Athletes as tourists: Consumer Behaviour of Participants at the 2007 and 2009 World Universiade Games

• Authors: Douglas Turco , Dimitra Papadimitrou , Serkan Berber
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Considerable research has been devoted to sport mega-events including the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup, and the Commonwealth Games. Yet few studies have focused on the lesser known or "second tier" international sport events in order to understand the patterns and the impact of participant consumption. Further, few sport event studies are extended beyond a single assessment. This study examines a recurring sport event, the World Universiade Summer Games, that took place in two different countries, Belgrade, Serbia and Bangkok, Thailand. A profile of participants at the 2007 and 2009 Universiades was generated to reveal and compare their consumer behaviour in the host cities and over time. Subjects were queried on-site during selected days of competition (N=441, 2007; N=221, 2009). Findings demonstrate a remarkable consistency in participant characteristics and local spend from 2007 to 2009, though the amount spent per night was considerably less than the average per night spend by other types of tourists in the host countries, suggesting that Universiade athletes are non high-value tourists. Discussion and implications of findings to sport and tourism destination scholars and marketers are presented.

Keywords

EN

sport tourism; mega-events; World Universiade Games

• Publisher: De Gruyter Open
• Journal: Physical Culture and Sport. Studies and Research
• Year: 2011
• Volume: 51
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 72-79

Dates

published

1 - 6 - 2011

online

21 - 6 - 2011

Contributors

author

Douglas Turco

• Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA

author

Dimitra Papadimitrou

• University of Patras, Rio, Greece

author

Serkan Berber

• Anadalu University, Eskişehir, Turkey

References

• Baade, R. A., Matheson, R. A. (2002). Bidding for the Olympics: fool's gold? In C. P. Barros, M. Ibrahim and S. Szymanski (Eds.), Transatlantic sport: The comparative economics of North American and European sports (pp. 127-151). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
• Black, D. (2008). Dreaming big: The pursuit of ‘second order’ games as a strategic response to globalization. Sport in Society, 11 (4), 467-481.
• Cabrini, L. (2004).
• Carlsen, J., Taylor, A. (2003). Mega-events and urban renewal: The case of the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games. Event Management, 8(1), 15-22.
• Cox, M. F., Turco, D. M., Ally, S. A., McAlmont, C., Sukhdeo-Singh, T. (2007). 2007 Cricket World Cup Super Eight Series Spectator Profile - Final Report. Georgetown: University of Guyana.
• Duran, P. (2002).
• Gratton, C., Shibli, S., Coleman, R. (2005). Sport and economic regeneration in cities. Urban Studies, 42 (5/6), 985-999.[Crossref][WoS]
• Jones, M., Stokes, T. (2003). The Commonwealth Games and urban regeneration: an investigation into training initiatives and partnerships and their effects on disadvantaged groups in East Manchester. Managing Leisure, 8(4), 198-211.
• Kaplanidou, K. (2007). Affective event and destination image: Their influence on Olympic travelers' behavioral intentions. Event Management, 10, 2, 159-173.
• Kaplanidou, K., Vogt, C. (2007). The interrelationship between sport event and destination image and sport tourists' behaviours. Journal of Sport and Tourism, 12, 3-4, 183-206.
• Lynch, P. G., Jensen, R. C. (1984). The economic impact of the XII Commonwealth Games on the Brisbane region. Urban Policy and Research, 2(3), 11-14.
• Papadimitrou, D., Turco, D. M. (2009). The significance of the 2007 Universiade to the economy of Bangkok: Estimating sport tourist consumption. Universiade Belgrade 2009 FISU Conference, 3 July 2009, Belgrade, Serbia.
• Pongsirirushakun, A., Naewmalee, K. (2003). An analysis of foreign tourist expenditure in Thailand, TDRI Quarterly Review, 18, 2, 9-16.
• Preuss, H., Seguin, B., and O'Reilly, N. (2007). Profiling major sport event visitors: The 2002 Commonwealth Games. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 12(1), 5-23.
• Preuss, H. (2004). Economics of staging the Olympic Games: A comparison of the Games 1972-2008. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
• Ritchie, J. B. R. (1984). Assessing the impacts of hallmark events: Conceptual and research issues. Journal of Travel Research, 23(1), 2-11.
• Scott, A. K. S., Turco, D. M. (2007). VFRs as a segment of the sport event tourist market. Journal of Sport and Tourism, 12(1), 41-52.
• Smith, A. (2005). Reimaging the city: the value of sport initiatives. Annals of Tourism Research, 32(1), 217-236.[Crossref]
• Tang, Q., Turco, D. M. (2001). A profile of high-value event tourists. Journal of Convention and Exhibition Management, 3(2), 33-40.
• Taylor, T., Toohey, K. (2007). Perceptions of terrorism threats at the 2004 Olympic Games: Implications for sport events. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 12, 2, 99-114.
• Turco, D. (2000). Dimensions of sport tourism. Presentation at Sport in the City: An International Conference, June 28 - July 1, 2000, Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Turco, D. M., Dinu, M, Goicea, A. (2009). What's up at the 2009 Ice Climbing World Cup? Presented at the European Association for Sport Management Conference, 18 September 2009, Amsterdam.
• Xing, X., Chalip, L. (2006). Effects of hosting a sport event on destination brand: a test of co-branding and match-up models. Sport Management Review, 9, 49-78.[Crossref]

Identifiers

DOI

10.2478/v10141-011-0007-7