The Impact of Consumer Behavior and Service Perceptions of a Major Sport Tourism Event

The Honolulu Marathon has consistently provided a positive economic impact to the state of Hawaii's economy. The purpose of this study was to assess the economic benefits of the 2007 Honolulu Marathon by runners from outside the state of Hawaii and their traveling companions on the city of Honolulu. Another purpose of this study was to compare the service perceptions of Japanese participants with those of English-speaking participants, with a focus on examining opportunities to increase economic contributions from the two groups. The 2007 Honolulu Marathon is the third largest marathon in the USA and six largest in the world, with over 27,000 runners registered. Only the New York City Marathon (34,729) and the Chicago Marathon (32,332) are larger. Of the 27,000 registered participants of the Honolulu Marathon, 19,500 runners are residents from outside the state of Hawaii. The data used in this study were collected by distributing a research instrument to marathon participants. The instrument consisted of 18 questions regarding length of stay, accommodation, and the amount of money spent by the marathon participants for food, lodging, souvenirs and other miscellaneous items while attending the marathon activities in Honolulu. A total of 1,643 participants completed the surveys for this study. Examination and analysis of these results will prove to be very helpful in determining the economic benefit the Honolulu Marathon has on Honolulu and the state of Hawaii.

The Honolulu Marathon accounted for an economic impact of $108,890,000 that generated $3.7 million in state taxes. The opportunity for internationally diverse participatory sports events to increase tourism substantially, especially in the state of Hawaii, suggests that further research in this area is necessary.     

Exploring well-being outcomes at an iconic Chinese LGBT event: A PERMA model perspective

The well-being of participants at major destination events has received little empirical attention in the literature. This paper explores LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & other sexual minority) event participants' hedonic and eudaimonic well-being at the iconic Hangzhou Rainbow Marathon (HRM) in China. PERMA (Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Achievement) psychological model of human flourishing was adopted to analyze hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Mixed qualitative methods, in the form of semi-structured in-depth interviews and a focus group, were used to address the research aim. This data was supported by informal personal observations at the marathon site. Distinctions among participants' experiences were identified, resulting in slightly different perceptions of PERMA elements for paraders, volunteers and organizers. Through this role-based perspective, an event specific PERMA model emerged. Implications for event organizers and marketing specialists are provided.     

Marital Satisfaction: An Examination of Its Relationship to Spouse Support and Congruence of Commitment Among Runners

Role-identity theory supports the position that marital satisfaction is influenced by shared identities to a salient recreation role and by role support provided by a spouse for a salient recreation role identity for her or his partner. In addition, some previous studies have suggested that these effects are more prominent among women, but other research indicates that the effect is stronger among men. This study examined the relationship among the congruence of spouse's commitment to running, perceived role support, and gender to marital satisfaction among a population of married adult runners. Participants were 85 married runners and 75 of their spouses sampled from a list of participants in an annual marathon in a western U.S. city. Questionnaires were administered to runners and their spouses that measured commitment to running, role support, marital satisfaction, and the type of recreation participation within the marriage. A significant main effect for role support was found in the regression analysis, indicating that as the runner's perceived role support decreased, marital satisfaction also decreased. No significant interaction effects involving gender or level of congruence in commitment to running were identified. In an exploratory analysis, it was found that participation in shared activities, or commitment to the same activities, was not essential to marital satisfaction if the spouses perceived that their partners supported their recreational choices.     

Effect of Event Service Quality and Satisfaction on Happiness Among Runners of a Recurring Sport Event

The consumption of sport events through direct participation can influence participants’ perception of happiness with that experiential purchase given the time and resources invested in that experience. The purpose of the study was to examine how sport event service quality aspects operationalized through the physical environment, interaction, and outcome factors influence overall satisfaction with the event and experiential happiness. Data were collected from 300 runners who participated in 5k and 10k races. Structural equation modeling analysis revealed the positive effect of outcome and physical environment factors on satisfaction with the event and the positive influence of event satisfaction and outcome quality on experiential happiness. The overall expectations on the quality of the event experience can be a focus for event managers aiming to achieve social marketing goals related to positive psychology from the event participation.     

City Image and Perceived Tourism Impact: Evidence from Port Louis,Mauritius

Research suggests that the images residents hold about their community influence the political support for tourism. Yet, few researchers have investigated the image that local residents have of their own area. Borrowing from the existing literature on place image and residents' perceptions of tourism impacts, a theoretical model incorporating these two lines of research is developed and tested using data collected from residents of the city of Port Louis, Mauritius. It proposes four city image attributes as the independent constructs influencing residents' perceptions toward the overall impact of tourism development. These include social attributes, transport attributes, government services attributes, and shopping attributes. Overall impact of tourism development is considered to be a determinant of the level of support for the industry. Results of the structural equation modeling analysis indicate that residents' perceived levels of shopping attributes, transport attributes, and social attributes of the city influence their level of support for the tourism industry. The hypothesis relating transport attributes to overall impacts of tourism was not supported. The study provides some important considerations for local planners attempting to make tourism more supportive in the city.     

Economic Impact of Cultural Events: The Case of the Zora! Festival

In addition to their cultural and social values, cultural events have emerged as an instrument for tourism development, tourism seasonality expansion, city image improvement and boosting regional economies. By using a Social Accounting Matrix for Orange County, Florida, this study evaluates the economic impact of an event that highlights the folklore and cultural contribution of Zora Neale Hourston. Survey data from 1100 event participants were used to estimate the spending patterns of festival attendees. The two major contributions directly related to this study are (1) the use of a quantitative methodology that will put different policy options in perspective and (2) enabling researchers to study the impact of cultural events at three levels: direct, indirect and induced effects.     

What makes a motorsports event enjoyable? The case of Macau Grand Prix

This article aims to identify the key product attributes that make a motorsport event enjoyable. Using data collected in the 2010 Macau Grand Prix, a factor analysis was conducted on 15 variables that spectators were asked of their level of agreement to how these elements constitute an enjoyable event. The analysis returned four major variables of a product that spectators believe will make an enjoyable motorsport event, specifically, event amenities, event aesthetics, event ambience, and event tickets. This study contributes to the understanding of event product attributes.     

Volunteers of mega-events as co-creators of host destinations: Volunteers' experience,value, and satisfaction toward host destination

Volunteers serve as the largest labor force in a mega sporting event and may become ambassadors for the host city and event. Volunteers at a mega sporting event are considered the co-creators because they mentally and physically participate in the event from start to finish. Therefore, understanding the role of volunteers as co-creators is critical. Volunteers can also have experiences as tourists, because they tend to spend their free time by sightseeing in the host city. However, the tourist and co-creation experiences of volunteers remain underexplored. Therefore, this study aims to empirically explore the experience of volunteers in the host city, by considering the broader perspectives of volunteers. A survey questionnaire was administered to volunteers at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. A latent moderated structural equation (LMS) modeling was employed to test the established hypotheses. The findings demonstrated that volunteers hold experiences as tourists and co-creators, and these experiences influence the perceived value of the event.     

Celebration of heritage: linkages between historical re-enactment festival attributes and attendees’ value perception

ABSTRACT

Community-based festivals celebrate a sense of community and place. Communities across the United States (US) and elsewhere have turned to various community-based events to celebrate local heritage and culture. This study investigates the relationship between the attributes of a historical re-enactment festival and participants’ perceived value. Drawing on means–end theory and event experience literature, we examined event attributes, perceived benefits, and attendees’ perceived value in the context of a historical re-enactment festival in the Midwestern US. The results highlighted the importance of four attributes of historical re-enactment festivals, namely historical re-enactment, social interactions, event design, and physical facets. Each factor contributed differently to attendees’ perceived value of such a festival experience. In addition, perceived benefits of attending such an event mediated the relationships between event attributes and perceived value. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.     

Understanding the City Brand in the Regional Tourism Market Among College Students

This study focuses on the regional tourism market around Buffalo, NY to investigate the relative importance of city brand and other city attributes in tourists' decision making about where to visit for a short weekend trip. A content analysis was used to identify the four competitor cities of Buffalo and the key attributes that the cities possess to attract tourists in the regional driving tourism market. Within the context of destination choice-sets model, the relative importance of the key attributes including city brands was investigated through a choice-based conjoint analysis. Shopping opportunities was found as the most important attribute, followed by restaurant/food, culture/festivals, sports, nature-based attractions, and city brand. Based on the relative importance of the attributes at an individual level, three distinctive tourist segments—Food and Shopping Lovers, City-Driven Do-It-All Tourists, and Cultural Tourists—were generated from a K-means cluster analysis. Different city attribute profiles were identified for those five cities. Implications and suggestions were presented to promote more efficient marketing efforts for regional tourism destinations.     

Reexamining event attributes,benefits, and values in a time of pandemic: A multi-faceted approach

The COVID-19 pandemic increased attention to product/service-customer relationships in the context of events where social gatherings take place. Event attributes have been a topic of continued interest in research and practice. Due to COVID-19, however, event attendees' preferences and requirements related to personal values and satisfaction may be changing. Using a sequential mixed-method exploratory strategy with means-end chain theory and the Kano model as a research framework, this study identifies important event attributes, benefits, personal values, and specific satisfaction attributes. Key findings highlight pleasure and excitement and sense of safety as salient personal values. Respondents also found health/safety attributes particularly important, considering them must-be attributes. Providing health/safety services prior to the event would be effective in decreasing dissatisfaction. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

Destination Branding and Images: Perceptions and Practices from Tourism Industry Professionals

The intensified competition among convention cities has created an increasing interest for cities to better understand how to market themselves as a convention destination. A city's image is one of the highest indicators of its success as a convention location. It becomes imperative for each city to specifically analyze its strengths and weaknesses. Because there is a lack of literature regarding medium-sized convention cities, this study compares Knoxville, Tennessee to other similarly populated cities in the southeastern United States. The perceived importance of city attributes and the tourism professional's perception of the strengths and weaknesses of the particular city as a convention destination are based on the years of experience of the tourism professional in the industry and participants' demographic characteristics. The sample of the study was industry professionals that attended the Tennessee Governor's Conference on Tourism held in Knoxville in September 2006. Implications from this study may be used to improve the competitive position of Knoxville as a convention destination.     

Art festival attendance: Who attends and why with implications on developing future festival attractiveness

Art festivals are an increasing part of a destination's event portfolio, asserted by destination marketing and management agencies to hopefully promote community engagement including attracting tourism, trade, and talent to the destination. With art festivals a common annual event feature at destinations, the competition for festival participation has increased, creating a greater need to isolate those festival attributes that are specifically appealing to targeted visitor segments. Examining participant profile and motives to attend the publically funded annually recurring Macau Arts Festival (MAF), the findings of this case study showed mostly community involvement with participants being mainly well educated, middle-aged, and female. While an aim of the festival, international participation in the festival was limited. A factor analysis on motives to attend the festival revealed that while there was common agreement with previous literature on reasons to attend, Macau's cultural background provided increased opportunity for the MAF to differentiate the event. Marketing implications also suggested investigating a communication strategy that could differ between attracting local and international audiences. With a significant cost to public finances, greater scrutiny on the appeal of the festival to specific local and international audiences was recommended to better present the cost to benefit argument for hosting.     

Running Havana: Observations on the Political Economy of Sport Tourism in Cuba

Abstract

Sport tourism is a booming global business that has different costs and benefits for distinctive societies depending upon both global and local socio‐cultural, political and economic factors. With more than 130 officially sanctioned events worldwide, marathon running has developed to become a key feature of the international sport tourism calendar. This paper provides an ethnographic account of the 2005 Marabana – the Havana Marathon. After consideration of some of the central conceptual and historical issues pertinent to sport tourism in relation to the marathon in general, it uses this race and the events surrounding it as a critical window into Cuba’s complex contemporary political economy. Detailed consideration is given to the special conditions that have led to the development of the Island’s sport tourism industry and the consequences of that development in terms of Cuba’s political heritage. What sets Cuba apart from the tourist economies of its Caribbean neighbours is its continued commitment to the economic and political principles of communism and its strained and tense relationship with the United States. The paper concludes by pointing to the social and economic contradictions associated with the development of a tourist economy that is essentially capitalist within a society that is avowedly communist.     

The effects of training satisfaction and weather on revisiting sport events and their monetary value: The role of attribute non-attendance

This study examines the effect of training satisfaction and weather on the intention to revisit a sport event. It considers attribute non-attendance, i.e. respondents ignoring choice attributes in surveys. Online surveys were conducted at four sport events in the United States in 2017 and 2018. Respondents answered a series of hypothetical scenarios for return visitation that randomly assigned different travel costs per mile, travel distances, weather forecasts, and respondents' training satisfaction. Logit models estimated with and without attribute non-attendance reveal the extent to which respondents did not pay attention to specific trip attributes when answering the survey. These results indicate that attribute non-attendance is an issue in each data set. Partial consideration of attribute non-attendance yields statistically significant willingness-to-pay estimates for event attributes, while full consideration yields larger willingness-to-pay estimates. This study's contribution lies in the examination of previously neglected factors (training satisfaction, weather) and the consideration of attribute non-attendance.     

Dramatizing an event through a promotional film: Testing image effects

The present article studies the effects of storytelling through film on destination image building and visitation intention. Despite the growing awareness of the importance of storytelling in marketing and the impact events have on destination attractiveness, a theoretical gap exists into the effect of a combination of storytelling and event on spectators' image of the event and, in particular, the destination. Therefore, this study uses a quasi-experimental design in order to tests the image effects of an event, dramatized into a story. In order to test these image effects, 857 respondents answered a web survey before and after exposure to a promotion film of a dog-sledge race (the Finnmarksløpet) in northern Norway (the destination). The result indicates that using a dramatized event by a promotion film positively affects spectators' attitudes toward the destination as well as the event itself. The results suggest that the promotion film of the event enhances spectators' perceptions of dogsledding as a joyful, valuable, and stimulating activity. Additionally, the findings reveal that the promotion film has a positive effect on 5 out of 7 destination-related attributes such as culture, accommodations, and the weather. Thus, the study indicates that a dramatized event is a successful marketing communication tool and may be an important element also in the strategic planning of marketing activities. Implications and recommendations for future research are also presented.     

Does the Usability Experienced Performance of Travel Websites in China Meet Users' Expectation?

Despite the increasing use of the Internet in travel and tourism, the issue of usability on travel websites has been largely overlooked in the existing tourism literature in Mainland China (hereafter known as China), one of the world's largest markets for generating and receiving tourists. This paper reports on a study that investigated the perceptions of Internet users in China on China-based travel agency websites (henceforth referred to as travel websites). The expectancy disconfirmation theory was used to compare the expected performance and experienced performance of 24 usability attributes. Empirical results showed significant differences between perceived performance and expected performance for all included attributes.     

Exploring the linkages between managerial leadership,communication and teamwork in successful event delivery

Recent growth of events has triggered research into the determinants of successful event delivery. Communication is one of the determinants, and the importance of managerial leadership in enabling communication across an event's team is recognised. Empirical research on the attributes of event managers that make them good leaders from the perspective of an event's team is however limited. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with employees of an established events company in the UK, this study explores the role of managerial leadership in the success of an event, referring in particular to the enablers and inhibitors of effective communication. The study finds that leadership capacity of managers correlates with their personal and inter-personal competencies. On a personal level, poor motivational and interaction skills reduce the event's team performance. On an inter-personal level, insufficient recognition of the efforts applied by individual team members as well as the entire team serves as an inhibitor.     

Segmentation of Special Event Attendees Using Personal Values

ABSTRACT

This article presents the findings from research undertaken within a conceptual framework that included personal values, satisfaction and post-consumption behavioural intentions. The findings of a quantitative study (n = 354) conducted at a theatre-event indicate that attendees who were more inclined to place importance on their 'connectedness' with others were generally more satisfied with their attendance overall and with most of the attributes of the special event that were measured. Similar results were also found for attendees' post-con-sumption behavioural intentions; however, other personal value systems, such as that associated with hedonism, also emerged as important. These results can be used by managers and marketers of special events to enhance the special event experience and contribute to the industry's sustainability.     

Sustaining places and participatory sport tourism events

Participant-based sport events like ultramarathons are becoming increasingly popular but little is known about how they influence key stakeholders’ understandings of place and how these understandings fit into the tourism discourse on sustainability. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to gain insight into the sustainability of this type of active sport tourism event by examining the way that residents and visiting runners understand place (Grande Cache, Canada) in the context of the Canadian Death Race (CDR) ultramarathon. Interviews about place inclusive of a photo elicitation component were conducted with 15 residents and 20 visiting runners during the 2014 event. Thematic analysis resulted in the identification of four themes including: identity, dependence, physical setting, and social setting. Although they shared basic understandings of Grande Cache as a place of industry surrounded by nature, residents expressed stronger place identity than runners. Runners identified more with the activity of running but were connected to Grande Cache through place dependence and embodied experience. This discrepancy suggests that the sustainability of the CDR is at risk. Runners currently exhibit a high level of place dependence on Grande Cache, but a growing supply of race options poses a substitution threat.