, as opposed to user experience, to help airports gain a competitive edge in an increasingly commoditized industry. The review highlights several issues with this understanding of experience, as users other than passengers, such as employees, working for the airport and its myriad stakeholders, as well as visitors, are largely omitted from study. Given the complexity of the system, operationally, passengers are generally reduced to smooth flows of a passive mass, which this study argues is both a missed opportunity and a vulnerability exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Major events apart from COVID-19 are used to show the negative effects this simplification of user experience has had. Based on solutions and models proposed in previous studies, a conceptual model has been developed to illustrate the postulated potential of a deeper and more holistic study of airport user experience to make airport systems generally more agile, flexible and future-proof. As such, the paper advocates to utilize the user experience as a basis for strategic planning to equip airports with the know-how to manage not just daily operations more effectively but also the aftermath of and recovery from major events like the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, with the user experience at the center of the strategic roadmap, airports can plan ahead to mitigate the impact of future scenarios. The importance of future research and the use of existing research are discussed.     

Tourism in peripheral areas—the challenges for northeast Scotland

All peripheral regions face significant challenges with tourism development. This research initially acknowledges the challenges facing peripheral regions, which can be either geographical, such as access and infrastructure, or perceptual in nature, such as image related. Subsequently the challenges for tourism provision and development in the northeast of Scotland are discussed. Primary data have been collected from tourism providers in the region in an attempt to identify the specific challenges that face northeast Scotland. This region of Scotland faces a unique challenge in that the region effectively has two micro‐economies; Aberdeen city and its surrounding area benefit from the influence of a relatively buoyant oil industry, whereas the more remote areas to the north and west exhibit many peripheral tendencies. This juxtaposition of two contrasting operating environments in a peripheral area highlights the unique challenges for tourism development in this part of the world. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Athens 2004 Olympic Games' Transportation Plan: a missed opportunity for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) integration?

During the 1990s, a considerable debate on the integration of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) with the policy, plan and programming process took place among scholars throughout the world. This debate is relevant today, especially in the context of Sustainable Development (SD) as it is maintained that the integration of environmental concerns in policy, plan and programme (PPP) making, is a step towards sustainable planning practices. This is also the rationale behind the recent enactment of the European Union (EU) Directive on the `assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment' (or `SEA Directive') which requires that following the 21st July 2004, all member states' authorities preparing certain formal plans or programmes should undertake SEAs by preparing an environmental report describing the potential effects of plans and programmes upon the environment. This paper applies an integrative SEA/PPP framework, to the transport planning process of a major international athletic event: the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. It was found that despite the lack of a formal SEA in place, there are positive signs for its future integration in similar studies in Greece. Furthermore, it is recommended through comparison with other SEAs for Olympic Games, that weight should be given to the co-ordination of the common stages of the PPP and SEA processes, if SEA practice is to be encouraged in countries with underdeveloped SEA systems such as Greece.     

The effect of authenticity on visitors’ expenditure at cultural events

The main aim of this study is to analyse the influence of the perceived authenticity of cultural events and their products on shopping expenditure. The quantitative analysis is based on 1275 self-administered questionnaires collected among event attendees in three different Northern Italian Christmas Markets in 2008. In order to estimate separately the determinants of the propensity of respondents to shop and how much money they are willing to spend for each kind of purchase, we have adopted a double-hurdle model. The results show that tourists are more likely to spend and that they do spend more if they consider the event and the products sold to be authentic. This study also reveals that socio-demographic factors and visit motives are interrelated with authenticity perception and together affect the amount of personal expenditures during the event. Finally, some implications of the study are discussed.     

The effect of community attachment on cultural festival visitors' satisfaction and future intentions

This paper explores the characteristics of multicultural festival visitors on the basis of their attachment to a certain culture or a cultural community, and examines the influences of this attachment on levels of overall satisfaction and future intentions. Two distinctive types of visitors to cultural festivals are recognised based on their attachment to the culture of the festival. A total of 420 valid questionnaires from three multicultural festivals in Korea were collected. This study found that community attachment, defined as an attachment to a certain culture or a cultural community, had significant impacts on intention to revisit and positive word-of-mouth (WOM). Visitors who are attached to an ethnic culture or a cultural community are more likely to revisit and spread positive WOM than people who are not attached. The paper concludes that community attachment influences cultural festival visitors' future intentions, and can be used as a predictor of the relationship between satisfaction and future intentions. From the results of the study, strategic marketing and management implications, based on community attachment, are suggested to increase repeat visitation and attract more visitors through positive WOM.