Sport Tourism: Interrelationships, Impacts and Issues (Aspects of Tourism, 14)

Sport Tourism ASPECTS OF TOURISM Series Editors: Professor Chris Cooper, University of Queensland, Australia Dr C. Mic...

Author: Brent W. Ritchie | Daryl Adair

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Sport Tourism

ASPECTS OF TOURISM Series Editors: Professor Chris Cooper, University of Queensland, Australia Dr C. Michael Hall, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand Dr Dallen Timothy, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA Aspects of Tourism is an innovative, multifaceted series which will comprise authoritative reference handbooks on global tourism regions, research volumes, texts and monographs. It is designed to provide readers with the latest thinking on tourism world-wide and in so doing will push back the frontiers of tourism knowledge. The series will also introduce a new generation of international tourism authors, writing on leading edge topics. The volumes will be readable and user- friendly, providing accessible sources for further research. The list will be underpinned by an annual authoritative tourism research volume. Books in the series will be commissioned that probe the relationship between tourism and cognate subject areas such as strategy, development, retailing, sport and environmental studies. The publisher and series editors welcome proposals from writers with projects on these topics. Other Books in the Series Tourism Employment: Analysis and Planning Michael Riley, Adele Ladkin and Edith Szivas Marine Ecotourism: Issues and Experiences Brian Garrod and Julie C. Wilson (eds) Classic Reviews in Tourism Chris Cooper (ed.) Progressing Tourism Research Bill Faulkner, edited by Liz Fredline, Leo Jago and Chris Cooper Managing Educational Tourism Brent W. Ritchie Recreational Tourism: Demand and Impacts Chris Ryan Coastal Mass Tourism: Diversification and Sustainable Development in Southern Europe Bill Bramwell (ed.) Sport Tourism Development Thomas Hinch and James Higham Sport Tourism: Interrelationships, Impact and Issues Brent Ritchie and Daryl Adair (eds) Tourism, Mobility and Second Homes C. Michael Hall and Dieter Müller Strategic Management for Tourism Communities: Bridging the Gaps Peter E. Murphy and Ann E. Murphy Oceania: A Tourism Handbook Chris Cooper and C. Michael Hall (eds) Tourism Marketing: A Collaborative Approach Alan Fyall and Brian Garrod Music and Tourism: On the Road Again Chris Gibson and John Connell Tourism Development: Issues for a Vulnerable Industry Julio Aramberri and Richard Butler (eds)

For more details of these or any other of our publications, please contact: Channel View Publications, Frankfurt Lodge, Clevedon Hall, Victoria Road, Clevedon, BS21 7HH, England http://www.channelviewpublications.com

ASPECTS OF TOURISM 14 Series Editors: Chris Cooper (University of Queensland, Australia), C. Michael Hall (University of Otago, New Zealand) and Dallen Timothy (Arizona State University, USA)

Sport Tourism Interrelationships, Impacts and Issues Edited by

Brent W. Ritchie and Daryl Adair

CHANNEL VIEW PUBLICATIONS Clevedon • Buffalo • Toronto

To Maria and my family To Cheryl and Kane

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Sport Tourism: Interrelationships, Impacts and Issues/Edited by Brent W. Ritchie and Daryl Adair, 1st ed. Aspects of Tourism: 14 Includes bibliographical references 1. Sports and tourism. I. Ritchie, Brent W. II. Adair, Daryl. III. Series. G155.A1S6285 2004 338.4’791–dc22 2003024107 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 1-873150-66-0 (hbk) ISBN 1-873150-65-2 (pbk) Channel View Publications An imprint of Multilingual Matters Ltd UK: Frankfurt Lodge, Clevedon Hall, Victoria Road, Clevedon BS21 7HH. USA: 2250 Military Road, Tonawanda, NY 14150, USA. Canada: 5201 Dufferin Street, North York, Ontario, Canada M3H 5T8. Copyright © 2004 Brent W. Ritchie, Daryl Adair and the authors of individual chapters. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. Typeset by Florence Production Ltd. Printed and bound in Great Britain by the Cromwell Press.

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Contents

List of Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Preface and Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix 1

Sport Tourism: An Introduction and Overview Brent W. Ritchie and Daryl Adair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

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Secular Pilgrimage and Sport Tourism Sean Gammon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

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Where the Games Never Cease: The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland Daryl Adair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

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Winter Sport Tourism in North America Simon Hudson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

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Adventure Sports and Tourism in the French Mountains: Dynamics of Change and Challenges for Sustainable Development Phillipe Bourdeau, Jean Corneloup and Pascal Mao. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

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More Than Just a Game: The Consequences of Golf Tourism Catherine Palmer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

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Exploring Small-Scale Sport Event Tourism: The Case of Rugby Union and the Super 12 Competition Brent W. Ritchie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

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Host Community Reactions to Motorsport Events: The Perception of Impact on Quality of Life Liz Fredline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

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Crime and Sport Events Tourism: The 1999–2000 America’s Cup Michael Barker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

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Sport Tourism and Urban Regeneration C. Michael Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

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Sport Tourism in Crisis: Exploring the Impact of the Foot-and-Mouth Crisis on Sport Tourism in the UK Graham A. Miller and Brent W. Ritchie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

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Beyond Impact: A General Model for Sport Event Leverage Laurence Chalip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

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Sport Tourism in the UK: Policy and Practice John Deane and Michelle Callanan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

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The Future of Sport Tourism: The Perspective of the Sports Tourism International Council Joseph Kurtzman and the late John Zauhar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

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Conclusions and Reflections: Sport Tourism Challenges and Opportunities Brent W. Ritchie and Daryl Adair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

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Contributors

Daryl Adair, Centre for Sports Studies, University of Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. E-mail: [email protected] Michael Barker, Heilongjiang University, 74 Xuefu Road, Nangang District, and Harbin Normal University, 50 Hexing Road, Harbin, PR China 150080. E-mail: [email protected] Phillipe Bourdeau, Institut de Geographie Alpine, 7 rue Maurice Gignoux 38031, Grenoble cedex, France. E-mail: [email protected] Michelle Callanan, Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies, Summer Row, Birmingham B3 1JB, UK. E-mail: m.callanan@ bcftcs.ac.uk Laurence Chalip, Sport Management Program, University of Texas at Austin Bellmont Hall 222, Austin, TX 78712–1204, USA. E-mail: LChalip@ mail.utexas.edu Jean Corneloup, Universite Blaise Pascal, UFR STAPS, Ensemble, Universitaire Les Cezeaux BP 104, 63172 Aubiere cedex. E-mail: [email protected] John Deane, Department of Physical Education and Sports Studies, University College Worcester, Worcester, UK. E-mail: [email protected] Liz Fredline, Research Development Unit, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne, Vic. 3001, Australia. E-mail: [email protected] Sean Gammon, Department of Tourism and Leisure, University of Luton, Park Square, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU1 3JU, UK. E-mail: sean.gammon@ luton.ac.uk

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List of Contributors

C. Michael Hall, Department of Tourism, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand. E-mail: [email protected] Simon Hudson, Haskayne School of Business, Scurfield Hall 496, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada. E-mail: [email protected] Joseph Kurtzman, Sports Tourism International Council, PO Box 5580 – Station ‘F’, Ottawa, Canada. E-mail: [email protected] Pascal Mao, CERMOSEM, Le Pradel, 07170 Mirabel. E-mail: mao.pascal@ ujf-grenoble.fr Graham A. Miller, School of Management, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, UK. E-mail: [email protected] Catherine Palmer, School of Service Management, University of Brighton, 49 Darley Road, Eastbourne, BN20 7UR, UK. E-mail: [email protected] Brent W. Ritchie, Tourism Program, University of Canberra, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]. School of Service Management, University of Brighton, 49 Darley Road, Eastbourne, BN20 7UR, UK. John Zauhar, Sports Tourism International Council, Ottawa, Canada.

Editor’s note (added in proof): John Zauhar passed away in the summer of 2003, while this book was in production. He is dearly missed by his family, friends and colleagues. He made an important and significant contribution to the field of sport tourism.

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Preface and Acknowledgements

Despite the growth of attention devoted to sport tourism from reseachers, policy makers and providers, more research and study is required in this field. Daryl and I firmly believe that an interdisciplinary perspective is a key to enhance our understanding of this varied topic area. We believe that a better understanding of sport tourism can occur if inter or multidisciplinary research occurs or if researchers apply or adapt theories, concepts or models from different disciplines to examine the interrelationships, impacts, and issues associated with sport tourism. This is illustrated by the variety of contributors to this book. Some are from the disciplines of anthropology, history, leisure studies, sport management and tourism management. Several of the authors apply concepts from other disciplines within their various chapters. We also believe that this kind of research can better equip university graduates who work in the sport tourism field, as well as providing more insights into complex problems like the development of sport tourism policy, planning and leveraging strategies. It is hoped that this book, in some small way, contributes to the development and increasing maturity of the field of sport tourism by promoting an interdisciplinary perspective to the understanding of sport tourism. It is particularly important that students, industry and government are aware of the impacts and issues associated with the development of sport tourism segments and consider some of the ways to more effectively plan and manage sport tourism for the benefit of the sport and tourism industry and local communities. We hope that this book has made some small contribution to understanding some of these impacts, issues and debates. We would like to acknowledge the support and assistance of various individuals and organisations who have helped turn the idea of this book into reality. First, we would like to thank the book series editors, Chris Cooper, C. Michael Hall and Dallen Timothy, for providing the ix

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opportunity to write this book and for their constructive comments on the manuscript. Thanks should also go to the Tourism Program and the Centre for Sports Studies at the University of Canberra and the CRC for Sustainable Tourism who supported the hosting of the ‘Sport-Generated Tourism’ symposium in October 2000. Brent and Daryl would also like to thank a number of people for their support and encouragement in completing the book. Thanks go to staff or former staff at the University of Canberra including Trevor Mules, Josette Wells, Niki Macionis, Brock Cambourne and Helen Ayres. University of Brighton colleagues and staff such as Paul Frost, Steven Goss-Turner, Nigel Jarvis, Graham Shephard, Peter Burns, Cathy Palmer, Thrine Hely, Jo-anne Lester, Harvey Ells and Chris Dutton have also been very supportive and encouraging. A big thank you also goes out to all of the individual contributors who have written chapters from all parts of the globe. Thank you for your patience! We should also acknowledge the support of the publishing team at Channel View for their assistance and hospitality throughout this process. Finally, thanks to both our families and partners for their love and support. Brent W. Ritchie, Lindfield, West Sussex, England Daryl Adair, Canberra, Australia

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Chapter 1

Sport Tourism: An Introduction and Overview BRENT W. RITCHIE AND DARYL ADAIR

Introduction The concept of sport-related tourism has become more prominent in the last few years as both an academic field of study and an increasingly popular tourism product (Gibson, 1998). This chapter provides an introduction to the concept and practice of sport tourism. It also provides an overview of how the book explores the interrelationships, impacts and issues associated with sport tourism. However, in terms of the development of the field of sport tourism, readers are directed to the extensive analysis provided by Hinch and Higham (2003). In the present study, Chapter 1 begins by defining key terms such as sport, tourism and sport tourism before outlining various types of sport tourism that comprise a basis for various chapters within this book. The chapter notes the growing academic and industry interest in the field of sport tourism. It concludes by highlighting the main themes from specific chapters of the book and explains how readers might best use the book. To begin with, we outline a brief history of sport tourism, illustrating that the interrelationship between sport and tourism is not a new phenomenon. Learning outcomes On completion of this chapter readers should: (1) Understand the increase in sport tourism and the growing attention of industry, government and research in this field. (2) Be able to define and understand the concepts of sport, tourism and sport tourism. 1

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(3) Be able to highlight the major segments of sport tourism including active, event and nostalgia sport tourism, as well as the capacity to provide specific examples of each. (4) Understand how interdisciplinary research can advance the understanding of sport tourism as an academic sub-discipline and an industry sector.

Current Interest in Sport Tourism Researchers have recognised that people have been travelling to participate or watch sport for centuries (see Delpy, 1998; Gibson, 1998). Today sport and tourism are among the ‘developed’ world’s most sought after leisure experiences. Just as significantly, these popular social practices have also become very important economic activities. Recent research has indicated that the contribution sport makes to the gross domestic product (GDP) of industrialised nations is between 1–2%, while the contribution of tourism is between 4–6% (WTO, 2001). Research conducted on sport tourism has been undertaken at international and national levels by researchers, government and non-governmental organisations, thus illustrating the growing importance and recognition of sport tourism as an industry sector. At the international level the World Tourism Organization (WTO, 2001) concluded that German tourists accounted for 32,000,000 sport-orientated trips a year, or 55% of all outbound travel, while 52% (7,000,000) of all trips made by Dutch tourists included a sport component. French tourists were less motivated by sport holidays, although 23% or 3.5,000,000 trips still included a sport component. Across the English Channel, the British Tourist Board and the English Tourism Council (formerly the English Tourism Board) claim that as many as 20% of tourist trips are directly related to sports participation, while 50% of holidays contain some form of incidental sports participation (DISR, 2000). However, this development is not simply a European trend. Research conducted in Canada during 1998 demonstrated that 37.3% of the 73,7000,000 domestic recreational journeys were undertaken for attendance at a sports event. In 1996 a Canadian Sports Tourism Initiative programme was developed to increase the tourism potential of sports events in Canada (Canada Tourism, 2000). Similarly, in South Africa, 4% of the domestic tourism market comprises sport tourism, and the potential to develop the international sport tourism market can be best seen by the recent inauguration of South Africa Sports Tourism (SAST). This is a joint initiative by the Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the Ministry of Sport 2

Sport Tourism: An Introduction and Overview

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and Recreation in South Africa. In Australia, the Bureau of Tourism Research (2000) has shown that a total of 12,900,000 domestic trips were undertaken by residents to either participate in, watch, or organise a sporting event in Australia during 1999. However, they note that only 3,5000,000 trips were overnight trips compared with 9,400,000 day trips, this illustrating that some tourism benefits from sport are not commercially maximised, with many visitors not staying overnight in hotel accommodation or visiting additional tourist attractions before or after a sporting event. It is no surprise that sport and tourism have both received interest from academics and industry practitioners over recent decades. Curiously, though, the links and relationships between sport and tourism have largely been overlooked by scholars. Indeed, the genre of ‘sport tourism’ (of sport generating tourism activity or tourism generating sporting activity) is a recent research development. Despite growing interest there is still the need for a better understanding of the nature, impacts and management issues concerning the different segments of sport tourism.

The Nature of Sport Tourism Sport definitions Even among ‘experts’ there is considerable controversy over efforts to define sport. Some critics insist that an all-embracing definition is impossible because sport is a socially constructed activity that has varied across historical eras, societies and cultures. Others hold that sport has specific and timeless characteristics, such as being goal-oriented, competitive and a forum for the creation of winners and losers (Goodman, 1976; Paddick, 1975; Rader 1979). The term ‘sport’ has been applied to numerous and different types of activities, but this eclecticism has been a sore point for some. Critics of bullfighting, for instance, contend that it is not a sport; among their arguments is the point that the bull is deliberately weakened for the spectacle, so it is not a ‘sporting contest’ at all (Marvin, 1986). Moreover, while some historians are comfortable with the term sport for gladiator fights in ancient Rome, others emphasise the inherent inequality between those contestants and the absence of consent to rules (Plass, 1995). On this score sport, like beauty, seems culturally relative and conceptually elusive. Yet there is some common ground about the notion of sport among ‘western’ scholars. Jay Coakley’s definition is a typical example of the attempt to classify sport. He cites four major factors: 3

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Physical conditions

• Use of physical prowess, physical skill or physical exertion. Complex physical skills

• Coordination, balance, quickness, or accuracy; speed, strength and endurance. • Excludes non-physical activities such as chess and cards. • Includes human use of equipment and machines, i.e. motor car racing. Institutionalised and competitive

• • • •

Rules are standardised. Rule enforcement is overseen by official regulatory agencies. Organisation and technical aspects of the activity are important. Learning of playing skills becomes formalised.

Individual participation is motivated by a combination of intrinsic factors and extrinsic factors

• Intrinsic rewards through involvement (dynamics of the activity – play, fun, etc.) • Extrinsic rewards through (salary, prize money, medals, fame). • If the orientation tips toward intrinsic, the activity is more play like, • If the orientation tips toward extrinsic the activity is more game like. Coakley also provides a fairly typical working definition of organised sport: ‘Sport is an institutionalised competitive activity that involves vigorous physical exertion or the use of relatively complex skills by individuals whose participation is motivated by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors’ (Coakley, 2001: 8). Historian Alan Guttmann, seeking to acknowledge the changing nature of sport, has attempted to pinpoint characteristics of modern, as compared with pre-modern, sporting activities (Guttmann, 1974). He identifies these seven features that, in his view, are necessary preconditions for a sport to be accepted as part of modern societies: (1) Secularism (absence of the religious element from sport; i.e. not competing to ‘please the Gods’). (2) Equality (participation open to all, with competitors facing the same set of competitive conditions). (3) Specialisation (attuning athletic skills to specific positions and roles). (4) Rationalisation (sports governed by specific rules, playing conditions, types of equipment, etc.). 4


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(5) Bureaucratisation (sports competitions regulated by organisations, which contain hierarchies of power and responsibility). (6) Quantification (predilection for precise measurement of athletic performance). (7) Records (provide archive of performance achievements of athletes over time, under certain conditions, etc.). Notwithstanding these definitions, it needs to be pointed that sporting activities may be either formal or recreational. The key, it is argued, is that there should be at least three persons (two taking part and a third to act as referee or judge), and they must be engaged in competition to establish a winner (Coakley, 2001). Over and above that, modern sport is generally considered to be highly organised and structured, with contests taking place at common times and places, and records kept of performances. This view may, however, be unnecessarily rigid – particularly in terms of recreational sporting activities. Two people can play a game of tennis informally without the need for an umpire, and can easily keep score. Moreover, golf can be played by counting strokes or, it seems, without counting at all. Purists may contend that such practices deviate and distort the ‘true’ meaning of sport. But it defies common sense for an observer to conclude that the aforementioned activities, though ad hoc and semiserious, are not a form of sport. They are, arguably, sport-as-play, whereas tightly structured and goal-oriented tennis matches and golf tournaments are sport-as-competition (Gruneau, 1980). In terms of sport tourism, sport-as-play is normally associated with active tourist behaviour (taking part in sport), while sport-as-competition is usually associated with passive tourist behaviour (witnessing sport) – though in the latter case sports tourists can also be competitors, such as with young tennis players following the satellite circuit in Europe, playing to win but sight-seeing between matches. We might conclude, therefore, that both sport-as-competition and sport-as-play are legitimate ways of conceptualising the physical activities we take for granted as ‘sport’. Crone, none the less, reminds us that there are key aspects to competitive sport that mark it as different to playful sporting activity: (1) the degree of emphasis on winning; (2) the degree of emphasis on extrinsic rewards (e.g. money, power, and prestige); (3) the amount of bureaucratization (Crone 1999). Sport has, of course, long been part of the educational curriculum, though now associated more than ever with the health and life sciences. 5

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More noticeable, of course, is how elite-level sport has been influenced by commercialisation and professionalism – so much so that the amateur ideals once taught in school sports appear somewhat irrelevant. Sport is consumed widely – by patrons at stadia, viewers in front of television, listeners within earshot of radio, readers of newspapers and magazines. It is also, now more than ever, a tourism product – as this book goes on to attest.

Tourism Definitions The growth of tourism has been fuelled by general improvements in leisure time combined by increased discretionary income for many people. This has helped to fuel a desire to escape from work routine and engage in holidays, whether domestically or internationally. Definitions of tourism vary with respect to whether the term is applied from a supply side (industry) perspective or a demand side (consumer) perspective. As Smith (1988: 181) has noted, ‘there are many different legitimate definitions of tourism that serve many different, legitimate needs’. Moreover, many of the tourism definitions vary due to organisations or individuals trying to define their own motives for tourism activities and opportunities. However, there is common ground covered by many of the definitions. An early definition of tourism stated that a minimum of a 24-hour stay at a site was required for an individual to be considered a ‘tourist’. However, this has been modified to an overnight stay which, according to Weaver and Oppermann (2000: 28) ‘is a significant improvement over the former criterion of a 24-hour stay, which proved to be both arbitrary and extremely difficult to apply’. If a person’s trip does not incorporate at least one overnight stay, then the term excursionist is usually applied (Weaver & Oppermann, 2000). This definition can be applied to both international and domestic travellers. For example, international stayovers (or tourists) are those who stay in a destination outside their usual country of residence for at least one night, while international excursionists (or same-day visitors) are those who stay in an international location without residing overnight. Furthermore, a domestic stayover (or tourist) is someone who stays overnight in a destination that is within their own country of residence but outside of their usual home environment (usually specified by a distance of some kind). Domestic excursionists (or same day visitors) undertake a similar trip but do not stay overnight. Smith (1988) believes that it is difficult to determine the precise magnitude of the tourism industry due to an absence of an accepted operational 6


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definition of tourism. Nevertheless, the tourism industry has been defined in principle as a sector that ‘encompasses all activities which supply, directly or indirectly, goods and services purchased by tourists’ (Hollander et al., 1982: 2). Hall (1995: 9) believes that three factors tend to emerge when examining various definitions about the tourism industry: • the tourism industry is regarded as essentially a service industry; • the inclusion of business, pleasure, and leisure activities emphasises ‘the nature of the goods a traveller requires to make the trip more successful, easier, or enjoyable’ (Smith 1988: 183); and, • the notion of a ‘home environment’, refers to the arbitrary delineation of a distance threshold or period of overnight stay. However, McIntosh et al. (1995: 10) take a more systems based approach when defining tourism as ‘the sum of phenomena and relationships arising from the interaction of tourists, business suppliers, host governments, and host communities in the process of attracting and hosting these tourists and other visitors’. This definition includes the potential impacts that tourists may have upon the host community, which until recently was a neglected component of the definition process. The above discussion illustrates that there are many different components to defining tourism, which range from tourists themselves, the tourism industry and even the host community or destination. A number of authors therefore view tourism as an integrated system of components (Gunn, 1988; Leiper, 1989; Mathieson & Wall, 1982; Mill & Morrison, 1985; Murphy, 1985; Pearce, 1989) that generally contain a number of interrelated factors: • a demand side consisting of the tourist market and their characteristics (motives, perceptions, socio-demographics); • a supply side consisting of the tourism industry (transport, attractions, services, information) which combine to form a tourist destination area; • a tourism impact side whereby the consequences of tourism can have either direct or indirect positive and negative impacts upon a destination area and tourists themselves; • an origin-destination approach that illustrates the interdependence of generating and receiving destinations and transit destinations (on route) and their demand, supply and impacts. According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO, 1999) tourism is predicted to increase with future tourist arrivals growing to 1.6 billion by the year 2020 at an average growth rate of 4.3%. Despite the effect of 7

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external variables, such as the Asian Economic Crisis in the late 1990s and the 11 September incident in 2001, tourism growth appears to be assured. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC, 2001) tourism currently generates 6% of global gross national product (GNP) and employs 1 in 15 workers worldwide. It is predicted that by 2011 it will directly and indirectly support one in 11.2 workers and contribute 9% of gross national product worldwide (WTTC, 2001). Sport tourism definitions and segments Alongside the rising academic attention devoted toward sport and tourism has appeared a growing interest in the interrelationships between two of the most conspicuous aspects of sport-related tourist activity. Sport tourism includes travel to participate in a passive (e.g. sports events and sports museums) sport holiday or and active sport holiday (e.g. scuba diving, cycling, golf), and it may involve instances where either sport or tourism are the dominant activity or reason for travel. Standevan and De Knop (1999: 12) therefore define sport tourism as ‘all forms of active and passive involvement in sporting activity, participated in casually or in an organised way for non-commercial or business/commercial reasons that necessitate travel away from home and work locality’. Gammon and Robinson (1997) have a similar approach to defining ‘sport tourists’, though they prefer to classify them as either ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ participants. A ‘hard’ sport tourist is a person who travels for either active or passive involvement in competitive sport, hence their prime motivation for travel is sport. The ‘soft’ sport tourist is someone who is primarily involved in recreation or leisure moreso than competitive activity (Gammon & Robinson, 1997: 3). Kurtzman (2000) increases the complexity of sport tourism by suggesting that there are five main sport tourism categories (or supply side elements of sport tourism). Among them we find activities as diverse as: • • • • • •

sport sport sport sport sport sport

tourism attractions; tourism resorts; tourism cruises; tourism tours; events tourism; adventure tourism (see Table 1.1).

Additionally, Pitts (1999: 31) believes that from a sport marketing and management perspective, sport tourism consists of two broad product categories: 8


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• sports participation travel (travel for the purpose of participating in a sports, recreation, leisure or fitness activity); and, • sports spectatorial travel (travel for the purpose of watching sports, recreation, leisure or fitness activities and events). However, Gibson (2002) suggest three categories of research in the field, including: • active sport tourism; • event sport tourism; and • nostalgia sport tourism. Many of these sport tourism categories are covered by the various chapters of this book. The remaining part of the introductory section will now consider key issues associated with active, event and nostalgia sport tourism, and will outline where specific chapters in this book examine these three main categories of sport tourism. Active sport tourism

Active sport tourism consists of several activities, including: • • • •

skiing (see Gilbert & Hudson 2000; Hudson 2000); bicycle touring (Ritchie, 1998; Ritchie & Hall, 1999); adventure tourism (Fluker & Turner, 2000); and, active participation events, such as Masters Games (Ritchie, 1996) or other sporting tournaments (Green & Chalip, 1998).

According to Standeven and De Knop (1999) this segment of the travelling population comprises approximately 10–30% of the total market. The WTO (2001) noted that favourite physical activities on active holidays ranged from skiing and snowboarding in winter, to hiking, mountaineering, climbing, water sports (scuba diving, snorkelling, swimming) and cycling in summer. Active sport tourism overlaps with Pitt’s (1999) concept of sports participation travel, and also elements of Gammon and Robinson’s (1997) active components of ‘hard’ sport tourism and ‘soft’ sport tourism (cycle touring and skiing in a non-competitive way). Furthermore, the settings in which active sport tourism can take place include attractions (such as indoor summer ski arenas), resorts (for skiing, golf and fitness activities), cruises (for snorkelling and sports facilities) and adventure tourism (such as hiking and snowboarding). Some critics have questioned whether recreational or adventure tourism activities are actually ‘sport’, and whether non-competitive physical activities or informal sport really constitute sport tourism. This book

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Table 1.1 Sport tourism: The breadth of sport tourism categories and activities Kurtzman’s (2000) sport tourism categories

Natural or human-made settings and activities

Attractions

• Himalayas • Blue Mountains, Australia • Sport heritage sites (e.g. birthplace of Rugby Union, Rugby, UK) • Halls of Fame (e.g. Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown) • Sport museums (e.g. Olympic Museum in Lausanne) • Sport stadia (e.g. Lords, Twickenham) • Sport theme parks (e.g. Disney Wide World of Sports) • Unique sports facilities (e.g. Indoor Summer Ski Arenas) • Winter ski resorts (e.g. Whistler, Canada) • Summer ski resorts (e.g. Thredbo Resort, Australia) • Sports villas and integrated resorts and health and fitness clubs • Sport training facilities (e.g. Thredbo High Altitude Training Facility) • Transportation for participation in sports tourism (e.g. travel to Great Barrier Reef for snorkelling) • On-board sports facilities • Hosting of sports personalities/ conferences • Tour of sport stadia, halls of fame, sport theme parks, unique sports facilities, sport matches • Mega, hallmark, major or local sporting events

Resorts

Cruises

Tours

Events


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Table 1.1 (continued)

Adventure tourism

• Olympic Games, Wimbledon, London Marathon, endurance races, Masters Games, weekly rugby union, football and American football fixtures • Whitewater rafting • Cycling tours • Mountain climbing and hiking • Ski tourism • Golf tourism • Scuba diving

accepts a broad definition of sport tourism to include and embrace both active and informal sport tourism. Active sport tourism is covered in the chapters concerning winter sport tourism in North America by Hudson (Chapter 4), adventure tourism in the French Alps by Bourdeau et al. (Chapter 5) and golf tourism in the developing world (Chapter 6). Event sport tourism

Event sport tourism has provided the vast majority of research and scholarship in the field of sport tourism. Higham and Hinch (2002) note that the majority of research conducted in the field of sport tourism examines sport events tourism (or event sport tourism) and within this category mainly large scale ‘mega’ or ‘hallmark’ events such as the Olympic Games and other major sporting tournaments. Higham (1999) notes that small-scale events can be just as important for developing the national or regional sport tourism industry, as well as providing marketing and economic development to small destination areas or regions. Ritchie, in Chapter 7, notes a lack of research in the field of smallscale sport events and discusses the potential of such events as sport tourism products. Ritchie focuses on rugby union and illustrates the potential, and untapped potential, of local event sport tourism through the case of Super 12 Rugby Union in Canberra, Australia. Questions have been posed by authors such as Hall (1992), Hiller (1998) and Olds (1998) about who actually benefits from the development of large sporting events. Some of these questions are considered and addressed by Hall in Chapter 10 concerning sport tourism and regeneration, whereas 11

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Chalip in Chapter 12 goes beyond the traditional discussion of the economic impacts of sporting events and suggests the concept of ‘leveraging’ as an area of consideration for practitioners and researchers. Chalip believes that leveraging strategies can be used by sport event organisers and destinations to maximise the benefits of event sport tourism at national, regional and local levels. Chalip provides specific insights and strategies for sport tourism managers and planners with the aim to fully leverage the economic and commercial benefits of sport event tourism. Little research has been conducted about the social impacts of sport tourism, and in particular crime as an element of event sport tourism. Barker, in Chapter 9, provides a unique insight into crime at a ‘hallmark’ sporting event – the 1999/2000 America’s Cup in New Zealand. Furthermore, Fredline in Chapter 8 discusses the importance of learning and understanding host community attitudes toward the staging of sporting events – in this case why residents either support or oppose the development of a motorsport event. Fedline’s research highlights that the application of theory and literature relating to the social impacts of tourism can provide valuable insights into the attitudes of those affected by event and sport tourism. This, in turn, can have practical significance as organisers and government endeavour to balance the needs of sports competitors, sports fans, and local residents. Quality of event is therefore related to issues about quality of life and the rights of various stakeholders. From a management perspective, few studies have been conducted on crisis management within event sport tourism, despite the susceptibility of both sport and tourism to external crises and disasters. Chapter 11 by Miller and Ritchie examines the impact of the foot and mouth outbreak in the UK on event sport tourism, with the authors concluding that destinations should not simply reply on sporting events to bolster their income. External factors, such as unforeseen crises or disasters, can have a major impact upon the staging of particular sporting events, and therefore elements of the tourism industry itself. Just as significantly, while crises may not be predictable, the skills and resources to implement crisis management strategies can reduce the severity of their impacts. Nostalgia sport tourism

Both Gibson (2002) and Gammon (2002) consider nostalgia sport tourism as a separate category of sport tourism. Yet thus far it has received less scholarly attention than other categories of sport tourism. Examples of nostalgia sport tourism cut across the various sport tourism categories to include: 12


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• sport halls of fame and museums; • sport tourism tours to famous sporting stadia or facilities (such as Twickenham for rugby union, Lords for cricket); and, • sport theme vacations on cruise ships or at resorts with sporting professionals (sometimes referred to as fantasy camps. See Gammon 2001 for a discussion of this concept). Here concepts of worship, heritage, pilgrimage and even religion may be associated with the sporting fanship that motivates tourists to visit such destinations and attractions. Research in this particular field of sport tourism is limited, apart from a small number of pathbreaking studies (see in particular Bale, 1988; Redmond 1988; Synder, 1991). Gibson (2002) notes that broader development of literature and theory in the sport and tourism field can improve our understanding of nostalgia sport tourism: it is a topic suitable for anthropologists, sociologists and historians alike. Once again this illustrates possibilities for multidisciplinary research in the field of sport tourism. This book consists of two chapters that explore the concept of nostalgia sport tourism. Gammon, in Chapter 2, presents an interesting case, drawing on tourism attractions, nostalgia and religious tourism, likening travel to sport tourism attractions as a secular form of pilgrimage. Adair, in Chapter 3, also discusses sport tourism attractions but focuses specifically on the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. His chapter argues that the museum is as much about image-building as entertainment or education: celebratory displays of historical artifacts and art works convey a triumphal sense of progress at the very time the Olympic Games have abandoned their nineteenth-century idealist roots – becoming highly commercialised and accepting of professionalism. Adair contends that the museum serves a twofold ideological purpose, which at first appears contradictory. It presents nostalgic images of an arcadian Olympic past while, concurrently, venerating a brave new world of Olympic capitalism.

Improved Understanding of Sport Tourism To date, there is precious little literature that analyses specific links between sport and tourism, as well as the socio-economic impacts and management issues related to tourism and sport. However, an emerging scholarly interest in sport tourism reflects, to some degree, a growing awareness within the leisure industry that sport and tourism products have complementary features (Gibson, 1998). However, as Gibson (1998: 65) notes in her review of the literature of sport tourism: ‘there is a lack of integration in three domains: (1) policy 13

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development and implementation . . . (2) in academe, a lack of interdisciplinary research . . . (3) in the education of future sport tourism professionals’. This lack of integration between sport and tourism policy makers, the sport and tourism industry, as well as sport and tourism researchers and educators is discussed in what follows. Policy development and implementation Better integration between the two policy arenas and industry are crucial if the development of sport tourism is to be more effective and efficient, and benefits for both industry sectors are maximised. Several authors note the need for integration between the two domains, and for greater cooperation between sport and tourism providers (Glyptis, 1991; Gibson, 2002; Ritchie & Adair, 2002; Weed, 1999). Swart (1998) notes that despite the desire for South Africa to develop sport tourism as a key component of its tourism strategy, little planning, coordination and financial investment has taken place to assist its development. Gibson (2002) points to a greater amount of government-funded research into sport tourism (some of which was discussed in the previous section). The development of sports commissions and organisations to attract sporting events has taken place in many Western countries, but a lack of coordination still exists between sport and tourism bodies at national, regional and local levels. In part, this is because the role of sports organisers is to promote and develop their sport, not tourism per se. Similarly, tourism agencies and the industry often overlook sport as an important contributor to destination attractiveness and a key reason for tourist visitation. The linkages between sport tourism and other sectors of tourism such as heritage, culture, arts are often ignored by agencies or tourism authorities (Beresford, 1999). In Australia, the national government Department of Industry, Science and Resources has produced a national sport tourism strategy, in which they note coordination and policy development as essential elements in improving sport tourism around Australia. They suggest the development of clusters at a regional level may be useful to bring together sport and tourism agencies and organisations to work together collaboratively to package, market and develop sport tourism at a regional level. Ritchie, in Chapter 7, notes that in the case of Canberra in Australia, sport providers in rugby union could be working more closely with local tourism authorities and industry to leverage the potential benefits of this form of sport tourism. In Chapter 13 Deane and Callanan directly 14


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discusses the development of sport tourism policy at a national level in the UK. They note that neither sport nor tourism bodies see sport tourism as their lead responsibility. Deane and Callanan suggests a five point framework for the development of a more suitable sports tourism policy in the UK. Chalip, in Chapter 12, also notes the need for sport and tourism organisations to work more closely together to help leverage the economic impact and commercial benefits of sporting events. Furthermore, in Chapter 9, Barker calls for closer coordination between sports event organisers and police to reduce the negative impacts of the sport tourism experience – particularly, crime against visitors and the local host community. Interdisciplinary research The aim of this book is to promote an interdisciplinary approach to the research of sport tourism using different authors from a range of disciplines (including historians, geographers, sport scientists, social scientists and tourism specialists). Furthermore, this interdisciplinary approach is highlighted by authors discussing or applying other theories or concepts within their individual chapters. Because sport tourism comprises two separate fields of study – sport and tourism – we see a need within this book to bring researchers in both fields closer together. This will improve our understanding of sport tourism as a phenomenon for research, policy, industry and education development in sport tourism. Furthermore, within the chapters some authors have also framed the concept of sport tourism and the specific focus of their individual chapters be making comparisons with other studies in their discipline. For instance, as mentioned previously, Gammon (Chapter 2) refers to broader work on tourism attractions and nostalgia to then suggest sport tourism attractions and sites as a form of pilgrimage, while Palmer takes a generic developmental perspective concerning golf tourism in less developed countries. Miller and Ritchie (in Chapter 11) and Chalip (Chapter 12) take a management perspective in discussing the management of crises and leveraging of tourism benefits from sporting events. Multi or interdisciplinary research is required in the sport tourism area to provide more insights into the interrelationships between sport and tourism, the impacts on the economy, society and tourists, as well as managing many of the issues surrounding the development of sport tourism. Research in the field of sport tourism should endeavour to involve, where appropriate, researchers from different disciplines and departments within universities (such as leisure, recreation, tourism, 15

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history, anthropology, management). As Hinch and Higham (2001: 47) note when discussing relationships between sport and tourism: by clarifying these relationships, more probing research questions can be asked and the findings of individual studies can be placed within the broader contexts of the field as a whole. In doing so, the potential synergies of the field are more likely to be captured. This is likely to have a positive impact on policy development and implementation as well as pedagogical development in the sport tourism field. Education and curricula Collaboration between researchers has been stated as necessary in the above section. Such collaboration is also important in the development of educational resources and training programmes for professionals and university/college students. Academics in leisure, recreation, tourism, sport, management and social scientists could work closer together to provide subjects and materials to facilitate the development of specific sport tourism modules, sport tourism specialisation and even sport tourism degree programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Already a number of sport tourism modules are offered and a growing number of sport tourism degrees are being developed. Swart (2000), in research undertaken about sport tourism curricula, noted that from the 28 academics surveyed, 84 sport tourism courses were offered, and 78% of respondents confirmed that sport tourism was taught in existing course modules. The growth of collaboration and interdisciplinary research in the sport tourism area will heighten the awareness and legitimacy of sport tourism as a field of study and provide additional insights to researchers. This interdisciplinary approach will also improve the development of curricula and the educational understanding of the concept of sport tourism. This will benefit researchers, policy makers, the sport tourism industry and those who work in the industry – including budding university graduates.

Book Structure and Use This book has been written to assist students and professionals interested in the field of sport tourism to understand the interrelationships between sport and tourism, and the impacts and issues associated with the growth of this field. Figure 1.1 illustrates the link between sport 16


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tourism segments and the various chapters in the book, and it also highlights some of the impacts and issues that will be covered in subsequent chapters in this book. Table 1.2 summarises the main focus, theories, concepts and conclusions of the book chapters to help set the scene for readers. The book starts by focusing on the under researched area of nostalgia sport tourism (Chapters 2 and 3), where both Gammon and Adair outline concepts such as authenticity and pilgrimage regarding sport tourism. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 explore active forms of sport tourism including winter sport tourism in North America (Chapter 4), sport tourism in the French Alps (Chapter 5) and the implications of golf tourism in less developed countries (Chapter 6). Chapters 7 explores event sport tourism by examining small scale sport event development in the Super 12 Rugby Union competition while, Chapter 8 discusses the quality of life debate in the case of motorsport events and examines resident attitudes towards the hosting of motorsport events. The subsequent chapters begin to explore issues and impacts in more detail through exploring the issue of crime and sport events tourism (Chapter 9) and regeneration and sport tourism (Chapter 10). Furthermore, Chapters 11 and 12 examine the management of sport events tourism through firstly examining crisis management for sport tourism (Chapter 11) and leveraging tourism benefits from sporting events (Chapter 12). Chapter 13 by Deane and Callanan explores the issue of sport tourism policy in the UK with some comparison to the development of policy in Australia and notes the need for more coordination and specific sport tourism policy to assist the future development of this market. Chapter 14 ponders the future of sport tourism where the impact of projected political, economic, social and technological change will influence the experiences sought by sport tourists and the production of tourism experiences for consumption. In the final chapter, the editors reflect on the various chapters and make concluding comments about the impacts and issues associated with the development of sport tourism and note the need for more research, policy and education concerning this field. Each book chapter is structured with a set of learning outcomes outlining what the chapter will cover and what ought to have been learned at the completion of each chapter. Also at the end are a set of Key Questions for readers to consider: these relate back to the main themes of the chapter, while an Active Learning Task is offered to help improve your understanding of the particular sport tourism segment and the issues outlined. At the end of each chapter you will be provided with 17

18

• Lack of research on nostalgia and active sport tourism segments (see Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5) • Lack of research on small-scale sports events (Chapter 7) • Over reliance of sport tourism for broader economic development and regeneration for host destinations (see Chapters 10 and 11) • Lack of community consultation over sport tourism development (Chapters 6, 8) • Politics associated with sport tourism and questions over ‘who benefits’ from sport tourism development (see Chapters 3, 6, 8, 10) • Lack of long term planning/evaluation of sport tourism (Chapters 5, 6, 10 11, 12) • Globalisation and change as a part of sport tourism (Chapters 3, 4, 8, 10, 11) • Need for better research on sport tourism and actual long term impacts (including social) • Need for better policy coordination for sport tourism at a national level (Chapter 13) and coordination between sport, tourism and other agencies (Chapters 9, 10) as well as the sport and tourism industry (Chapters 7, 12) • Need to be aware of broader context of sport tourism development and external factors which shape demand and development (Chapters 2, 3, 6, 10, 11, 14)

Sport Tourism Policy, Planning and Management

• See Chapters 7–9

• Small scale events, hallmark and mega sporting events

Event Sport Tourism

• Active participatory events (e.g. marathons)

• Sports halls of fame, • Climbing, hiking, skiing and sport tourism tours, winter sports tourism, sport tourism museums • Theme golf tourism, bicycle tours, vacation, adventure tourism • See Chapters 2 and 3 fantasy camps • See Chapters 4–6

Active Sport Tourism

Figure 1.1 Sport tourism segments, issues, impacts and book content

Sport Tourism Issues

Nostalgia Sport Tourism

18 Sport Tourism

• Social impacts (Chapters 6, 8, 9, 10) • Economic impacts including commercialisation (Chapters 3, 4, 6, 7, 10–13) • Environmental impacts (Chapters 4, 5, 6, 8, 10)

Sport Tourism Impacts

• Move away from impacts to leveraging benefits (Chapters 7, 12) and a more balanced appraisal of sport tourism development (Chapters 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11)

Aspect explored

• Sport tourism attraction base • Concept of pilgrimage related to nostalgia sport tourismattractions (stadia, halls of fame, etc.)

• Sports museums • Olympic Museum • Historiography • Case-study approach

• Winter sport tourism focussing mostly on active winter sports • Overview of market, and industry in winter sport tourism in North America

Chapter

2

3

4

Key themes and conclusions

• Sport tourism attractions act as modern day shrines • Meanings of these sites are important to sport tourists especially fanatics • Influence of sites on fans are not well understood • Authenticity, novelty, • Celebration of Olympism, nostalgia in sport, tourism with little analysis of Olympic and sport tourism field history • Olympic Museum as both • Deification of de Coubertin tourist venue and historic site and the Olympic ‘revival’ • Olympic museum invented to anoint changing Games – i.e. commercialism and professionalism • Growth and diversification • Change is inevitable in the of winter sport tourism winter sport tourism • Challenges faced by the winter • Diversification and sport tourism industry (maturconsolidation will occur in ing industry, environmental the industry issues, global warming) • Need to expand into year

Key theories, concepts or models discussed • Pilgrimage, religion, authenticity, novelty, nostalgia in sport, tourism and sport tourism field

Table 1.2 Main aspects, theories, concepts, models and conclusions of book chapters


19

19

Aspect explored

• Active sport tourism in French Alps • Changing nature of the French Alps and the implications for sustainability

• Active sport tourism • Issues associated with golf in the developing world

Chapter

5

6

Key theories, concepts or Key themes and conclusions models discussed • Variety of studies cited includround operations to grow ing constraints, destination the market and for choice and motivational economic sustainability research on consumers • Takes a geographical perspec- • The models of development tive and discusses the spatial in the French Alps provide diffusion of summer and many challenges to the winter sport tourism in the Alps region due to the diversifi• Sport development models cation and individualism outlined including individuaof adventure activities. lism, de-institutionalisation • Major challenge is to manage and adventure these impacts and protect activities significant cultural heritage in the Alps • Takes a development and • Advantages and disadvan dependency approach tages related to the towards golf tourism in less development of golf tourism developed countries tourism in the developing • Concepts and theories include world colonialism, the ‘north/south’ • Need to examine the develop divide, globalisation and ment of golf tourism in a ‘metatourism’ wider global context and

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20 Sport Tourism

20

7

Chapter

• Passive, small-scale sport event tourism • Examination of sport tourism segments within Super 12 rugby union

Aspect explored


consider historical and dependency issues • More education is needed of the problems associated with golf tourism and proper management is needed so benefits to locals are maximised and impacts on the environment reduced •Discusses lack of research and • Profiling sport tourists based attention devoted to small scale on sport and tourism sport events and competitions behaviour provides additional • Examines the profile of smallinsights scale sport event tourists • Notes challenges in harnessing • Examines linkages between fanatics to stay in the sporting behaviour and destination after the event fanship on tourism behaviour • Sport and tourism organisations should work together to better manage event sport tourism

Key theories, concepts or models discussed • Golf tourism produces problems for many countries due to these global forces and the politicisation of tourism

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21

21

22

10

9

8

Chapter

Key theories, concepts or models discussed • Event sport tourism • Need to understand residents • Resident attitudes towards underlying attitudes towards the hosting of major the hosting of such events motorsport events as they can affect their quality of life •Explores reasons why resident reactions vary including social exchange, social representation and expectancyvalue theories and concepts • Event sport tourism • Theories and models related • Crime and victimisation to crime, tourist crime and of sport tourists who victimisation attend these events • Places crime in the context of social impacts of tourism and perceptions of safety • Typology of crime discussed at sporting events ranging from local to global events • Sport tourism and • Concepts and theories related regeneration to restructuring, regeneration • Integration of sport tourism and sport tourism as a into regeneration and mechanism for urban employment strategies restructuring

Aspect explored • Understanding underlying reasons for differing resident attitudes relate to concepts such as spcial distributive justice, costs and benefits related to sport event tourism • Management and planning of such events can be facilitated through research into resident attitudes • Understanding of crime and perceptions of safety are important for managing sport events • Crime can impact negatively on destination image • Need for stakeholders to coordinate crime and safety management plans • Notes need for research on actual impacts of regeneration on communities and individuals rather than businesses and politicians


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22 Sport Tourism

12

11

Chapter

Key theories, concepts or models discussed • Role of sport tourism and stadia development related to community development including social exclusion and employment opportunities • Crisis management in • Crisis generated issues sport event tourism concerned with the • Business response and development of a major perspective concerning foot sporting event in a rural and mouth impacts community • Event management concepts outlined concerning ownership and commercialisation of events, organisational learning from crises, and over reliance on events for economic development • Event sport tourism • Discussion of economic impact • Leveraging of tourism of sporting events and a new benefits related to sporting leveraging model is proposed events • Use of theories, concepts

Aspect explored

23

• Sport event managers need to go beyond considering the economic impact and consider the concept of leveraging

•Other development options are required and should be integrated with sport tourism regeneration strategies • Over dependence on sporting events for rural areas should be limited • Need for crisis management to limit severity of any crisis or disaster • Event managers have to balance social needs with commercial interests


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Sport Tourism: An Introduction and Overview 23

Aspect explored

• Sport tourism policy and planning in the UK • Ways forward to improve policy and planning in sport tourism

Chapter

13

Key theories, concepts or models discussed and models in the tourism economicimpact field, marketing field related to product bundling, alliances, advertising, sponsorship and development of sport event portfolios • Outlines the sport, tourism and sport tourism context for the development of sport tourism policy • No agency is responsible for sport tourism policy therefore no one takes the lead • Outlines policies for control and support for sport tourism at the national level and provides a framework for sport tourism policy development • Need for greater integration between the sport and tourism policy areas to develop effective sport tourism policy • Need for research into sport tourism for the UK and effective sport tourism policy developments in other countries to help develop UK sport tourism policy • National strategies related to sport and tourism need to incorporate sport tourism policies/plans

• Questions and tactics can be developed to leverage tourism and commercial opportunities from sporting events


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24 Sport Tourism

24

Aspect explored

• Future development of sport tourism

Chapter

14

Key theories, concepts or Key themes and conclusions models discussed • Outlines technological changes • Notes that the future developthat may have an impact on ment in sport tourism will be the future development of determined by external factors sport tourism (such as technology, innova• Discusses potential growth of tions) as well as personal sport tourism categories factors (such as curiosity, • Outlines innovations and search for meaning, individual particular developments that values, and broader societal may impact upon the changes) development of sport tourism • Highlights several value components related to sport tourism benefits and impacts

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25

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suggestions for Further Recommended Reading and, where applicable, relevant Websites to research. Finally, each chapter has its own reference list to help you locate material related to a specific segment of sport tourism or an issue outlined within a particular chapter. This book hopes to provide you with an improved understanding of impacts and issues between sport and tourism, the concept of sport tourism and some of the management considerations relating to various types of sport tourism. Additionally, the book also seeks to expose readers to key examples and case studies from different parts of the world. After all, sport tourism is truly global in its reach and interest!

Key Questions (1) What three similarities can you discover between both sport and tourism as industry sectors? (2) How do you think an interdisciplinary approach to sport tourism research may help in understanding this topic area? (3) Why do you think there is a lack of coordination between the sport and tourism industry?

Active Learning Exercise Examine the VisitBritain website for any information concerning sport tourism. Try examining their marketing projects, media releases and statistics section too. Also examine the British Incoming Tour Operators Association for information concerning sport tourism. What types of sport tourism do these organisations promote and have the most information for (active, event, nostalgia sport tourism)? Discuss this with your colleagues or class.

Further Recommended Reading Gibson, H. (2002) Sport tourism at a crossroad? Considerations for the future. In S. Gammon and J. Kurtzman (eds) Sport Tourism: Principles and Practice (pp. 111–28). Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association. Hinch, T. and Higham, J. (2003) Sport Tourism Development. Clevedon: Channel View Publications. Standeven, J. and DeKnop, P. (1999) Sport Tourism. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

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Websites VisitBritain: www.visitbritain.com/sport British Incoming Tour Operators Association: www.bitoa.co.uk References Bale, J. (1988) Sports Geography. London: E. and F.N. Spon. Beresford, S. (1999) The sport-tourism link in the Yorkshire region. In M. Scarrot (ed.) Proceedings of a SPRIG Seminar Exploring Sports Tourism (pp. 29–37). University of Sheffield, 15 April. Bureau of Tourism Rresearch (2000) Sports Tourism: An Australian Perspective (3rd edn). Tourism Research Report. Canberra: BTR. Canada Tourism (2000) The Canadian sports tourism initiative. http://www. canadatourism/com/en/ctc/partner_centre/partnering/sports_initiative.htm (online accessed 23/11/00). Coakley, J. (2001) Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies (7th edn). Boston: McGraw-Hill. Crone, J. (1999) Towards a theory of sport. Journal of Sport Behaviour 22 (3), September, 321–3. Delpy, L. (1998) An overview of sport tourism: Building towards a dimensional framework. Journal of Vacation Marketing 4, 23–38. Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) (2000) Towards a National Sports Tourism Strategy (Draft). Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. Fluker, M. and Turner, L. (2000) Needs, motivation, and expectations of a commercial whitewater rafting experience. Journal of Travel Research 38 (4), 380–9. Gammon, S. (2002) Fantasy, nostalgia and the pursuit of what never was. In S. Gammon and J. Kurtzman (eds) Sport Tourism: Principles and Practice (pp. 61–71). Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association. Gammon, S. and Robinson, T. (1997) Sport and tourism: A conceptual framework. Journal of Sport Tourism 4 (3), 8–24. http://www.free-press.com/journals/jst/ vol14no3/jst.15.html Gibson, H. (1998) Sport tourism: a critical analysis of research. Sport Management Review 1 (1), 45–76. Gibson, H. (2002) Sport tourism at a crossroad? Considerations for the future. In S. Gammon and J. Kurtzman (eds) Sport Tourism: Principles and Practice (pp. 111–28). Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association. Gilbert, D. and Hudson, S. (2000). Tourism demand constraints: A skiing participation. Annals of Tourism Research 27 (4), 906–25. Goodman, C. (1976) Degoaling sports. Sport Sociology Bulletin 5 (2), Fall, 11–13. Green, B.C. and Chalip, L. (1998) Sport tourism as a celebration of subculture. Annals of Tourism Research 25 (2), 275–91. Gruneau, R.S. (1980) Freedom and constraint: The paradoxes of play, games, and sport, Journal of Sport History 7 (3), 68–86. Glyptis, S. (1991) Sport and tourism. In C. Cooper (ed.). Progress in Tourism, Recreation and Hospitality Management (pp. 165–83). London: Belhaven. Gunn, C. (1988) Tourism Planning (2nd edn). New York: Taylor & Francis. 27

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Guttmann, A. (1974) From Ritual to Record: The Nature of Modern Sports. New York: Columbia University Press. Hall, C.M. (1992) Hallmark Tourist Events: Impacts, Management and Planning. London: Belhaven. Hall, C.M. (1995) Introduction to Tourism in Australia: Impacts, Planning and Development (2nd edn). Melbourne: Longman. Higham, J.E.S. (1999) Sport as an avenue of tourism development: An analysis of the positive and negative impacts of sport tourism. Current Issues in Tourism 2 (1), 82–90. Higham, J. and Hinch, T. (2002) Tourism, sport and the seasons: The challenges and potential of overcoming seasonality in the sport and tourism sectors. Tourism Management 23, 175–85. Hiller, H. (1998) Assessing the impacts of mega-events: A linkage model. Current Issues in Tourism 1 (1), 47–57. Hollander, G., Threlfall, P. and Tucker, K. (1982) Energy and the Australian Tourism Industry. Canberra: Bureau of Industry Economics. Hinch, T.D. and Higham, J.E.S. (2001) Sport tourism: A framework for research. International Journal for Tourism Research 3, 45–58. Hinch, T. and Higham, J. (2003) Sport Tourism Development. Clevedon: Channel View Publications. Hudson, S. (2000). The segmentation of potential tourists: Constraint differences between men and women. Journal of Travel Research 38 (4), 363–8. Kurtzman, J. (2000) Sport and tourism relationship: A unique reality. In B. Ritchie and D. Adair (eds) Sports Generated Tourism: Exploring the Nexus (pp. 5–22). Proceedings of the First Australian Sports Tourism Symposium. Canberra: Tourism Program, University of Canberra. Leiper, N. (1989) Tourism and Tourism Systems. Occasional Paper No. 1. Palmerston North: Massey University. Marvin, G. (1986) Honour, integrity, and the problem of violence in the Spanish bullfight. In D. Riches (ed.) The Anthropology of Violence. Oxford: Blackwell. Mathieson, A. and Wall, G. (1982) Tourism: Economic, Physical and Social Impacts. London: Longman. Mill, R.C. and Morrison, A.M. (1985) The Tourism System: An Introductory Text. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall International. McIntosh, R., Goeldner, C. and Ritchie, J.R.B. (1995) Tourism: Principles, Practice, Philosophies (7th edn). New York: John Wiley & Sons. Murphy, P.E. (1985) Tourism: A Community Approach. New York: Methuen. Olds, K. (1998) Urban mega-events, evictions and housing rights: The Canadian case. Current Issues in Tourism 1 (1), 2–46. Paddick, R.J. (1975) What makes physical activity physical? Journal of the Philosophy of Sport 2, September, 12–22. Pearce, D. (1989) Tourist Development. (2nd edn). Harlow: Longman Scientific and Technical. Pitts, B. (1999) Sports tourism and niche markets: Identification and analysis of the growing lesbian and gay sports tourism industry. Journal of Vacation Marketing 5 (1), 31–50. Plass, P. (1995) The Game of Death in Ancient Rome: Arena Sport and Political Suicide. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. 28


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Rader, B. (1979) Modern sports: In search of interpretations. Journal of Social History Winter, 20–35. Redmond, G. (1988) Points of increasing contact: Sport and tourism in the modern world. In A. Tomlinson (ed.) Sport in Society: Policy, Politics and Culture (LSA Publication No. 43). Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association. Ritchie, B. (1996) How special are special events? The economic development and strategic value of the New Zealand Masters Games. Journal of Festival Management and Event Tourism 4 (3/4), 117–26. Ritchie, B.W. (1998). Bicycle tourism in the South Island of New Zealand: Planning and management issues. Tourism Management 19 (6), 567–82. Ritchie, B. and Adair, D. (2002) The growing recognition of sport tourism. Current Issues in Tourism 5 (1), 1–6. Ritchie, B. and Hall, C.M. (1999) Cycle tourism and regional development: A New Zealand case study. Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research 10 (2), 89–112. Smith, S. (1988) Defining tourism: A supply-side view. Annals of Tourism Research 15 (2), 179–90. Snyder, E. (1991) Sociology of nostalgia: Halls of fame and museums in America. Sociology of Sport Journal 8, 228–38. Standeven, J. and De Knop, P. (1999) Sport Tourism. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Swart, K. (1998) Visions for South African sport tourism. Visions in Leisure and Business 12 (2), 4–12. Swart, K. (2000) An assessment of sport tourism curriculum offerings at academic institutions. Journal of Sport Tourism 6 (1). Weaver, D. and Oppermann, M. (2000) Tourism Management. Brisbane: John Wiley. Weed, M. (1999) More than sports holidays: An overview of the sport tourism link. In M. Scarrot (ed.) Proceedings of a SPRIG Seminar Exploring Sports Tourism (pp. 6–28). University of Sheffield. World Tourism Organization (WTO) (1999) Tourism: 2020 Vision – Executive Summary. Madrid: World Tourism Organization. World Tourism Organization (WTO) (2001) Sport and tourism shaping global culture. http://www.world-tourism.org/newsroom/Releases/more_releases/ R0102901.html (online accessed 3/4/01). World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) (2001) Travel and Tourism’s Economic Perspective. New York: World Travel and Tourism Council.

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Chapter 2

Secular Pilgrimage and Sport Tourism SEAN GAMMON

Introduction Commentators and researchers alike have identified the sport attraction as an integral part of the sport tourism framework (Gibson, 1998a, 1998b; Kurtzman & Zauhar, 1997; Ritchie & Adair, 2002). However, although there is a growing body of literature in sport tourism, the majority of recent work has focused primarily upon either Sport Tourism definitions and categorisations, or visitor impact analyses. This chapter therefore aims to address this imbalance by outlining briefly the Sport Tourism attraction base. However, the main emphasis will be with the notion that a number of these attractions are perceived by those who visit them as modern day shrines (Redmond, 1973; Snyder, 1991). Moreover the journey made to such sites can be considered as a modern form of pilgrimage. Such terms have obvious religious parallels and will be examined in the first instance from a tourism and sport perspective and then finally from a Sport Tourism attraction viewpoint. Explanations will be offered to help explain the popularity and potential growth in this area, with particular reference to concepts of nostalgia and authenticity, which are also highlighted by Adair in Chapter 3 concerning the Olympic museum. These explanations are not considered to be contradictory or competing, but represent a proposed theoretical triangulation which, it is hoped, will inspire future research into the motives and experiences of those who visit Sport Tourism attractions.

Learning Outcomes On completion of this chapter, the reader should have a sound understanding of: 30

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(1) The many meanings attached to the term pilgrimage. (2) The part nostalgia and authenticity play in the sport attraction experience. (3) The religious connotations found in both sport and tourism.

Pilgrimage and its Progress The term pilgrimage, with regards to definition and usage, has made quite a journey itself over the last 200 years. In its simplest form it describes an arduous and fraught journey, endured in order to worship and/or pay respects to a site of special religious significance – the reward of which would be salvation or protection in the here and/or hereafter. However, such deeply spiritual associations with the term have, over the years, been augmented to include practically any journey to visit a destination which holds some form of personal or collective meaning (however profane) to the traveller. The origins of religious or spiritual quests are well documented (see Sharpley, 1994; Smith, 1992) and can be dated back to at least the Greek era, where pilgrims travelled to seek guidance from the many visionaries spread throughout the islands. Unsurprisingly, given the global nature of faith, evidence of spiritually driven travels can be found in many religions. Whatever the denomination, journeys to and from shrines and/or temples could last years and consequently involve extreme hardship (though as Kendall, 1970 and Turner and Turner, 1978 note, early Christian pilgrimages were largely undertaken by the wealthy or influential). Many of the important religious sites found today were established centuries earlier, lending them additional gravitas through their long pilgrimage heritage. The Western Wall in Jerusalem (Judaism) is one such example, as is Mount Fuji in Japan (Buddhism), Mecca in Saudi Arabia (Islamic) and the tomb of St James of Compostela in Santiago (Christianity). However, it is not the aim of this chapter to detail a complete history of ‘the pilgrimage’, for this has already been covered elsewhere (see Nolan & Nolan, 1989; Turner & Turner, 1978) but rather to highlight the profound spiritual importance placed upon these journeys by individuals and groups for more than two millennia. Today, the journeys may not be as lengthy or as arduous (though the severity of the pilgrimage may be relative to the era in which it takes place) but the visit will nevertheless engender similarly powerful emotions. This is not to suggest that pilgrims no longer travel long distances by foot or horse in order to reach their chosen sacred site(s), for many do (e.g. to Mecca). But most do not, and they use similar modes of 31

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transport to regular tourists. It is at this juncture the distinction between tourist and pilgrim becomes somewhat blurred.

Tourism and Pilgrimage To help differentiate the tourist/pilgrim dichotomy, a motivational (reason for travel) and behavioural (visitor behaviour) indicator has been posited to help distinguish between the sacred and the secular traveller (Adler, 1989; Smith, 1992). This bi-polar typology places the pious pilgrim at one end of a continuum and the secular tourist at the other – the pilgrim being defined as religious traveller and the tourist as vacationer. In between are almost infinite combinations of pilgrim and tourist variables, all of which are collectively placed under the umbrella term, ‘Religious Tourism’. So it is possible to be partly tourist and partly pilgrim, the degree of which is dependent upon the primary motivation for travel. Therefore, for some individuals, whilst the primary motive for travel may be religious, there will also be an expectation to experience non-religious sites and tourism services (and vice versa). To add further complexity, many pilgrimage sites have become mass tourism attractions in their own right, and so draw both secular and sacred tourist (e.g. the many attractions situated in Rome and Jerusalem). The pull for non-religious tourists often involves some form of artistic, historical or architectural interest, or it may be that the site is an important part of the tourism attraction portfolio in a particular region or city. In any case such rich diversity of visitors, certainly illustrates the multi motivational nature of such sites. As Nolan and Nolan put it: Sacred places and ceremonial events are among the most ancient of travel destinations. These shrines, temples, churches, landscape features and religious festivals, endowed by believers extraordinary links with the divine, are also among the most complex of attractions because of their appeal to a spectrum of visitors. (Nolan & Nolan, 1992: 68–9)

Tourism as Pilgrimage Without delving too deeply into the philosophical interpretations of faith, spirituality and meaning, it has been suggested that tourism is a form of pilgrimage (Cohen, 1992; Graburn, 1989; MacCannell, 1999; Urry, 1990). The annual ritualistic escape from the mundanity and predictability of people’s ordinary lives, to a place not governed by the usual 32


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constrictive societal and temporal rules, has been equated to a quasireligious experience. Turner (1973) referred to this detached condition as a state of liminality, a term used originally by Van Gennep in 1908 to describe the rites de passage (rites of transition) found in tribal societies. By identifying pilgrimage as a sacred journey, Turner (1973) adapted the three-stage process as offered by Van Gennep beginning first with separation from the everyday and familiar, which the home environment evokes. This is followed by a state of liminality, where the pilgrim or tourist is placed in a sociocultural vacuum, a state of anti-structure where the normal rules of social engagement and temporal specificity no longer apply. The journey’s reward is not just the appropriate climate or the impressive vistas and hospitality, it is the opportunity to let go, or perhaps ignore, the structured oppressiveness that the home society would normally enforce. Unlikely relationships, which waiver the traditional social markers, may take place among the ‘escapees’ who experience a profound sense of togetherness or communitas. Behaviour too, may be affected within this ‘world outside’ resulting in less inhibited conduct not normally practised back home. The ritualistic increase in alcohol consumption, the enforced inactivity of beach vacations or the uncharacteristic regular involvement in water sports are all testament to such changes in behaviour. Of course not all will seek out the different or the novel; for many individuals, the draw of some destinations is that they display a number characteristics similar to their own cultures and environments (Plog, 1977, 1991). Indeed, the opportunity to experience the familiar amongst the unfamiliar can be a major pull, whether tied around a particular accustomed activity such as golf, diving, painting and photography, or the reassurance of familiar food, music or transport. However, this is not to suggest that the experience is less liminal (though Turner and Turner would suggest adopting the term, liminoid to help distinguish between the sacred and the profane); for, especially with regard to ‘activity’ holidays, the space remains somehow different and the activity itself is not limited by the usual temporal and social restrictions administered back home. In fact, the collection of like-minded people away from their usual environments could actually increase the sense of communitas mentioned above. The final stage is marked by the return or rather the reintegration of the individual back to their home environments – for the pious pilgrim, the return may signify a spiritual ascension, for the tourist, a sense of renewal in readiness to survive the ‘normality’ of their everyday lives. But perhaps, like the pilgrim, the tourist may also return both socially and psychologically ‘improved’, not necessarily through where they went but more by 33

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what they did and where they visited (sites) whilst being away. Long haul travel does not carry the same cachet it once did 30 years ago, for today it is not so much where you go but rather what you do when you are there. For example, some non-religious attractions (in the conventional sense) are now accorded the status of secular shrine – they are ‘famous for being famous’ and so must be experienced by the tourist (Urry, 1990). Whether the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Egypt or a more modern equivalent such as Sydney Opera House, the ‘must see’ factor is almost irresistible for the experienced hungry tourist: If one goes to Europe, one ‘must see’ Paris; if one goes to Paris, one ‘must see’ Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre; if one goes the Louvre, one ‘must see’ the Venus de Milo and, of course, the Mona Lisa. There are quite literally millions of tourists who have spent their savings to make the pilgrimage to see these sights. (MacCannell, 1999: 43) In some cases the meanings and importance of places may not be so universal but nonetheless carry weighty spiritual significance peculiar to individuals’ specific biographies or interests. For example, for those that have a deep interest in a particular sport, there are a number of sights and sites which are considered as important to visit as the most holy of shrines. The degree of importance attributed to such places depends upon a number of criteria (discussed below) and perhaps unlike the regular tourist, the sport tourist’s reintegration and consequent ascension is largely dependent upon where they went more than what they did whilst there.

Belief and Meaning in Sport Analysing and understanding sport as an attraction rather than an event has been given scant attention over the years (with the notable exceptions of Bale, 1993; Redmond, 1973; Snyder, 1991). Recently, however, largely through the work of Gibson (1998a, 1998b) there has been a notable increase in work that explores the sport tourism – attraction relationship (Gammon, 2002; Gibson, 2002; John, 2002). In very simple terms these attractions include sport museums, sport halls of fame, sport stadia and stadia tours, special sites and/or sights of sporting significance (for a more detailed coverage of the sport tourism attraction see Kurtzman and Zauhar, 1997, Ritchie and Adair, 2002 and Chapter 3 of this book). Before analysing the precise nature of these attractions it is first necessary to explore why they hold and represent such profound importance 34


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to those who visit them; the significance of which is highlighted by Sharpley (1994: 119) who points out that: ‘Many tourist sights or attractions are accorded the status of a religious icon or symbol. . . . However, it is not the actual site, nor the original motivation, but the meaning to the individual tourist that is important’. The meaning that such attractions engender has much to do with the meaning attributed to the sport it is connected to. Much like tourism, sport too has been equated to a religion; either as a substitute to religion, or as a phenomena that generates a quasi-religious experience, or indeed as an entirely new form of religion (Coakley, 1998; Hoffman, 1992; Leonard, 1998; Novak, 1976). Arguments abound suggesting the similarity of sport and religion; whether comparing the church or temple with the sports stadia and the shrine-like qualities of halls of fame, or in the ritualistic characteristics practised on both field of play and terraces. Perhaps the strongest debate revolves around the experience of sport – both as participant and spectator. Sport is clearly an integral part of our lives, a point that is reinforced constantly through the media. We are amused, entertained and our perceptions of others and ourselves are inextricably shaped through the experience. The great achievements of the teams and players we follow are in some way our own achievements (Kelly, 1985). Players take on the mantle of hero, super hero or ‘saviour’, and are in some cases mythologised in order to protect a special moment or a special age. Much like public holidays (religious or otherwise), major sports events become salient markers of our lives, and unsurprisingly the sites in which great events and feats take place, evolve into places of great personal and collective significance. Drawing on the British football stadium, Bale (1993) not only recognises the deep spiritual affect that the stadium has on local people, in terms of representing a profound sense of place, community and quasi-religiosity, but also in its ability to attract ‘outsiders’: Several football stadiums have achieved the status of places to be enjoyed through the perspective of the tourist or visitor rather than the fan. The ground provides pleasure to a clientele distanced from the intense affection of the fan. (Bale, 1993: 72) Perhaps what is not made clear by Bale (1993) is that the qualification of a fan is not entirely dependent upon where they reside and the regularity of the attendance. Sport fans are simply followers of a particular sport team and/or individual (Wann et al., 2001). Whether they experience the sport vicariously through the media does not necessarily detract from the importance of the event to the individual. In fact the inability (financial 35

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or otherwise) to attend may generate, when first visiting, a profundity that far outweighs the experiences shared by those that live around a particular sporting site (golf fans travelling to St Andrews may act as an appropriate example). Whether such experiences can be described as ‘religious’ is of course questionable. For some individuals the importance and meaning attached to ‘the game’ is profound and, arguably, make it more accessible than traditional religious practice. Bale (1993) illustrates the changing allegiance from the sacred to the profane by focusing upon the fans of Everton FC and their stadium at Goodison Park: ‘Rather than worshipping at the altar of Christ, Everton’s masses have preferred the terraces of Goodison. The modern religious icons are the billboards and hoardings around the ground’. (Bale, 1993: 65) While such worship and reverence may be indicative of some fans, what of those who are members of more traditional sources of faith? Does the committed Christian, Jew or Muslim experience sport differently from the less ‘devout’ fan? Or are there some essential differences that separate them? Much of course is dependent upon individuals’ own biographies and therefore their personal needs and desires, though irrespective of this there still lies persuasive arguments that differentiates these two cultural practices. For example, Coakley (1998) maps out the essentialist critique which highlights the observation that religion is by nature noncompetitive, whereas sport is. Moreover, the essence of religion lies within the sacred, the super natural and hereafter, whereas sport is ‘. . . grounded in the profane and material realm’ (Coakley, 1998: 479). Whatever perspective taken, the experience of sport can clearly affect people – deeply, to such a degree that a profound sense of topophilia (an emotive attachment to the material environment) is experienced that elevates even the ugliest of sites to a status that would rival the more traditional tourist attractions (Tuan, 1974). But it would be misleading to suggest that sport sites are only afforded the title of attraction through their symbolic attachment with a sport, team or event or even movement (such as the Olympic museum which is discussed in Chapter 3). For some places the attraction lies in what can be found and experienced on the inside, rather than the representiveness of the structure from the outside.

Sport Attraction as a Shrine There is, as Swarbrooke (1995) notes, no single participation definition that is relevant to all visitor attractions. All tend to highlight the permanency of the resource as an essential criteria, though some are keen to 36


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differentiate between event and attraction whilst others are more inclusive (Scottish Tourist Board, 1991; Walsh-Heron and Stevens, 1990). Defining the sport attraction creates similar problems, primarily through its association with the sport event – a category which is usually dealt with separately within the Sport Tourism literature (see Kurtzman & Zauhar, 1997). A major sport event will undoubtedly attract people to a particular destination or place, but the major draw will be to experience the event rather than to solely experience the place. Of course, in true Sport Tourism fashion, ideally the motivation would be to experience, to a lesser or greater degree, both event and place (see Gammon & Robinson, 1997; Hinch & Higham, 2001; Standeven & De Knop, 1999). But what denotes the sport attraction (within the context of this chapter), is that its appeal is principally grounded in its relationship to sport rather than in the sport itself. So in some cases sport stadia can be both venue and, in the case of stadium tours, attraction. Swarbrooke’s (1995) definition of attraction is reasonably broad and focuses as much on the context of the visit than the nature of the site itself: In general terms, attractions tend to be single units, individual sites or clearly defined small-scale geographical areas that are accessible and motivate large numbers of people to travel some distance from their home, usually in their leisure time, to visit them for a short, limited period. (Swarbrooke, 1995: 4) For a clearer understanding of the precise nature of attractions, Swarbrooke (2002) offers four main types – one of which is ‘Special Events’ and, for the reasons stated above, will not be included in this section. Therefore the remaining three are: • Features within the natural environment. Within a sport context this could include famous or infamous ski runs. • Man-made buildings, structures and sites that were designed for a purpose other than attracting visitors. Any sporting venue or site that may hold deep personal and/or collective meaning. • Man-made buildings, structures and sites that are designed to attract visitors and are purpose-built to accommodate their needs. This could include sport museums, sport halls of fame or elite sport facilities. Some special sights/sites of sporting significance would probably fit into the natural environment typology such as well known ski runs connected to elite competition or perhaps particular mountain ranges strongly associated with climbing (Bale, 1994; Standeven & De Knop, 1999). Such attractions are unusual in that they inspire (especially with 37

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skiing) participation as well as aesthetic appreciation (hence sights and sites). The motivation to visit these places may have much to do with individuals having an opportunity to experience the ultimate sporting challenge in and around an ‘authentic’ famous sporting environment. However, to suggest that the experience is authentic would be misleading as the experiences of the activity by the tourist or visitor will be unlike those who participate at the highest level. Furthermore, when out of competition, the conditions will rarely reflect the set-up and operational facilities required for elite competition. These limitations seem not to detract from the eager and spiritually uplifted participant who finds themselves following in the footsteps (or skis) of the true greats – a point they are keen to recount upon their return. The degree of authenticity experienced is grounded in the eye of the beholder, so the fantasy is one that is concocted by the individual rather than those responsible for the site. Cohen (2002) refers to these types of tourists as existential starry-eyed idealists ‘. . . who will see perfection in whatever they find at the centre and refuse to face the reality of life in it, inclusive of its shortcomings’ (Cohen, 2002: 106). As detailed above, man-made buildings, structures and sites initially designed for a purpose other than attracting visitors can be any sporting venue that generates deep personal and/or collective meaning. Stadia tours fit perfectly into this typology as their attraction is founded on the popularity of the site as a venue or as a building displaying particular architectural interest: Stadia, whether locations for great sporting events, host venues for visitor attractions, or ‘cathedrals’ with inherent architectural appeal, are a fundamental part of a destination’s tourism infrastructure. Just as great heritage properties have become icons of place promotion, so stadia will join them. These are the ‘sleeping giants’ of tourism. (John, 2002: 59) John’s (2002) comments refer more to the present situation in the UK rather than the US, where stadia tours are an accepted and integral part of a destination’s attraction portfolio. However it is clear that the popularity of tours at, amongst others, the Millennium Stadium, Manchester United, Liverpool FC and Lords cricket ground indicate a growing UK market. The major selling point of the stadia tour is that it offers visitors an opportunity to experience a deeper connection with a stadium (and as a consequence, a team player or sport) by accessing areas otherwise preserved for the very privileged. Moreover, they offer a chance to walk in the shadows of the legends and heroes, and by doing so experience an authentic insight into their exclusive world(s). 38


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MacCannell (1999), extending Goffman’s (1959) theory on front and back regions, has outlined a ‘tourist settings’ continuum which may help explain the increasing popularity of the stadia tour. MacCannell (1999) argues that although the tourist (in this case, the sport tourist) aims to experience an authentic sense of place, in reality it is rarely achieved. The continuum consists of six stages, starting at Stage 1 which MacCannell (1999: 101) describes as analogous to ‘Goffman’s front region; the kind of social space tourists attempt to overcome or to get behind’, through to the final stage which is the authentic back region, ‘. . . the kind of social space that motivates touristic consciousness’ (MacCannell, 1999: 101). The stadia tour arguably represents Stage 5 which represents a back region that has in some way been cleaned up or altered slightly ‘because tourists are permitted an occasional glimpse in’ (MacCannell, 1999: 101). It is not unusual for sport museums to be an integral part of the sport venue experience (e.g. Neu Camp Barcelona, Manchester United, St Andrews, Wimbledon, etc.). These attractions differ from the stadia tour in that they were specifically designed to attract visitors outside, or in conjunction to, an event. The museums tend to be associated with the club that plays at the stadium or in some cases the relationship may only be connected to the sport that the venue is primarily attached to (e.g. Lords cricket museum and St Andrews golf museum). These attractions represent (much like non-sport museums) a reverence for the past which may be linked to individuals’ personal biographies and/or collective memories of ‘important’ events. As Redmond explains: A museum exists to preserve all heritage. Its collection may contain artifacts, documents and relics relating to ordinary mortals as well as the famous or the infamous. A sports museum therefore, will display a sporting exhibit because of its intrinsic historical interest. Old golf clubs, bicycles and footballs have their place regardless of who wielded them, rode them or kicked them. (Redmond, 1974: 43) By contrast sport halls of fame differ from the sport museum in that they are specifically designed to venerate the famous, the gifted or the exceptional. As Redmond (1974: 43) notes, ‘the word fame is all-important, and more precisely a hall intends to honour those who are accepted as having been famous enough in sport to qualify’. In practice, halls of fame and museums may perform and display functions of the other; incorporating both reverence and idolisation of the relics on show. Halls of fame are far more widespread in the US than in Europe, and are considered a fundamental part of many destinations’ tourism offerings (Gammon, 2002). 39

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It has been suggested that the popularity of both sport museums and halls of fame is entrenched in our desire to return to the past – a condition Gibson (1998b) describes as Nostalgia Sport Tourism. Nostalgia has been extensively referred to in both sport and tourism literature as a potent instigator of the commercialisation of the past (Dann, 1994a, 1994b; Cohen, 1988; Gammon, 2002; MacCannell, 1999; Redmond, 1974; Snyder, 1991; Urry, 1990). However, nostalgia is no longer the exclusive preserve of the old and middle aged but is ‘practised’ by the young who hanker back to the good old days of the 1980s and 1990s. The cause of this more cross-generation preoccupation with the past has been explained as reaction to the dramatic acceleration of change, which is visible in every facet of our lives (Davis, 1979; Hutcheon, 1998). Therefore, remembering the stable deeds of yesterday can, in part, help to ward off the strangeness of today – and of course the uncertainties of tomorrow. Unsurprisingly sport can become an effective source of nostalgia, especially when it is venerated and exhibited in museums and halls of fame, principally because: ‘They represent a mosaic of personal and collective memories, and act as potent antidotes to the strangeness and uncertainties of the present’ (Gammon, 2002: 69). Still linked with purpose built attractions, are the elite or famous sports facility which offers the opportunity (similar to those sites found in the natural environment) to experience a chosen activity in and around, either a famous place (such as golf at St Andrews), or within a site which offers special, and/or top grade facilities (e.g. snowdomes, ice rinks, etc.). The experience of directly interacting with a famous sports site will undoubtedly be built around feelings of both nostalgia and authenticity – a feature that the organisers of fantasy camps are too well aware of (see, Gammon, 2002). Elite facilities generate similar perception of awe and respect, though in this case grounded more in the opportunity to experience the authentic rather than the nostalgic. However, as in many museums there are debate concerning the authenticity and representation of material within sporting museums, as discussed by Adair in Chapter 3 of this book.

Sport Tourism as Pilgrimage? Returning briefly to the beginning of the chapter, the term pilgrimage was identified as having many meanings, incorporating both the sacred and the profane. Whichever understanding is used, each application of the term will include a journey of some kind to a place (or places) which holds personal and/or collective meaning to the ‘pilgrim’. Sport related sites or sights will undoubtedly engender varying degrees of meaning to 40


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the visitor, the extent of which will depend on a myriad of personal, social and situational circumstances (Wann et al., 2001). For the highly identified fan or the connoisseur, some sport sites (whatever the category) will provoke intense feelings of awe and wonderment, similar to those experienced by pilgrims at religious shrines (Redmond, 1973; Snyder, 1991). However, it would be misleading to propose sport as a new form of religion. It would be safer to conclude that sport can (especially with regard to fandom) offer similar functions to religion such as invoking a sense of belonging, purpose and consolation (Leonard, 1998). The adoption of religious terminology in sport has a clear intention, not necessarily to imply that equivalence – but rather as a means to articulate sport’s irrefutable importance in many peoples lives. Sport lies somewhere between the religious and the secular – betwixt the sacred and the profane. Much like in religion there are many faiths in sport, each of which are made of followers that may be devout, orthodox, liberal, non-practising or lapsed. Such diversity of visitor may (much like in religious tourism) determine not only the regularity of the visit, but the length of stay and of course the depth of meaning attached to the site (Rinschede, 1992). Sport attractions are now similar to many other tourist attractions in that they will attract not just the ardent fan or connoisseur but also the less ‘reverent’ visitor, whose interest and motivation stems from an alternative appeal such as architecture or simply naïve curiosity. Indeed, some sport attractions are becoming famous for being famous. A visit to Manchester is not complete without experiencing Old Trafford, in the same way as the Olympic attractions situated on the Montjuic mountainside are an integral part of the Barcelona experience. Therefore, such shrines and celebrations of sport will entice the pious sport tourist as well as the tourist who may hold a passing sport interest. Gammon and Robinson’s (1997) sport tourist typology may help to distinguish those visiting as a primary motive (the pious sport tourist) and those that whose attendance is based upon secondary or incidental motives. Drawing on Hinch and Higham’s (2001) framework, which offers a number of sport, spatial and temporal variables for future research in Sport Tourism, it may be interesting to determine in what ways the experience of a sport attraction will vary between each visitor, depending on their initial reason for travel. In addition, the deeply nostalgic feelings that such visits evoke, generates a slightly different interpretation of the spatial and temporal variables – namely, the imagined type. As Gammon (2002: 65) puts it: ‘Much like tourism, two journeys are made in nostalgically driven Sport Tourism; the journey made to the attraction or event and the imagined journey that takes place once there’. 41

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Whatever journey taken, for the ardent follower of a sport, a player or team; the sport attraction offers an opportunity to get somehow closer to phenomena that carry profound personal and collective meanings. Such attractions represent a secular shrine whose devotees will include the incidental visitor as well as the most pious of pilgrims.

Conclusion An interesting feature of Sport Tourism is that each of its constituent parts displays clear parallels with religion. For tourism the connection can be found in the touristic features found in ‘religious tourism’ or in the ritualistic elements experienced and displayed in vacations in general. For sport, the connection with religion has much to do with the shared functions associated with both cultural practices – chiefly, belonging and meaning. The shrine-like qualities that a number of attractions display, allow even the most casual spectator to pay their respects to the sporting greats of the past and present. Yet the draw to these sites is not only based upon a homage to ‘important’ relics, it is also about gaining access to the environments and privileged worlds of the famous – and by doing so, achieving a deeper connection for both place and sport. Some attractions like halls of fame and museums openly feed off nostalgia and offer a sanctuary from the strangeness of the present, by glorifying a superior and stable past. Furthermore, stadia tours offer an ‘authentic’ insight’ into the back stage experiences of the gifted or exceptional. What is less clear, however, is the extent (if any) to which the touristic experiences of separation and liminality interact with the perception of sports related sites and/or sights by those who visit them. In addition, little is known how the experience (especially of the fanatic) of the site affects the individual upon their return and consequent reintegration. Hopefully, future research will offer some weighty hypotheses. What can be agreed upon is that sport attractions are increasing, not only in popularity but also in the sophistication of the operations that lie within (see John, 2002). They can generate and symbolise profound meaning for those that make the journey to visit them. MacCannell (1999) makes the observation that the function of many religious sites today are predominantly touristic in nature. It could be argued that it is simply a matter of time before the stadia, along with halls of fame and sport museums are being converted from touristic functions to those that more akin to the quasi-religious.

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Key Questions (1) Discuss the similarities and differences found in sport and religion. (2) What are the three types of sport attraction? (3) What is meant by the term pilgrimage?

Active Learning Exercise Design you own hall of fame or sport museum. Consider carefully what exhibits and/or famous names you would include and how you would display them.

Further Recommended Reading Bale, J. (1994) Landscapes of Modern Sport. Leicester: Leicester University Press. Coakley, J.J. (1998) Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies. New York: McGraw-Hill. Gammon, S. and Kurtzman, J. (eds) (2002) Sport Tourism: Principles and Practice. Eastbourne: LSA Publications. Hoffman, S. (1992) Sport and Religion. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Redmond, G. (1973) A plethora of shrines: Sport in the museum and the hall of fame. Quest 19, 41–8. MacCannell, D. (1999) The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class. London: University of California Press. Snyder, E. (1991) Sociology of nostalgia: Halls of fame and museums in America. Sociology of Sport Journal 8, 228–38.

Websites The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum: http://www.base ballhalloffame.org/ Museums and Halls of Fame: http://www.ucalgary.ca/library/ssport site/mushof.html Wimbledon Museum: http:www.wimbledon.org/about/lawn.html British Sport Museums: http://www.drones.freeserve.co.uk/ Sport Tourism International Council: http://www.sptourism.net/ Official Manchester United site: http://www.manutd.com/

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References Adler, J. (1989) Origins of sightseeing. Annals of Tourism Research 16, 7–29. Bale, J. (1993) Sport Space and the City. London: Routledge. Bale, J. (1994) Landscapes of Modern Sport. Leicester: Leicester University Press. Coakley, J.J. (1998) Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies. New York: McGrawHill. Cohen, E. (1988) Authenticity and commoditization. Annals of Tourism Research 15 (3), 371–88. Cohen, E. (1992) Pilgrimage centres: Concentric and excentric. Annals of Tourism Research 19, 33–50. Cohen, E. (2002) A phenomenology of tourist experiences. In Y. Apostolopoulos, S. Leivadi and A. Yiannakis (eds) The Sociology of Tourism: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations (pp. 90–111). London: Routledge. Dann, G. (1994a) Tourism: The nostalgia industry of the future. In W. Theobald (ed.) Global Tourism (pp. 55–67). Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann. Dann, G. (1994b) Tourism and nostalgia: Looking forward to going back. Vrijetijd en Samenleving, Jaargang 12 (1/2), 75–94. Davis, F. (1979) Yearning for Yesterday. New York: The Free Press. Gammon, S. (2002) Fantasy, nostalgia and the pursuit of what never was. In S. Gammon and J. Kurtzman (eds) Sport Tourism: Principles and Practice (pp. 61–71). Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association. Gammon, S. and Robinson, T. (1997) Sport and tourism: A conceptual framework. Journal of Sport Tourism 4 (3), 8–24. http://www.free-press.com/journals/jst/ vol14no3/jst.15.html Gibson, H. (1998a) Sport tourism: A critical analysis of research. Sport Management Review 1, 45–76. Gibson, H. (1998b) Active sport tourism: Who participates? Leisure Studies 17 (2), 155–70. Gibson, H. (2002) Sport tourism at a crossroad? Considerations for the future. In S. Gammon and J. Kurtzman (eds). Sport Tourism: Principles and Practice (pp. 111–28). Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association. Goffman, E. (1959) The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. London: Penguin Books. Graburn, N. (1989) Tourism: The sacred journey. In V. Smith (ed.) Hosts and Guests: The Anthropology of Tourism (pp. 21–36). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Hinch, T.D. and Higham, J.E.S. (2001) Sport tourism: A framework for research. International Journal for Tourism Research 3, 45–58. Hoffman, S. (1992) Sport and Religion. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Hutcheon, L. (1998) Irony, nostalgia, and the postmodern. University of Toronto English Library Criticism and Theory Resources (pp. 1–18). http://www.library. utoronto.ca/utel/crticism.html John, G. (2002) Stadia and tourism. In S. Gammon and J. Kurtzman (eds) Sport Tourism: Principles and Practice (pp. 53–61). Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association. Kelly, J.R. (1985) Leisure Identities and Interactions. London: Allen & Unwin. Kendall, A. (1970) Medieval Pilgrims. London: Wayland Publishers. Kurtzman, J. and Zauhar, J. (1997) A wave in time: The sports tourism phenomena. The Journal of Sport Tourism. http://www.mdo.co.uk/hournals/jst/archive/ vol4no2/welcome.htm 44


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Leonard, W.M. (1998) A Sociological Perspective of Sport. London: Allyn Bacon. MacCannell, D. (1973) Staged authenticity: Arrangements of social space in tourist settings. American Journal of Sociology 79 (3), 589–603. MacCannell, D. (1999) The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class. London: University of California Press. Nolan, M.L. and Nolan, S. (1989) Christian Pilgrimage in Modern Western Europe. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. Nolan, M.L. and Nolan, S. (1992) Religious sites as tourism attractions in Europe. Annals of Tourism Research 19, 68–78. Novak, M. (1976) The Joy of Sports. New York: Basic Books Plog, S. (1977) Why destination areas rise and fall in popularity. In E. Kelly (ed.) ICTA, Domestic and International Tourism. Wellesley, MA: Institute of Certified Travel Agents. Plog, S. (1991) Leisure Travel: Making it a Growth Market Again. Chichester: Wiley. Redmond, G. (1973) A plethora of shrines: Sport in the museum and the hall of Fame. Quest 19, 41–8. Rinschede, G. (1992) Forms of religious tourism. Annals of Tourism Research 19, 51–67. Ritchie, B. and Adair, D. (2002) Editorial: The growing recognition of sport tourism. Current Issues in Tourism 5 (1), 1–6. Scottish Tourist Board (STB) (1991) Visitor Attractions: A Development Guide. Edinburgh: STB. Sharpley, R. (1994) Tourism, Tourists and Society. Cambridge: ELM Publications. Smith, V.L. (1992) Introduction: The quest in guest. Annals of Tourism Research 19, 1–17. Snyder, E. (1991) Sociology of nostalgia: Halls of fame and museums in America, Sociology of Sport Journal 8, 228–38. Standeven, J. and De Knop, P. (1999) Sport Tourism. Leeds: Human Kinetics. Swarbrooke, J. (1995) The Development and Management of Visitor Attractions. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinmann. Swarbrooke, J. (2002) The Development and Management of Visitor Attractions (2nd edn). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinmann. Tuan, Y.-F. (1974) Topophilia. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. Turner, V. (1973) The center out there: Pilgrim’s goal. History of Religion 12 (1), 191–230. Turner, V. and Turner, E. (1978) Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture: Anthropological Perspectives. New York: Columbia University Press. Urry, J. (1990) The Tourist Gaze. London: Sage. Walsh-Heron, J. and Stevens, T. (1990) The Management of Visitor Attractions and Events. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Wann, D.L., Melnick, M.J., Russell, G.W. and Pease, D.G. (2001) Sport Fans: The Psychology and Social Impact of Spectators. London: Routledge.

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Chapter 3

Where the Games Never Cease: The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland DARYL ADAIR

Introduction In its current form, the Olympic Museum in Lausanne is only 10 years old. None the less, during that brief time the museum has become a significant showcase for the Olympic movement. This chapter examines the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) rationale for establishing an Olympic Museum, the process of funding its development and the museum’s varied roles as archival repository, exhibition centre and tourist destination. Similar to Chapter 2 of this book, themes of representation, remembrance and nostalgia underpin all of this: how is the ‘Olympic story’ revealed to museum visitors, and what does the structure and nature of the museum tell us about the modern Olympic movement at the turn of the twenty-first century? These questions rely, of course, on the assumption that tourism experiences in a museum setting involve more than just entertainment; patrons are also encouraged to accept the authenticity of exhibitions and the veracity of associated narratives. As we will see, the Olympic Museum has accepted that it has a major role in articulating to the public the principles and philosophies of Olympism, as well as the historical influences that have shaped the Olympic movement. How adequately curators and directors have done this is a matter for debate. Our prime concern, in this chapter, is with the Olympic Museum as a tourist venue: what are visitors being shown, how are they entertained and informed, and what are they encouraged to remember? We begin with a brief discussion about the evolution of the Olympics into the grandest international sporting event on earth. This will provide a foundation for the main focus of the chapter: to investigate 46

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why the Olympic Museum became a reality in 1993, and how this venue has since exhibited the values and principles of the Olympic movement.

Learning Outcomes On completion of this chapter readers should have a sound understanding of: (1) The Olympic Museum as a sport tourism and educational centre. (2) Problems associated with ‘faithfully’ representing the past in a sports museum. (3) Difficulties associated with commercial sponsorship of a sports museum.

The Olympics as a Mega-Event The Olympic Games are now a major sport tourism event. During the early twentieth century, though, such a development seemed unlikely. The ‘revived’ modern Games had a modest profile; in some cases the Olympics were merely an adjuct to a much larger spectacle, such as exhibitions or trade fairs in Paris (1900) and St Louis (1904). Moreover, when the Games were first staged in the USA there was a glut of local athletes compared to overseas competitors. However, the organisation of the Olympics improved after World War I. The Games now attracted greater international support, as well as interest from the media. Radio provided commentary and summaries of Olympic events, while cinema and (much later television) offered media audiences something more tantalising – the prospect of ‘viewing’ performances by elite athletes (Guttmann, 1992). Notwithstanding the sporting value attributed to winning Olympic medals, political importance was also attached to victory. During the Cold War, for instance, American and Soviet athletes were part of an ideological battle between super power states. It followed that ice hockey or basketball matches between these adversaries were more than just ‘games’. By the 1960s, heightened media interest in national medal ‘tallies’, together with improved television coverage of the Olympic Games, provided visible demonstrations of a particular country’s claim to sporting prowess and national pride (Hill, 1999; Riordan, 1986). While Olympic athletes from around the globe excelled in sport, setting new standards and breaking world records, they were not expected to benefit financially from such glowing performances. The Olympian was the quintessential amateur athlete, competing for ‘love of sport’ and ‘love 47

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of country’ (Alison, 2001). By the 1970s, however, the Olympic movement came under pressure to revoke its insistence on amateur status. Outside of the Olympic arena many sports were played with full-time professionals, and elite-level sport was itself being funded by television rights and commercial sponsors. The Olympic Games were not immune from such developments, particularly since organisers wanted to attract the best performers, and in many cases that now required professional athletes. Indeed, during the reign of IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch (1980–2001) we can observe a sea-change in the Olympic movement’s attitude towards professionalism and commercialisation. Whereas former IOC president Avery Brundage (1952–72) venerated the amateur athlete and crusaded against trade names appearing on athletes’ equipment and apparel during the Games, Samaranch actively courted private sponsorship of the Olympics, and he supported the official inclusion of professional competitors into the Games, an objective that was formalised in 19881 (Guttmann, 1984; Looney, 2000; Miller, 1994; Strenk, 1988). Commercial sponsorship of the Olympics were nothing new, but for most of the twentieth century private companies had a low public profile during the Games and a modest role in providing financial support. A turning point was the Los Angeles Olympics (1984): local organisers feared a massive public debt if these Games were underwritten by taxpayers of the host city – as had happened in recent years at Montreal (1976) and Moscow (1980). Part of the LAOOC concern was that while Montreal and Moscow had both secured sponsorship from numerous commercial interests, the aggregate level of funding this provided was inadequate to cover actual costs. The Los Angeles solution was to have the 1984 Olympics fully funded by a select group of multi-national corporate sponsors, with the promise of no financial exposure to the City of Los Angeles. To the delight of the LAOOC, the prospect of companies effectively monopolising the Olympic advertising market for their products proved appealing. Just 30 corporations, each contributing several millions of dollars for the privilege of marrying their name and products to the Olympic logo, were named ‘official sponsors’ at Los Angeles. Other companies secured Olympic supplier rights, or acted as licensees to sell Olympic products, but these smaller-scale commercial supporters could not claim the status of Olympic sponsor. That title was reserved for international corporations with the biggest wallets, such as Coca-Cola, who paid unprecedented sums for exclusive endorsement rights. This strategy produced revenue for the LAOOC far in excess of that accrued by previous Olympic host cities; the 1984 Games even turned a handsome profit (Edwards, 1986; Gruneau, 1984; Lawrence, 1986). 48


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Some observers worried that the Los Angeles Olympics were overly commercialised, with media and corporate backers having excessive power and profile in what had long been an ‘amateur’ sporting event with an ethos of taking part ‘for its own sake’ (Min, 1987; Real 1996; Seifart, 1984; Strenk, 1988). The IOC, however, took up the sponsorship baton, and from 1985 instituted its own endorsement strategy, TOP (The Olympic Program), along lines similar to that conceived by the LAOOC. The key focus was a small number of exclusive official Olympic sponsors, each of whom paid several million dollars (and subsequently tens of millions of dollars) to the IOC for this privilege. Samaranch also played hardball with media conglomerates, seeking unprecedented levels of income for exclusive rights to broadcast the Games on television. The outcome for the IOC was enormous revenue from both commercial sources and media outlets (Barney et al., 2002; Editor, Olympic Review, 1992; Moragas et al., 1995). Arguably, though, there has been something of a trade off, for the Olympic Games are no longer simply a sporting event, they have also become a global showcase for private corporations (Borland, 1999; Lensky et al., 2000; Smith, 1996; Swift, 1996; Whitson et al., 1996). Not that athletes of today are complaining: whereas bona fide amateurs once competed solely for medals and glory, the professionals of recent years have pursued sporting careers and earned financial rewards as Olympians (Morganthau et al., 1992; Murray, 1992). It was in this brave new world of corporate-funded, media-driven sport that the Olympic Museum was born. Indeed, given the Olympic movement’s metamorphosis, as outlined above, it comes as no surprise to learn that corporations were invited by Samaranch to fund the establishment of a permanent Olympic Museum. We might expect, therefore, the rise of a very different type of exhibition centre to that envisaged by Samaranch’s more conservative, neo-corinthian predecessors – each of whom saw amateurism as virtuous, and lucre as a pernicious influence upon sport.

Conceiving the Olympic Museum On 10 April 1915 the IOC agreed in principle to establish its first headquarters in Switzerland. It took a further seven years for this to become a reality, with the City of Lausanne making premises available to the IOC at the Mon-Repos villa. Part of the building was set aside for the purposes of sorting and cataloguing an array of Olympic artefacts and memorabilia. The creation of an Olympic Museum was a long term objective: the champion of this cause was the inaugural IOC President and ‘founding father’ of the modern Olympics, Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin. 49

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He was an avid collector of sports equipment and paraphernalia, and made his own pieces available for the purposes of exhibition. Initially, Olympic artefacts were stored at the Casino de Montbenon, but the premises at Mon-Repos were more suitable and, for the IOC president, convenient: from 1929 de Coubertin and his family actually resided at this Swiss villa – effectively rent free. In 1934, an ‘Olympic Museum’ was declared open, though storage of artefacts and exhibitions continued to rely on the Mon-Repos facility. When de Coubertin passed away in 1937, much of the impetus towards creating a fully fledged Olympic Museum was lost. The third floor of Mon-Repos was named Baron de Coubertin Hall, and, in the early 1960s, when the IOC Chancellory moved to the second floor of the building, this left the entire upper floor free for the purpose of establishing a ‘museum’ (Chappelet, 1997; Pahud, 1987; Verdier, 1995). There was some public interest in the early exhibitions at Mon-Repos: in 1961, for example, 4640 people visited the fledgling Olympic Museum, though ‘this number is not enough’, declared an IOC observer (Editor, Bulletin du Comité International Olympique, 1961: 55). Despite such concern, it took a further five years for an IOC ‘museum working group’ to form – this following a suggestion by then president Avery Brundage (Berlioux, 1969). It is worth recalling the working group’s objectives because they are remarkably similar to the aims for the Olympic Museum in Samaranch’s era: A resolution was unanimously adopted: the Museum must be devoted to Olympism in the widest sense of the word, just as de Coubertin had conceived it. It must show the alliance between sport and the fine arts. Moreover, it must be a museum in the modern concept and no longer a necropolis where objects are carefully guarded. According to Mr. René Berger, it is an ‘Olympiorama’ where one can see not only articles and souvenirs of the men who have taken part in the Olympic life but also where one can listen to records and attend conferences. The presentation of exhibitions on certain subjects is also under consideration and to create an international prize for literature, and organise conferences with world famous athletes and sports managers. Such a programme is not far removed from the International Olympic Institute which Pierre de Coubertin wanted to establish as early as 1914. The IOC has a remarkable collection of trophies, posters, stamps, photographs and souvenirs of the Games . . . It is now necessary to add new items by appealing not only to the National Olympic Committees, the International Federations and the Organizing Committees but also to all those interested in the Olympic Movement who might be potential patrons. (Berlioux, 1969: 130) 50


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A vision for a fully-fledged Olympic Centre was thus laid on the table in 1969. Two years later the IOC instructed one of its delegates, Maria Morawinska-Brzezicka, to investigate the number and location of sports museums around the world. Her findings suggested that there were already 39 sports museums; the IOC, it seemed, was not at the forefront of such development, and, if anything, was dragging the proverbial chain. Morawinska-Brzezicka concluded thus: The time has come to organise an Olympic Museum of international scope. It will be a model museum displaying everything ever achieved in this field: the Olympic idea – what it is and what it should be, from ancient times to the modern Olympic Games, a museum in which not only is the past recounted and the present displayed, but where one learns and teaches. (Morawinska-Brzezicka, 1971: 271) Inexplicably, it took a further eleven years for the IOC, with assistance from the City of Lausanne, to establish a temporary site for a new Olympic Museum – on Avenue Ruchonnet, which offered ‘modest exhibition space’ (Pahud, 1987: 312). Three months after the official opening of this building in June 1982, an Olympic library and study centre were added to the first floor. The premises were still modest, but there was promise of better things to come. For, according to the new IOC President, Juan Antionio Samaranch: this whole activity has a longer term objective, hence the use of the term ‘temporary’. In fact, we consider the work currently being carried out as experimental; it serves as a testing ground for a big project . . . the creation of an Olympic Centre. (Gafner, 1983: 227–8) It was not mere rhetoric. In 1985, a partnership of the IOC and the City of Lausanne resulted in the purchase of two adjoining properties totalling 33 hectares in the much sought after setting of the Quai d’Ouchy, located on the shores of Lake Léman. The hillside position offered spectacular views of both the lake and the Alps – a majestic location. The largest property, to be managed by the City of Lausanne, would comprise an Olympic Park, replete with gardens, walkways and sculptures. The smaller quay property, nestled into the hillside, was set aside for the Olympic Museum. It was to be designed by the same IOC architects who produced Olympic House, the new administrative headquarters of the International Olympic Committee, located at the Château de Vidy in Lausanne – which opened with fanfare in October 1986 (Pahud, 1987; Zweifel, 1997). Little wonder that the IOC later anointed Lausanne with the honorary title of official Olympic capital. 51

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In terms of the planned Olympic Museum, the IOC was not intending to centralise artefacts at Lausanne. The Swiss-based site would certainly be a major showcase for Olympic history, but the broader strategy was for officially-sanctioned Olympic museums to be established by National Olympic Organising Committees right around the world. Indeed, the IOC wrote to each body, encouraging them to preserve their own Olympic artefacts and exhibit them to local visitors (Editor, Olympic Review, 1988). The IOC was also proactive in terms of gaining the expertise necessary to establish a world-class museum facility. In November 1985 the Olympic movement hosted the inaugural World Meeting of Sports Museum Directors; the event was staged in Lausanne and attended by 84 participants from 35 countries (Editor, Olympic Review, 1986). This symposium was followed, four years later, by a second world sports museum congress at Lausanne. Clearly, the IOC sought to facilitate discussion between experts, but also draw upon this expertise when fashioning its own facility, now due for opening in 1993 (Editor, Olympic Review, 1989). The 10 years between 1982 and 1992, when a provisional museum took centre stage, were therefore vital to the planning and development of a permanent Olympic Museum (IOC, 1990, 1992).

Presenting the Olympic Museum In the early 1980s, the budget for constructing the museum was US$14 million; this blew out to US$68 million on completion of the building. The scale of the project had grown; just as important was the IOC’s success in luring museum sponsors to finance this. The ‘Olympic Foundation’ was set up for the purpose of raising corporate financial support, and, with Samaranch taking a lead role, twenty multinational companies were approached, each asked to donate US$1m to the Olympic Museum. In return, the backers would receive formal recognition inside the museum itself – with their company name etched in gold leaf on an individual stone, itself displayed in a collection of engraved stones on a marble ‘donor’s wall’. Overall, the construction of the museum was funded to the tune of 84% by benefactors, with the IOC providing just 16% (Pahud, 1987; Pound & Johnson 1999; Roughton, 1993). Today the museum boasts 45 major commercial sponsors (such as Coca-Cola and Adidas), plus 22 major individual or institutional backers (OML, 2002). They each appear on what the Olympic magazine dubs the ‘great wall of success’ (Dunand, 1994: 10). What has all this money bought? Arguably, the world’s leading sports museum in terms of scale, scope and design. The Olympic Museum and 52


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Study Centre is a five-storey facility located on a spectacular 11 hectare site, set beside a 22 hectare Olympic Park consisting of manicured gardens, walkways and sculptures by renowned artists. The bottom two storeys of the museum are below ground, giving the outside impression of a smaller building nestled into the hillside overlooking Ouchy. The architectural syle is ‘classical modernism’, using simple lines in a practical manner, but incorporating design features from an earlier era. In this case, classicial forms from Ancient Greece are evoked by eight white columns along a 70 metre esplanade, reminiscent of the columns at the Temple of Zeus, who was the principal deity in the Hellenic world. Furthermore, the columns were Greek in a real sense; that is they were composed of a rare marble found in the island of Thasos, in the Aegean Sea. This valuable material was offered as a gift to the museum from the ‘people of Greece’2 (IOC, 1994). The use of Hellenic columns and Greek marble was intended to reinforce the IOC message that the modern and ancient Olympic Games have important links. Indeed, within the Olympic Museum itself Pierre de Coubertin is roundly recognised as having ‘revived’ the Greek Games. And their first modern incarnation was in 1896 at Athens – quite near to Olympia, the veritable home of the Ancient Games (OML, 2002). What does the museum feature? There are permanent exhibitions, including the life and athletic background of Pierre de Coubertin, the ‘founding father’ of the modern Olympic Movement; ‘Olympism in Classical Times’, which focuses on antiquities from ancient Greece and Rome; as well as displays dedicated to the summer and winter Olympic Games respectively. The latter two exhibitions are impressive: they include every torch carried into the opening ceremony of the Games, Olympic medals from various Games, sporting apparel of Olympic greats (i.e. Carl Lewis’s track shoes and Eric Heiden’s ice skates), examples of technical change to sporting equipment (i.e. design of the luge in the 1960s compared with the 1990s), as well as displays of Olympic coins and stamps in dedicated numismatic and philatelic areas. Temporary exhibitions are no less important, since turnover of material provides the museum’s return visitors with variety. The displays have been many and varied: they are summarised in Olympic, the museum’s very own monthly magazine. Additionally, a glossy catalogue of each temporary exhibition is produced by the museum and sold to visitors. For the most part, the displays have focused on sport as a generic human activity, not simply as a practice of Olympians. Hence there have been exhibitions devoted to the America’s Cup yacht race and the Tour de France cycling classic. Links between sport and art have also featured, as in the displays ‘Art 53

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and Sport 2000’ (a collection of prize-winning works from The Olympic Art and Sport Contest, 2000) and ‘From Handlebars to Joystick’ (a collection of historical posters devoted to the invention and promotion of new sports equipment). At the Olympic Studies Centre, visiting speakers link sport to culture by means of their expertise in human nutrition, the application of technology to sport, and so on. The topics are broadly based around physical activity, not just organised sport. Examples include ‘Rose-Marie Besse: The North Pole on skis’ and ‘Yukon quest: The training of huskies’. Curiously enough there have been museum exhibits with no connection to sport, most notably generic art displays, such as the sculptures of Igor Mitoraj (monumental human forms), The Navajo Nation (Native American crafts) and ‘Andy Warhol: A Retrospective’ (Warhol paintings and philosophy). Also, there are regular classical music recitals, perfomances by orchestras, and so on – each with no obvious connection to sport (OML, 2002). The Olympic Museum is thus a more culturally eclectic facility than might be anticipated by visitors. However, despite its universalism, the museum also has a special focus, a raison d’être. According to promotional literature, the Olympic Museum ‘is much more than a traditional museum. It is a genuine centre of Olympism’ (IOC, 1994). In keeping with this motto, there are not just the anticipated displays of Olympic artefacts and memorabilia, there are also resources for research into the Olympic Movement and its history. Most notably, the museum contains an Olympic Studies Centre, which boasts the world’s most comprehensive collection of books, documents and images relating to the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement. The Olympic Library alone includes 18,000 monographs, 250 current periodicals, 410,000 photographs and slides (80,000 of which have been digitised and are thus available readily on CD-ROM). Equally impressive is the Centre’s Historical Archives, which house primary documents relating to each of the modern Olympics, as well as IOC correspondence in the form of reports of official Olympic meetings, conference proceedings, newsletters, and the like – some 850 linear metres in all. Researchers can also request to view historical artefacts, such as Olympic coins, stamps, posters, and related material objects. For the voyeur in us all, perhaps the most captivating section of the Olympic Studies Centre is the Images and Sound Department, which contains more than 17,500 hours of film footage of the Olympic Games from 1896 to today. Overall, the Olympic Studies Centre comprises seven departments; only one, the library, is available to the public without any restrictions. Other areas, such as the Historical Archives and Photo Library, can be accessed with official permission, which is possible after an appointment and interview with Centre staff. 54


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The preference is for these facilities to be available to ‘serious’ researchers, such as academics and conference delegates visiting the Olympic Museum (OML, 2002). What are the ideals underpinning the Olympic Museum and its associated facilities? To grasp this we need to know something of the organisation that founded it, the Olympic Movement. According to the following excerpt from the Olympic Charter, which is reproduced in in the publication Discovering the Olympic Musuem: Visitor’s Guide: The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practised without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play. (IOC, 1994: 49) We can therefore anticipate a pedagogical role for the Olympic Museum, which is confirmed by the stated aims for the facility, again reproduced in the Visitor’s Guide: The mission of the Olympic Museum is to make visitors aware of the breadth and the importance of the Olympic Movement; to show them, by means of images and symbols, that Olympism is not merely a matter of sports competition but rather a philosophy of life whose roots are deeply embedded in our history. (IOC, 1994: 49) So the Olympic Museum makes claims to an educational and philosophical role in which both past and present are intertwined. Putting aside issues of rhetoric and veracity for a moment, it is clear that the museum is intended to be an epicentre of Olympism. For although the Games are held every two years, within the museum mediated memories are available constantly. How, then, are Olympic artefacts and images presented in the museum itself?

Experiencing the Olympic Museum Before the present Olympic Museum was established, IOC leaders from Coubertin to Brundage had emphasised the need for a visitor-friendly exhibition centre in Lausanne. But they could hardly have anticipated the ultra-modern structure and style of this new facility, nor its multi-media capacities. It is a lavish and thus costly venture, but an enterprise taken seriously by the Olympic movement because of a particular task the museum is expected to perform. As the Director of the Olympic Museum, Françoise Zweifel, explains: ‘the museum cannot be understood as 55

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something apart from the IOC. The museum forms a part of the IOC because it is at the service of the Olympic Family . . . our priority is to fulfil the educational objectives of the IOC’ (Palacios, 1995: 20–1). This pedagogical mission is underpinned by an emphasis on individual agency; that is, the visitor is deemed to be an ‘explorer’ rather than simply an observer of the museum (Samaranch, 1991). Young people are a special target group, for whom the approach is ‘learning by playing’ (Editor, Olympic, 1997d). The simple but effective strategy is to capture the imagination of visitors, entertaining and enthralling them with an array of attractions – both in terms of play and display. As François Carrard, Director General of the IOC, observes enthusiastically: I have experienced moments of the most intense satisfaction at the Olympic Museum on days when I have seen hundreds and hundreds of children and teenagers shouting, running, jostling and jumping for joy. It is then that one becomes more aware that the Olympic Museum is a living place and a bearer of hope for young people. (Palacios, 1996: 14) In terms of display, visitors are informed that ‘sport, art and culture are the traditional pillars of Olympism, and the Museum gives concrete form to this trinity’ (OLM, 2002). This helps visitors to appreciate why, at a museum of sport, there is so much attention to art and culture. Clearly, the museum displays artefacts from the past and art works from the present, the standard fare of exhibition centres. Yet the museological experience is, overall, ultra-modern. An Olympic scribe in 1995 dubbed the facility ‘The Museum of the 21st Century’, this underscoring a forward looking and evolving approach towards museological means and method (Luy, 1995: 9). Central to all of this is the delivery of the museum product through high technology, with a special emphasis on multi-media equipment and ‘state of the art’ presentations. As Olympic journalist Fabien Dunand writes: ‘Naturally audiovisuals hold a privileged place in the Olympic Museum. It is the kingdom of the video, of dialogue with a computer, of all kinds of screens’ (Dunand, 1994: 13). After purchasing an entry ticket (SF14 adults and SF7 children), visitors are each provided with a magnetic card to operate robotic and audio-visual equipment in the museum. The card, it seems, is something of a ticket into the Olympic past by virtual means. As Florence Luy, writing for Olympic, puts it: The ticket is a magnetic card. That sets the tone: the journey through time has begun. Thanks to the technology of today, the visitor can be transported into the past, to the time, in the place and at the speed

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of his choice. Here, on a terminal with a tactile screen, we can explore the origins of the Games. Over there, a wall of video images transports the spectator to the heart of the Olympic action. But the journey is not just intellectual sensation; it is quite real. There are objects to help us remember. The presence of books, statuettes, coins or sports equipment are clear proof that this is the everyday of another time, the era of the Games of Ancient Greece. A few steps away the pace speeds up: on a giant screen there appears a parade of generations of [Olympic] newsreels . . . farther on, a more intimate experience, the video library allows us to relive the great moments of the Games. (Luy, 1995: 9–10) A high-tech, yet hands-on approach appears to be attractive to young people – many of whom are organised in school groups from around Europe. The motto is ‘learning by playing’ with the involvement of children particularly encouraged during ‘Olympic Week’, when physical activities outside of the museum are combined with educational experiences inside the facility. For example, during the seventeenth annual Olympic Week in 1997, there were five days of sport and cultural events, including 13,480 activities organised by the Olympic Museum, involving 5000 young people in 17 sporting disciplines (Editor, Olympic, 1997d; 1997e). A second, though unstated motto for the museum, might well be ‘learning by collecting’. The museum regularly hosts meetings of Olympic collector organisations, such as FIPO (International Olympic Philately Federation) and FINO (International Olympic Numismatic Federation). There is even an ‘Olympic-mania Fair’ at the museum. In November 1994 it was reported that ‘over the course of a weekend, thousands of persons attend the Fair to buy, sell or exchange [Olympic] postage stamps, medals, coins, torches, mascots, stickers, pins and insignias’ (Editor, Olympic, 1994b: 4). The climax of the event was the auction, by Christies, of 173 valuable Olympic ‘objects’. Olympic investors now came to the fore, who by purchasing memorabilia were also procuring an asset. Yet the involvement of mere enthusiasts is still vital to the museum; this is reflected in the recruitment of official ‘Friends of the Olympic Museum’. A membership subscription provides delivery of the Olympic magazine, invitations to special events at the museum, and opportunities to act in a voluntary capacity in service of the museum, such as at a congress of stamp and coin collectors (Editor, Olympic, 1997a: 34–6). This principle of voluntarism, of involvement for its own sake, is more in keeping with de Coubertin’s simple vision of service to the Olympic Movement. The trade in Olympic memorabilia can thus be seen

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as a departure from de Coubertin’s romantic and aesthetic appreciation of Olympic artefacts. For sports fans who are unable to travel to see the Olympic Games live, the museum offers what amounts to the next best attraction – the broadcast of events on giant screens in the auditorium, with thousands of people gathered together to share and enjoy the experience as a form of pilgrimage (as discussed by Gammon in Chapter 2). During the Atlanta Games, for example, 4000 people assembled at the museum to watch the opening ceremony, while a total of more than 32,000 people visited the facility during the 1996 Games. The museum, while encouraging fans, also emphasises that it is ‘home of the athlete’. For it is there that former Olympians can seek records of their own performances – whether on film, video, audio or photograph (Editor, Olympic, 1997b: 20–1, 40). There is also the possibility of visitors viewing their very own artefacts; this is because the Olympic Museum encourages Olympic athletes to donate apparel, equipment and even medals to be placed on exhibition. Peripheral memorabilia, such as Olympic identity tickets, photographs and authographs are also welcome (Editor, Olympic, 1996a: 14–19; Neveu, 2002: 59). The museum does at least offer a sanctuary for artefacts. For many years sporting objects and memorabilia were not included in generic museum collections, so Olympic hand-me-downs were kept by families or enthusiasts who were well meaning but sometimes lacked the expertise to keep historical materials in good condition. The Olympic Museum has surpassed early expectations of 100,000 visitors per year: the annual average since opening day (23 June 1993) is 189,000 and the aggregate number of visits as at 23 June 2001 was 1,699,100. A closer inspection of the figures suggests that European support is vital. In 2001 more than 77% of the visitors were European residents; the other three major areas of origin were Asia (8%), America (6.5%) and ‘Unknown origin’ (7%). Focusing the microscope closer, we learn that 50.7% of visitors in 2001 were locals – i.e. from Switzerland – far surpassing the next largest European cohort, France, with 10.7% of total visitors that year. There were comparatively few non-European tourists; American and Canadian museum visitors amounted to 5.3% of the total, and Japanese visitors 3.8% of the total (OML, 2002). The Olympic Museum is none the less an asset to Swiss tourism – and particularly for the fivestar hotel situated adjacent to the Ouchy complex. Visitor reactions to the museum appear to be very positive. According to the IOC’s own research in 2001, 85% of visitors felt that ‘the museum is a strong tourist attraction’; 84% said that they ‘appreciated the representation of the history of the Olympic Games’; and 83% said they ‘were 58


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attracted to the museum’s mix of sport, art and culture’. The latter seems particularly significant because (albeit from 1996 figures) only 28% of respondents said they visited the Olympic Museum ‘because of an interest in sport’, although 57% of people admitted to visiting the museum simply ‘out of curiosity’. (Editor, Olympic, 1996a: 13). The museum can, of course, be visited by virtual means. The IOC’s Olympic Museum website is extremely impressive, providing ‘surfers’ with glimpses of permanent and temporary exhibitions, an archive of former exhibitions (including access to catalogues), a searchable database of images and video of great Olympic athletes and performances, as well as links to the Olympic Library’s on-line catalogue. Just as significantly, the website gives details about the Olympic Museum’s mission statement and it discusses reasons for the establishment of the facility. Ultimately, then, the Olympic Museum is not simply about captivating spectacle and tactile entertainment; it is also an Olympic temple, seeking to impart the Olympic spirit upon those who enter its hallowed walls, hoping to instil belief in the creed of Olympism and the sanctity of the IOC-led Olympic Movement. The religious nature of the museum is common with other nostalgic sport tourism attractions, discussed in greater detail in Chapter 2 by Gammon.

Critiquing the Olympic Museum: Evangelism and Rhetoric Pierre de Coubertin’s definition of Olympism involved four key principles that suggests he had in mind something more advanced than a simple sports competition (OLM, 2002): • Olympism is a religion. Its followers are expected to adhere to an ideal of a ‘higher life’ and to strive for human perfection. • The Olympic Games represents and displays an elite group ‘whose origins are completely egalitarian’ and its character both moral and chivalrous. • The Olympic Games is ‘a four-yearly festival of the springtime of mankind’ during which a truce to conflicts is created. • Olympism glorifies beauty by the ‘involvement of the philosophic arts’ in the Games. Coubertin, like other European romantics of the late nineteenth century, had a firm belief in what was represented by ‘human progress’ and the means to achieve it. In his case, the secular ‘religion’ of Olympism was a lifelong, universal principle by which to harmonise the human experience – physically, mentally and morally (MacAloon, 1984). As with other 59

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pseudo-religions of the time, Coubertin’s vision of Olympism was replete with the woolly rhetoric of humanist ideals and the excited fervour of an evangelical following. Yet it had a negligible influence upon wider society. As explained previously, the early Olympic Games were somewhat farcical and had a limited following. More to the point here, while Coubertin espoused a vision of international harmony through sport and a truce at the time of the Games, the Olympics were cancelled during World War I – just 20 years after the Games were ‘revived’. In a further irony, just a year before the Baron’s death in 1937, the Nazis staged the most spectacular Olympics to date – in the process using the festival as a propaganda machine for fascism. Subsequent Games were hardly a showcase for humanist and pacifist principles. Instead of the Olympics providing a truce to conflicts, the quadrennial summer festival became a context for political conflict, such as the murder of some 260 protestors before the Mexico Olympics (1968), the murder of Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists in Munich (1972), boycotts of the Games in Moscow (1980) and Los Angeles (1984), and so on (Guttmann, 1992). Rather than the Olympic Movement changing society, it seems that Olympism has had to adapt to wider social and political forces. For example, among the nine fundamental principles of Olympism in the IOC’s charter today are the following objectives: ‘Sport [must be] practised without discrimination of any kind’, and ‘the practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practising sport in accordance with his or her needs’ (IOC, 2001: 8–9). This emphasis on inclusion, irrespective of gender and social status, is well beyond what Coubertin conceived 100 years ago – a theme we expand upon presently. The key point, for now, is that the so-called ‘universal’ principles of Olympism are not timeless, and are therefore shaped to suit historical circumstances. This has implications for the Olympic Museum; arguably it is now representing a modified version of Olympism, while at the same time acknowledging Coubertin as founder of the Olympic Games and author of the Olympic ideals and principles. Yet tensions suggested by differences between past and present, as well as historical changes to Olympism over the past 100 years, are not adequately explained in the museum. Instead, there is a tendency to make teleological assumptions that Samaranch and today’s IOC simply embody the ideals of Coubertin, and they have brought to life the Frenchman’s museological and educational vision. Indeed, in November 1994, just over a year after the permanent museum had opened, Samaranch declared that the pedagogical dream of Pierre de Coubertin has now ‘come true’, and that already ‘the Museum is the jewel of the Olympic Family’ (Samaranch, 1994: 4). 60


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On the other hand, Vice President of the IOC, Richard Pound, is forthright about wider challenges facing the Olympic Movement and the necessity of long-term reform. In the museum’s Olympic magazine he stated: The Olympic Movement is not static, but is constantly evolving to the changes in society throughout the world . . . The philosophy of the Movement [today] is based on the same ethical foundations, but the modalities of its expression and its ability to become more inclusive have changed in ways that would astonish its Founders. (Palacios, 1997: 28) Hence, the IOC hardly denies that there have been important changes to Olympism over the past 100 years or so. However, the Olympic Movement is not particularly able, or perhaps willing, to articulate those changes within the setting of the Olympic Museum. The permanent and temporary exhibitions provide much spectacle but little in the way of exposition; they focus on objects as though they explained history and images as if they foretold a narrative. A more convincing alternative would be for the Olympic Museum to show visitors a story about the evolution of the Games, pinpointing many of the challenges faced by the Olympic Movement in a troubled twentieth century, as well as reforms to the Olympic Games themselves. Key topics might include the transition from amateurism to professionalism, the struggle for women to be included in all aspects of the Games, the effect of geopolitical factors on the Olympic Games, the fight against drugs in the Olympics, the role of television in taking the Olympics to the world, the heightened importance of commercial sponsors, and so on. This type of critique has support from none other than Kenneth Hudson, Director of the European Museum of the Year Award – which in 1995 was granted to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. The award was made principally on the basis of the museum’s innovative technological and multi-media approach and its ‘splendid collections’. However, as Hudson has since argued: The Olympic Museum is museologically strong but intellectually weak. It does not encourage discussion of today’s great [sporting] controversies – money; the growing pre-eminence of black athletes; athletics and national prestige; the definition of ‘physical fitness’; the meaning, if any, of the ‘Olympic spirit’. (Editor, Olympic, 1996a: 12) In other words, if the Olympic Museum is serious about providing an educational service to visitors, it must do much more to make sense of the forces and factors that have shaped the history of the Olympic Games. 61

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It also needs to simplify and clarify the aims and objectives of the reforming (post-Samaranch) Olympic Movement. For without these initiatives the ideals of Olympism will continue to be masked by rhetoric. Whether museum visitors actually understand or can make sense of the various aims and ideals of Olympism, or indeed the previously stated ‘trinity of sport, art and culture’, is a moot point. When observing the permanent exhibition devoted to the ‘founder’ of the modern Games, visitors are told that Coubertin ‘had always been deeply interested in questions of education. For him, education was the key to the future of society’. In this vision, Olympism had a key role, for Coubertin ‘was convinced that sport was the springboard for moral energy’ (OLM, 2002). The suggestion here is that education and sport can work to advance the progress of humanity. But visitors could be excused for wondering what the ‘springboard for moral energy’ could mean. As with so much Olympic rhetoric, the language is fanciful and the message obscure. This has the unintended effect of obfuscating, rather than clarifying, the aspirations and goals of the Olympic Movement. Let us also consider some of the ambiguous – even apocryphal – statements made in Olympic Museum publications. These are, after all, texts that many visitors take home to keep. According to one Olympic journalist, love and peace are blended through sport: Sport and culture are a perfectly matched couple, with eternal love and integration. They are a complement to a superior form of life which pursues excellence. Education through sport and peace through education is Olympism’s major contribution to humanity. (Palacios, 1994: 40) Another Olympic reporter conveys an aura of mysticism: On leaving the museum, gratified by the time spent in such a privileged place, meeting point par excellence of art, sports and culture, a last image impresses one with its beauty: the landscape. Contemplating Lake Leman and the Alps, which form an amphitheatre there, one has the impression, like Baron Pierre de Coubertin himself, of being of the shores of the Mediterranean. Where the stadium gods were born. (Dunand, 1994: 13) Regarding the structure of the museum itself, the choice of white (the achromatic colour of maximum lightness) on the building also seems to evoke something evoke special. According to an Olympic writer: ‘The colour of the columns and façade – white – evokes purity, fair play and the Mediterranean sun’ (Palacios, 1995: 19). An assumption of whiteness 62


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and purity is unhelpful at best and perverse at worst. As for the whiteness of fair play . . . there is no portent or logic to such a whimsical notion. While much of the Olympic Movement’s language is thus fanciful and triumphal, the IOC exudes confidence in the capacity of aesthetics and education to instil belief in the Olympic gospel. The museum, it must be remembered, is a key part of that pedagogical process: The Olympic Museum is always here; it forms a link between the Games. Here, the Games never stop. The Olympic spirit and sport have been able to deliver a message that is recognized across the world as a message of hope. Sport unites people and nations. Sport mobilizes millions of people with a common wish to improve their health and living conditions. Sport and culture without discrimination; sport as a tool for education and harmony; breaking down barriers and overcoming intolerance through universal sport and culture . . . These are the ideals we have made our own. (IOC, 1997)

Critiquing the Olympic Museum: Nostalgia and Authenticity The concept of nostalgia has attracted cross-disciplinary interest – particularly from within anthropology, history and sociology. According to Smith, nostalgia was ‘invented during the nineteenth century as an explanation for resistance to modernization’ and it ‘remains a key concept in the political conflict over modernity’ (Smith, 2000: 505). In basic terms, nostalgia can be described as a longing for the past; or, more precisely a past that is simpler and thus preferable to a complex present. In sports studies, for example, scholars have been interested in the use of sporting nostalgia to augment conservative political campaigns – harking back to the past as a way of reclaiming the present. In museum studies, researchers have tried to distinguish between nostalgic versus authentic representations of the past, even though deliberations of this kind are unavoidably subjective and inherently ideological. Above all, the museum is a site of power because it exhibits objects and images that are arranged to make claims about the past (Crane, 1999; Crew, 1996; Nauright, 1994; Pope, 1996; Prosler, 1996; Snyder, 1991). The role of nostalgia in the Olympic Museum is unusual. Rather than a longing for days of yore, the museum highlights what it sees as fundamental links between Olympic past(s) and the present. In this way the birth of the modern Olympics is depicted, nostalgically, as a ‘revival’ of the ancient Greek Games in Olympia. Coubertin, as we have seen, was 63

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a romantic idealist who sought through systematic exercise of the body and mind, as well as self-expression in art and literature, a universal improvement of humanity. Much of his rhetoric about perfectability harked back to ancient Greece and the original Olympic Games, though he was influenced as much, if not more, by proselytisers of sport and education in Victorian England. For it was in Britain where sport was first codified in its modern and secular form, with the reformed public schools taking a lead role in making organised sport a key part of the curriculum. Coubertin visited England many times, speaking to educators about pedagogy and physical culture. He also was aware of the various festivals of the ‘Olympic Games’ in nineteenth-century Greece and England, the most famous being the Much Wenlock Games founded by Dr W.P. Brookes in 1849 (Driega, 1997; Redmond, 1988). However, the much simpler story of a single founder, himself the president of the IOC (the group organised to administer the ‘revived’ Olympics) is still taken for granted, and reinforced by the deification of Coubertin in the Olympic Museum. For all of the Baron’s stated humanism he was, like so many of his time, a male chauvinist who fought doggedly against the involvement of women at the Olympics. As a staunch amateur he also promoted an elitist model of sport in which working-class athletes struggled to find a legitimate place. Manual labourers were sometimes barred from amateur sporting clubs because of their status as professionals (i.e. receiving prizemoney or payment for play), or they were discriminated against on the basis of their social position – the assumption being that working-class people were incapable of respecting ideas of fair play and sportsmanship (Ickringill, 1993; Liegh, 1974). This emphasis on amateurism in the ‘revived’ Olympics seems all the more inconguous because the Ancient Games were openly professional and even allowed prize money (Young, 1983). Amateurism was, in fact, unknown prior to the nineteenth century. It was an invention of the educated English middle classes, who wanted to ‘protect’ newly-formed spectator sports (i.e. rugby, cycling, athletics) from working-class participation, financial speculation and commercial sponsorship (Vamplew, 1990). It is also worth pointing out that the Ancient Olympics were avowedly religious festivals, with athletes competing – literally – to win honour from Greek Gods. The ‘revived’ Games of 1896 were certainly not religious in this sense, while Coubertin’s claim of modern Olympism as a ‘religion’ is made without any concomitant belief in a supreme being or afterlife (Young, 1984). Properly stated, modern Olympism is a humanist movement, thus very different to the devotional and holy nature of the Ancient Games. This has not stopped 64


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the IOC from establishing an ‘eternal flame’ at the Olympic Museum, harking back to the site of Ancient Olympia, where a flame was lit during the Games. Coubertin’s remains actually reside in both places: his body lies in Lausanne and his heart at Olympia (OLM, 2002). This, again, underpins the assumed ‘naturalness’ of the relationship between the ancient and modern Olympics, and a claim of revival rather than invention. We therefore have a situation in which the modern Olympics of 1896 were fundamentally different to the ancient Games, yet the assumption of a ‘revived’ Olympism is sentimentally, albeit erroneously, presented. Nostalgia about the amateur Olympics, of ‘sport for its own sake’, is understandable. But the point needs to be made – which the Olympic Museum does not do well – that the ‘revived’ Games coincided with the invention of amateurism, and this concept was unknown in ancient times. In other words, amateurism has no philosophical pedigree among the great thinkers of ancient Greece. Indeed, it might be candidly suggested that the modern, professional Olympics are more like the ancient Games – particularly in terms of professional training and coaching, as well as monetary and material rewards. Currently, the Olympic Museum offers a permanent exhibition devoted, rather statically, to the antiquities of ancient Greece. It would be stimulating for visitors, and indeed provocative, to compare some of the great ancient athletes (and their earnings) with the stars of the Olympics today. But this may be asking too much – especially when the emphasis is on technical wizardry, not historical analysis. For, according to the directors of the facility, ‘the Olympic Museum has achieved its goal: to promote a humanistic vision of sport in the pure tradition of the Olympic spirit and to do so – perhaps paradoxically – through the technological instruments of today, and indeed of tomorrow’ (Luy, 1995: 11). With all these bells and whistles there is no urgency to bring about conceptual change.

Critiquing the Olympic Museum: Money and Mateship The Olympic Museum is something of a barometer of how the Olympic movement reinvented itself during the reign of President Juan Antonio Samaranch. This is because Olympism not only embraced modernity, it also married capitalism. The once staunchly amateur IOC no longer simply flirts with commercial sponsors; rather, it is now entwined by a harem of corporate donors. Recently, the administrative acumen and operational ethics of the IOC have been called into serious question, not only by the media but by stakeholders involved in the process of bidding 65

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for the right to host the Olympic Games. The details are well known, and so need not be rehearsed here (Abrahamson & Wharton, 2000; Christie, 2001; Hillenbrand, 1999; Jennings & Sambrook, 2000; Penner, 1999). There is, however, an aspect of the mismanagement and corruption allegations that is pertinent here. Namely, the role of donations, sponsorship, and gifts directed towards the Olympic Museum – some of which have been called into question by critics. It is fair to say that the Olympic Museum has an ongoing reliance on commercial funding. Although donors have contributed more than US$60 million to the facility, the annual revenue for this tourist attraction is modest compared to yearly costs. The museum generates an average income of US$4.6 million, while budgeted expenses are more than US$16 million. This leaves an annual shortfall of some US$11.4 million that the Olympic Foundation (which has US$55 million) and the IOC are obliged to cover. These days the IOC is hardly short of cash (even though it is a not-for-profit organisation) but there is still pressure to make the Olympic Museum at least revenue neutral. As USA Today reports: Jean-Claude Killy, an IOC member and famed French Olympic skier from the 1960s, is not happy with the deficits. ‘We have got to have the place pay for itself. There’s more room on the donor wall. Donors are rubbing elbows with the Olympics. Their names will be chiseled in stone 1,000 years from now.’ (Pound & Johnson, 1999) An expectation of reflected glory continues to attract sponsors, although to some firms the arrangement seems pragmatic rather than quixotic. The John Hancock company, for example, openly acknowledges that the US$1 million donation was a business decision and that the firm was looking for a ‘smart return on our marketing dollar’ (Pound & Johnson, 1999). The Olympic Museum was, in the estimation of the Hancock finance and insurance corporation, a means to achieve that. This is open and honest business practice. On the other hand, it is alarming that some companies and institutions have made donations to the Olympic Museum with an expectation that they would, in turn, be looked upon favourably by the IOC when it came to decisions about host cities for the Games. For example, the Chinese Olympic Committee was accepted as a major sponsor of the museum – a clear conflict of interest when lobbying to host the Olympics in Beijing. To the chagrin of Games hopefuls Sydney, Beijing made a special presentation to the Olympic Museum in early 1993 – a 2000 year old terracotta soldier (one of the famous ‘Entombed Warriors’), valued at US$ 100 million. With perfect timing, the gift was announced to the 12 members 66


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of the IOC who were then inspecting Beijing as a possible Games site. (Catalano & Jogoy, 1993) Sydney’s gift to the museum was worth a much more modest AUD$15,000: that city clearly did not win the right to host the 2000 Games on the basis of sleaze.3 None the less, there are suggestions that IOC decisions have been compromised by museum donations. For example, more than half of all the Olympic Museum’s founding sponsors were Japanese companies, and when the museum was being constructed Nagano was bidding to host the 1998 Winter Olympics. USA Today reports that: Franklin Servan-Schreiber, a chief IOC spokesman, acknowledges that some Japanese companies agreed to give only if Nagano won. He explains: ‘A lot of them (Japanese companies) said, if we get the games, we will invest money in the museum, then we will have a stake in the tradition of the Olympics. Whether it influenced the [IOC] members or not, I’m not sure.’ (Pound & Johnson 1999) The Salt Lake Tribune is less equivocal: it argues that Nagano beat Salt Lake City to the punch because of ‘a Nagano businessman’s $25 million “donation” that came shortly before the announcement of the successful Games host’ (Heilprin, 1999). Moreover, the Swiss newspaper Le Matin argues that a culture of complicity was long established, with museum sponsors expecting preferential treatment for ‘hometown’ bids: The four nations that gave the most support to the building of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne – Japan, the USA, Spain and South Korea – have all hosted the Games, or won the right to stage them, between the beginning and end of work on the museum. (cited in Agence France-Presse, 1999) It should be recognised that Juan Antanio Samaranch is among the major individual benefactors to the Olympic Museum. According to USA Today, ‘he personally donated $443,842, including a $300,000 peace prize awarded to him in 1990 in Seoul, South Korea’. Samaranch ‘also gave the museum his prized Olympic stamp collection, said to be valued at more than $1 million’ (Pound & Johnson, 1999). Even here, though, there are ethical concerns. Samaranch was provided with his prize just two years after Seoul hosted the 1988 Olympics: the decision of the Soeul Peace Prize Foundation to offer the IOC president its inaugural award raised some eyebrows. But it is doubtful Samaranch himself would have been too surprised; after all, one of the four required members of the Foundation’s selection committee was the President of the Korean Olympic Committee. 67

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Samaranch, of course, did not profit personally by accepting the award and prize, but the Olympic Museum prospered (Soeul Peace Prize, 2002). Yet there have been suggestions that the IOC president has misappropriated, or at best mislaid, material gifts to the Olympic Museum. In January 1999 Samaranch admitted that a gift he had been given by Salt Lake City – just a month before, it was awarded the 2002 Winter Olympics – was ‘missing’. There were two items in question: an ‘inscribed Browning rifle and pistol worth around $1,000’ (Calhoun, 1999). A month later Samaranch responded to further queries of this kind, this time about the location of a gift from Nagano. In 1991 Japanese Olympic officials presented Samaranch with a rare samurai sword – ‘handmade by one of Japan’s most revered craftsmen and worth up to $20,000’ (Sullivan, 1999). The gift, which was intended for display at the Olympic Museum, was timed for effect; it was made just one month before Nagano was announced as host city for the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. Eight years later, Samaranch admitted that the sword was ‘missing’, and, under pressure from the media, ordered an inquiry. The sword, like the Browning firearms, seems to have vanished into thin air. This is despite Samaranch’s assurance that ‘the important gifts I get are placed in the Olympic Museum’ (Calhoun, 1999). It is not clear whether the IOC President uses the word ‘placed’ to mean on loan or donated. Either way the gifts are not in the public domain. Another disturbing facet of the donation process is that some corporate sponsors have offered money to the Olympic Museum to entice commercial favours. For example, USA Today reports that media giant NBC: made a pledge of funds to the [Olympic] museum as the network was wrapping up a contract with the IOC to pay $1.27 billion for the U.S. rights to televise the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia, and the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. At the same time, NBC started discussions on a second contract, worth $2.3 billion, which would extend its hold on broadcasting rights through the 2008 Games. (Pound & Johnson, 1999) USA Today concluded wryly that ‘NBC won that contract too’, with the IOC not seeking competitive bids from other media groups. This is curious business practice, to say the least. Moreover, while the IOC seeks to maximise a financial return when staging the Games, it is prepared to ‘offer deals’ to loyal corporate partners on the understanding that their objectives would, as it were, be married. As Samaranch has put it: ‘We are happy to be able to consider the people and companies that help us reach this objective [spreading the Olympic message] true partners, and 68


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we are proud to share the same ideals with them’ (IOC, 1997a: preface). Continuing this theme Samaranch concluded: Even if the Olympics are still far away, our partners’ customers and clients are exposed all year long to the same [Olympic] messages conveyed in company advertising. The Olympic Museum is constantly seeking to increase awareness of the Museum and of the Olympic ideals, and the business community is one of the main vectors through which we can achieve this. (IOC, 1997a: preface). Commercial sponsorship of museums and art galleries is, of course, hardly new; indeed, it has become common in many parts of the world. It is now quite routine for travelling exhibitions or temporary displays to have the open backing of private benefactors or governments, and this is well noted as visitors attend a museum and when they read an exhibition catalogue. This is also apparent at the Olympic Museum, such as in the post-Barcelona exhibition ‘Visa Olympic Art’, sponsored by Visa Corporation (Editor, Olympic, 1995a). The Olympic Museum is unusual, though, in terms of the nature and degree to which some sponsors are part of the museological experience. A few private benefactors have displayed their products in temporary exhibits which, for all intents and purposes, are both promotional commercial exercises and museological displays. The October 1995 exhibit ‘Coca-Cola – 110 years of pleasure’ consisted of hundreds of objects and memorabilia related to the company, its product, and advertising. (Editor, Olympic, 1995c) There was no specific link to sport, except that the Coca-Cola company was a longstanding key Olympic sponsor and a major donor to the Olympic Museum. This commercial relationship was spelled out in a further display and associated Olympic magazine article that reads like an advertisement. The October 1994 exhibition theme was ‘Coca-Cola – to sponsor is to believe’, and the lead image was athletic champion Jesse Owens holding a bottle of Coke beneath the Olympic rings. While the article appropriately labelled the museum display a ‘nostalgic collection of memorabilia’, there was a more serious aspect to the exhibition. The CEO of the Coca-Cola company spoke of the company’s place in Olympic history: ‘We have been the oldest, continuous Olympic sponsor for a very good reason . . . We believe in the same values, the same principles, and the same beliefs as the Olympic movement’ (Editor, Olympic, 1994d: 28). Other commercialised museum exhibitions, again with associated articles in the Olympic magazine, have included ‘Omega’s world: the shape of the time’ – which focused on time-keeping and the Olympic Games; ‘Mizuno’- which advertised Mizuno Corporation’s sporting equipment 69

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and apparel (athletes’ shoes, baseball bats and gloves, swimwear exhibited in Summer Olympic section of the museum); and ‘Technology in sports’ – sponsored by Daimler Benz, which included examples of the company’s prestige cars during the twentieth century (Editor, Olympic, 1994a; 1994b; 1996b). Of course, some of the products and services offered by sponsors are not suitable for a museum exhibition. But they still receive dedicated articles in the museum’s Olympic magazine, as well as recognition in the museum’s Visitor’s Guide. Examples include, ‘The Olympic alliance helps Visa cover the globe’, ‘IBM: the blue behind the gold’, ‘Kodak: 100 years of support’ and ‘Kodak: the Olympic color’ (Editor, Olympic, 1995a, 1995b, 1995c; Hernández, 1994). Some of the museum’s major donors, then, have craftily won marketing opportunities as exhibitors or valued sponsors – either within the museum facility itself or through its publications. Even the museum’s magnetic entry card, something of a souvenir in its own right, has advertising space. On one side is a picture from the Olympic collections (i.e. Olympic coin, poster, etc.), while the other side features the logo of one of the museum’s commercial sponsors (IOC, 1997). The visitor to the museum is therefore not just someone to be educated in the ideals of Olympism; the visitor is also consumer of an Olympic product: Inside the museum . . . the walker enters into a universalised setting of a public building that has been built under private auspices and is therefore in constant need to draw a crowd that might be willing to spend money on the whims that can be satisfied by the desiderato of tourist life; an elegant lunch in the penthouse restaurant, served by waiters in polished dress, a sweep through the gift shop with its startlingly well produced posters drawn from the museum collection and other often exquisite memorabilia. (Cripps, 2000: 211)

Conclusion The Olympic Museum is a very impressive architectural and technological site with an array of eye-catching multi-media presentations and displays of Olympic artefacts that are sure to entertain and captivate the visitors who annually take hold of a magnetic entry card. Whether these same people are, in the process, well educated about Olympism or well informed about the history of the modern Olympic Games is not nearly as certain. It must be acknowledged, however, that the intellectual weakness of the Olympic Museum is typical among sport museums and halls of fame the world over. As Wray Vamplew, in a pioneering article on sports museums, points out: 70


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A major complaint voiced by sports historians is that museums are too uncritical in their approach to sport. Many sports museums, even at the elite level, eschew the controversial; they are reluctant to give the whole picture and deliberately omit things from history. World champions are presented without blemish, and world championships are presented without political context. (Vamplew, 1998: 274) However, there are particular aspects to the sport tourism experience at Lausanne that deserve comment. This chapter has shown that many of the temporary exhibitions in the facility are more like advertising opportunities for sponsors of the Olympic Museum. Benefactors even have their names carved on a special wall inside the museum, and company logos appear on one side of the museum entry card. In today’s world of sport and business, this development is probably expected. But relationships between sponsors and the museum have sometimes involved conflicts of interest, including expectations of Olympic ‘entitlements’ in return for financial outlays. A revamp of the bidding process, currently under way within the IOC, needs to take heed of the possibility of foul play among donors to the Olympic Museum. Finally, given the Olympic Movement’s profound insistence on ‘fair play’, it behoves the IOC to fully reinvent itself as a transparent, democratic, and representative entity. Until that happens, some tourists will be cynical about the museum. For the moment, displays of historical artefacts and art works convey an aura of legitimacy on a secretive organisation that, according to critics, has long been either naive or corrupt.

Key Questions (1) How should a sports museum organise and structure its displays to attract tourists? (2) Should a sports museum be different to a sports hall of fame? If so, how? (3) Why should sports museums do more than simply display memorabilia?

Active Learning Exercise Visit the Olympic Museum’s official website, taking a virtual tour of permanent and temporary exhibitions. First, identify a well known athlete and try to find information about he/she by using the Olympic website database, including photographs and streaming video. Second, explore the website to find information about the staging of the Olympic Games 71

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where this athlete competed. Does this exercise satisfy your interest in the athlete, and indeed your awareness of the time and place in which they took part in the Olympics?

Websites Olympic Museum, Lausanne (OML): http://www.olympic.org/uk/ passion/museum/index_uk.asp Seoul Peace Prize: http://www.seoulpeaceprize.or.kr/english/sitemap. shtml Notes 1. The term amateur was removed from the Olympic Charter back in 1972, initially as recognition that state-sponsored athletes from the Soviet Union and the USA were not technically amateur. The move to full professionalism took a further 16 years. 2. The Greek government was disappointed that Lausanne, rather than Olympia, was the site of the IOC museum. But the donation was at least a way of affirming a symbolic connection between ancient Greece and the modern Olympics. 3. Sydney, as we now know, went on to stage the 2000 Olympics. Analysts consider this was a backlash against China’s human rights record (i.e. Tiananmen Square), an issue that overrode other deciding factors.

References Abrahamson, A. and Wharton, D. (2000) IOC: A tangle of wealth and mystery. Los Angeles Times 30 July. Agence France-Presse (1999) Leading contributors to Olympic museum hosted Games: Report 17, January. Alison, L. (2001) Amateurism in Sport: An Analysis and a Defence. London: Frank Cass. Barney, R., Wenn, S. and Martyn, S. (2002) Selling the Five Rings: The IOC and the Rise of Olympic Commercialism. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press. Berlioux, M. (1969) Reorganization of the Olympic Museum. Olympic Newsletter March, 18, 129–33. Borland, J. (1999) Monopoly: Just another Olympic sport. The Australian Financial Review 10 February. Calhoun, G. (1999) Olympics – Samaranch denies wrongdoing over gifts. Reuters News 6 January 1993. Catalano, A. and Kogoy, P. (1993) $100m bribe to Olympics. Sun Herald 14 March. Chappelet, J.L. (1997) Coubertin, man of Lausanne. Olympic Review August– September, 26 (16), 21–4. Christie, J. (2001) Samaranch retirement end of era Olympic president was there for financial success of Games and rampant corruption. Globe and Mail 10 July. 72


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Crane, S. (1997) Memory, distortion and the history museum. History and Theory 36 (4), 44–63. Crew, S. (1996) Who owns history? History in the museum. The History Teacher 30 (1), 83–8. Cripps, T. (2000) The Olympic Museum and IOC Studies Centre, Lausanne: a personal view. Film History 12, 211–14. Driega, A.W.M. (1997) Olympics before Pierre de Coubertin. Journal of Olympic History 5 (2), 20–2. Dunand, F. (1994) A visit to the Gods. Olympic February, 6–13. Editor, Bulletin du Comité International Olympique (1961) The Olympic Museum in Lausanne 73, February: 55. Editor, Economist (1993) Citius, Altius, Fortius (Olympic Museum opens in Lausanne, Switzerland), 19 June. Editor, Olympic (1994a) Technology and sport – Daimler Benz, May: 44. Editor, Olympic (1994b) One year in a hundred, November: 4. Editor, Olympic (1994c) Omega’s world: The shape of the time, November: 14–17. Editor, Olympic (1994d) Coca-Cola: To sponsor is to believe, November: 28–30. Editor, Olympic (1995a) The Olympic alliance helps Visa cover the globe, March: 21–3. Editor, Olympic (1995b) IBM: The blue behind the gold, October: 28–31. Editor, Olympic (1995c) Coca-Cola: To sponsor is to believe, October: 22–3. Editor, Olympic (1995d) Kodak: 100 years of support, December: 27–9. Editor, Olympic (1996a) 1000 days of the museum, March: 9–13. Editor, Olympic (1996b) Mizuno, November: 28–30. Editor, Olympic (1997a) Philatelic space, June: 34–6. Editor, Olympic (1997b) The museum: Home of the athlete, June: 20–1, 40. Editor, Olympic (1997c) 3rd Olympic Collectors’ World Fair, June: 48–50. Editor, Olympic (1997d) Learning by playing, November: 14–15. Editor, Olympic (1997e) 17th Olympic Week, November: 16–17. Editor, Olympic Review (1986) International meeting of sports museum directors, 219, January: 41–2. Editor, Olympic Review (1988) Exercising the memory: Benin’s Olympic Museum, 247, June: 239–41. Editor, Olympic Review (1989) Museums in tune with sporting heritage: II World meeting of sports museum directors in Lausanne, 14–16 June, 261, July: 312–14. Editor, Olympic Review (1992) Thanks for the hand, 292–93, February–March: 100–105. Edwards, H. (1986) The free-enterprise Olympics. In R. Lapchick (ed.) Fractured Focus – Sport as a Reflection of Society (pp. 347–53). Toronto: Lexington Books. Gafner, R. (1983) The Olympic Museum and Study Centre venture. Olympic Review April, 186, 227–9. Gruneau, R. (1984) Commercialism and the modern Olympics. In A. Tomlinson and G. Whannel (eds) Five-ring Circus: Money, Power and Politics at the Olympic Games (pp. 1–15). London: Pluto Press. Guttmann, A. (1984) The Games Must Go On: Avery Brundage and the Olympic Movement. New York: Columbia University Press. Guttmann, A. (1992) The Olympics: A History of the Modern Games. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. 73

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Heilprin, J. (1999) City defined by Olympics finds itself degraded by the scandal, Lausanne residents say they welcome reform. Salt Lake Tribune 24 May. Hernández, P. (1994) Kodak: The Olympic colour. Olympic May, 36–8. Hill, C. (1999) The Cold War and the Olympic movement. History Today 49 (1), 19–21. Hillenbrand, B. (1999) Bowed but not beaten: The International Olympic Committee president tries to clean up the organization’s tarnished image. Time International 13 December. Hudson, K. (1996) The 1995 European museum of the year award: The Olympic Museum in Lausanne. Museum International 48 (1), 43–8. Ickringill, S. (1993) Amateur and professional: Sport in Britain and America at the turn of the century. In J.C. Binfield and J. Stevenson, J. (eds) Sport, Culture and Politics (pp. 30–48). Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press. International Olympic Committee (IOC) (1990) Olympic Museum. Lausanne: Comite International Olympique. International Olympic Committee (IOC) (1992) The Olympic Museum: Ten Years in a Life, 1982–1992. Lausanne: Comite International Olympique. International Olympic Committee (IOC) (1994) Discovering the Olympic Museum: A Visitor’s Guide. Lausanne: Musée Olympique. International Olympic Committee (IOC) (1997) More Than a Museum: Sport, Art and Culture. Lausanne: Musée Olympique. International Olympic Committee (IOC) (2001) Olympic Charter: 14 July 2001. Lausanne: IOC. Jennings, A. and Sambrook, C. (2000) The Great Olympic Swindle. New York: Simon and Schuster. Lawrence, G. (1986) In the race for profit: commercialism and the Los Angeles Olympics. In G. Lawrence and D. Rowe (eds) Power Play: Essays in the Sociology of Australian Sport (pp. 204–14). Sydney: Hale and Iremonger. Leigh, M. (1974) Pierre de Coubertin: A man of his time. Quest 22, 19–24. Lensky, H. and Burstyn, V. (2000) Inside the Olympic Industry: Power, Politics, and Activism. New York: University of New York. Looney, D. (2000) Amateur night is long over at the Olympics. Christian Science Monitor 9 June. Luy, F. (1995) The museum of twenty-first century. Olympic December, 9–11. MacAloon, J. (1984) This Great Symbol: Pierre de Caubertin and the Origins of the Modern Olympic Games. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Maxwell, D. (1998) Olympic library goes for gold. Information Outlook 2 (3), 1 March. Miller, D. (1994) Olympic Revolution: The Biography of Juan Antonio Samaranch. Pavillion, London. Min, G. (1987) Over-commercialization of the Olympics 1988: The role of US television networks. International Review for the Sociology of Sport 22 (2), 137–42. Morawinska-Brzezicka, M. (1971) Sports museums throughout the world. Olympic Review 44, 265–72. Moragas, S., Rivenburgh, N. and Larson, J.F. (eds) (1995) Television in the Olympics. London: J. Libbey. Morganthau, T., Barrett, T., Dickey, C. and Talbot, M. (1992) Piling up the gold: Forget athletics – corporate sponsorships and endorsements are the real sport of 74


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the Olympics these days. Has commercialism gone too far? Bulletin 23 June, 78–80. Murray, B. (1992) Higher, further, faster, dearer. Ludus and lucre at the Olympic Games – a review article. Sporting Traditions 9 (1), 84–102. Nauright, J. (1994) Reclaiming old and forgotten heroes: nostalgia, rugby and identity in New Zealand – a review article. Sporting Traditions 10 (2), 131–9. Neveu, I. (2002) The durability of the Games. Olympic Review 27 (44), 59. Pahud, J.-F. (1987) Blending art, culture and sport: The stages of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. Olympic Review 237 (July), 311–16. Palacios, P. (1994) Mario Vzquez Ra·a: The athletes are the real stars. Olympic November, 38–40. Palacios, P. (1995) A dream come true. Olympic October, 18–21. Palacios, P. (1996) Francois Carrard: The rich philosophy of Coubertin is fresh and eternal. Olympic March, 34–5. Palacios, P. (1997) Richard Pound: Olympism in the twenty-first century. Olympic November, 28–31. Penner, M. (1999) Truth is, change minimal for IOC. Commentary: Despite the talk of cleaning house, Samaranch has tight control. Los Angeles Times 25 January. Pope, S.W. (1996) Sports films and hall of fame museums: An editorial introduction. Journal of Sport History 23 (3), 309–12. Pound, E. and Johnson, K. (1999) An Olympic effort . . . pricey project sheds light on courting of Samaranch. USA Today 16 March. Prosler, M. (1996) How societies remember the past. In S. Macdonald and G. Fyfe (eds) Theorizing Museums: Representing Identity and Diversity in a Changing World. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell. Real, M. (1996) Is television corrupting the Olympics? Television Quarterly Spring, 2–12. Redmond, G. (1988) Toward modern revival of the Olympic Games: The various ‘pseudo-Olympics’ of the 19th century. In J.O. Segrave and O. Chu (eds) The Olympic Games in Transition (pp. 71–88). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Riordan, J. (1986) Elite sport policy in East and West. In L. Allison (ed.) The Politics of Sport (pp. 66–89). Manchester: Manchester University Press. Roughton Jr, B. (1993) Ceremonial opening is today: Olympic Museum is tribute to ancient, modern ideals. Atlanta Journal and Constitution 23 June. Samaranch, J.A. (1991) The visitor as explorer – a message to the reader of Museum from the president of the International Olympic Committee: Olympic history and the role of sports museums. Museum 43 (2), 61–2. Samaranch, J.A. (1994) Looking toward the future. Olympic Museum February, 4. Seifart, H. (1984) Sport and economy: The commercialization of Olympic sport by the media. International Review for the Sociology of Sport 19 (3/4), 305–16. Smith, G. (1996) It’s Greek to US: the Atlanta Olympics began with an orgy of commercialism that was classically American. Sports Illustrated 29 July, 32–9. Smith, K. (2000) Mere nostalgia: Notes on a progressive paratheory. Rhetoric & Public Affairs 3 (4), 505–27. Snyder, E.E. (1991) Sociology of nostalgia: Sport halls of fame and museums in America. Sociology of Sport Journal 8 (3), 228–38. Strenk, A. (1988) Amateurism: The myth and the reality. In J.O. Segrave and D. Chu (eds) The Olympic Games in Transition (pp. 303–27). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. 75

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Chapter 4

Winter Sport Tourism in North America SIMON HUDSON

Introduction Winter sports that can be enjoyed in North America embrace all manner of activities, ranging from ice-skating to ice climbing, but it is skiing that is the mainstay of the winter tourism industry. Skiing in its several forms – alpine skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing and telemarking – will therefore be the focus of this chapter, although attention will be given to the increasing diversification of winter sports activities. The chapter is divided into seven sections. The first section plots the history of snow tourism in North America, and is followed by an analysis of the recent diversification of winter sports in Section 2. The next three sections look at the market size of skiing and snowboarding; the winter sports resorts; and the demographic and psychographic make-up of the consumer. Section 6 highlights the key challenges for the industry today and the last section makes predictions for the future of winter sports tourism in North America given these challenges. References, further readings, relevant websites and questions and exercises are found at the end of the chapter.

Learning Outcomes On completion of this chapter, readers should have a sound understanding of: (1) How winter sports evolved in North America. (2) The increasing diversification of winter sport tourism. (3) The destinations offering winter sport tourism products. 77

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(4) The demographic and psychographic make-up of the winter sport tourist. (5) The challenges and future prospects for the winter sport tourism industry.

Evolution of the Market The birth of skiing is commonly associated with the Norwegians. Rock carvings of two skiers hunting elk have been found in Tjotetta, Norway, that date back to 2000 BC. However, modern skiing is said to have been started in the 1860s by Sondre Nordheim, a Norwegian from Telemark (McLennan, 2000), and soon after the first winter mountain holidays started in St Moritz, Switzerland (Cockerell, 1988) with the British upper classes making skiing into a fashionable winter pursuit. From 1905 the Olympic Games included skiing, but it was not recognised as an Olympic event until the 1924 Chamonix Games in France. Skiing was highlighted again in the 1932 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, this helping to place the sport at the forefront of winter recreational activity in North America. It also gave a further push to its development as a major contributor to winter-based tourism (Liebers, 1963). But for the first few decades of recreational winter sports, downhill skiing was just one of many activities offered by the early resorts (Thorne, 2001). Ice skating was probably the most popular winter holiday pastime, with traditional tobogganing and snow-shoe walks just as popular as ski jumping (which pre-dates downhill skiing), the bobsleigh and luge. Downhill skiing was seen as something of a ‘crank’ sport in many resorts, practised largely by thrill-seeking upper-class British tourists (for more discussion of the French development see Chapter 10). Few ski resorts had any uphill transport capability specifically for skiers until the 1930s. In 1929, the first mechanically propelled uphill lift designed just for skiers was installed in Canada, and within a few years most ski slopes of any significance in North America and Europe had one or more improved versions of it in place. Snow-trains transporting thousands of skiers to the slopes became commonplace throughout North America in the 1930s. In 1936 Union Pacific developed the first tourism-oriented ski resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, and this became the prototype for world-class ski areas in North America. It was not until after World War II that skiing in a mass tourism context began to emerge. Pushed by the military role skiing played in northern combat areas, its introduction to thousands of returning troops as a form of winter recreation, rapid improvements in safer and more comfortable 78

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ski equipment, better access to ski destinations brought on by the development of family automobiles, and rising standards of living, skiing demand mushroomed during the postwar period. In North America, the railroad companies created ski resorts to keep people using their trains during the winter months. Along with the availability of on-slope activities for skiing, off-slope amenities for apres-skiing became apparent. Ski facilities and services associated with lodging, food and beverages, and entertainment became important components of the ski vacation experience (Tanler, 1966). The invention of snowmaking in the 1950s gave a further impetus to the growth of ski facilities, a technological development that not only lengthened the ski season in the snowbelt states, but made the sport possible in areas where natural snowfall was less than abundant. The 1960s saw the start of the great ski boom, and witnessed the advent of mass marketing of the sport to non-skiers, a movement initiated by Mount Snow, a Vermont ski area. In North America, larger resorts in New England, Colorado, California, the Canadian Rockies and eastern townships of Quebec emerged to meet the growing demand for winter vacations. Wooden skis were slowly phased out to be replaced by metal and fibreglass, leather boots by plastic ones. While the 1970s were a period of massive market and product expansion, the 1980s presented a decade characterised by industry consolidation and product management (Williams, 1993). Influenced by changing demographics, skiing markets began to mature, and by the mid-1980s ski facility supply had in many regions outstripped demand, with many less well-managed ski destinations experiencing financial difficulties (Kottke, 1990). In response, many ski destinations were forced to address both product and market issues in a more businesslike fashion, and there began a more tourism-focused approach to ski area development. Larger ski centres primarily with tourist rather than resident ski markets continued to grow, while many small centres faltered. Consequently, the number of ski areas dropped by 18% in North America between 1980 and 1990. Similar changes are also noted in Chapter 10 by Bourdeau et al. attributing to a crisis for many French resorts and the need to diversify the winter sport market for continued survival.

The Diversification of Winter Sports During the 1980s consolidation period, skiing attracted an increasingly formulaic image, but the mould was broken by the invention of snowboarding. Now visitors to winter resorts are seeking a variety of niche 79

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options. In fact, today the trend is back towards the early days of winter sports, with a diversification of activities. Table 4.1 lists the more traditional winter sports along with those that are gaining popularity in the twenty-first century. Two factors are driving this diversification. First, winter resorts are losing customers. An analysis of market trends in North America and Europe suggests that an increasing proportion of those who take winter sports holidays on a regular basis do not ski at all (Hudson, 2000). Second, even avid skiers are typically skiing less. On the average they are somewhat older, and new high-speed lifts enable a skier to attain his/her physical stamina quotient much more quickly. As a result, winter resorts realised that they had to offer more activities than just skiing, both onsnow, and off-snow. Loverseed (2000) has suggested that the North American population – a third of which were born between 1946 and 1964 – have started switching to more gentle winter sports such as snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, because their ageing bodies can no longer handle the rigors of alpine runs. The more progressive resorts are now treating skiing as a form of entertainment by establishing more off-slope diversions. The larger ski chains

Table 4.1 The diversification of winter sports activities Traditional winter sports activities Skiing Cross-country skiing Telemarking Cat-skiing Winter sports events Ice-skating Horse-drawn sleigh Curling Toboganning

Contemporary winter sports activities Snowboarding Snowmobiling Snowshoeing Heli-skiing Parapente/handgliding Tubing Dog sledging Snowcycling Thrill-sleds/extreme sledding Ice-climbing Ice-driving Ice sculpting Snowskating

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in North America are expanding the range of activities they offer, such as ice-skating, sledging and dog-sledging, snowmobiling and tubing, the increasingly popular activity of sliding down the slope on the inner-tube of a lorry tyre. The idea is to turn the big resorts into fully-fledged winter theme parks, attracting more beginners and families to the slopes. An example of this ‘Disneyfication’ (Economist, 1998) of America’s winter sports can be found at Big Mountain in Whitefish, Montana, where guided trips are offered down the mountain on ‘Thrill Sleds’ – sledding devices with four small skis and hydraulic brakes – departing every afternoon at 4pm (Calgary Herald, 2001). In addition, K2 Snowcycles – full-suspension mountain bikes adapted to snow sliding with skis instead of tyres – are available for hire after guests have taken a lesson. Throughout the winter, Big Mountain are also offering various adventure activities for children, such as mini snowmobiles for kids ages six to twelve, and Sliding Pants for two-to three-year-old tots. Skateboards for snow have also appeared on the market in a response to a resurgence in the popularity of skateboarding (Kreitmen, 2001). A handful of resorts are even setting aside skateparks on snow with the hope of leading the way in what could turn out to be a genuine tourist phenomenon. Ski areas from Mount Hood Meadows, Oregon, to Tremblant, Quebec, are realising that a small park needs hardly any vertical descent and nothing more than a few picnic tables and rail slides in order to satisfy this new market segment. However, other resorts, like Canada Olympic Park in Calgary have banned the activity on its hill for safety reasons. Dog-sledging, or ‘mushing’ as it often called, is one of North America’s oldest sports, and is another winter sport seeing a huge jump in popularity. Anthropologists have suggested that human habitation and survival would not have been possible without sled dogs, and the cultural significance of dogs as respected associates and partners dates back as far as 4000 years (Hamilton, 2002). It is this culture that today’s winter tourist is seeking to experience, and the average client (aged between 30 and 50 years) sees dog sledging as an integral component of Canadian culture. Most operations, like Fernie-based Snow Valley Mushers, offer anything from two hour rides to multi-day trips complete with wilderness camping. This proliferation of adventure sport activities is also noted in Chapter 10 with respect to the situation in the French mountains. The diversification of winter sports has also resulted in holiday packages that are finely customised for narrow niche markets. These may be specialised such as a ‘Singles-Party-Sun, Ski, and Health Weekend’ at an alpine resort with ski lifts, thermal springs and a happening night life, or 81

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the popular ‘Women Only’ classes at North America’s big resorts. Some of the main winter sports currently on offer in North America are now discussed in turn. Snowboarding Snowboarding has had a huge impact on the ski industry, for it is estimated that there are over 5,000,000 snowboarders in North America. A recent survey of downhillers in the US showed that 29.5% were snowboarding, although many more (35%) have tried the new activity (National Ski Areas Association, 2004). Faced with the inevitable rise of snowboarding, both skiers in general, and resort authorities in particular, are increasingly conciliatory towards snowboarders and their needs. It is now generally agreed in North America that adherents of the two disciplines must co-exist on the same slopes, and over 80% of US resorts now have terrain parks. The growth in snowboarders is attributed to the increased percentage of under 24-year-olds in the market (Spring, 2000). The snowboard boom, which has had a greater impact on young people, has caused the ski industry to assess its effect on the market. One of the disadvantages of skiing is that it is technically demanding at a high level of performance and expertise is only possible for those who start the sport at a very young age. However, a snowboarder can learn to stay upright and turn after one morning, and tackle powder within a week. Such a high learning curve has led to many skiers crossing over to boarding, with figures from America indicating that over 60% of boarders have skied before they adopted boarding (Spring, 1997). Cross-country skiing and telemarking Cross-country skiing is often considered to be the poor cousin of alpine skiing (Loverseed, 2000), but evolution in ski equipment, snow making, waxes, and track setting has contributed to the continued success of the sport. The most notable change has been in technique. Made popular by American Olympic silver medal winner Bill Koch in the early 1980s, skate skiing, or the free technique, has given cross-country skiing a facelift (Rolfe, 2001). In Canada now, there are approximately 380 cross-country ski clubs, 50,000 Canadians are club members, and another 2,000,000 ski recreationally with numbers increasing gradually each year. ‘Telemarking’ – the first type of downhill skiing introduced by the Norwegians – also appears to be experiencing some growth. The telemark 82


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turn, designed to be executed in a loose-heeled binding, worn with lightweight boots and skis that are comfortable walking uphill and on the flat, has come into its own again. Snowshoeing and telemark skiing, while still both low participation sports, saw huge growth between 1998 and 1999, each experiencing a three-fold growth in the number of enthusiasts (Ski Area Management, 2000). Snowshoeing Snowshoeing is another mode of transport used originally by native people and ‘adopted’ by the tourism industry. Predating skis by many centuries, traditional ‘shoes’ resemble giant tennis rackets and were made from flexible ash wood and laced onto moccasins with caribou or deer hide. New lightweight shoes made with aluminum frames are now more common. They are easier to use and no special skill is required to take off into the wilderness. The popularity of snowshoeing is growing as the North American population ages. In the USA, for example, the number of participants jumped from 2,900,000 people to 4,000,000 in 1999. Almost 38% of the increase was attributed to people aged 45 or older. According to Loverseed (2000) the activity burns between 400–900 calories per hour but does not put a strain on the joints in the same way as skiing or snowboarding. Heli-skiing and snowcat skiing Heli-skiing, where skiers are flown by helicopter to virgin slopes where they can ski on powder snow, has also shown a marked increase over the last decade. In western Canada the heli-skiing industry is worth over CDN$100 million annually, and is responsible for over 2000 jobs. Although heli-skiing has spread to the USA, Europe, South America, New Zealand and even to Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula, Canadians are the industry’s unquestioned leaders. In 1999, 92,000 heli-skier days were recorded in Canada – 8000 more than the year before and a sizeable 28,000 more than in 1994/95. The largest operator, Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH), sells 7000 holidays annually. About 50% of customers are from the USA and 40% are from Europe. A seven-day package costs about CDN$6,000 which includes 100,000 vertical feet of skiing, accommodation for seven nights, all meals, snacks and soft drinks, return transport from Calgary by bus and all taxes. Most of the clients are white-collar professionals, and a large market segment is physicians. These skiers are likely to socialise with 83

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people of similar means and interests, and often return the following year with a friend. Most of the guests are male, the average age is 45 and the majority earn over CDN$200,000 per annum. A variation on heli-skiing is ‘snowcat’ skiing. Snowcats are large, trucklike vehicles which run on tracks instead of wheels and, like helicopters, they carry powder enthusiasts to high mountain areas that do not have lifts or groomed trails. Snowmobiling Snowmobiling is the second most popular winter activity in North America after skiing (Loverseed, 2000). Since its invention in the 1930s, the snowmobile helped change the way of life for the native Inuit who until then hunted and fished with the help of sled dogs. Snowmobiles were quickly adopted by other Canadians who started to use them as recreational vehicles. Despite opposition to the sport from environmentalists, it continues to grow in popularity. Indeed, today’s fuel-efficient, quieter machines attract numerous families and groups who tour the wilderness on the many trails that are cut and maintained by snowmobile clubs and volunteers across North America. Snowmobilers in North America spend over US$9 million annually on equipment, protective clothing, accessories and snowmobiling holidays. At least one third of that amount is spent in Canada where over half a million people belong to the 914 snowmobile clubs across the country (Loverseed, 2000). Although snowmobiling is largely a recreational activity enjoyed by North Americans during the weekends, longer snowmobile trips which incorporate overnight stays and tourist attractions are also being offered by a number of tour operators. Reaching areas of wilderness that are inaccessible by road is especially appealing to adventure travellers from abroad. Winter sports events The number of winter events is also increasing rapidly. For example, in Jasper, Canada, 20 teams enter the Mountain to Valley Relay Race each year (Fawcett, 2001). Hundreds of spectators are attracted to the event which combines downhill ski racing, ice-driving, mountain biking, crosscountry skiing and running. Other ‘Jasper in January’ events include a snow sculpting competition, a charity bachelor auction, a chili cook-off, the Fun, Fat and Forty ski race and the Spirits of Jasper cognac and cigars tasting and smoking night. 84


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Other events in Alberta that have taken off include the Great Canadian Death Snowshoe Race, and the Canmore International Ice-Climbing Festival. The Death Snowshoe Race is a new event, one in a successful series, and involves a two-day, 125 kilometre snowshoe race that gains over 17,000 feet in elevation and crosses three 6,000-foot mountain summits. For spectators and the rest of the community, organisers include toboggan races, skating, ice-carving and a treasure hunt. The Ice Climbing Festival is a two-day celebration of all things high and icy. The post is gaining increasing popularity, especially with the 30-plus age group. The event features demonstrations by international experts and local iceclimbing guides, excursions, a speed competition, a climbing competition, a ‘try-it-out’ ice wall for newcomers, slide shows and a banquet. While most events are held at the wall, there are also climbing clinics held during the weekend just outside of Canmore. Finally, the transportation of the Olympic Flame in 2002 reflected the increased diversification of winter sports. Transport for its 65-day relay included skier, dog-sled, horse-drawn sleigh and snowmobile. Travelling more than 13,500 miles, the relay stopped twice each day for major celebrations en route to Salt Lake City, and was backed up by a support team of around 50 Chevrolet vehicles including public safety, advance operations, torchbearer shuttles, stage production trucks and support equipment.

Market Size of Skiing and Snowboarding The USA and Canada between them generate an estimated 15 million skiers or boarders – and these are primarily domestic. In the USA, there are approximately 490 resorts, whose 2269 lifts attracted 57,600,000 skier/boarder visits in 2002–03 (see Table 4.2). The numbers, which follow two other very strong seasons, indicate that the industry is becoming more resilient and is successfully attracting beginners, families and important youth markets with creative new programmes. Skier visits to US resorts have hovered around 40 million per year for the past five seasons, but over the same period, total snowboard visits have increased from 12.1 million to 17.1 million. In large part, the success of the US industry over the past several years is the result of stabilising its alpine skier base while growing its snowboard layer. In Canada, skier/boarder visitation has grown steadily from 15.5 million in 1997–98 to 18.8 million skier/boarder visits in 2002–03 (Canadian Ski Council, 2003). However, domestic visitation has remained stagnant, and the market is increasingly reliant on international visitors. 85

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Total foreign visits were 4.7 million in the 2002–03 season, 25% of all skier visits. Approximately 3.4 million Canadians are active skiers or boarders – about 13% of the population. This is well above the participation rate of the US, which averages about 3%. How much the ski industry is worth worldwide is difficult to gauge. Statistics provided by the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA, 2000) indicate average total gross revenues of US$17.1 million for each American resort, split between sales of lift tickets, accommodation, food and beverage, ski shops and real estate. In the US snow sports participants generate more than $12billion to the economy (Packer, 1998). Taking into consideration the summer months, total economic contributions coupled with summer mountain resort business jump to well over the $15billion mark. Total skiing equipment expenditures alone amounted to US$649 million in 2000 (American Demographics, 2000). In Canda, total alpine equipment sales were CDN$57.3 million in 2002–03 (Canadian Ski Council, 2003).

Winter Sport Resorts Between them, the USA and Canada have 782 winter resorts, although consolidation has resulted in a gradual drop of ski areas in the US, from 735 in 1982 to 490 in 2003 (see Table 4.2). The four largest resort groups in North America account for approximately 18,000,000 skier visits, as broken down in Table 4.3. America’s biggest ski-resort chains have been buying many smaller resorts, and investing in new hotels, ski lifts and snow-making equipment. Three resort groups have even lifted themselves on to the stock market in the past couple of years – something previously unheard of (Economist, 1998). However, 11 September and the recession that followed had an impact on these bigger chains. After five volatile years, Intrawest have shares at the same level they were after the initial public offering – and they have the most solid balance sheet of the bunch. Indeed, the American Ski Company (ASC) was delisted in March 2002 by the New York Stock Exchange after the company’s stock price fell to 26 cents, an all-time low. When ASC first went public, shares traded in the $17 to $18 range. In 2002 the company was forced to sell both Sugarbush and Heavenly, the latter to Vail Resorts for $US102 million. In Canada, there are two major ski center operators in addition to Intrawest. Resorts of the Canadian Rockies is one, and it runs eight ski areas including Lake Louise (Alberta), Fernie (British Columbia) and Mont Sainte-Anne (Quebec). The other, Mont Saint-Sauveur International Inc. operates five resorts in the Laurentian mountains north of Montreal, as well as Jay Peak in Vermont. 86


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Table 4.2 US ski area visits and ski areas operating between 1982 and 2001 Season 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03

Areas operating 735 735 727 709 674 622 611 591 569 546 529 516 524 519 507 521 509 503 490 490 490

Visits in millions 46.861 50.630 51.354 51.921 53.749 53.908 53.335 50.020 46.722 50.835 54.032 54.637 52.677 53.983 52.520 54.122 52.089 52.198 57.227 54.300 57.600

Table 4.3 Breakdown of top four ski centers in North America Ski operator Intrawest American Ski Company Vail Resorts Inc. Booth Creek Inc.

No. of facilities 11 7 5 8

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Total visits 2001 (millions) 6.2 5.0 4.6 2.1

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Intrawest is perhaps the most diversified and successful ski-resort company in North America, focusing on developing four-season resorts in conjunction with other partners and investors. The company invests heavily in real estate developments and tourism infrastructure. For example, in Whistler, British Columbia, building investment has exceeded $2 billion since its establishment as a municipality in 1975. Now, with more than 55,000 pillows, and 18,000 of those within 500 metres of the lifts, Whistler boasts the most ski-in/ski-out accommodation of any mountain recreation resort in North America. In the 1999–2000 season, total skier visits reached a North American record of 2,180,000, while in the same winter, the number of room nights generated increased by three percent to 616,210. In response to the unprecedented growth and rising stature as a world-class year-round destination, the resort has undergone many changes. Huge increases in the number of accommodation properties (the resort attracted investments totaling $574 million in construction between 1997 and 2002), retail shops and restaurants, along with extensive on-mountain improvements and expansions have followed on the heels of the growth in overall visitor and skier numbers. The big resorts like Whistler have several advantages. They can afford to invest in all the latest technology. Their lifts are warm and capacious, and the guaranteed snow is neatly groomed. By broadening into accommodation, skiing lessons and other activities, the big resort groups can also capture more of the industry’s profits. Historically, ski companies have been content to be little more than lift operators (as they still are in Europe), allowing local businesses to cream off most of the potential income. Even in America, the typical skier still hands less than 20% of his holiday cash to the average resort owner. Vail, by contrast, earns so much money from secondary activities that it can afford to stop charging for its lifts in the evening. It manages 6 hotels, 72 restaurants, 40 shops and over 13,000 condominiums. Smaller resorts close to the big operators who do make their money from lift tickets find it difficult to compete with the likes of Vail. Berthoud Pass, for example, was a victim of Vail’s heavy discounting, and had to move into cat skiing as it could not afford to run its lifts. Resort operators still earn a large chunk of their profits on the slopes, selling lift tickets, food and equipment. In fact, ski area revenue remains the dominant income source, providing 80% of total gross revenue (Farwell, 2001). However, property development and management has become an important part of the ski business. For the operators, the most desirable visitors are what the trade calls ‘destination skiers’, the longer stay tourists. Resort operators are increasingly banking on these visitors to fill hotels, town houses and condominiums in the valleys below the 88


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slopes. The operators benefit not only from selling town houses and condominiums, but also by helping the new owners rent their properties to visitors. Typically, they charge a management fee equal to half the rent.

The Consumer According to the National Sporting Goods Association, alpine skiers in the US are predominantly male (60%), 35 years old on average, are college educated and tend to have managerial or professional jobs. Besides skiing, they participate in tennis, cycling, sailing and racquetball, and are twice as likely to buy wine, invest in real estate and travel overseas than the average person. The majority of snowboarders are male (73% in the USA and 69% in Canada) and young (more than 80% are under 24) with the average age being 21 years old. Many riders are students, and they like to mountain bike, hike, skateboard, surf and play video games. As for cross-country skiers, in Canada the sport is considered an ‘adventure travel activity’ by Tourism Canada, and tends to attract both sexes – 49% are male and 51% are female. Moreover, 42% are between the ages of 25 and 49, 80% have their own dwelling and 27% have household incomes over CAN$75,000 (Canadian Ski Council, 2003). There have been several interesting studies of skiing behavior, and in particular skiers’ motivations for participation (Boon, 1984; Goeldner, 1978; Mills, 1985; Mills et al., 1986; Spring, 1995; Tikalsky & Lahren, 1988). Other researchers have focused on destination choice (Carmichael, 1992, 1996; Dilley & Pozihun, 1986; Ewing & Kulka, 1979; Hudson & Shephard, 1998; Keogh, 1980; Klenosky et al., 1993; Richards, 1995). Past market research in the skiing field has focused on existing skiers, though parallel research concerning skiing’s latent demand markets has been less evident. However, as concerns for a falling ski market have surfaced, so has interest in identifying potential consumer markets that may be persuaded to ski. Gilbert and Hudson (2000) investigated the constraints facing both skiers and non-skiers, finding that economic factors were the major constraints for non-skiers, but they also faced a number of intrapersonal limitations. They perceived skiing to be harder to learn than other sports, and thought the activity would make them cold and wet, and that it would be dangerous, expensive and too stressful. There was the feeling that skiing is an elitist sport, and that they were not ‘chic and glamorous enough’ to go. Skiers, on the other hand, were constrained by time, family or economic factors. A recent study conducted by the Leisure Trends Group of Boulder, Colorado, suggests that winter sport enthusiasts are driven more by the 89

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amount of snowfall than the impact of world events. The study showed that the 11 September terrorist attacks in 2001 would have little effect on the behaviour of skiers and boarders. In fact, interviewees indicated that they would be skiing more in light of the attacks, as they feel very safe visiting the mountains compared to warmer urban destinations (Ski Area Management, 2001).

Key Challenges for Winter Sport Tourism Key challenge: A maturing industry Despite encouraging statistics from the US in recent ski seasons, the ski industry in North America is in a mature stage of the product life cycle. The snowboard market growth is slowing and baby boomers are nearing retirement age, while there is the additional problem of a decline in leisure time. There is an increase in the number of hours worked per household (and an increase in the number of women working) and disposable income has not increased at the same rate as hours worked. Marketing resources are also limited compared to other leisure activities, so these competing activities have grown, taking market share away from winter sport destinations (see Figure 4.1). In Canada, a study commissioned by the Canadian Ski Council predicts that the domestic ski market will decrease by 21.9% over the next 15 years. The study emphasises a 33% increase in both US and international visitors will be required to hold the decrease to even 10% (Canadian Ski Council, 2004). According to a recent report by the Leisure Trends Group in Boulder, Colorado, young skiers and boarders are visiting the slopes less and less. Teens and young adults are increasingly trading boards and skis for joysticks, opting for the virtual reality of games like Jonny Mosely Mad Trix for their winter fun (King, 2002). Leisure Trends’ survey found that ski and snowboard participation among 16–24-year-olds has dropped nearly 25% from 1996 to the end of 2001, while computer use is up 63%. The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) has proposed a model for growth with the idea of creating strategies that hold the greatest potential for growth, and then focusing industry resources on those areas that will create long-term growth (see Figure 4.2). This strategy involves targeting non-skiers to increase trial, and increasing the beginner conversion rate above its current 15% level. The increase in skier visits between 2000 and 2003 was partly attributed to this strategy. The Canadian ski industry is following a similar strategy, focusing on increasing trial, improving conversion and reducing erosion of the core skier/boarder market. 90

Winter Sport Tourism in North America 1600 1421

1990

1400

1999/00

1189

1200 Volume of activity (in millions)

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1000 800 600

564 502

400

317 253

200 0

4

51

7

Cruise line passenger trips

91

Las Vegas visitor nights

58 66

16 25 Overseas trips Amusement park by US residents attendance (thru 1999)

Movie admissions

National Park recreation visits

19 20 Golf rounds played (thru 1999)

Pro basketball attendance

50 52 Skier visits

Figure 4.1 Trends in related travel/recreation activities, 1990–2000 Source: US Statistical Abstract and Industry Associations AREAS TO TARGET /Boarder Vis ier its Sk

BEGINNER 10%

NEVER-BEEN

TRIAL

15%

25%

= increases in skier/boarder visits

DROP-OUT

CONVERSION

CORE 65%

= decreases in skier/boarder visits

85%

20%

LAPSED

75%

REVIVAL 25%

0% Annual Increase in Revivals

Figure 4.2 A strategy for growing skiing numbers in the US 91

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The ski industry clearly needs to address the dramatic decrease in the number of female skiers and snowboarders. In North America between 1997 and 2002 the drop out rate for females was between 20 and 30% (Korobanik, 2000). One reason for this could be a new image to skiing and snowboarding that is intimidating to women. For example, virtually every advertising campaign for snowboarding shows the extreme side of the sport. A future challenge for the industry will be to lure females back to the slopes (Hudson, 2000). However, in France, Bourdeau et al. note in Chapter 10 that the growth on non-winter activities at the valley floor of the mountains are more inclusive for females and families. Key challenge: Environmental issues Environmental awareness, however perceived, will have the greatest impact on skiing in the next few decades. Skiing, in both practise and infrastructure, is causing numerous environmental problems that consequently give rise to serious challenges for the industry. In fact a major deterrent to the further development of the ski market comes in the form of growing environmental concerns about human and traffic congestion in the mountains and the intensive use of natural resources by skiers (Hudson, 1995). The continual use of the same location and of the same runs, together with pressure to expand skiing areas, has brought skiers and conservationists into conflict. Environmental lobbies have already succeeded in imposing restrictions on heli-skiing, off piste skiing in woods and on new lift installation. Developers in North America are thus fighting ongoing battles with powerful environmental groups. While ski resorts acknowledge that mistakes were made over the past 40 years, there is a new commitment to environmental stewardship (Castle, 1999). The Aspen Skiing Company in Colorado, Heavenly Ski Resort at Lake Tahoe, Whistler in Canada and Sundance in Utah have all taken a lead in showing ski destinations how to be environmentally sustainable. Finding common ground between ski resorts and environmentalists is a matter of communication. Ski areas seeking local support for new projects are realizing that early talks with all stakeholders help to establish a positive relationship. By working through their differences, the parties can often reach a consensus before a plan is formalised and submitted to public agencies for review. Ski resorts of the future will have to look at environmental problems as business issues and make environmental investments for the same reasons they make other investments: because they expect them to deliver positive returns or reduce risks. 92


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There is even the possibility of gaining competitive advantage by being environmentally friendly (Hudson, 1996), for resorts are now being ranked according to their environmental commitment. In June 2000, about 160 American ski areas, including the 20 biggest in the USA, signed the ‘Sustainable Slopes’ charter. The charter was developed with input from a variety of ski industry leaders; environmental groups; federal, state, county and local agencies; outdoor recreation groups, ski industry suppliers; and other stakeholders. The charter is a voluntary set of guiding principles and tools that assist ski resorts in being able to effectively integrate environmental protection concepts into all aspects of design, maintenance and operation of ski resorts. There is also a new scorecard report produced by a coalition of conservation groups that grades ski areas on environmental criteria. According to this scorecard, Sundance is the most environmentally friendly ski area in the western USA (Hansen, 2000). The scorecard is based on ski resorts’ performance against set criteria, such as expansion into undisturbed land and environmental efficiency. Skiing is not the only winter sport that has come under fire from environmentalists. For example, starting in 2003, US snowmobile traffic will be cut to 50% of its current rate at Yellowstone’s West and South Entrances, and in Grand Teton Park (Slough, 2002). Yellowstone Park officials have long been worried about exhaust and noise from snowmobile traffic. But it was a conflict with bison that led to the planned snowmobile ban imposed by the Government. Engineers are now designing snowmobiles that are cleaner, quieter and more environmentally sound – without compromising performance. However, diversification into summer tourism and the multiple activities may have advantages as they are more likely to be smaller in scale, more dispersed geographically and require little infrastructure, but as Chapter 10 notes are more difficult to manage in the French mountains because of these factors. Key challenge: The impact of global warming Another major challenge to future development is global warming. The Royal Geographical Society has indicated that many ski resorts are at increasing risk from landslides as global warming melts the permafrost that holds mountain surfaces together. As the permafrost melts, resorts are at greater risk of catastrophic landslides and rock falls (National Post, 2001). Temperatures in many ski resorts have risen by 1°C over the past 15 years, and with a predicted continuation of global and regional temperatures, skiing destinations will experience less snowfall and shorter skiing 93

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seasons. These impacts will be especially pronounced in the lower-lying ski resorts where commercial ventures are already marginal (Viner and Agnew, 1999). There are some scientists, however, who suggest that warmer winters could lead to increased precipitation levels in some resorts, but they tend to agree that winter will begin later and spring will begin sooner (Rosa, 2001). To thrive without snow many operators have invested heavily in snowmaking equipment. Snowmaking is a critical but expensive investment for many resorts. Buying the machinery and accessing the water, a process than can require protracted negotiations with state authorities and installing dozens of wells and miles of pipes, can cost tens of millions of dollars. In the USA the average snowmaking system covers approximately 67% of terrain (Bender, 2000), and most ski resorts now have snowmaking equipment. Intrawest believes that snowmaking is now an economic necessity. The company has invested US$113 million in snowmaking equipment at its resorts and has an annual operating budget of US$9 million just for making snow (Schreiner, 2000). At its 11 resorts, Intrawest turns an average of 1.5 billion gallons of water a season into enough snow to cover 39,000 football fields to a depth of 1 foot.

Future Prospects Perhaps the greatest impact on the future of winter sports will come from technological advancements. This includes bigger and faster ski lifts and touch-screen terminals throughout mountain areas. New computer technology has revolutionised how multiple resorts offer a combined lift ticket. The most innovative of these is contained in a smart card kept in a pocket or glove that opens the lift access gate automatically. Handheld wireless applications are also making other purchases much easier. At Park City, skiers can buy food, take lessons, obtain rentals and sign up for other resort functions using the same ticket and communicating through the same wireless LAN (Tadjer, 2001). Equipment is improving all the time with newly shaped skis proving to be a great success, and designs are now being made for computerised bindings. Titanium is now being used to ensure lightweight skis, and advances in lightweight, waterproof and breathable fabrics are improving the performance of ski clothing. Looking well into the future, some observers have suggested that the on-snow equipment of the future may be hover skis or boards, combined with an outboard motor, enabling customers to ride up, then down, any slope at any time of the year, without any effort at all (Thorne, 2001). 94


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And there are continuing technological breakthroughs in the attempts to make artificial snow in temperatures up to +30°C. In fact snowmaking technology has advanced to such an extent that indoor ski centers could be the big trend for the new millennium (Thorne, 2000). In recent years, some of the world’s leading ski areas have taken a financial interest in new and existing snowdomes. For example, Klosters/Davos and Flims Laax in Switzerland are amongst the shareholders in a new snowdome built in London in 2002. In the US, Mammoth in California has been closely involved in the Gotcha Glacier project in Anaheim. The expansion of Internet facilities for choosing and booking holidays are transforming the operations of travel agents, tour operators and destinations. An increasing number of bookings are made via the Internet as skilled consumers are assembling their own ski holidays, using their extensive product knowledge. A 2000 survey found that 94% of skiers had access to the Internet and 52% used it to research or book a ski or snowboard vacation (Potter, 2000). Of the 7,400,000 downhill skiers in the USA at that time, 60.5% used the Internet, giving skiing one of the three highest Web usage rates for sports, with an aggregate total of more than 7,000,000 participants (Ski, 2000). Most destinations have created their own home pages on the Internet, and the larger resorts offer online booking. All Vail-owned resorts, American Ski Company resorts, Booth Creek resorts and some others such as Aspen/Snowmass, Jackson Hole, Big Sky and Snowbird, have partnered with WorldRes, an online booking distributor, to handle Web reservations (Hirschfeld, 2000). In California, 20% of Heavenly’s guests use the Internet to book at least part of their ski vacation – half of them through Heavenly’s own online booking system (Potter, 2000). Of that 20%, 59% booked airfare, 50% lodging and 26% car rentals. Despite the stagnation in skier numbers, there are still major investments taking place in many mountain resorts. North America continues to lead the world in investment in resort real estate. Moreover, the trend to use winter sports as almost a ‘loss leader’ to bring in revenue from base operations continues to be the dominant financial model for resort operations. All the signs suggest that successful resorts of the next decades will be custom designed to meet the needs of every type of winter sports lover. Destinations must satisfy an increasingly fragmenting and demanding marketplace with more specialised facilities and services, yet at the same time assimilate those customer segments so that they share the limited number of ski slopes. The continuing popularity of snowboarding augers well for the future of ski resorts, for it has helped to 95

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reverse the decline of skiing after the boom years of the 1970s and early 1980s. Over the last decade most ski resorts have adapted to the demand for specially designed snowboard runs and parks – not least because they have their eye on future profits which would be generated by snowboarders switching to more traditional forms of skiing, later in life. The trend towards non-skiers visiting ski resorts, would seem to support the premise that more all-round resorts – in which skiing is not the only activity – need to be developed, and with sporting and entertainment facilities open throughout the year, rather than just in the winter months. A key reason that ski destinations attract limited investment is that skiing is perceived as a strictly seasonal business. Most ski resorts depend on winter activities to make or break their year. Few other industries exist solely from late autumn until spring. That is changing, albeit slowly. Many ski resorts have started to attract summer tourists by developing a wide range of sports and activities, but more investment is required in many destinations, along with aggressive marketing policies to communicate the availability of these facilities. Chair lifts and cable cars are operating for walking holidays – a growing summer activity. Many resorts already have swimming pools, skating rinks, tennis courts, guided walks, bike hire and in some cases glacier skiing. Others have started to advertise rock-climbing, white-river rafting, paragliding (parachuting off the mountainside), canyoning (abseiling down waterfalls) and hydrospeeding (swimming down white-water rapids on a specially designed surf board). In conclusion, winter sport tourism in North America has been characterised by diversification and consolidation over the last few decades, but skiing and snowboarding remain popular winter sport activities. In the US the three ski seasons between 2000 and 2003 were the best three consecutive attendance years in the industry’s history. Although challenging from many perspectives, this period has demonstrated that if the industry listens and responds to its market, the business has a viable and prosperous future.

Key Questions (1) Account for diversification of winter sport tourism products and services. (2) What are the key trends shaping the winter sport tourism industry in North America? (3) What constraints could restrict the growth of winter sports in North America? 96


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Active Learning Exercise Compare the winter sport tourism industry in North America to the industry in other parts of the world. In particular, how different are the destinations that provide the products and services, and how different are consumers?

Further Recommended Reading Castle, K. (1999) Mitigation over litigation. Ski 64 (4), 134–42. Hudson, S. (2000) Snow Business. London: Continuum Publishing Group. Loverseed, H. (2000) Winter sports in North America. Travel & Tourism Intelligence 6, 45–62. Thorne, P. (2001) Patrick Throne: Skiing the World – Early History of Winter Sports. www.goski.com/experts (online accessed 9 October).

Websites Database of winter sports resorts: snow24.com Ski Area Management: saminfo.com Canadian Ski Council: skicanada.org Ski Club of Great Britain: skiclub.co.uk Ski-Trac International: ski-trac.com Whistler Resort: whistler.com Ski Magazine: skimag.com Ski and Snowboard Directory: skipages.com Listings for UK skiers: ski.co.uk Snowboarding search engine: idsnobord.com Guide to worldwide skiing: goski.com Information on resorts worldwide: 1ski.com Intrawest: intrwest.com Online ski magazine: firsttracksonline.com Japanese ski guide: skijapanguide.com Ski Area Citizen’s Coalition scorecard: skiareacitizens.com National Ski Areas Association: nsaa.org Trail maps of US and other resorts: skimaps.com Advanced search engine for winter sports holidays: skimatcher.com Snowsports Industries America (SIA): snowlink.com

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References American Demographics (2000) Off the map: Snow days. American Demographics December, 72. Bender, C. (2000) Snowmaking survey. Ski Area Management 39 (6), 52. Beyrouti, M. (2000) More skiers and snowboarders are visiting Canadian ski areas. Travel-log Winter, 1–8. Boon, M.A. (1984) Understanding skiing behaviour. Society and Leisure 7 (2), 397–406. Calgary Herald (2001) Big Adventures on winter roster at Montana’s big mountain. Calgary Herald 9 November, SS3. Canadian Ski Council (2003) Canadian Ski & Snowboard Industry Facts & Stats. http://www.skicanada.org (online accessed 22 September). Canadian Ski Council (2004) An Overview of the Canadian Model for Growth. http://www.skicanada.org (online accessed 22 January). Carmichael, B. (1992) Using conjoint modelling to measure tourist image and analyse ski resort choice. In P. Johnson and B. Thomas (eds) Choice and Demand in Tourism (pp. 93–106). London: Mansell. Carmichael, B. (1996) Conjoint analysis of downhill skiers used to improve data collection for market segmentation. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing 5 (3), 187–206. Castle, K. (1999) Mitigation over litigation. Ski 64 (4), 134–42. Cockerell, N. (1988) Skiing in Europe – potential and problems. Travel and Tourism Analyst 5, 66–81. Dilley, R.S. and Pozihun, P. (1986) Skiers in Thunder Bay, Ontario: Perceptions and behaviour. Recreation Research Review 12 (4), 27–32. Economist (1998) Winter wonderlands. The Economist 31 January, 86. Ewing, G.O. and Kulka, T. (1979) Revealed and stated preference analysis of ski resort attractiveness. Leisure Sciences 2 (3/4), 249–75. Farwell, T. (2001) Reading into industry statistics. Ski Area Management 40 (6), 41–3. Fawcett, K. (2001) You’ve got to be outta your mind. Venture November, 50–5. Gilbert, D. and Hudson, S. (2000) Tourism demand constraints: A skiing participation. Annals of Tourism Research 27 (4), 906–25. Goeldner, C.R. (1978) The Colorado Skier: 1977–78 Season. Business Research Division, Graduate School of Business, University of Colorado. Hamilton, J. (2002) Going to the dogs: A musher’s tale. Rockies Magazine 3 (2), 12–14. Hansen, B. (2000) Ski areas graded on environmental practices. Environment News Service http://ens.lycos.com/ens/nov2000 (online accessed 1 December). Hirschfeld, C. (2000) Cyber planning. Skiing 53 (4), 149–50. Hudson, S. (1995) Responsible tourism: A model for the greening of Alpine ski resorts. In S. Fleming, M. Talbot and A. Tomlinson (eds) Policy and Politics in Sport, Physical Education and Leisure (pp. 239–55). Brighton: LSA Publications. Hudson, S. (1996) The ‘greening’ of ski resorts: A necessity for sustainable tourism, or a marketing opportunity for skiing communities? Journal of Vacation Marketing 2 (2), 176–85. Hudson, S. (2000) The segmentation of potential tourists: Constraint differences between men and women. Journal of Travel Research 38 (4), 363–68. 98


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Hudson, S. and Shephard, G.W. (1998) Measuring service quality at tourist destinations: An application of importance-performance analysis to an alpine ski resort. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing 7 (3), 61–77. Keogh, B. (1980) Motivations and the choice decision of skiers. Tourist Review 35 (1), 18–22. King, D. (2002) Virtual winter. Ski 66 (7), 93. Klenosky, D.B., Gengler, C.E. and Mulvey, M.S. (1993) Understanding the factors influencing ski destination choice: A means-end analytical approach. Journal of Leisure Research 25 (4), 326–79. Korobanik, J. (2000) What’s happened to the women on nation’s ski hills? Calgary Herald 21 December, D7. Kottke, M. (1990) Growth trends: Going both ways at once. Ski Area Management 29 (1), 63–4, 96–7. Kreitmen, M. (2001) From the streets to the slopes. Ski Area Management 40 (6), 48–9. Liebers, A. (1963) The Complete Book of Winter Sports. New York: Coward-McCann. Loverseed, H. (2000) Winter sports in North America. Travel & Tourism Intelligence 6, 45–62. McLennan, M. (2000) The untold history. Ski Canada 29 (3), 74–81. Mills, A.S. (1985) Participation motivations for outdoor recreation: A test of Maslow’s theory. Journal of Leisure Research 17 (3), 184–99. Mills, A.S., Couturier, H. and Snepenger, D.J. (1986) Segmenting Texas snow skiers. Journal of Travel Research 25 (2), 19–23. National Post (2001) Warming perma frost puts resorts in Alps at risk. National Post 5 January, A10. National Ski Areas Association (2000) 1998/99 Economic Analysis of United States Ski Areas. Lakewood, Colorado. National Ski Areas Association (2004) Media Center http://www.nsaa.org/media (online accessed 22 January). Packer, J. (1998) Everything you ever wanted to know about ski and snowboard tourists but were afraid to ask. Journal of Vacation Marketing 4 (2), 186–92. Potter, E. (2000) The well-wired skier. Ski 65 (4), 79–81. Richards, G. (1995) Retailing travel products: Bridging the information gap. Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research 1 (1), 17–29. Rolfe, H. (2001) Bright tights, new heights. Impact Magazine 11 (2), 23. Rosa, B. (2001) Skiing’s end? Skiing Winter Adventure 53 (6), 32. Schreiner, J. (2000) Snowmakers hold key to ‘core’ business. National Post 4 December, C1 and C7. Ski (2000) Travel hit. Ski 65 (4), 82. Ski Area Management (2000) Breaking news. Ski Area Management http://www. saminfo.com/news.htm (online accessed 2 May). Ski Area Management (2001) Research shows more willing to travel, Ski Area Management http://www.saminfo.com/news.htm (onine accessed 15 December). Slough, A.E. (2002) Revenge of the nerds. Ski 66 (7), 82–7. Spring, J. (1995) Are we on the brink of a boom? Ski Area Management 34 (4), 39–68. Spring, J. (1997) Crossovers fuel boarding. Ski Area Management 36 (3), 55–6. Spring, J. (2000) Who visited this season? Ski Area Management 39 (3), 54–9. Tadjer, R. (2001) Well-defined wireless. InternetWeek 22 October, 28–9. 99

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Tanler, B. (1966) A decade of growth. Ski Area Management 5 (4), 10–14. Thorne, P. (2000) Y2K Ski www.hemispheremagazine.com, 85–9. Thorne, P. (2001) Patrick Thorne: Skiing the World – Early History of Winter Sports www.goski.com/experts (online accessed 9 October). Tikalsky, F.T. and Lahren, S.L. (1988) Why people ski. Ski Area Management 27 (3), 68–114. Viner, D. and Agnew, M. (1999) Climate Change and its Impacts on Tourism. Report prepared for WWF-UK by the Climate Research Unit, University of East Anglia, Norwich. Williams, P. (1993) The evolution of the skiing industry. In M.A. Khan, M.D. Olsen and T. Van Var (eds) VNR’s Encyclopaedia of Hospitality and Tourism (pp. 926–33). New York: Nostrand Reinhold.

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Chapter 5

Adventure Sports and Tourism in the French Mountains: Dynamics of Change and Challenges for Sustainable Development PHILIPPE BOURDEAU, JEAN CORNELOUP AND PASCAL MAO

Introduction Despite their historical links, there have always been profound contradictions in the relationship between sport and tourism in France and Europe in terms of behaviour and development models. The end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s marked a certain narrowing of this divide, with a gradual blurring of the boundaries between tourism and sport, and an increasing hybridisation of activities and models of development. This change was due on the one hand to the increasing demand for ‘active tourism’, breaking with the cultural and geographical conformism of conventional holidays and trips, and on the other hand to the appearance of ‘leisure sports’ held in new esteem following the development of a whole range of new or revived activities (climbing, mountain biking, canyoning, parascending, rafting, hydrospeed), which no longer resisted commercialisation. In this process, the crisis which affected winter sports in France during the second half of the 1980s played a far from negligible role by stimulating a systematic search for diversification in the supply of tourism ‘products’, with respect both to seasonal aspects and to the target clientele and activities. Thus, while a crisis was shaking the foundations, the renewal in the supply of leisure sports was contributing to a revival of mountain tourism, particularly in the summer. The result of this upheaval was that leisure sports, which until then had been largely marginal to tourism, were placed at the very centre of the alpine sport tourism system. 101

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This chapter explores the development of active sport tourism in the French Alps and outlines some of the key considerations concerning the growth of adventure sport tourism in this fragile location. In particular, it notes the changing trends involving sport tourism within the French Alps and introduces some of the issues concerning these changes for the sustainable development of alpine regions. These issues may therefore be applicable to other alpine destinations which are also going through similar changes.

Learning Outcomes On completion of this chapter, readers should: (1) Understand the historical development of mountain sport tourism in France. (2) Understand some of the processes which have led to the changing use of mountains for active sport tourism and recreation. (3) Be able to consider the context of alpine sport tourism development in France. (4) Understand the conflicts and major issues concerning the future development of sport tourism in the French alpine environment.

Sport and Tourism: Two Cultural Universes So Close But So Different Sports tourism in search of recognition The history of European tourism is particularly marked by the early use of mountain areas, which were incorporated in the ‘tour’ invented by the English aristocracy. In France, one of the first important dates in the history of tourism is 1741, when the two Englishmen Whindham and Pococke visited Chamonix. This visit is considered to mark the beginning of mountain tourism. The decades that followed this first incursion into the Alps saw the creation of hiking and mountaineering, with the landmark event of the first scaling of Mont Blanc (4807 metres) in 1786 (Lavery 1989; Holloway, 1994). A century and a half later, the mountaineers introduced skiing into the Alps, an activity which originated in Scandinavia, and adapted it to winter climbs (1878–1924), before it later became an essentially tourist activity with the development of increasingly well-equipped and ‘urbanised’ ski resorts (1950–80) (Holloway, 1994). 102

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In some respects, it was tourists who thus passed on mountaineering to sports enthusiasts in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, before the latter, the mountaineers, then offered tourists skiing in return during the twentieth century. However, despite this largely shared past, it is not easy to talk about the relationship between sport and tourism, since from a cultural, professional and institutional point of view, ‘tourism’ and ‘sport’ often appear as two opposing areas due to three main reasons. First, issues concerning the opposition of values between sport and tourism. Here touristic consumption and contemplation versus participation and sports activity. Second, opposition of development models: legitimate and ‘stage’ model of the resort (unity of place, time and action) versus site, itinerary or activity space written into the different geographical and sporting configurations, and specific to each discipline. Finally, opposition and division of the system of actors: the professionalisation of the tourism economy and commercial and territorial organisation versus the voluntary work of sports enthusiasts and an organisation of clubs, associations and federations. These characteristics often create differences between the sport and tourism industry. Tourism and sport not only differ with respect to cultural models and action, but also in terms of the spatial and territorial models relating to where the activities take place. Thus, while the resort model became established after the nineteenth century as the accepted model for tourism location and organisation, its application was later found to be increasingly limited as the development of activities was reflected in a spatial dissemination of activity centres, a situation which was not conducive to the creation of resorts in the usual touristic and urbanistic sense of the term. It is this multi-centre development, in sharp contrast to the polarisation characteristic of resorts, which gave birth to the idea of ‘diffused’ tourism, more characteristic of mountain and outdoor sports tourism. This is why diffused sports tourism may sometimes appear as a default development mode, an orphan of the traditional resort with clearly defined managerial practices and identity. Spatial diffusion is a constituent element of adventure sport tourism With regard to adventure sport tourism, the basic spatial reference is a site (often called a location) or an itinerary, defined essentially on the basis of the physical, hydrographic and climatic characteristics which determine its ability to provide a support for a sports activity with particular requirements regarding access, style, level of competence, safety and so 103

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on. The location of sites and itineraries thus depends on diverse natural conditions which do not readily lend themselves to the satisfaction of geographic (accessibility), demographic or economic needs. This is the case, for example, of the 2000 ‘climbable’ rocky outcrops identified in France, which are very unevenly distributed throughout the country. Among the least favoured regions are the north and west, as well as the large urban areas, where most of the climbers come from. However, such geographical conditions are not incompatible with the development of dense concentrations – as is the case with climbing sites in the south-east of France. The ‘uncontrolled’ location of activity sites would not therefore be sufficient to characterise adventure sports tourism as a diffuse activity, if this was not accompanied by specific conditions influencing the use of sites such as: • ‘natural’ conditions (problems of access, climatic uncertainty, etc.); • ‘cultural’ conditions (very seasonal use; low-intensity use on account of the limited number of participants in the disciplines concerned and the large number of sites; high mobility of participants from one site to another, resulting in very short stays; self-sufficiency of participants with regard to sports equipment; very basic living conditions – bivouac, camping-car, tent). It is essentially these conditions which to a large extent work against the touristic development of leisure sports, with the sites where they take place remaining largely undeveloped economically, with little resemblance to any type of resort. Today, in Western Europe, only white water activities appear to have given rise to a certain concentration of services – sports supervision, catering facilities and accommodation – which could be considered, on a very modest scale, as having something in common with the resort model. This particularity can be explained in part by the large-scale involvement of commercial operators which manage the white water itineraries, in a quasi-monopolistic way, from a series of ‘bases.’ However, it should be pointed out that the strong ‘anti-conformism’ of adventure leisure sports must be qualified by certain developments which are tending to transform the sites into real facilities for sports tourism. Referring to a site as a ‘natural’ sports site does not mean that nature’s resources are used in their natural state: it is true that this is generally the rule for aerial sports and, to a lesser extent, white water sports (mountain streams with regulated flow), but it is not at all the case for climbing where the equipment destined to make the climbs safer (itineraries and approaches) is an important factor in determining the use of a site. 104


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Considering ‘adventure’ sports activities as a whole, the conditions relating to the planning, development and management of the sites and itineraries are becoming increasingly complex: upgrading of sites for easier and safer access, development of parking areas, sometimes equipped with toilet facilities, installation of information boards, signposting; site management agreements between sports federations and public or private owners; renting or purchasing of sites by local authorities or even clubs; setting up of reservation systems for groups. Information on sites, including site promotion, is provided in a very coded way through their own networks of participants and via different media: by word-of-mouth, but also through specialised magazines, popular guides (describing the sites and itineraries), films, etc. Thus, depending on the resources they offer, and their reputation and use characteristics, sites generally become established in a very clear hierarchy, in which they are identified as being of local, regional or national interest. In the case of climbing, for example, out of about 2000 sites identified in France, 85% are considered of local interest, 13% of regional interest and 2% of national interest (Bourdeau, 1995a).

1985–2000: The Renewal of Sport Tourism in the French Mountains Mountain areas in summer and tourism policies: A long-neglected potential The mountains are listed in third place among the holiday destinations of the French, after the sea and the countryside, accounting for just under 14% of all holidays (Bourdeau, 1995b). Every year, about 6,000,000 French people spend their summer holidays in the mountains, and 4,000,000 take winter sports holidays. And even if the number of people taking mountain holidays remains higher in summer than winter – 11% as opposed to 8%, the winter season plays a preponderant economic role in mountain tourism (Bourdeau, 1995b). Following World War II, and particularly from the 1960s onwards, winter tourism became established as a dominant model, literally outpacing summer tourism from a socio-economic point of view. In fact, winter and summer mountain tourism seem to contrast with one another in every respect: winter tourism is a resort tourism, which generates considerable economic flows related to the installation of ski lift facilities, the building of accommodation, employment and the sports equipment market. Summer tourism, on the other hand, is a much more diffuse sort 105

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of tourism, with about two-thirds of tourists staying outside resorts. Its characteristics also tend to keep it largely outside any particular commercial market. In short, as a French journalist wrote in 1985 (in Bourdeau, 1995b) in the mountains ‘l’hiver on travaille, l’été on fait son argent de poche’ (in the winter we work, and in the summer we make our pocket money). A single example serves to illustrate this seasonal, spatial and socio-economic hierarchy. While there are some 1200 high mountain guides working in France, an activity which is now 200 years old, there are no less than 10 times more ski monitors – around 12,000 – exercising a profession which is barely 60 years old! By a strange twist of fate, the sustained marginalisation of summer mountain tourism enabled it to appear, in the second half of the 1980s, as a potential resource for complementary – or even alternative – development, capable of attenuating the growth crisis affecting winter sports (as noted in Chapter 4 (Hudson) of this book). Indeed, one specialised magazine went as far as to compare summer mountain tourism to ‘green gold’ coming to the rescue of ‘white gold’, a term which has long been used to describe the economic role of snow in mountain areas. However, until the mid-1980s, for the advertising agencies which advised the resorts, mountain areas in summer represented a touristic sub-space where the risks of boredom and bad weather combined to discourage would-be clientele. Finally, this negative representation was reinforced by the images of danger and effort associated with the traditional mountain activities of hiking and mountaineering. Thus, what is happening now is a radical and sudden change in the types of activities offered to mountain tourists. Tennis, golf, swimming and horse-riding are generally proving the most popular with those responsible for promoting summer tourism, and many resorts now provide facilities for such activities as part of their diversification strategies (which is also noted in Chapter 4 with respect to North America). The ‘new sports’, or the cultural revolution in the use of mountain areas for sports For decades, sports activities in mountain areas were thus either confined to specific but confidential disciplines such as mountaineering, or extended to ‘imported’ disciplines such as tennis. From the mid 1980s, a whole range of ‘revived’ or new sports leisure activities have radically changed this situation, due in part to technology and innovation amongst commercial operators. To illustrate the range of new activities, reference may be made to a number of neologisms which have become consecrated 106


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through use: parascending – consisting of jumping from a mountain summit with an open parachute; canyoning – involving the descent of a mountain torrent, by walking, jumping, swimming or roping down; trekking – referring to a hike of several days, generally in a distant mountain massif; and rafting – involving the descent of mountain torrents in unsinkable craft with a group of people, led by a ‘guide’. Previous researchers have noted the growth of rafting experiences as part of adventure tourism (see Fluker & Turner, 2000). As for hydrospeed, participants go down the same torrents by means of an individual life-buoy. To this panoply of activities can also be added mountain biking and rock climbing, which is in part a spin-off from mountaineering. For certain disciplines (canyoning, rafting, hydrospeed), a thermal wetsuit, or even a life jacket, is an integral part of personal equipment, which is somewhat of a paradox for so-called ‘mountain’ sports. Canyoning provides a good illustration of an activity where the frontiers between traditional disciplines have been crossed, since it many of the techniques and equipment of mountaineering, climbing, hiking and swimming in white-water areas. The ‘new’ mountain leisure sports, in their diversity, thus have something in common, a deep-rooted ambiguity. That is to say, they have made use of all the supporting environmental elements of the endogenous mountain activities – land, water and air – and also use largely exogenous techniques borrowed from ‘non-mountain’ disciplines. This openness to other disciplines, however, is not only technical, but also enables an integration of values from the main trends in modern sports culture. A review of these main trends will make it easier to understand the inescapable context within which mountain and adventure sports are developing. Insights into this context may be gained by examining five major phenomena: • • • • •

the development of individual sports as opposed to collective sports; the diversification of sports participation models; the exaggerated segmentation of sports disciplines; the changes and adaptations of winter sports by consumers; and, the mythology of adventure in natural environments.

The increasing development of individual sports as opposed to collective sports This phenomenon is in line with a change in mentality towards ‘neoindividualism’, corresponding to renewed interest in personal development. It is related to the increase and health and fitness (Hall, 1992), the 107

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move towards ‘active’ participation in travel (Krippendorf, 1987) and the ‘de-institutionalisation’ of social practices, two notions which are linked to the involvement or representation of the body through physical practices, as well as the grouping of participants within ‘peer groups’ external to sports institutions such as sports clubs and federations. Diversification of sports participation models This trend is manifest through the generalisation of ‘multi-sports participation’, which is reflected in a very marked segmentation of sports behaviour and the emergence of a versatile public perhaps more interested in participating in multiple sports. The opening growth of sport activities and their diversification is also enabling women as well as families to participate more in activities which have long been dominated by male participation. For instance as some authors note (such as Mitchell, 1983; Hall & McArthur, 1991) demographic profiles suggest that the ‘average’ adventure tourist is more likely to be male although this may differ depending on specific activities with a larger number of females participating in cycling than traditional outdoor activities. It is those activities which lend themselves most easily to individual activity and are associated with health and fitness which are experiencing the highest growth rates in the French alps. Exaggerated segmentation of sports disciplines The divisions within sports disciplines are continually evolving as new methods and conditions are adopted by the different participant groups, of varying size, driven by the search for new and original experiences and a distinctive identity. In the case of mountain and adventure sports, this segmentation phenomenon concerns both the winter and the summer season, and is reflected as much in specialisation as in a sporting, spatial and seasonal hybridisation; pedestrian hiking has been extended to trekking, mountain back-packing, long-distance rallies, canyoning, mountain biking and snow-shoe hiking. Mountaineering has been extended or transformed into rock climbing, icefall climbing, ski-mountaineering, glacier hiking and para-mountaineering (mountaineering and parascending). As for skiing, it has given rise to monoskiing, snowboarding, speed skiing, telemark skiing, mogul skiing, off-piste skiing, free-ride, skimountaineering, cross-country ski-hiking, ski-jorring and ski-pulka (some of these activities are also discussed by Hudson Chapter 4 in more detail). 108


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Adaptation of sports activities to the constraints of urban life This adaptation is reflected in the installation and use of sports facilities in urban and semi-urban areas. It encourages the development of disciplines which can be indulged in when leisure time is both compressed and fragmented, by facilitating participation throughout the year. Those disciplines which are traditionally enjoyed as holiday sports – climbing, scuba diving, white-water sports – can thus be practiced in a more continuous manner, throughout the year. Thus the artificial variants of the sports activities concerned tend to become autonomous with respect to their standard natural environment, whereas at the beginning they were only a pretext for training. One of the best examples available today is provided by rock climbing, where the development of artificial training structures has led to the emergence of a clientele of urban climbers. However, centres have also been created in urban areas – or are in the process of being created – for parascending, scuba diving, horseriding and white water and icefall activities in France. Similar processes are also taking place in other parts of the world with the creation of indoor ski arenas, mountain climbing facilities and even indoor surfing. The mythology of adventure in natural environments Individual and collective adventure sports, whether competitive or not, portray images of performance, dynamism and challenge, and reflect values of competition, rivalry and economic success which have become dominant cultural references. The mountains and the natural environment which provide the setting for participation in such sports occupy a special place in this real or symbolic confrontation of existence with uncertainty, risks and destiny. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, this represents a striking renewal of the social significance of testing oneself against the natural environment. This set of structural trends is impacting upon the leisure sports ‘market’ by influencing the permanent interaction between supply and social, cultural and economic demand to which the different activities are subject. This context is marked by the active role of the media in the diffusion of ‘sports’ models and in the democratisation of participation. In most of the disciplines concerned, the specialised press in fact plays a fundamental role in initiating participants to techniques, equipment, cultural codes and languages which lay the foundations for the identity of the sports ‘tribes’. Stebbins (1982) notes special interest tourists (including 109

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adventure tourists) have unique norms, beliefs and principles associated with a particular chosen activity and a particular ‘career path’ associated with participation in that activity involving challenge and mastery over their respective activity (such as adventure or sports activities).

Mountain Leisure Sports and the Tourism Economy The growth in the range of outdoor leisure activities offered in mountain areas has called into question certain touristic hierarchies, on different scales. At the regional level, the development of white water sports, for example, has provided considerable new impetus to summer tourism in certain mountain valleys in the Alps and the Pyrenees. At the local level, leisure sports have also helped numerous village resorts put new life into their tourist activities in the face of competition from larger resorts, simply by developing their natural potential. In other words, this has been achieved without the need for costly investment, which is hardly the case for sports such as golf or tennis which often require infrastructural investment. This trend has been further helped by the fact that the development of leisure sports is often based on the initiative of an increasing number of private operators: rafting bases, mountain bike rentals, mountain specialists and sports clubs. The touristic activity linked to this development has been reflected in a remarkable restoration of the balance between the main poles of mountain tourism, with the valley zones experiencing a faster growth rate than the high altitude areas. While in traditional mountain tourism the valley/highland dichotomy is reflected in the limit between a discredited passivity (at the bottom) and more esteemed sporting activity (at the top), the ‘new’ leisure sports are more generally practiced in the valley bottom or immediate vicinity. This observation is, of course, valid for white-water disciplines, but also for mountain biking and even rock climbing. In most of the high alpine valleys, minor rocky outcrops, which generations of mountaineers had not even noticed, are now rivaling the high mountain areas in terms of the number of climbers they attract. This phenomenon has given a new lease of life to touristic valleys, most of which lend themselves readily to this central theme of touristic life which is the spontaneous sharing of visual games in which the participants interact in their search to be distinctive, to find an identity and to seduce. Whitewater sports, climbing and mountain biking are group or family activities which take place in areas easily accessible to non-participants, who thus become spectators instead of being completely excluded as they were in the past. 110


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Toward Town-Nature ‘Zapping’ The making of adventure sports available to a larger public underlines the radical change in images and values that has taken place with respect to mountain sports. The promotion of sporting sensations and of the relationship with fitness and activity tourism in a controlled environment eliminates the perception of the risks and constraints of these disciplines. This holds true even when the sport itself can be quite demanding. Hence, the image of fun associated with these new activities enables them to go beyond the former cultural limits of mountain sports. Even the geographical limits are crossed, since rock climbing, mountain biking, white-water sports and, to a lesser extent, icefall climbing and parascending, are increasingly enjoyed in rural and urban environments. Since the beginning of the 1980s, there has been a trend toward the development of those disciplines which are best able to meet the need for rapid ‘consumption’: snowboarding, rock climbing, icefall climbing, rafting, hydrospeed, mountain biking. On the other hand, disciplines such as mountaineering and ski-mountaineering, which require considerable investment in terms of travel, access and knowledge of the natural environment, are tending to stagnate or regress, and participation is becoming more focused on itineraries which have been developed and made safer (Boredeau, 1995b). These are generally the best known itineraries, and thus the most ‘profitable’, from a sports and social point of view. The evolution of the time required for participating in mountain leisure sports is perfectly in line with the notion of ‘compressed’ time and the segmented life styles of modern urban society. In some ways, it constitutes spatio-temporal, corporal and emotional ‘zapping’, the rhythm of which is strictly governed within the context of a space-time budget conditioned by professional, family, economic, cultural and geographical constraints. Furthermore, in terms of accommodation, although frugality, and even discomfort, was traditionally the rule, participants today seem more demanding, requesting facilities closer to those expected in hotels, an observation which holds true even for mountaineering, ski-mountaineering and hiking.

Sport Tourism and Sustainable Development: The Future Stakes The great change in mountain tourism The relaunching of a touristic model based on winter–summer complementarities has attracted considerable interest from those observers who 111

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had vainly issued warnings to winter resort managers about the dangers of a downhill skiing ‘monoculture’. If the prospect of a seasonal balance being restored is now in the French Alps it is first because the resorts and touristic valleys have actively sought a solution to the crisis of winter tourism. It is also because summer leisure sports, through upgrading and diversification, have become an attractive component of mountain tourism. However, it is not only the favourable socio-economic situation, but also the change in the perception of the mountain environment which has given rise to the rapid development of new sports disciplines: search for activity sites, new training requirements, a certain lassitude with regard to traditional mountain sports, search for distinctiveness, originality and sensations more in line with the dominant values of modern sports culture. In this context, new tourism development models are appearing, contributing to a weakening of the link between tourism development and ‘heavy’ investment, which for a long time was considered ‘organic’. What is at stake in this process is the gradual recomposition of the mountain tourism landscape, involving a restoration of the balance between development poles, the complementarity of which has for a long time been neglected: winter/summer, altitude/valley, sport/tourism, resorts/ villages, development/social and cultural life. Contradictory relationships with the alpine environment The question of the environmental impact of the use of mountain areas for sports purposes involves numerous complex aspects (and is also discussed in Chapter 4). Indeed, for a long time it was sufficient for mountain leisure sports to distance themselves from downhill skiing and motorised sports to ensure a clear conscience for their participants. Since the beginning of the 1990s, however, this simplistic assumption appears less and less plausible in the face of the growing number of sports activity itineraries and sites, which are being used – or even overused – by an increasingly diversified public. Even if the majority of sports participants are hardly aware of the possible impact of their activities on the environment, the following two observations are particularly relevant: (1) The diversification of adventure and mountain sports is placing increasing pressure on the environment, through the multiplication of itineraries and sites: itineraries for pedestrian hikers, horse-riding, mountain biking or canyoning; take-off areas for parascending; landing stages for rafting; climbing sites (the number of which 112


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increased in France from 850 in 1986 to 2000 in 1999). Generally, the opening of a new itinerary or site has been motivated by an unrelenting search for new experiences, but there is an increasing desire to find solutions to the problems of overuse by increasing the geographical supply of a particular activity. Because of these two factors, mountain sports are particularly heavy consumers of space. (2) It is true that adventure and mountain sports are very diverse, and that their impact on the natural environment is obviously not uniform. For example, rock climbing sites are vertical and use a relatively small surface area, where environmental problems seem relatively easy to delimit and control. However, this is not the case with other leisure sports where itineraries tend to meander and are far less clearly defined – hiking, mountain biking, canyoning, for example. In this respect, it must be admitted that certain sites, which were formerly afforded a certain degree of protection by their isolation or inaccessibility, are now subject to increasingly intensive use with the appearance of new sports techniques and activities, such as parascending, canyoning, and so on. A challenge: Heritage management of activity areas Mountain sports are at one and the same time criticised for their negative impact on the environment and praised for their socialising virtues, and as such have given rise to a paradox which is difficult to deal with. Although they generate a type of tourism which can be considered ‘soft’, since it is diffuse, non-motorised, and does not require large installations, they are nonetheless no longer exempt from questions relating to their social and environmental impact. Similarly, they are no longer spared the conflicts over use between sports participants and rural residents, or between the participants in ‘rival’ disciplines. It is in this context that procedures for regulating, zoning and even prohibiting use are gradually increasing in the French and European mountain areas, and that isolated attempts at introducing quota systems or access tolls are beginning to appear (for example, the case of the vie ferrate in France). More than ever, the challenge of sustainable tourism development in the Alpine Arc region therefore seems to depend on heritage management of areas used for sports purposes. Such heritage management could be achieved through extensive planned development of local resources, taking into account their reversibility and their transmissibility by considering the interplay of cultural, social, environmental and economic factors. 113

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Conclusion Through their status in the social imaginary, and their tradition as a playground enriched with new recreational potential, mountain areas constitute points of reference ‘par excellence’ in the relations between the urban milieu and the natural environment. For this reason, they represent an important resource on the French and European tourist market, benefiting both from a strong image and a well-established touristic know-how. A resource to be cultivated over time, in accordance with its geographic, historical, cultural, social and environmental specificities. However, although mountain areas have once again become a credible tourist resources for summer use, this has only been achieved at the expense of a diversification of activities and a change in the image of the sports which are enjoyed there. This phenomenon is accompanied by a general process which has seen a greater awareness of the need for quality and sustainability in tourism development and management. The notions of ‘soft’, ‘extensive’, ‘integrated’, ‘integral’, ‘harmonious’, ‘controlled’ or ‘sustainable’ tourism used in Europe and throughout the world, reflect this recent concern for a more responsible tourism. In the field of adventure and mountain sports, the sporting ethic provides participants and their clubs and federations with converging references, enabling them to dialogue in a constructive way with the managers of protected areas and public authorities. The high and mid-altitude mountain massifs obviously provide an ideal area for measuring the phenomena analysed in this chapter. However, one of the most remarkable consequences of the recent growth in adventure sports tourism is the spread of such activities beyond the mountains to most of the mountain or even hilly rural areas capable of providing a quality environment. For many of these rural areas, sports tourism is gradually taking over from agriculture as the motor for spatial management, and is bringing about a radical change in spatial patterns with many of the activity sites concerned (rocky escarpments, mountain torrents, canyons) located at the margins of those areas traditionally used and developed for agriculture or stock rearing. This reversed image of rural cultivated areas is combining with agricultural decline to renew the social and environmental challenges of regional planning and management, not only in terms of land use but also in terms of perceptions. In addition, the sites for different forms of sports tourism are tending to become structured at the scale of micro-regions which, within a 30-kilometre radius, link several sites of the same size or several secondary sites around one major site (for example, the Buëch area of the French Pre-Alps). 114


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This evolutionary process affecting the use and representation of mountain and rural areas is reflected in the emergence of new spatial systems, with new meanings and identities, within which the recreational use of the basic environmental resources (land, water, air) interplays with cultural values (hospitality, atmosphere, images) and economic values (services, commercial development, professional supervision) to produce new development models. The ‘playground of Europe’ that Leslie Stephen spoke of in the nineteenth century when referring to the Alps, is certainly not without a future as long as the principles of quality and sustainability with respect to sports and tourism are implemented in a concrete manner, as indeed they should be throughout the world.

Key Questions (1) What are the major dynamics or drivers that have influenced the growth of active sport tourism in the French Alps? (2) In your view, what will be the future of winter sport tourism in alpine areas in the context of global warming? (3) How has technology influenced the development of active forms of sport tourism with reference to alpine environments?

Active Learning Exercise List as many sport tourism activities as you can think of that can be undertaken in an alpine context. Based on this list, what are some of the ways in which the alpine environment can provide for sport tourism activities but also protect the fragile natural environment? How could the alpine region be planned and developed to minimise conflicts between activity types (i.e. hikers and mountain bikers)?

Further Recommended Reading Bourdeau, P. (1998) Les Alpes comme terrain de jeu de l’Europe. In Commission Internationale Pour la Protection des Alpes CIPRA. Rapport sur l’État des Alpes (pp. 252–59). Edisud, Aix-en-Provence. Federaton of Natural Parks Regional Development (1993) Loving Them to Death? The Need for Sustainable Tourism in Europe’s Nature and National Parks. Grafenau: FNPE. Mountain Agenda (1999) Mountain of the World: Tourism and Sustainable Mountain Development. Berne: Centre for Development and Environment, Institute of Geography, University of Berne. 115

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References Bourdeau, P. (1995a) Tourisme diffus et développement territorial: le cas du tourisme sportif de nature. Actes du colloque de Clermont-Ferrand 1994 (pp. 73–88). Comité national de Géographie. Commission de géographie du tourisme et des loisirs, Université Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand. Bourdeau, P. (1995b) L’escalade, entre sport et tourisme, Agence Française de l’Ingénierie Touristique. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale. Fluker, M. and Turner, L. (2000) Needs, motivation, and expectations of a commercial white-water rafting experience. Journal of Travel Research 38 (4), 380–9. Hall, C.M. (1992). Adventure, sport and health tourism. In B. Weiler and C.M. Hall (eds) Special Interest Tourism (pp. 141–58). Belhaven: London. Hall, C.M. and McArthur, S. (1991) Commercial whitewater rafting in Australia: History, development and profile. Leisure Options: Australian Journal of Leisure and Recreation 1 (4), 25–31. Holloway, C. (1994) The Business of Tourism (4th edn). London: Pitman. Krippendorf, J. (1987) Tourism in Asia and the Pacific. Tourism Management June, 137–9. Lavery, P. (1989) Travel and Tourism (2nd edn). Huntington: Elm. Mitchell, R.G. (1983) Mountain Experience: The Psychology and Sociology of Adventure. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Stebbins, R. (1982) Serious leisure: A conceptual statement. Pacific Sociological Review 25, 251–72.

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Chapter 6

More Than Just a Game: The Consequences of Golf Tourism CATHERINE PALMER

Introduction Golf is a hugely popular sport. As a leisure activity, it is played and enjoyed by millions worldwide. As a profession, it enables a talented few to earn substantial incomes from the game. Not just from the prize money but also from the plethora of associated marketing opportunities available to those players at the top of the sport. In a similar vein, golfing holidays are an established part of the sport/activity tourism market, with countries such as Spain, Portugal, the Bahamas, Dubai, Singapore and Thailand all well-established destinations on the itinerary of golf tourism. Despite the obvious economic benefits to be gained by destinations aiming to take advantage of golf’s popularity, there has been a steady flow of voices of concern about the impact of golf course developments, particularly in the less developed countries of the world. This chapter examines some of the key issues and concerns raised by these debates, focussing specifically upon the developing world as the contextual setting for the discussion because of the extent to which many of the countries within this category are dependent upon tourism as their main source of income. The chapter begins by outlining the key aspects of the relationship between tourism and the developing world, before going on to examine the consequences of golf tourism.

Learning Outcomes On completion of this chapter readers should have a sound understanding of: (1) The key contextual issues underpinning the relationship between golf tourism and the developing world. 117

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(2) The size and scope of the golf tourism market. (3) The major consequences of golf tourism in Less Developed Countries (LDCs). (4) The complex interplay of global forces affecting aspects of the future of tourism generally, and golf tourism in particular.

Tourism and the Less Developed World Defining which countries comprise what is commonly referred to as the ‘Developing World’ or the ‘Third World’ is difficult because of the considerable variation in not only national income per capita but also social, economic and political structures and systems (Todaro, 1989). In effect, any such label only has meaning in relation to that which it is defined against, for example, ‘First World’ as opposed to ‘Third World’. For the purposes of this discussion the more commonly used label ‘Less Developed Countries’ (LDC) is employed because it incorporates countries at different stages of economic development, such as Thailand, India and Dubai. Despite developmental diversity most LDCs have common problems and Todaro (1989: 18) defines some of these as widespread poverty, high and rising unemployment, growing income disparities, agricultural stagnation, international debt and ‘. . . increasing dependence on foreign and often inappropriate technologies, institutions, and value systems’. Structural difficulties such as these have placed many countries in what Burns (1999), among others, has referred to as a viscious cycle of poverty and deprivation. Changes in the world economic order which have seen agricultural industries decline in favour of a service sector that ‘consumes’ rather than produces has dramatically affected the economic development of most LDCs. This is primarily because their main source of income has tended to come from traditional pursuits like agriculture, fishing, forestry and mining. Some of these industries were put in place by colonial administrators to ensure, first, that the colony paid its way, and, second, a continuous supply of cheap commodities. Such industries flourished in the first place because there was often no alternative due to delimiting factors such as climate and geography. Put simply, shifting patterns of consumption and production meant that traditional industries were no longer able to support the economic needs of their populations, hence governments were forced to consider alternative ways of generating wealth. A key underlying problem is that most LDCs have, in a sense, been forced into a world economic system designed to meet the needs of the 118

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few rather than the many. For the few, this system is the result of a continually evolving pathway that has taken them from agro economies through to industrialisation and beyond to what are today sophisticated and technologically dependent market economies. Such changes have taken centuries to evolve whereas economically vulnerable countries have had only decades to adapt, placing them in the invidious position of always behind one step begin in a game where they do not set the rules. During the 1960s basic policy decisions aimed at facilitating economic development were formed around the concept of ‘comparative advantage’, the development of any industry for which countries were ‘best suited’, for example, by climate or the possession of certain natural resources such as sun, sea and sand (see Rostow, 1971; Todaro, 1989). As a result, the governments of many LDCs turned to tourism as a means of achieving economic growth (Pearce, 1989). However, a significant factor in the development of LDCs is their historical association with colonialism, which has had a profound effect upon the ability of LDCs to compete on an equal footing in the global market place. Most African and Asian countries and many in Latin America were once the colonial possession of either the British, Dutch, French or Spanish, who set about the economic, social and political reorganisation of their colonies in line with their own institutional frameworks back home (see Fanon, 1989; Palmer, 1994). Even though this colonialism has almost disappeared, the impacts and consequences are very much alive and kicking, and nowhere is this more evident than with international tourism (see Pattullo, 1996). Indeed, Britton (1982) has maintained that the emergence of tourism as a means of achieving economic independence is inextricably linked to the historical process of colonialism. This is because the legacy of the colonial era has been to place control of a country’s tourism development firmly back into the hands of those who once exercised colonial possession. Those destinations that once relied on their colonial rulers for economic welfare now rely on these same countries to provide the tourists to sustain their tourism industry. Michael Manley, in his foreword to Patty Pattullo’s book Last Resorts, concludes thus: the question which we dare not ignore is whether we, the Caribbean people, are going to have the wit and the will to make . . . (tourism) . . . the servant of our needs. If we do not, it will become our master, dispensing pleasure on a curve of diminishing returns while it exacerbates social divisions and widens that legacy of colonialism: the gap between small, comfortable minorities and large majorities barely surviving at the social margin. (Pattullo 1996: ix–x) 119

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A Simple Matter of Control Within the development and tourism literatures certain labels have emerged as key communicators of this relationship between tourist generating regions of the First World and tourist receiving destinations classified as LDCs. Terms such as ‘metropolitan’, ‘core’ or ‘north’ are taken to include the main Western democracies (Europe, North America, Australasia and Japan) from which most tourists emanate, whilst ‘periphery’ or ‘south’ refers to those counties within the less developed world to which these tourists are often attracted (Britton, 1982; English, 1986). Labels such as these posit an evaluative judgement as to the nature of this relationship between generating and receiving countries that is frequently seen as less favourable to the LDCs. This is due to the structural inequalities inherent in the relationship, such that LDCs are increasingly dependent upon the more affluent countries of the north (Lea, 1988; Burns & Holden, 1995). A dependency, with well-documented consequences, in terms of who controls the type of tourism developed and thus by implication who gains the most financially (Pattullo, 1996; Richter, 1989). LDCs are heavily reliant upon the richer countries of the north for both the tourists and key elements of the supply chain, such as air transport, travel agents, tour operators and hotels. Yet the tourism industry is becoming increasingly complex in its patterns of ownership and control, as seen by the system of vertical and diagonal (Poon, 1993) integration whereby certain firms seek to own and or control various stages of the production, delivery and marketing of their products. Thus airlines can own or form complex, beneficial relationships with hotels and car rental agencies, while tour operators can do the same with travel agencies, airlines and hotels. This concentration of ownership consolidates power; power to control prices charged to consumers and, more importantly for the present chapter, prices paid to suppliers, many of whom may have little choice but to accept what is on offer – for example, independent hoteliers at the destination. Noel Josephidies, managing director of Sunvil Holidays, gives a good illustration of the problems of foreign power through vertical/ diagonal integration in his home country, Cyprus: Money from tourism will end up in fewer pockets and that’s got to be bad. Tourism should bring wealth – not only to the big companies but to the guy in the street selling souvenirs. . . . Thomson combined with Preussag will control 20 to 30% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, so the operators don’t just control the hoteliers, they control the country. It’s very depressing. (quoted in O’Connor, 2000: 5) 120


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In addition to the problems cause by vertical integration, most LDCs require the management and technical expertise of foreign workers in order to deliver the kind of services expected by their more ‘sophisticated’ visitors, sophisticated at least in terms of their experiences of international travel. Indeed, Burns and Holden (1995) refer to the ‘world systems’ view of Wallerstein as a way of explaining how the complex, inexorable and unequal links that frame the global economic condition affect the hold that international tourism has over certain parts of the world. They argue that the term ‘mass tourism’ does not adequately reflect this unequal relationship because it says nothing about the ways in which this relationship affects different destinations. Instead, they coin the term ‘metatourism’ to describe that form of tourism which is dominated by metropolitan centres. For example, mass tourism occurs in places as diverse as Bondi Beach, Cannes in the South of France, the Bahamas and Saipan, yet the term is insufficient to describe a destination’s ability to both control and withstand the impact of large numbers of tourists. Tourism in Saipan is dominated by Japanese ownership and control, while Fiji has both foreign ownership and inbound air capacity constraints (Burns & Holden, 1995). Likewise, The Gambia is at far greater risk from the cessation of tourism than any industrialised nation, as seen by the devastation wrought by the cancellation of flights and package holidays as a result of a coup d’état in the 1990s (Mowforth & Munt, 1998). In the Bahamas nearly all hotels are foreign owned. During the 1970s and into the early 1990s several hotels were owned by the state-run Hotel Corporation as a way of both increasing local involvement and of ensuring that as much of the tourist dollar as possible remained in the country. This strategy was not successful due to many factors, not least of which was the inexperience of those running the corporation (Pattullo, 1996). Lack of education and experience are key reasons why many LDCs rely on foreign ownership and or management of hotels. Other reasons include the need to raise substantial sums of foreign investment in order to build and maintain the tourist infrastructure. Quite reasonably, institutions like the World Bank and individual companies like Hilton and Hyatt are not going to invest large sums of money without certain guarantees, such as appropriate management expertise. Yet no matter how ‘reasonable’ this may seem, it is very difficult for countries like the Bahamas, Antigua and Grenada to break out of what for them is a cycle of dependence on external finance and knowledge. It is also not in the interests of the large hotel corporations to give up what are for them lucrative consumer markets. 121

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In addition to the difficulties caused by foreign ownership, many LDCs have to import expensive consumer goods including food and drink from North America and Europe in order to satisfy the tourist (Gilmore, 2000). Road building and maintenance programmes ensure that the best-kept roads are often those roads leading from and to the airport and those roads around the major hotel and shopping centres. For example, Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, has long tree-lined roads in those parts of the capital that tourists tend to visit. Outside of these areas, in some of the poorer parts of the town, the roads are less carefully maintained and in places are more ‘pot hole’ than road. As the tourist often does not ‘see’ beyond the hotel, the beach and the shopping mall, there is no need to spend money outside of these areas. The point being made here is that despite the use of tourism as a tool for the economic development and wellbeing of particular countries, those people who are supposed to benefit the local communities themselves, often see little positive change in their lives as a result of tourism. In addition, the local people may have little or no ability to effect change either, having no political influence on decisions seemingly made on their behalf by governments. Problems of this kind continue, notably in Burma. (Blokhus, 2000; Mowforth & Munt, 1998). This lack of control over tourism and the impact of global forces are also discussed by Hall in Chapter 10 concerning the use of sport tourism by cities to regenerate. Hall raises questions concerning the real beneficiaries are from this regeneration process and whether sport tourism is a useful tool for social regeneration. This lack of control is also noted in Chapter 8 by Fredline who provides a useful argument concerning why residents should be involved in the planning of largescale sporting events. The above discussion provides an overview of the contextual framework underpinning the relationship between golf tourism and LDCs. There are other significant issues which arise from decisions to develop golf courses in countries that are not equipped to deal with such developments. These will be examined in the next section.

Golf Tourism and Fair Play The socio-economic consequences of golf tourism, particularly in the LDCs of the world, have not been heavily researched. Although most frequently included in the literature on the environmental impacts of tourism, the consequences of golf tourism cut across and through many of the points raised above. So while there are clearly issues concerning 122


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the way the environment is utilised to provide the physical space to build golf courses and their ancillary needs there are also social and political concerns that run alongside these issues. The significance of golf tourism as a niche market within the global tourism industry can be seen by the size of the market. It is estimated that there are between 25,000–30,000 golf courses world wide serving a market of 60,000,000 golfers spending around £12 million per year (AsiaGolf, 2002; Markwick, 2000). The importance of this market is illustrated by the existence of a specific trade association representing the interests of those businesses promoting golf tourism, the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO, 2002). There is no single reason for the burgeoning interest in golfing holidays but rather several interrelated and interdependent factors. For example, the global promotion of golf as a sport via the media, particularly the Sky Sports Channel, has helped to sustain golf’s prominence as a leisure activity, as have the plethora of what have been referred to as ‘coffee-table’ magazines designed for the amateur sports enthusiast (Bale, 1994). The number of people playing the game in the Western world has steadily increased over the years, especially amongst Japan’s wealthy cohort of golfers (Standeven & de Knop, 1999). Thailand denoted 1993 as the ‘Visit Thai Golf’ year, while there have been more recent moves to implement the so called Emerald Triangle Development Project to enable golfers to play a round of golf over three countries (Thailand, Laos and Cambodia) without the inconvenience of immigration formalities (New Frontiers, 2002). Golf is, therefore, not just a game but a serious business that has many consequences for tourist destinations aiming to attract the major golf market from countries such as North America, Japan and Great Britain. The consequences of golf tourism are not universally negative, as Markwick (2000) explains in relation to Malta. A golf course can lengthen a destinations ‘tourist season’ by attracting golfers wishing to play when the weather is unsuitable in their own country. Degraded or derelict areas could be turned into golf courses thereby extending the utility of what would otherwise be difficult land to develop. A golf course can assist in diversifying the usual high season summer tourist product by offering additional recreational facilities and so enhance a country’s competitiveness in the global tourism marketplace. There is also the potential for both direct and indirect job creation although putting exact figures on such a benefit is notoriously difficult (Cleverdon, 2000). So there are some benefits to the development of golf courses as there are for all forms of tourism. The key issue is the extent to which such developments are appropriate 123

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for both the geography of the country concerned and the people themselves. Indeed, Burns and Holden (1995: 157) maintain that some of the golf courses developed in LDCs such as Singapore, India, Cambodia and Sri Lanka are nothing like the type generally seen in Europe. ‘They are considerably larger, more like ‘golf cities’, consisting of perhaps up to three championship golf courses, luxury hotels, housing estates . . . leisure and shopping facilities’.

The Flip Side of Golf There have been an increasing number of voices raised over the past few years as to the negative consequences of golf course developments, and these concerns have not solely related to LDCs. For example, concerns have been expressed in both Japan and Australia over the negative environmental impacts of golf (Hall, 2001; JPGOLF, 2002; Warnken et al., 2001). Likewise, on the east coast of Maui Island in Hawaii, proposals to develop a golf course led to public protest and a deterioration of relations with residents opposed to the development (Wyllie, 1998). The main points of contention in Maui related to the economic viability of the proposal and the extent to which it would aversely affect the survival of the local community most affected by the development. An interesting aspect of the project, which illustrates a point made previously about the often complex patterns of ownership and control in tourism, is the fact that the company purchasing the land to be redeveloped, Keola Hana Maui Inc. (KHM) was made up of both local and foreign (Japanese) investors (Wyllie, 1998). Japanese involvement in the development of golf courses in Southeast Asia is extensive and in many ways exemplifies what Nash (1989) terms ‘tourism as imperialism’. The high population density and the small amount of available land on which to live have meant that the Japanese have been forced to look outside their country for recreational pursuits such as golf. In 2000, 17,800,000 overseas trips were made by the Japanese, with Asia accounting for over 47% of this total (Tee, 2002). The relative economic strength of the Japanese currency in the region, particularly in relation to the Singapore dollar, led to an outflow of money from Japan into cheaper overseas investments in both property and recreational activities (JAPGOLF, 2002; Tee, 2002). In response to the popularity of golf in Japan, countries within Asia (in particular Malaysia and Thailand) moved to develop golf courses to capitalise on this burgeoning market. However, moves such as this merely tie the less economically powerful country into an unequal ‘partnership’ with one side dependent upon the other for the 124


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tourists and their associated revenue. In addition, outside investors expect a return on their investment which means that profits made are sent out of the country rather than being recycled within the local economy. Hence Nash’s point about tourism as a form of imperialism (see also the seminal article by Britton, 1982). Overall, then, the most controversial development projects are those golf courses introduced into areas that have few developable resources and few alternatives to international tourism as a source of income and thus economic well being. As a result, there are four key issues around which opposition to the development of golf courses have been organised: • • • •

the irrelevance of golf courses to local needs; environmental impacts; sustainable use of resources; and political interference in and control over the planning process.

However, these issues cut across each other since decisions over whether a particular golf course is developed, where, and by whom, are always politically and commercially motivated, particularly in LDCs. In addition, any discussion of environmental impacts inevitably involves issues of sustainability. Opposition to golf course developments is becoming increasingly better organised and coordinated. For example, the Third World Network (TWN), a not for profit international network of organisations and individuals involved in development related issues in the Third World, have campaigned against golf course developments because of their negative environmental consequences (TWN, 2002). As has the Malaysia-based Asia-Pacific People’s Environmental Network (APPEN) and the Global Anti-Golf Movement (AsiaGolf, 2002). The British-based NGO Tourism Concern has also taken an interest in golf related issues (see Tourism in Focus, 1995). All these organisations are pressure groups with their own particular viewpoint and agenda, and, like all such groups, are open to charges of bias and selectivity. But the weight of evidence they produce and the number of destination specific examples they cite simply cannot be ignored. The following case studies examine of some of these issues. It is not only the environment that suffers when golf courses are developed in regions with fragile eco-systems, wildlife are also disrupted in the push to encourage more high-spending tourists by providing ever more sophisticated golf course developments.

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Case Study 1 Golf war in the Philippines Human Rights campaigners Jen Schradie and Matt Devries’ video entitled The Golf War is a detailed polemic against the development of a golf course in Hacienda Looc on the Luzon Island of the Philippines. The video outlines the struggle between the local community, the government and the developers over the proposed golf course. According to Schradie and Devries, three local people of Hacienda Looc have been killed protecting their land from the developers. Following a US Agency for International Development-funded report that recommended the beachfront area should be used for tourism, the Philippino Government ‘illegally’ sold this land to developers. Schradie and Devries further claim that the government later tried to justify their actions on the grounds that the land in question was unsuited to agriculture. The intended development comprises a luxury tourist resort, with four golf courses, which is clearly not intended to be used by the local community. Although the video includes contributions from people who support the development, the overwhelming intention of the producers is to lobby support for the local community of Hacienda Looc, struggling as they are with the much more powerful (economically and politically) forces arranged against them. Throughout the film is footage of the American golfer Tiger Woods, who emerges as a symbol of what Stancliffe (2000) refers to as the ‘see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil’ mentality characteristic of Western attitudes to global forces beyond their control. Further voices of concern have been raised over similar developments in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Source: Schradie and Devries (1999).

Case Study 2 Asia golf tourism Although golf tourism is well established in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines it is also spreading rapidly across India and the emerging economies of Vietnam, Laos and Burma. Golf


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course developments are among the fastest growing type of land around 160, Indonesia 90 and the Philippines 80. A significant issue is the social displacement of people from land required for golf course developments by governments eager for foreign exchange. These golf ‘refugees’ are often forced to move to the city, further adding to the myriad of social and ecological problems in the developing cities of Southeast Asia. The attractiveness of golf in this region is seen by the fact that green fees are often much cheaper than in the tourist’s home country. For example, Thailand’s average green fee is $20–30 as opposed to $100 elsewhere in the world. According to the Asia-Pacific People’s Environment Network (APPEN) ‘golf development is becoming one of the most unsustainable and damaging activities to people and the environment’. In particular, the golfer’s paradise of Asia has become a disaster for environmentalists as greens are carved out of paddy fields or virgin forest and cable cars transport golfers from one hole to the next. Farmers have been pressurised into selling their land to golf course developers with the obvious consequence of there being less available land from which to produce food for local communities. In addition, golf course developments entail the clearing of vegetation, the cutting back of forests and the creation of artificial landscapes which can lead to land erosion and thus inhibit the soil’s ability to retain water. In 1993, Ing Kanchanawanit argues that the sport is endangering Thailand’s environment with the use of pesticides, drought from excess water use and the creation of social elitism. In this region, of course, problems associated with sex tourism lie very near the surface. The relationship between sport and sex tourism is presently unclear. But it is worth noting that in Thailand the caddies are generally women and each golfer (who is typically male) has three to four such caddies – one to carry the clubs, one to carry the umbrella and another to carry a chair and water. The females are fairway servants of male golfers; with an extensive sex industry in Thailand women can also serve the lascivious desires of golf tourists between rounds. Source: AsiaGolf (2002); JAPGOLF (2002).

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Case Study 3 Sri Lanka elephants displaced by golf In Colombo, Sri Lankan wildlife experts and environmentalists are protesting against the move to expand a golf course to attract foreign tourists, arguing that it would adversely affect the natural habitat of elephants that live on and around the area. The government plans to expand the golf course as a way of attracting more up-market tourists who spend on average US$200 per day. The golf course in the Manaragala district is spread across some 100 acres (40 hectares) of land and is situated around 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of the capital of Colombo. Under its expansion plans the government has allowed the owners of the golf course to acquire several acres of adjacent agricultural land and forest area. Officials in the Ministry of Tourism argue that the expansion of the golf course would attract more Western tourists who not only visit the adjoining areas to see the wildlife but also travel to the Yala National Park in the southern district. Indeed, a senior ministry official is quoted as stating ‘tourist arrivals in the region could reach over a couple of thousand if the golf course is properly developed and marketed. It will change the economic conditions of the people living in the area, who are dependent on rains for agriculture’. However, a different view is put forward by wildlife conservationists who claim that the expansion plans spell disaster for both the human and the elephant populations in the region. Over 100 elephants living in the Handapanagala forest migrate to the Yala National Park every November to avoid the torrential forest rains. The elephants have taken the same path between the two forests twice a year, every year for centuries. Blocking the path would upset this pattern and cause distress to the elephants. The elephants’ return to the Handapanagala in search of water in May and then spend the summer in the forest. Charitha Gooneratne, general secretary of the Sri Lanka Wild Life and Nature Protection Society states that the golf course ‘. . . will block the path of elephants, forcing them to seek a new route through inhabited areas. If the elephants are unable to walk to the Yala National Park and remain trapped in Handapanagala forest, they may go berserk and storm the villages for water and food’. Source: Prasad (2000).

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Environmental Disruption Given the above examples it is clear that by far and away the most contentious consequence of golf tourism is damage caused to the environment. Indeed, King (2001) argues that golf resorts in Southeast Asia, targeted exclusively at the needs and expectations of overseas visitors, are often environmentally questionable because of the vast amounts of water they consume. Golf courses require around 3000 cubic metres of water per day, which is enough to meet the needs of 15,000 local people (AsiaGolf, 2002). Yet water is a scare resource for most LDCs and in the ordinary course of the day many local communities are forced to fetch their own water from lakes and reservoirs, while the tourist has water on demand for baths and showers (Holden, 2000). Font (1995) further states that British and other tourists expect to find the greenest-ever golf courses under the brightest sun. However, in many LDCs there is not enough annual rainfall to irrigate the crops let alone ensure that the grass on the golf course stays green throughout the year (see Elliott, 1994). In the Bahamas water has to be shipped in from neighbouring islands to the capital city of Nassau to ensure adequate water supplies. Golf courses in Barbados require 600,000 gallons of water per course per day to maintain their green colour under the heat of the tropical sun (Pattullo, 1996). In addition to problems caused by lack of water, the clearing of agricultural land or areas of rainforest in order to develop golf courses results in the creation of chemically dependent and environmentally unsound forms of monoculture. In this respect Anita Pleumarom, an activist with the Global Anti-Golf Movement in Bangkok, argues that golf courses in Thailand utilise many dangerous herbicides, some of which are toxic, to encourage the type of ‘perfect’ weed free grass expected by golfers from the richer countries of the north. One particular chemical used to encourage the grass to grow is aeolite, yet this is carcinogenic and like many other chemicals is almost impossible to remove in water treatment plants. The consequences for local farmers and for the wider community can be devastating, as Pleumarom (1992: 3) illustrates ‘golf courses located in upper catchment areas are particularly dangerous because the toxins are washed down and can contaminate fields and residential areas’. Some governments try to alleviate problems caused by general lack of water, not just that caused by diverging local supplies for golf courses and hotels. Bahri and Brissaud (1996) discuss the Tunisian government’s wastewater policy of the 1980s aimed at recycling wastewater for green belts, hotel gardens and golf courses. However, examples such as this are the exception rather than the rule. 129

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Conclusion Like all forms of tourism there are advantages as well as disadvantages inherent in the development of golf tourism facilities. Much needed foreign exchange is brought into those countries who most need it, although there is considerable disagreement as to exactly how much money stays in the country and how much goes out to such as tour operators, airlines and investors. In effect it is not golf tourism per se that is the root cause of the inequities in the relationship between tourism and LDCs but the global economic and political system within which tourism operates. Furthermore, as Harrison (2001) states, there is considerable regional variation in how these economic and political forces manifest themselves with some countries faring better than others. However, the three case studies offered in this chapter not only highlight the complexity of issues involved in the development of golf courses, they also illustrate how interconnected these issues really are. Political decisions impact upon planning decisions, planning decisions impact upon the environment and there is almost a continuum of losers and winners with the local people at one end and a modernising economy at the other. But in reality life is not as black and white as this. Local people can be winners or losers depending upon how decisions are interpreted and implemented. Also, local wealthy elites can be just as powerful as outside investors from more developed nations. However, according to lobbyists from the Anti-Golf Movement, the losers are always the environment and the local people. Certainly there are significant problems with golf course developments, not least of which are the environmental impacts and the displacement of local people from their land in order to make way for the courses. Issues such as these are not easily addressed, partly because there is disagreement as to the size of the problem for local people and the actual scale of environmental damage. Yet there is enough evidence to suggest that both these aspects are not as important to governments planning golf tourism facilities as are the potential increases in the number of tourists generated by such developments. Changing the way governments think and act is very difficult as most governments and policy makers, particularly in terms of tourism, react to market forces such that current and future trends have a greater impact on decision making than most lobbyists. In this respect the consumer of tourism, those of us who have the privilege to travel for pleasure and recreation, need to be more aware of the potential downside leisure activities we engage in, especially in countries other than our own. 130


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Back in 1989, Krippendorf called for a school for a more human tourism that educates the industry and the tourist about the consequences of tourism. A better-educated consumer has a greater chance of effecting change than a consumer who does not understand the potential problems caused by their activities. In many LDCs, public relations courses are run by governments or in schools to educate local people about how they should behave towards the tourist. The objective is that a good impression is made and the tourist will return the following year. The government of Bahama, for example, instigated ‘Bahamahost’ courses for taxi drivers, shop workers and straw market vendors to counteract complaints from tourists of rudeness and pressurised sales techniques. All of us should be educated to understand the ‘other’, not just those individuals who work in countries dependent upon the tourist dollar. Golfers should understand better the problems of golf courses in LDCs, the potential environmental concerns and the impact upon local communities so they can make informed choices as to where to go and on what basis. In this way consumer pressure could work alongside lobby groups to bring about change more effectively than at present. Such alliances do have an impact, as Richter (2001) shows, and there are examples of good practice in resort development (King, 2002) but these examples do not absolve the tourist from taking responsibility for their own leisure decisions. Golf may be a game for sportsmen and sportswomen, but for many LDCs it is more than a game – it is their livelihood.

Key Questions (1) What are the main defining characteristics of the development of tourism in LDCs? (2) Account for the burgeoning interest in golf tourism. (3) Debate three key consequences of the development of golf courses in LDCs.

Active Learning Exercise Select three to four travel brochures promoting golf tourism to destinations in south-east Asia and examine the type and range of facilities on offer. What additional information should golf tourists be made aware of in order to help them make informed decisions about where to go on holiday? Who is responsible for advising them of this information?

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Further Recommended Reading Britton, S. (1982) The political economy of tourism in the Third World. Annals of Tourism Research 19 (3), 331–58. Burns, P. and Holden, A. (1995) Tourism: A New Perspective. Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall. Harrison, D. (ed.) (2001) Tourism and the Less Developed World: Issues and Case Studies. Wallingford: CABI. Markwick, M. (2000) Golf tourism development, stakeholders, differing discourses and alternative agendas: The case of Malta. Tourism Management 21, 515–24.

Websites american.edu/TED/AsiaGolfF.HTM american.edu/TED/JAPGOLF.HTM american.edu/TED/JPGOLF.HTM golfwar.org oneworld.net (key words golf, golf and tourism) tourismconcern.org.uk twnside.org.sg/tour.htm References AsiaGolf (2002) Asia Golf Tourism. http://www.american.edu/TED/ASIAGOLF. HTM (online accessed 20 March 2002). Bahri, A. and Brissaud, F. (1996) Wasterwater reuse in Tunisia: Assessing a national policy. Water, Science and Technology 33 (10–11), 87–94. Bale, J. (1994) Landscapes of Modern Sport. Leicester: Leicester University Press. Blokus, K. (2000) Dictating Poverty. Tourism in Focus. Tourism in Focus Summer, 36, 13–16. Britton, S. (1982) The political economy of tourism in the Third World. Annals of Tourism Research 19 (3), 331–58. Burns, P. and Holden, A. (1995) Tourism: A New Perspective. Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall. Burns, P. (1999) Paradoxes in planing tourism, elitism or brutalism? Annals of Tourism Research 26 (2), 329–48. Cleverdon, R. (2000) Figure it out. Tourism in Focus Summer, 36, 14–15. English, P. (1986) The Great Escape: An Examination of North–South Tourism. Ottawa: The North-South Institute. Elliott, J. (1994) An Introduction to Sustainable Development. London: Routledge. Fanon, F. (1989) Studies in a Dying Colonialism. London: Earthscan. Font, X. (1995) Golf: Dehydrating Spain. Tourism in Focus Autumn, 17, 11. Gilmore, J. (2000) Faces of the Caribbean. London: Latin American Bureau. Hall, C. Michael (2001) Japan and tourism in the Pacific rim: Locating a sphere of influence in the global economy. In D. Harrison (ed.) Tourism and the Less Developed World: Issues and Case Studies (pp. 121–36). Wallingford: CABI. 132


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Harrison, D. (2001) Tourism and less developed countries: Key issues. In D. Harrison (ed.) Tourism and the Less Developed World: Issues and Case Studies (pp. 23–46). Wallingford: CABI. Holden, A. (2000) Environment and Tourism. London: Routledge. IAGTO (2002) International Association of Golf Tour Operators. http://www. Iagto. com (online accessed 12 July 2002). JAPGOLF (2002) Japan and Golf. http://www. american.edu/TED/JAPGOLF. HTM (online accessed 12 July 2002). JPGOLF (2002) Japan Golf Courses and Deforestation. http://www.american. edu/TED/JPGOLF.HTM (online accessed 20 March 2002). King, B. (2002) Resort-based tourism on the pleasure periphery. In D. Harrison (ed.) Tourism and the Less Developed World: Issues and Case Studies (pp. 175–90). Wallingford: CABI. Krippendorf, J. (1989) The Holidaymakers. Understanding the Impact of Leisure and Travel. Oxford: Heinemann. Lea, J. (1988) Tourism and Development in the Third World. London: Routledge. Markwick, M. (2000) Golf tourism development, stakeholders, differing discourses and alternative agendas: The case of Malta. Tourism Management 21, 515–24. Mowforth, M. and Munt, I. (1998) Tourism and Sustainability: New Tourism in the Third World. London: Routledge. Nash, D. (1989) Tourism as a Form of Imperialism. In V. Smith (ed.) Host and Guests. The Anthropology of Tourism. (2nd edn) (pp. 37–52). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. New Frontiers (2002) Briefing on Tourism, Development and Environment Issues in the Mekong Subregion 8 (1), January–February. http://www.twnside.org.sg/ tour.htm (online accessed 2 July 2002). O’Connor, J. (2000) The big squeeze. Tourism in Focus Summer, 36, 4–5. Palmer, C. (1994) Tourism and colonialism: The experience of the Bahamas. Annals of Tourism Research 21 (4), 792–811. Pattullo, P. (1996) Last Resorts. The Cost of Tourism in the Caribbean. London: Cassell. Pearce, D. (1989) Tourism Development (2nd edn). Harlow: Longman. Pleumarom, A. (1992) Course and effect: golf tourism in Thailand. The Ecologist 22 (3), 104–10. Poon, A. (1993) Tourism, Technology and Competitive Strategies. Wallingford: CABI. Prasad, R. (2002) Sri Lanka caters to tourist golfers at elephants’ expense. Environment News Network. http://www. ens.lycos.com/ens/jan2000/2000 L-01–03–01.html (online accessed 2 July 2002). Richter, L. (1989) The Politics of Tourism in Asia. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii. Richter, L. (2001) Tourism challenges in developing nations: Continuity and Change at the Millennium. In D. Harrison (ed.) Tourism and the Less Developed World: Issues and Case Studies (pp. 47–59). Wallingford: CABI. Rostow, W. (1971) The Stages of Economic Growth (2nd edn). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Schradie, J. and Devries, M. (Directors) (1999) Golf War (videotape). California: Anthill Productions. Stancliffe, A. (2000) Reviews. Tourism in Focus Summer, 36, 18–9. 133

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Standeven, J. and De Knop, P. (1999) Sport Tourism. Leeds: Human Kinetics. Tee, K.H. (2002) Country Report Japan. http://www.american.edu/TED/JPGOLF. HTM (online accessed 12 July 2002). Third World Network (2002) http://www.twnside.org.sg/tour.htm (online accessed 2 July 2002). Todaro, M. (1989) Economic Development in the Third World (4th edn). London: Longman. Tourism in Focus (1995) Water, water everywhere (but not a drop to drink). Tourism Concern Autumn, 17. Warnken, J. Thompson, D. and Zakus, D. (2001) Golf course development in a major tourist destination: Implications for planning and management. Environmental Management 27 (5), 681–96. Wyllie, R. (1998) Hana revisited: Development and controversy in a Hawaiian tourism community. Tourism Management 19 (2), 171–8.

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Chapter 7

Exploring Small-Scale Sport Event Tourism: The Case of Rugby Union and the Super 12 Competition BRENT W. RITCHIE

Introduction and Background A growing number of researchers and authors have noted the growth of sport tourism (Gibson, 1998; Standeven & De Knop, 1999; Hinch & Higham, 2001; Ritchie & Adair, 2002) which is discussed in Chapter 1 of this book. To date most attention regarding sport tourism has tended to focus on event sport tourism or larger spectator events such as ‘hallmark’ or ‘mega’ events (Green & Chalip, 1998; Gibson, 2002) at the expense of small-scale sport events. Higham (1999) suggests that small-scale sport events can produce positive impacts for host communities without a number of negative impacts often associated with large scale ‘hallmark’ or ‘mega’ events such as the Olympic Games. Larger events may have downsides or long term negative consequences such as displacement of residents, large opportunity costs, can often be politically driven and may impact negatively upon host community quality of life (see for instance Hall, 1992; Hiller, 1998; Olds, 1998; Chapters 8 and 10 of this book). According to Higham (1999: 87) small-scale sport events include ‘regular season sporting competitions (ice hockey, basketball, soccer, rugby leagues), international sporting fixtures, domestic competitions, Masters or disabled sports, and the like’. Higham (1999) suggests that these smaller events may use existing infrastructure, require reduced investment of funds, can minimise tourism seasonality and are more manageable than larger ‘hallmark events’. However, to date little empirical research has been conducted into small-scale event sport tourism and their implications for destinations. Few studies have examined or profiled 135

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sport tourists attending small-scale sport events and their travel behaviour or potential as tourism marketing and development tools. This chapter discusses rugby union competitions as a small-scale sport event type and its potential for tourism development. It outlines the lack of literature and research focusing on small-scale sport events before discussing research undertaken to profile sport event tourists to the Super 12 rugby union competition. The chapter outlines the travel behaviour and economic development implications of the competition to Canberra, Australia and outlines future issues concerning the leveraging of smallscale sport event competitions found in sport such as rugby union. However, first the chapter introduces readers to the literature concerning sport event tourism, small-scale sport event tourism and sport tourist profiling. Learning outcomes On completion of this chapter readers should: (1) Understand how sport event tourism fits with the concept of sport tourism generally. (2) Recognise the tourism potential of small-scale sport events and competitions. (3) Be able to consider the interrelationship, if any, between spectator sport and tourism behaviour. (4) Understand the need for further research examining small-scale sport event competitions and their potential role in tourism marketing and development. Conceputalising sport event tourism Sport tourism, according to Gibson (1998: 45) can be divided into three categories; active sport, event sport and nostalgia, with event sport tourists referring to people who travel to watch a sporting event. Green and Chalip (1998) note that the distinction between attendance at sport events versus participation in sport activities. Similarly, Standevan and De Knop (1999), suggest that sport tourists can either be passive or active. Passive sport tourists are people who do not participate within a sporting activity but purely spectate. However, active sport tourists actively participate in sporting or leisure activities during their holiday or vacation. Standevan and De Knop (1999: 12) define sport tourism as ‘all forms of active and passive involvement in sporting activity, participated in 136

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causally or in an organised way for non-commercial or business/commercial reasons that necessitate travel away from home and work locality’. Similarly, Gammon and Robinson (1997) have related notions as to what constitutes a sport tourist and classify them as either ‘hard’ or ‘soft’. A ‘hard’ sport tourist is a person who specifically travels for either active or passive involvement in competitive sport, their prime motivation for travel is sport. The ‘soft’ sport tourist is someone who is primarily involved in recreational participation in sporting/leisure interest (Gammon & Robinson, 1997: 3). In other words, sport tourists can be motivated primarily by the sport or by travel and are either passive sport tourist spectators or active sport tourist participants. In conceptualising sport tourism Kurtzman (2000) developed a number of ‘sport tourism categories’ including sport tourism attractions, sport tourism resorts, sport tourism cruises, sport tourism tours, sport adventure tourism and sport events tourism. More recently, Hinch and Higham (2001) believe that surprisingly, previous definitions of sport tourism have vague connections with the concept of sport. They therefore define sport tourism as ‘sport-based travel away from the home environment for a limited time, where sport is characterised by unique rule sets, competition related to physical prowess, and a playful nature’ (Hinch & Higham, 2001: 49). They argue that little integration between the two domains of sport and tourism has occurred to date, while many other authors note the need for integration between the two domains and for greater cooperation between sport and tourism providers (Glyptis, 1991; Weed, 1999; Gibson, 2002; Ritchie & Adair, 2002). Small-scale sport events tourism Despite the popularity and number of small-scale sporting events, little research has been published concerning the nature or tourism potential of small-scale sport events, and less concerning sporting competitions or indeed rugby union competitions and tourism. Research initiatives in Australia, such as research into domestic sport tourists by the Bureau of Tourism Research (BTR, 2000), have shown that a total of 12,900,000 domestic trips were undertaken to participate in, watch or organise a sporting event in Australia during 1999. Similar to this study, research concerning small-scale sport events has usually examined either spectator/passive sport events or participatory/active sport events, both of which are subsequently discussed in this section of the chapter. Irwin and Sadler (1998) noted the tourism potential of fans travelling to view university sport events in the USA with emphasis on fans travel 137

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planning and expenditure patterns. Walo et al. (1996) examined the National University Games in Australia in 1995 and noted that the event acted as an attraction for the local region. However, Granham (1996) noted that although the Ranfurly Sheild rugby union match in New Zealand produced high levels of spending by visitors there were winners and losers, with the retail sector missing out as visitors were ‘partying rather than shopping’. Higham and Ritchie (1996) noted how a single Bledisloe Cup rugby match between New Zealand and Australia hosted in New Zealand in 1993, boosted the accommodation occupancy in the host destination from a normal low season rate of 40–50% for the month to over 60% from just 80 minutes of rugby union. Gibson et al. (2002) also discovered the potential use of small-scale sport events by examining fans attending the University of Florida football matches. Richards (2002) in unpublished research involving residents in a 260 kilometre radius of Canberra, Australia discovered that 46% of respondents had at some stage in the past visited Canberra for sport, while 17% of respondents had visited Canberra in the last 12 months to support a national sporting team. Concerning active small-scale sport event tourism, Ritchie (1996, 1998) examined the economic impact and development of the New Zealand Masters Games in Dunedin, New Zealand over several years. Ritchie (1996, 1998) noted that although the event was held during the peak tourist season many sport tourists had domestic origins and stayed with friends and relatives. Subsequently their demand for formal accommodation was low and they visited attractions in small numbers due to their origins and motivations. The attendees complemented the peak tourism product at a time of the year when students left for their summer holidays and retailers, bars and restaurants needed increased revenue. However, Ritchie (1998) noted a change in event strategy by managers in 1998 to attract more sport tourists from further afield including international participants. Ritchie (1998) was cautious due to potential overcrowding and displacement of summer visitors due to an influx of games participants and due to changing tourist motivations and behaviour of these participants. Ritchie (1998) suggests that this could lead to problems unless the event is planned and managed effectively by the organisers, and to date the use of empty student accommodation has helped alleviate the stress on accommodation stock. Higham and Ritchie (2001) also noted a growth of small-scale rural sporting events in Southern New Zealand which mirror the growth in sport event tourism in New Zealand. Sport event organisers used the landscape of the region to host active sporting events such as marathons and endurance races. Other research such as that by Green 138


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and Chalip (1998) examined participants in a flag football tournament in the USA and in particular the motivation and desire of participants, while Pitts (1999) examined gay and lesbian sport tourists at the Gay Games. However, despite such research the detailed examination of active smallscale sport event tourism is rare. Yet the potential marketing and economic development benefits for destinations are similar, yet smaller in size and scope than ‘hallmark’ or ‘mega’ sporting events which tend to generate the most interest from researchers, policy makers and planners alike. The potential tourism development of small-scale sport events rests with an understanding of active or passive sport tourist motivations and behaviour to help providers and managers leverage small-scale sport events for the benefit of the tourism industry. Rugby union and the Super 12 competition As mentioned previously, Higham (1999) suggests that small-scale sport events such as sporting competitions and fixtures can have positive impacts for host destinations and for the tourism industry. Higham and Hinch (2002) note the growth of sporting competitions which are no longer contained in one season. Examples include the expanded European Football competition, Super League and rugby union seasons (among others) which could have major tourism related marketing and development implications for host destinations. The growing professionalism of rugby union since the mid-1990s has seen many changes to the sport. One major change has been the introduction of the Super 12 rugby union competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The competition has led to the development of a franchise system developing 12 regional teams for the countries involved which is packaged for consumption for both television audiences as well as visiting fans through entertainment and branding strategies implemented by the regional franchise teams. Research conducted by Ashworth (1999), on a small sample of 86 respondents in the Highlanders franchise of New Zealand, illustrated that over half of those questioned believed that since professionalism the appeal of rugby union had improved with 75% stating that it was now more entertaining since professionalism. Richards (2002) noted that rugby union supporters (18.4% of the sample) accounted for over 43% of those who travelled to Canberra to support a national sporting team. The vast majority of respondents either played sport themselves or had a family member who did so illustrating the interrelationship between sport and 139

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travel propensity or behaviour. From those respondents who had visited Canberra in the last 12 months for a rugby union match, 55% undertook a day trip while 34% stayed for 2–3 days and 8% for between 4–7 days (Richards, 2002). These results illustrate the potential for small-scale sport event tourism, and also the potential of rugby union competitions for promoting and developing small-scale sport event tourism. According to Higham and Hinch (2002) changes to rugby union have had an impact upon tourist flows in the Highlanders franchise in New Zealand. They note through interviews with sport and tourism managers in the region that attendance at Super 12 matches has altered the seasonality patterns of tourism. They argue that not only can such competitions provide positive economic and social benefits for host destinations, but they can also help reduce tourism seasonality and dependence on the summer tourist market as the sport season extends due to increased professionalism. Such findings again illustrate the potential of small-scale sport events and competitions compared with ‘hallmark’ or ‘mega’ sport events, and the influence changes in sport can have on tourism behaviour and travel patterns. However, to date few empirical studies have been undertaken concerning the tourism potential and impacts of the Super 12 rugby union competition despite its growing appeal by spectators. There has been no attempt to profile small-scale sport tourists attending these matches to examine the potential for small-scale sport tourism through competitions such as the rugby union Super 12. However, lessons learnt from such an exercise may be of value to organisers of similar sport competitions and the tourism industry generally. Furthermore, research may also shed light concerning the interrelationship, if any, between sport and tourism behaviour. Profiling small-scale sport tourists While tourism, and especially event and sport tourism, is receiving heightened attention the success of using sporting events for tourism purposes depends on the type of consumers that are attracted to certain sporting events and their motivations and behaviour. For instance, do sport tourism or sport events have major tourism flow-on benefits compared to other market segments such as eco-tourists and cultural tourists? Or are sports tourists motivated by the sport event and leave the destination contributing little to the tourism industry? Gibson et al. (2002: 5–6) note that ‘one of the challenges for sport and tourism associated with travelling fans may be understanding their motivations and recognising 140


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that, for some, their primary motivation is to watch the sporting competition’. This statement signals the potential difficulty in capturing some segments of that potential market. Quite correctly, Gibson (2002) calls for more research not only to profile active sport tourists but also to explore relationships between profiles and behaviour through integrative and explanatory research. Few studies have examined the linkages between sport and tourism behaviour. Nogowa et al. (1996) in Japan segmented fans by their length of stay and explored travel behaviour and differences between sport excursionists and sport tourists (those who stay more than 24 hours) during a sport tourism event. Gibson et al. (2002) explored the travel behaviour of small-scale sport event competitions through researching the University of Florida (USA) football team. They found that the potential tourist impact of these events is unrecognised in the sport tourism literature and that a high proportion of fans lived outside of the local community, thus generating tourism benefits to the host destination. As mentioned earlier Standevan and De Knop (1999) have identified two types of passive spectators that watch sport events termed ‘connoisseur’ and ‘casual’ observers. Connoisseur observers are ‘those who have extensive passive involvement and discriminating in the sports activity they watch as spectators or officiators’ (Standevan & De Knop, 1999: 13). Casual observers are those who ‘simply enjoy watching an event and who usually happen across it rather than plan their visit to attend it’ (Standevan & De Knop, 1999: 111). Taking into consideration Gammon and Robinson’s (1997) ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ definitions and sport tourist motivations toward the sport or travel, potential passive spectators may be dominated by travel/tourism or by sport. This suggests that passive spectators could perhaps range along a continuum from one end with ‘connoisseur’ or ‘avid’ spectators to ‘casual’ spectators at the other end. Other research concerning fanship suggests that team affiliation and motivation of sport tourists may impact upon travel and tourism behaviour (Irwin & Sadler, 1998; Gibson et al., 2002). Irwin and Sadler (1998) noted that fans with a team affiliation had higher expenditure patterns and suggest segmentation and further research on tourism behaviour based on team or sport affiliation. Literature from the special interest tourist literature (see Brotherton & Himmetoglu, 1997) suggests the potential for a middle group between avid and casual spectators/fans who may have mixed motivations between sport and tourism (frequent spectators or fans) which may impact upon their travel behaviour. The research discussed in the remainder of this chapter explores market segments that attended the Super 12 rugby union competition in 141

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Canberra, Australia, and in particular the relationship between spectators sport and tourism behaviour. The implications of the research are useful for researchers interested in small-scale sport tourism events and sport tourism generally, while this research attempts to address the lack of integrative research between sport and tourism behaviour as identified by Gibson (2002).

Research Methodology A survey was designed to examine sport tourist spectators sporting behaviour (such as their active involvement in sport and sporting clubs), their motivations (toward both sport and tourism) and their subsequent tourism and travel behaviour (such as expenditure patterns, involvement in activities and attractions, length of stay etc.). The survey encompassed the study of sport tourist spectators, 18 years and older attending the ACT Brumbies Super 12 matches at Bruce Stadium in Canberra, Australia. The research took place over the following two matches: • ACT Brumbies versus Wellington Hurricanes (from New Zealand) on Friday 21 April 2000; and the • ACT Brumbies versus Queensland Reds (from Australia) on Saturday 6 May 2000. A systematic random survey process was employed to gain an unbiased representation of these spectators. A total of 10 volunteers were stationed at key points throughout the stadium an hour and a half before the matches began. A filtering question was asked to ascertain if the person was a ‘local resident’, ‘tourist’ or ‘day tripper/excursionist’. This study did not include local spectators who reside in the local area or lived within a 40 kilometre radius of the city. Two different methodologies were employed to test which was the most appropriate and cost effective as this was an exploratory study with limited funding. The two methodologies were: Methodology 1 – Collecting names and addresses and mail out/back, Friday, 21 April 2000 Surveying was conducted in two time frames: pre- and post-match. However, the post-match methodology was cancelled as spectators were moving at a fast pace while exiting the stadium. This made it impossible for interviewers to gain spectators’ interest and provide them with a questionnaire to take with them. The pre-match methodology consisted of 142


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acquiring names, addresses and telephone numbers of respondents to whom questionnaires were sent. Respondents completed the questionnaire and returned them in a reply-paid envelope. If a respondent was an international visitor the interviewer gave respondents a questionnaire to complete and return by mail prior to departing the region. Pre-match surveying commenced 1.5 hours before kick off at 6 pm, and a total of 182 surveys were sent or given to people. A follow up reminder was sent to respondents which resulted in a 72% return response rate. Methodology 2 – Hand-out surveys, Saturday, 6 May 2000 Pre-match surveying was employed at this match, starting at 6 pm. However, the technique employed at this match consisted of handing out questionnaires to respondents on-site. Respondents were asked to complete the survey at their leisure and send back in a reply paid envelope. A total of 325 were delivered with 32% returned which was substantially lower than the previous methodology. Overall, from the implementation of both methodologies an overall response rate was gained of 48% or 243 back without an incentive prize for respondents. Data was entered into SPSS (a statistical package) and significant differences were found through the use of statistical tests such as Chi-square, independent sample t tests and ANOVA tests depending on the type of data and the most appropriate tests for that data.

Study Results This section of the chapter outlines the profile of respondents before examining the segmentation of sport tourist spectators and their resulting differences (if any) between their sport, travel and tourism behaviour. Sport tourist profile and size Throughout both methodologies researchers recorded the number of local and non-local spectators approached and the results illustrate a total of 182 people were visitors to the destination from 1325 spectators approached. This indicates that 16% of the 16,271 crowd or 2603 spectators were visitors to the region who watched the Super 12 match against the Wellington Hurricanes. A total of 325 of the 1327 spectators (or 24%) approached by researchers were visitors to the city in game two. Given the total crowd attendance for this match was 19,984, an estimated 4796 people were concluded as being small-scale sport tourist spectators. These 143

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figures illustrate that a significant proportion of the crowd were sport event tourists, and these figures were much larger than expected by the ACT Brumbies management team. The profile of sport tourist spectators to the two Super 12 matches are illustrated in Table 7.1. The table illustrates that the majority of sport tourist spectators were within four hours drive of Canberra, are male spectators who are highly educated and married or living with a partner, with nearly half having children living at home. Sport tourist spectators were asked in the survey to self select one of three groups; either avid spectator/fan, frequent spectator/fan or casual spectator/fan: • Avid Spectator/Fan in this research were comparable to the ‘connoisseur’ observer, or those who have extensive involvement and knowledge in the sports activity and can be considered ‘hard’ sports tourists. Watching competitive sport is their prime motivation. • Frequent Spectator/Fan in this research were spectators who regularly watch Super 12 matches, however they do not have the same enthusiasm for the sport as ‘avid’ spectators. They are mixed sport tourists with both sport and tourism motivations. • Casual Spectator/Fan were spectators who had lower interest levels towards the sport, the involvement and the knowledge they have

Table 7.1 Super 12 Sport tourist sample profile Category Origins

Gender Education

Martial status Income Lifecycle

Characteristics 57% other New South Wales 23% Sydney, 9% Victoria, 8% Queensland, 3% International 67% male and 33% female 46% university degree or postgraduate degree 27% college/TAFE diploma 73% married or living with a partner 17% single or never married 31% over $100,000 household income 21% between $40,000 and $59,999 49% have children at home

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with the sport. They may be ‘soft’ sport tourists motivated more toward tourism or other motives with sport being secondary. A total of 39.2% selected themselves as ‘avid’ while 22.6% chose ‘frequent’ and 38.2% selected ‘casual.’ The following results examine sport tourist spectators sport behaviour as well as their travel and tourism behaviour based on the categories of ‘avid’, ‘frequent’ and ‘casual’ spectators while statistical tests and comparisons with other research are discussed. Sport behaviour As mentioned in the previous sections of this chapter, sport tourist spectators may be motivated primarily by the sport (i.e. ‘avid’) or motivated primarily by the travel (i.e. ‘casual’), with a potential mixed interest group (i.e. ‘frequent’). First, this study wanted to examine whether respondents self selection in one of these groups was confirmed by their sporting behaviour. For instance, were the ‘avid’ spectators actually avid and participate in sport more than ‘casual’ spectators, and were they more active in playing sport or helping in sports clubs? What impact, if any, did this sporting behaviour have on their travel and tourism behaviour? The results indicate that in most instances ‘avid’ spectators were more high dominated and motivated toward sport than their ‘casual’ counterparts. Table 7.2 and Table 7.3 illustrate the results from an ANOVA statistical test on the three groups and their sporting involvement and behaviour. However, the tables illustrate that although the ‘avid’ spectators were more motivated in some areas compared to ‘casual’ and ‘frequent’ spectators (i.e. member of a sports team club, involved in sport at a club or school level, regularly check the Super 12 rugby competition’s progress), there were instances where ‘frequent’ spectators were more sport motivated (i.e. season ticket holders, having seen more Super 12 matches and watched more at Bruce Stadium). This perhaps indicates that although ‘avid’ spectators seemed to be more involved in sport, ‘frequent’ spectators were more dedicated fans with respect to watching Super 12 rugby union. Over twice as many ‘avid’ and ‘frequent’ spectators held season tickets and had attended more matches than ‘casual’ spectators. However, there were no differences with respect to playing sport or rugby union between the three groups, although this could be due to the small sample size.

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*

Significant at the 0.05 level.

Regularly check Super 12 progress

Season ticket holder

Number of matches in Canberra

Number of Super 12 matches

Active role in rugby union at club/school

Actively play sport

Member of a sports team club

Sport behaviour Between groups Within groups Total Between groups Within groups Total Between groups Within groups Total Between groups Within groups Total Between groups Within groups Total Between groups Within groups Total Between groups Within groups Total

Sum of squares 1.853 59.899 61.752 0.486 56.579 57.066 1.894 31.700 33.595 202.670 586.492 789.162 69.035 411.281 480.316 1.995 21.053 23.048 11.990 28.526 40.516

df 2 223 225 2 226 228 2 224 226 2 226 228 2 225 227 2 226 228 2 222 224

Table 7.2 ANOVA Test – Spectator type versus sporting behaviour

5.995 0.128

0.997 0.002

34.518 1.828

101.335 2.595

0.947 0.142

0.243 0.250

Mean square 0.927 0.269

46.655

10.706

18.884

39.049

6.693

0.972

3.450

F

0.000*

0.000*

0.000*

0.000*

0.002*

0.380*

0.033*

Sig.

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Table 7.3 Significant differences between spectator type and sporting behaviour Sport behaviour Member of a sports team club Actively play sport Active role in rugby union at club/school level Number of Super 12 matches Number of matches in Canberra Season ticket holder Regularly check Super 12 Progress

Avid 1.35 1.43 1.72 3.14 2.21 1.20 1.03

Mean score* Frequent Casual 1.41 1.55 1.45 1.53 1.82 1.92 3.43 2.41 1.63 1.08

2.48 1.17 2.00 1.55

* 1 = Yes; 2 = No.

Travel and tourism behaviour The results showed that from the sample overall there were quite a large number of first and second time visitors to Canberra (30% and 19% respectively) with many more from the ‘casual’ and ‘avid’ groups, illustrating that the Super 12 rugby matches were a major tourist attraction, comparable to findings from Higham and Hinch (2002) and Gibson et al. (2002). The average length of stay was 2.9 nights compared to 2.6 from the Canberra Visitor Survey in 1996/1997 (CTEC, 1997). However, from those that stayed overnight, their length of stay was 4.5 nights, compared to 2.8 nights for domestic overnight stays according to Johnson (2000). ‘Avid’ spectators stayed for one day in greater numbers than other groups perhaps due to their sport motivations, while ‘casual’ spectators had a larger proportion of their sample staying longer at the destination. This result could be attributed to their main purpose of travel (see Table 7.4). Although to see Super 12 rugby, and visiting friends and relatives were the main reasons for attending from the overall sample, an ANOVA test demonstrated statistical differences existed between the three groups and their main purpose of travel (F = 19.543, df = 210, p = 0.000). Table 7.4 shows a relationship between the three groups regarding the main purpose of watching Super 12 Rugby, with less ‘frequent’ and ‘casual’ spectators stating this as their main purpose compared with ‘avid’ spectators. While a greater proportion of ‘casual’ spectators main purpose was 147

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to visit friends and relatives. In other words their main reason for visiting Canberra were tourism motivated while the rugby or sport was secondary for this ‘casual’ group. This confirms previous literature that states that for ‘casual’ spectators sport is a secondary motivation (Standevan & De Knop, 1999). Regarding accommodation, a large number of sport tourist spectators were staying with friends and relatives with over half of respondents staying with friends and relatives comprising ‘casual’ spectators. Nearly one third of the complete sample did not stay overnight with more ‘avid’ and ‘frequent’ spectators choosing not to stay over night and thus may be more motivated by the sport rather than tourism. This result confirms that they are more likely to leave the destination after the sport event is finished illustrating a significant proportion of the sample were sport tourist day trippers which is comparable with the BTR study on domestic sport tourists (BTR, 2000). Only 18% stayed in hotel/motels compared with 36% of general visitors from the Canberra Visitor Survey (CTEC, 1997). From an accommodation sector perspective this is quite low, and illustrates a need to convince spectators to stay overnight in the destination. This has obvious implications for Novotel and Qantas (hotel and airline operators) who sponsor Super 12 rugby union in Australia, and demonstrates the need to turn day trips into overnight trips to increase

Table 7.4 Spectator type versus main purpose of travel Main purpose Super 12 Rugby Visiting friends and relatives To see Canberra the capital Short break Passing through Personal Day break Educational Holiday Total

Avid % 31.0 8.2

Frequent % 18.4 2.4

–

1.0

1.5

2.4

0.5 – – – – – 39.6

1.0 – – 0.5 – – 21.7

0.5 1.0 1.0 – 0.5 0.5 38.7

1.9 1.0 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.5 100.0

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Casual % Total % 14.5 63.8 17.9 28.5


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benefits to sponsors of the Super 12 rugby union competition and host destinations. Table 7.5 illustrates the expenditure patterns of spectators with the average spend of the sample being $343 (or $209 per day tripper and $435 per overnight visitor) compared with $94 per day tripper and $413 per overnight visitor from the National Visitor Survey for the region (Johnson, 2000). These figures illustrate that both day trippers and overnight visitors from the sample are high yield visitors compared to the average visitor to Canberra, and is comparable with BTR research showing that domestic sport tourists generate a high yield per night (BTR, 2000). However, perhaps tourism opportunities are not being maximised as many visitors are not staying overnight (32% of the study sample). By multiplying the average spend ($343) by the 7400 estimated visitors who attended the two Super 12 matches surveyed a total direct economic impact of $2,538,200 is generated, which is a significant amount for Canberra during the traditional off season for tourism where occupancy rates are lower than at other times of the year. Significant differences (F = 5.586, df = 226, p = 0.004) were found between some of the expenditure categories with ‘casual’ spectators spending two to three times more on attractions and activities compared with ‘avid/frequent’ spectators perhaps indicating more time and importance devoted to activities other than the sport event. Yet no significant differences were discovered regarding attraction participation. Perhaps this may be due to ‘casual’ travel party size and the fact that they are Table 7.5 Spectator group versus spending patterns (AUS$) Category Accommodation Transport Meals/beverages Attractions/activities Super 12 entry fees Shopping Other entertainment Other miscellaneous Total/Avg.

Avid 45.97 48.67 72.27 19.95 38.99 83.01 8.88 7.03 308.40

Frequent 73.20 43.80 66.94 8.73 43.63 52.59 9.92 13.57 321.80

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Casual 78.20 49.33 123.60 39.89 22.25 45.44 23.11 13.82 388.32

Total/Avg. 64.06 47.55 91.24 25.65 33.23 61.76 15.69 11.04 343.61

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staying with friends and relatives and are perhaps undertaking more activities (such as entertainment) rather than visiting actual tourist attractions. Furthermore, ‘avid’ and ‘frequent’ spectators significantly (F = 8.598, df = 226, p = 0.000) spent more on Super 12 entry fees, perhaps illustrating a choice of more expensive seating and a stronger interest toward the match or the sport itself. However, a total of 41% of sport tourist spectators did not participate in any attractions or activities compared with only 25% from the 1996–97 Canberra Visitor Survey (CTEC, 1997). There were no significant differences found between the three groups. A total of 58% of the sample participated in restaurants or cafes compared to 73% of the sample from a CRC for Tourism Satisfaction Study during the same period. Also only 5% of the sport tourist sample took part in visitor tours or guided services compared with 26% from the CRC Satisfaction Study. No significant differences were found between the three groups. These results illustrate lost opportunities with many of the study sample not participating in attractions, activities or tours, despite nearly half of respondents comprising first or second time visitors to Canberra.

Discussion and Conclusion This chapter has highlighted the tourism potential of small-scale sport event competitions such as the Super 12 competition. It has noted a distinct lack of research concerning such sport events and even less research concerning sport competitions including rugby union. However, as Higham and Hinch (2002) have noted, these sport competitions have expanded in recent years influencing tourism flows and travel behaviour. Furthermore, little integrative or empirical research has been undertaken to profile visitors to such small-scale events and examine the interrelationships between their sport and tourism behaviour. By examining the profile of sport tourist market segments better understanding of these segments and their potential as tourism markets can occur. This chapter has outlined one attempt to profile and examine smallscale sport tourists attending Super 12 rugby union matches in Canberra, Australia. The results indicate that although a significant number of the study sample were first or second time visitors to Canberra many do not stay overnight. The challenge for the tourism industry is to capture this market and ensure that they stay overnight. Chalip in Chapter 12 provides some useful ideas on how to capture or extend visitor length of stay and therefore leveraging the tourism benefits from sport. Furthermore, by profiling sport tourism segments based on sport behaviour and 150


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motivations, a more accurate picture of tourism leveraging opportunities can be viewed through attempting to understand the different market segments. From a tourism perspective ‘casual’ spectators stay longer at the destination and spend more money on attractions and activities, yet many do not stay in formal accommodation. For them the sport is secondary and they are more likely to motivated by other factors with sport events simply complementing and adding to their tourist experience, while for ‘avid’ spectators they are less motivated by the destination. This paper has also confirmed BTR research that domestic sports tourists are a high yield tourist market, especially for the food and beverage and retail sectors. There is a need for sport and tourism organisations to work more closely together to leverage the sport tourism opportunities so both agendas are met. By working together organisations can reduce marketing costs yet increase their fan attendance and supporter base while boosting tourism during the off or shoulder season. This is particularly vital seeing the sponsors of the Super 12 competition in Australia are essentially in the tourism business. By working with the tourism industry sport competition organisers are perhaps able to increase their supporter base and ensure visitors stay overnight by packaging tickets to the event with accommodation and tours, particularly if a number of visitors are first or second time visitors to a destination (discussed also in Chapter 12). Tour packages should be developed targeted at ‘frequent’ spectators who have mixed interests toward sport and tourism, as well as ‘avid’ spectators in an attempt to encourage them to stay overnight. Profiling sport tourists attending small-scale sport events can provide insights into market segments which have tourism potential. However, further research is required into sport tourism spectator segments across different sporting codes and competitions. Furthermore, research into potential synergies between sport and tourism organisations is important to examine leveraging opportunities between the sport and tourism industry. Finally, a larger study is required to improve the statistical reliability and test some assumptions concerning the relationship between sport behaviour and involvement and flow-on tourism behaviour and impact. A larger study is required to compare results across cities and different sporting codes to explore the relationship between sport and tourism behaviour. This type of research will improve our understanding of small-scale sport event tourism and help pursue more integrative and explanatory research which, according to Gibson (2002) is currently lacking in the field of sport tourism. 151

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Key Questions (1) Outline the stakeholders who are likely to benefit from hosting smallscale sport event tourism. (2) Are these stakeholders different to larger sport events such as the Olympic Games? (3) Discuss the similarities and differences between the two groups of stakeholders. (4) Choose a small-scale sport event in your local town or city. Consider whether it is an active or passive sport event and whether this categorisation influences its attractiveness for tourists.

Active Learning Exercise Find several people in the class who regularly attend small-scale sport events and talk with them about their sporting and their tourism behaviour during these visits. In what ways does their sport behaviour determine or influence their tourism behaviour? For instance, does their sport involvement and fan behaviour influence what they do, how long they stay at the destination, who the travel with, how much they spend, and what attractions and activities they undertake?

Further Recommended Reading Gibson, H., Willming, C. and Holdnak, A. (2002) Small-scale event sport tourism: College sport as a tourist attraction. In S. Gammon and J. Kurtzman (eds) Sport Tourism: Principles and Practice (pp. 3–18). Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association. Higham, J. and Hinch, T. (2002) Tourism, sport and the seasons: The challenges and potential of overcoming seasonality in the sport and tourism sectors. Tourism Management 23, 175–85. Ritchie, B., Mosedale, L. and King, J. (2002) Profiling sport tourists: The case of Super 12 rugby union in the Australian capital territory (ACT), Australia. Current Issues in Tourism 5 (1), 33–44.

Acknowledgements The author would like to thank the ACT Brumbies Management in allowing this research to be conducted and for the help of Fiona Richards in providing unpublished documentation. Also thank you to Lisa Mosedale and Jill King who helped with the design and data collection of the primary research during the ACT Brumbies matches. 152


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References Ashworth, J. (1999) The changing nature of sport tourism and its effect on cultural landscapes in Southern New Zealand. Unpublished postgraduate dissertation. Centre for Tourism, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Brotherton, B. and Himmetoglu, B. (1997) Beyond destinations – special interest tourism. Anatloia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research 8 (3), 11–30. Bureau of Tourism Research (BTR) (2000) Sports Tourism: An Australian Perspective. Tourism Research Report (3rd edn). Canberra: BTR. Canberra Tourism and Events Corporation (CTEC) (1997) Canberra Visitors Survey 1996–1997. Canberra: CTEC. Gammon, S. and Robinson, T. (1997) Sport and tourism: A conceptual framework. Journal of Sport Tourism 4 (3), 1–6. Gibson, H. (1998) Sport tourism: A critical analysis of research. Sport Management Review 1 (1), 45–76. Gibson, H. (2002) Sport tourism at a crossroad? Considerations for the future. In S. Gammon and J. Kurtzman (eds) Sport Tourism: Principles and Practice (pp. 111–28). Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association. Gibson, H., Willming, C. and Holdnak, A. (2002) Small-scale event sport tourism: College sport as a tourist attraction. In S. Gammon and J. Kurtzman (eds) Sport Tourism: Principles and Practice (pp. 3–18). Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association. Glyptis, S.A. (1991) Sport and tourism. Progress in Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management (Vol. 3). London: Belhaven. Granham, B. (1996) Ranfurly Sheild Rugby: An investigation into the impacts of a sporting event on a provincial city, the case of New Plymouth. Festival Management and Event Tourism 4, 145–249. Green, C. and Chalip, L. (1998) Sport tourism as the celebration of subculture. Annals of Tourism Research 25 (2), 275–91. Hall, C.M. (1992) Hallmark Tourist Events: Impacts, Management and Planning. Belhaven: London. Higham, J.E.S. (1999) Sport as an avenue of tourism development: An analysis of the positive and negative impacts of sport tourism. Current Issues in Tourism 2 (1), 82–90. Higham, J and Ritchie, B. (1996) Event tourism: A comparative analysis of two sporting events and the respective tourism components. In G. Kearsley (ed.) Proceedings of Tourism Down Under II (pp. 132–7). Centre for Tourism, University of Otago. Higham, J. and Hinch, T. (2002) Tourism, sport and the seasons: The challenges and potential of overcoming seasonality in the sport and tourism sectors. Tourism Management 23, 175–85. Higham, J. and Ritchie, B. (2001) The evolution of festivals and other events in rural southern New Zealand. Journal of Event Management 7 (1), 51–65. Hiller, H. (1998) Assessing the impacts of mega-events: A linkage model. Current Issues in Tourism 1 (1), 47–57. Hinch, T. D. and Higham, J.E.S. (2001) Sport tourism: A framework for research. International Journal for Tourism Research 3, 45–58. 153

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Irwin, R. and Sadler, M. (1998) An analysis of travel behaviour and event-induced expenditure amongst American collegiate championship patron groups. Journal of Vacation Marketing 4, 78–90. Johnson, L. (2000) Tourism Expenditure by Domestic Visitors in Regional Australia, 1998. Canberra: BTR Occasional Paper No. 31. Kurtzman, J. (2000) Sport and Tourism Relationship: A Unique Reality. In B. Ritchie and D. Adair (eds) Sports Generated Tourism: Exploring the Nexus (pp. 5–22). Proceedings of the First Australian Sports Tourism Symposium. Canberra: Tourism Program, University of Canberra. Nogowa, H., Yamaguchi, Y. and Hagi, Y. (1996) An empirical research study on Japanese sport tourism in sport-for-all events: Case studies of a single-night and multiple-night event. Journal of Travel Research 35 (2), 46–54. Olds, K. (1998) Urban mega-events, evictions and housing rights: The Canadian case. Current Issues in Tourism 1 (1), 2–46. Pitts, B. (1999) Sports tourism and niche markets: Identification and analysis of the growing lesbian and gay sports tourism industry. Journal of Vacation Marketing 5 (1), 31–50. Richards, F. (2002) Canberra as a regional hub. Unpublished report commissioned by ACT Brumbies Management. Canberra: Tourism Program, University of Canberra. Ritchie, B. (1996) How special are special events? The economic development and strategic value of the New Zealand Masters Games. Journal of Festival Management and Event Tourism 4 (3/4), 117–26. Ritchie, B. (1998) The development of the New Zealand Masters Games: The economic impact and satisfaction of event participants. In J. Kandampully (ed.) Proceedings of New Zealand Tourism and Hospitality Research Conference (n.p.). Akaroa, New Zealand: Lincoln University. Ritchie, B. and Adair, D. (2002) The Growing Recognition of Sport Tourism. Current Issues in Tourism 5 (1), 1–6. Standeven, J. and De Knop P. (1999) Sport Tourism. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Walo, M., Bull, A. and Breen, H. (1996) Achieving economic benefits at local events: A case study of a local sports event. Festival Management and Event Tourism 4, 95–106. Weed, M. (1999) More than sports holidays: An overview of the sport tourism link. In M. Scarrot (ed.) Proceedings of a SPRIG Seminar Exploring Sports Tourism (pp. 6–28). Sheffield: University of Sheffield.

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Chapter 8

Host Community Reactions to Motorsport Events: The Perception of Impact on Quality of Life LIZ FREDLINE

Introduction Motorsport, particularly open wheel racing, is fast, glamorous, hedonistic and loud. It is enormously appealing to some people, while others find it abhorrent. It is therefore not surprising that a range of reactions can be observed amongst local residents when a major motorsport event is hosted in their backyard. For some residents, it is the highlight of their year, while others dread the date to such an extent that they will plan to be out of town to avoid it, and clearly one of the most important explanations of this variation is the fact that some people identify closely with motorsport and value it as an entertainment opportunity, while others do not. However, there is a range of other factors which contribute to residents’ reactions to sporting events, and events more generally, and it is important for event planners and managers to understand these for two main reasons. First, large scale events are associated with a range of both positive and negative impacts which accrue to the community at large, but also have a differential effect on individuals within the community. In the democratic societies in which many of us live, we elect governments to make decisions for the community that will improve quality of life. Thus these decision makers need to understand the full range of impacts of events and how these impacts are distributed across a community to ensure that any event does in fact make a positive contribution to quality of life. Second, and more pragmatically, if event planners and managers want their event to be successful then it is strategically important to try to get 155

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the locals on side. High levels of discontent amongst the local population can lead to behavioural responses that will potentially jeopardise the long term success of an event. Disaffected residents may manifest their disgruntlement by voting against public officials who support the event, by forming protest groups, or even by taking legal action. It is also possible that individuals may be less than friendly to tourists visiting for the event, and this could be highly damaging to the tourism industry as no one wants to visit a place where they do not feel welcome. Thus, it is an important part of the sport event planning and management process, to consider the potential impacts of events and how these may affect the quality of life for local residents. The quality of life and social impacts of sport tourism are also noted in Chapter 6 by Palmer (discussing golf tourism in the developing world) and also by Hall in Chapter 10 concerning sport tourism and regeneration. This chapter presents some findings from case studies undertaken in two Australian cities that play host to major motorsport events; Melbourne, Victoria, which hosts the Australian Formula One Grand Prix, and the Gold Coast, Queensland, which is the venue for the Indy 300. Only one other attempt to investigate the social impacts of motor sport has been found in the main stream literature. A series of studies which are documented in an edited book (Burns et al., 1986) together comprise a comprehensive examination of the impacts of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in 1985, when it was hosted in Adelaide, South Australia. Where appropriate, reference is made to findings from this research.

Learning Outcomes Upon completion readers should: (1) Be able to identify some of the impacts potentially associated with motorsport events, (2) Understand the range of reactions that local residents may display in response to a motorsport event in their community, (3) Be able to explore ways of improving local levels of support.

The Case Studies The Gold Coast Indy was first proposed in 1990 and was initially the subject of considerable controversy. Prior to the first event, local papers reported a number of objections raised by local residents, particularly an expressed concern over the lack of any consultation with them about the 156

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event (Weston, 1990a). The Gold Coast Rate Payers Association feared that residents would suffer alienation due to the disruption caused by preparation of the facilities (Gold Coast Bulletin, 1990). One resident even prepared a submission to the United Nations to overturn the Indy Car Grand Prix Bill, citing an infringement of civil liberties (Weston, 1990b). A rally in August 1990 attracted about 1000 protesters anxious about environmental damage to Macintosh Park and the surrounding beaches (Gold Coast Bulletin, 1990). Immediately prior to the inaugural event in 1991, residents complained of a ‘nightmare’ weekend, reporting that ‘hammering and drilling’ continued throughout the night. Concern was also raised for security, with some minor crimes cited as evidence of the ‘influx of a different element’ (Gold Coast Bulletin, 1991: 4). After the first event the focus of concern expressed in the media seemed to swing toward the financial burden of the event on Queensland taxpayers. However, the state government suggested that the benefit to the local economy brought about by visitor spending and tourism promotional effects, far exceeded the monetary costs (Roberts, 1991). The event was plagued by sponsorship and financial problems, and had lost over A$50 million by the end of the 1993 race. The event cost taxpayers an average of A$20 million dollars per year until 1997 when IMG (International Management Group) became involved cutting costs and improving tickets sales. In 2002, the contribution made by the Queensland State Governments was A$10.95 million, but it was argued that this was a worthwhile investment based on supposed economic benefits and flowon effects. A 1999 study undertaken by a market research company estimated A$42 million in economic benefit to the State (McCullough, 2002). Recently, in October 2002, the Premier, Mr Peter Beattie, committed the government to another five years of support ensuring the Indy will continue at least until 2008 (Gleeson, 2002). The chronicle of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne is perhaps even more controversial commencing with ‘snatching’ of the event from South Australia in 1993. From the outset, concerns were raised by the South Melbourne Council about the environmental and recreational impact on Albert Park, where the street circuit is located (Farrant & Taylor, 1993). In early 1994 the Save Albert Park group was formed with the objective of ending motor racing in the park and restoring it as public space. The group has been remarkably tenacious having staged numerous demonstrations including two rallies in London. At the date of the 2002 event (6 March), they had maintained a vigil in Albert Park for over 2145 days (Green, 2002). However this high level of dedication 157

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has not succeeded in achieving the group’s objective of eliminating or relocating the event. However, there is no evidence that a substantial proportion of Melbourne residents share Save Albert Park’s concerns for both the park and the perceived threat to democracy. One local trader suggested that ‘99%, no 99.9% of Melbourne has embraced the race and think it’s terrific’ (Freeman, 1996: 34). The Kennett government was returned to power in a March 30 1996 election, with an increased majority (Green & Brady, 1996), and one factor cited was the appeal of the event to blue-collar males (Carney, 1996). However, the unexpected defeat of the Kennett government in September 1999, was interpreted as being, in part, a consequence of a backlash to its ‘steamrollering’ approach, lack of accountability, and disregard for community concerns. The government reported an operating loss of A$1.75 million for the inaugural event, comprising A$51.64 million revenue, and A$53.39 million in operating costs. It was suggested that $710,000 in security costs related to protests. Not included was the cost of capital works in Albert Park that totalled A$47.9 million. A gross economic benefit to the state of A$95.6 million was claimed (Skulley, 1996). In recent times there has been little discussion in the newspapers about the costs of staging the event, although it was reported that the 2001 Grand Prix recorded losses of close to $6 million which were covered by the State Government. Claims have been made of an economic benefit to the state of Victoria in the order of A$130.7 million (Dubecki & Baker, 2001), although no mention was made of how this estimate was derived.

Methods The results reported in this chapter flow from a number of studies investigating host community perceptions of these two events. An early study in 1996 made an initial exploration of residents’ perceptions of the impacts of the Indy and this prompted a more comprehensive and comparative study of two events with data collected immediately following the 1998 Indy (in October) and the 1999 Grand Prix (in March). An additional data collection phase was undertaken for the Grand Prix only in April 2002 as part of a study comparing different types of events. In each of the above mentioned studies, similar data collection methods were used. The population of interest was residents of the host cities who were randomly selected for inclusion in the sample from an appropriate sampling frame (either electoral rolls or a proprietary list based on 158


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electoral rolls). The questionnaires were administered through a postal survey yielding response rates ranging from 13% to 42%. In the latter three studies very similar instruments were employed. The main dependant variable, perceptions of a range of potential impacts of the events, was developed based on impacts identified in previous research. It was measured using a three-part scale ascertaining the perceived direction of movement in the impact (e.g. increased, no change or decreased), as well as the perceived effect on personal quality of life and overall community well being, both measured on a seven point Likert type scale.

Specific Impacts of Motorsport Events Ritchie (1984) and Hall (1992) have described event impacts as falling into six different categories; economic, tourism and commercial, physical, socio-cultural, psychological, and political. Each of these categories may have both positive and negative manifestations, and Table 8.1 presents some of the impacts in each category potentially associated with motorsport events. In the two case studies presented here, the positive impacts that were perceived most strongly by residents at the personal level included: • the ‘showcase effect’- the media coverage that showcases the region and helps promote tourism and business investment; • the stimulation of the economy through visitor spending and multiplier effects; • the opportunity for the region to display and develop its event management skills; • increased resident pride; • entertainment opportunities for local residents; • an opportunity to meet new people; • a greater range of interesting things to do; and • better maintenance of public facilities and beautification of public areas. At the community level, these impacts were also strongly perceived but residents additionally felt that the community benefited substantially from the events contribution to employment and business opportunities. In terms of negative impacts, traffic congestion ranked as the most substantial concern across all studies at both personal and community levels. Other personal level negative impacts included: 159

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Development of new public facilities and/ or better maintenance of existing public facilities, e.g. roads, parks, public transport, sporting facilities

Positive Visitor expenditure and subsequent multiplier effects Individual businesses may experienced increased turnover particularly in the hospitality sector Creation of direct and indirect employment opportunities ‘Showcase effect’ – magnification of the region’s profile and enhancement of image which may result in increased tourism flows and business investment Development of new public facilities and/ or better maintenance of existing public facilities, e.g. roads, parks, public transport, sporting facilities

Table 8.1 Example of potential motorsport event impacts

Reduced access to public facilities for local residents because of crowding and/or closure Traffic congestion, parking availability, excessive noise, litter, pollution and other stressors to the environment Reduced access to public facilities for local residents because of crowding and/or closure Traffic congestion, parking availability, excessive noise, litter, pollution and other stressors to the environment

Potential damage to destination reputation if event is unsuccessful

Negative Requirement for public funding and associated opportunity costs Individual businesses may experienced reduced turnover

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Positive Promotion of socio-cultural norms which are seen as being positive

Psychological Increases in social capital – greater sense of community belonging and sharing Excitement, spectacle, pride, self esteem brought about by being the focus of international attention Political Enhancement of certain images and ideologies Career enhancement for certain political figures (These may be perceived as either positive or negative depending on the extent to which one concurs)

Sociocultural

Where conflicting interests exist it is likely that the interests of the politically weak will win out over the interest of the politically weak Loss of local autonomy

Negative Promotion of socio-cultural norms which are seen as being egative, e.g. rowdy and delinquent behaviour, excessive drinking and drug use, violence and crime Disruption and conflicts may lead to feelings of alienation, and the loss of a sense of belonging and/or community attachment

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• excessive noise; • reduced availability of parking; • opportunity cost – a perception that the money would be better spent on other public projects; • damage to the environment; and • increased incidence of dangerous driving. This last impact was thoroughly examined with regard to the Adelaide Grand Prix in 1985. Fischer et al. (1986) described what they referred to as the ‘hoon effect’, that is, the propensity for some drivers to drive faster and more recklessly on public roads in an attempt to emulate their Formula One heroes. Through an examination of a variety of data sources, it was concluded that in the five-week period around the date of the Grand Prix, serious and fatal motor vehicle accidents increased by about 34% from the average for the same period over the previous five years. At the community level these impacts were also rated as having a substantially negative effect on quality of life, however there were also some additional concerns including: • overall disruption of lifestyle; • a decline in rights and civil liberties for local residents; and • a perception that ordinary residents had no say in the planning of the event.

Overall Impact of Motorsport Events It is clear that these two motorsport events have a range of both positive and negative impacts on the lives of local residents, but the question of whether to host an event or not relates to the overall impact, that is, the extent to which the benefits outweigh the costs or visa versa. Burns and Mules (1986) argued that a high level of support for the Adelaide Grand Prix (81% strongly in favour of the event and an additional 10% mildly in favour), notwithstanding the documented negative impacts, was indicative of a high level of intangible benefits or ‘psychic income’. Similarly high proportions indicated support for continuation of the Indy (85% in 1998) and the Grand Prix (75% in 1999; 77% in 2002), presumably indicating that these proportions of residents believe the overall impact to be positive. An additional measure of the relative balance between costs and benefits in the case of the Grand Prix was examined in the recent 2002 data collection. Here, residents were specifically asked to rate the overall 162


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impact of the event on their personal quality of life and on the community as a whole, using a seven-point scale ranging from very negative (–3) to very positive (+3). The majority indicated little or no overall impact at a personal level (mean of 0.35), but a fairly substantial benefit was reported at the community level (mean of 1.36). Over 50% of the sample rated the community level benefit at +2 or +3. However, these statistics average out the reactions of residents and hide the fact that some locals feel substantially disadvantaged by these events. For this reason it is interesting to further examine the range of reactions to motorsport events that exist within a community.

The Range of Reactions to Motorsport Events The range of reactions that have been observed can be placed upon a continuum ranging from very negative to very positive, with a large group that can be described as unconcerned. These groups were identified using an analytical technique known as cluster analysis, which groups together respondents based on similarity in their scores on a range of variables, in this case, their perception of the range of impacts on their personal quality of life. As can be seen in Figure 8.1, five groups have been identified and they have been labelled as being most negative, moderately negative, unconcerned, moderately positive and most positive. The most negative group, which contained 11% of the sample, was highly negative refusing to acknowledge any positive impacts associated with the event(s). At the other end of the spectrum the most positive group, containing 13% of residents, acknowledge only one negative impact, traffic congestion. The largest group in the middle, comprising 32% of respondents, was labelled as unconcerned because their evaluations of the impacts varied little around the mid-point of the scale, which indicated no effect. Figure 8.1 shows the mean overall impacts for each cluster as well as the minimum and maximum scores within each group. These overall impact scores were calculated by averaging the perceived impact on quality of life across all potential impacts. The graph makes it clear that, although the mean perception across the community as a whole is that these events are on balance beneficial, there are sectors within the community who feel substantially disadvantaged by them. To ensure the well being of these residents, and thus hopefully to ensure the sustainability of the event(s), it is important to try to understand why this group of residents feel disadvantaged and to explore options for ameliorating the negative effects on their personal quality of life. 163

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Figure 8.1 Comparison of overall perceptions of impact across community subgroups

Why Reactions to Motorsport Events Vary Within any spatially defined community there are in fact a number of sub-groups often regarded as communities in their own right. These may be groups of residents connected through values, attitudes, interests or behaviour that is shared within a group, but substantially different from other groups living in the same geographic region. One example is, as suggested in the introduction, the extent to which people enjoy watching motorsport as an entertainment opportunity. People who enjoy motorsport share an interest and therefore form a community sub-group. Various authors have suggested possible theoretical frameworks for understanding this type of variation within the community, and how it 164


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may assist in understanding of variation in residents’ reactions. Three examples are outlined below. Ap (1992) has suggested that Social Exchange theory (Emerson, 1972) is helpful in understanding residents’ perceptions of the impacts of tourism and that exchange behaviour is related to perceptions. It is suggested that residents will have more positive perceptions of tourism if they perceive that their tourism exchanges bring them substantial benefits, but will have negative perceptions of tourism if they perceive these benefits to be outweighed by substantial costs. In this context, it might therefore be suggested that residents who benefit more from an event, perhaps through employment or increased business turnover, will have more favourable perceptions than those who do not. This would explain why those who enjoy motorsport have more favourable perceptions of motorsport events, because they perceive a benefit in the form of entertainment opportunities. Alternatively, Pearce et al. (1996) have proposed the use of Social Representation Theory (Moscovici, 1981). This theory suggests that residents have representations of tourism and events which underpin their perception of impacts, and that these representations are informed by direct experiences, social interaction and other sources of information such as the media. It is argued that representations are resistant to change, because they form a frame of reference through which new information is interpreted. However, they are not impossible to change especially when direct experience provides residents with more information on which to base their perceptions. This information may act as a catalyst for change as people question inconsistencies between prevailing social representations and their own observations. When direct experience is limited, other sources of social representation become more important, and residents may ‘borrow’ a representation that they are exposed to either socially or through some other information source such as the media. The tenets of these theories are not contradictory. However, a substantial difference lies in the confidence they place in the rationality of the human mind. The social exchange approach tends to suggest that residents can rationally weigh up the costs and benefits of tourism or events, and that their overall disposition toward the phenomenon will reflect some sort of informal cost benefit analysis. In contrast, social representation theory suggests more of an instinctual reaction based on a range of underlying values and attitudes. The theory also acknowledges the tenacity of these values and attitudes which underpin representations, and the fact that they are socially reinforced, thus social representations are seen as being fairly persistent. 165

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Another potential theoretical framework that has been proposed in this regard is the expectancy-value (EV) model (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993) which Lindberg and Johnson (1997) tested in a general tourism context, and found that the interaction between the importance that residents place on certain outcomes (value) and the degree to which they believe tourism to contribute to these outcomes (expectancy) has some utility in explaining variation in attitudes toward tourism. A range of independent variables have been examined which appear to discriminate between sub-groups in the community and help explain differing reactions to tourism. These have been tested in a variety of tourism case studies and in these two cases were tested for their ability to differentiate residents reactions to motorsport events. Proximity Motorsport events are, by necessity, staged on a race circuit, either a specially constructed dedicated venue or an appropriately designed circuit on existing streets around which infrastructure is erected and dismantled as required. Often the former option, when utilised, is located at a site some distance from a city centre because of the need for a large area of land on which to construct the circuit. Conversely, the latter option often involves streets close to the city centre. It is this latter option which is used for both the Indy and the Grand Prix events and this is most likely for two reasons. First, the demand for dedicated venues for open wheel racing is limited in Australia, but perhaps more importantly, both of these events are clearly pitched as part of the respective destinations’ tourism attraction mix. Thus, in an effort to maximise the benefits of the ‘showcase effect’ induced by media coverage, there is an expressed desire to stage the events in attractive locations. Additionally, because both race precincts are located close to the city centre and important tourism infrastructure, visitors to the event are well catered for. However, because of the proximity to the city, both race sites affect quite densely populated areas. The residents living close to these areas are clearly subjected to localised event impacts such as noise, traffic and parking and access restrictions to a greater extent than those living a substantial distance from the track. In terms of the three theoretical frameworks this group of residents may be expected to have differing reactions to the event than those who live further away from the circuit. In the language of social exchange theory these residents are forced into an exchange relationship because of their residential proximity, and in the absence of mitigating positive impacts, it is likely that the result of this exchange would be more negative than for those living a substantial distance from the track, because of the 166


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localised negative externalities. In the language of social representation theory, this group has high levels of direct experience because the event takes place around them. Whatever their reaction, it is likely to be reinforced through social interaction with their neighbours who are similarly exposed. Finally, in terms of the expectancy-value model, this group is likely to place higher importance ratings on localised impacts and if they attribute these to the event this will affect their reaction. Thus regardless of the theoretical framework used, it would be expected that, all other things being equal, people living closer to the foci of the event may have different reactions to those living further away. In these cases studies, residential proximity to the event area tended to be associated with more negative perceptions of the impacts, while people who lived far away were likely to be unconcerned, generally perceiving little or no impact associated with the motorsport events. In the 1998 and 1999 studies, the median distance of place of residence from the track was only 1 kilometre for those in the most negative group compared with a median of nearly 6 km for the unconcerned group. Those who were positively disposed to the event lived at a broader range of distances from the circuit. Use of affected facilities Another issue associated with the use of a street circuit rather than a dedicated facility is that during the event, and also for much of the time during which infrastructure is erected and dismantled, local residents are denied access to the area. In the case of both the Grand Prix and the Indy, the circuit are centred around major recreational parks. In Melbourne in particular, Albert Park is home to several sporting clubs and many local use the area for general athletic and leisure activities. Because preparation for the event interferes with their enjoyment of this recreational resource, it might be expected that residents who use the park(s) on a frequent basis would be more negatively impacted than those who seldom or never use the park(s). In the 1998–99 studies it was found that 64% of residents in the most negative cluster typically used the park at least once a week, while only 16% reported never using the park. In contrast the unconcerned group contain only 15% who used the park frequently and 54% who never used it. Identification with theme As has been previously discussed, the identification with the theme is intuitively likely to be related to variation in reactions to the event, and 167

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this was supported by the results observed in these case studies. In the 1998–99 studies, 92% of residents in the most negative group identified themselves as having no interest at all in motorsport compared with only 1% of those in the most positive group. Economic dependence on tourism In accordance with social exchange theory, it would be expected that residents who gain employment through the event, or those who perceive that the industry that they work in benefits from the event, would derive a greater benefit than others (all other things being equal) and would therefore have more positive perceptions. Similarly, those who work in industries which benefit from the event have higher levels of direct experience than others, and also have opportunities for social reinforcement of their perceptions. Thus, as would be suggested by social representation theory this sub-community could be expected to react differently to others. In terms of the expectancy-value model, those who believe that they work in an industry which is positively affected by the event are likely to value employment creation in these industries more highly than others, and also to perceive this impact to be associated with the event. In the 1998–99 studies, residents in the most positive group had much higher rates of employment in tourism and other industries which were perceived to be positively influenced by the events (54%) compared with a sample wide proportion of 29%. These three variables appear to be the key discriminating factors in explaining the observed differences in the reactions to the events, however, there were other factors which appeared to also be important, including: • the social and political values of residents; • their perception of their ability to participate in the planning process; • residents’ level of attachment to the community; and • their perception of justice in the distribution of costs and benefits of the event.

Conclusion As mentioned at the outset of the chapter, an understanding of the ways in which motorsport events impact upon the quality of life for the host population is important for planning and management of such an event, and to ensure its long term success. Selected results from a number of 168


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studies in Australia have been presented which suggest the following important conclusions. These motorsport events are perceived as having a range of positive and negative impacts on the host population; but, on balance, the community as a whole seems to perceive these two events as having a positive impact overall, that is, the benefits seem to outweigh the costs. However, this aggregation across the whole community conceals the fact that certain subgroups of the community perceive themselves to be negatively affected by the event. The identification of subgroups of the community with quite different, indeed polarised, reactions to these events raises issues of social distributive justice. Because of the concentrated nature of events and the localised influence of some impacts, it is possible for a large majority to enjoy the benefits of an event, while a minority suffer the bulk of the costs. Planners and managers, particularly in the public sector need to consider the principles of equity and the bases for determining what constitutes a fair distribution of costs and benefits. While full exploration of these issues is beyond the scope of this chapter it is nonetheless important to be aware of them. The results of these studies have management implications for these particular events, but they may also be of value for other motorsport events and other large scale events with various themes. The host community of an event can be regarded as being somewhat like the internal customers of a firm (Kotler, 1988) to the extent that they are part of the product being delivered. Thus, some form of internal marketing may be useful in achieving higher levels of satisfaction within the community. The identified clusters can be regarded as different market segments (Madrigal, 1995) and different strategies might be useful for maximising satisfaction within each group (Davis et al., 1988). Given the salience of localised impacts often associated with large-scale events such as traffic, noise and disruption, a permanent facility in a relatively sparsely populated area would seem like an appropriate strategy. However, as previously mentioned, the selection of the site may be based on other criteria such as the showcasing of the destination region, rather than minimisation of negative impacts. In any case, purpose built facilities require a large investment, and for annual events, returns would be limited unless such a facility could be utilised for other purposes at other times of the year. It is also apparent that, to some extent, any benefits of increased employment associated with assembling and dismantling infrastructure would be reduced at a permanent site. If a permanent facility 169

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is not an option, the scheduling of erection and dismantling of the event infrastructure needs to be considered so as to ameliorate the negative impact. It would appear that perceptions of participation and justice seem to play a role in determining reactions to this type of event, and that some residents may feel disenfranchised by the planning process. Some sort of resident consultative process may be useful to ensure that locals have a voice in the planning and management of events, and therefore feel that their concerns are being heard and addressed. This could also be an appropriate forum for developing strategies for ameliorating costs and perhaps even compensating residents who are severely negatively impacted. Another extremely important consideration is the theme of the event. It would appear that residents who identify with the theme are more likely to disregard or tolerate the negative impacts, because of the offsetting benefit they derive through being entertained. It is therefore important to consider the socio-cultural milieu of a community when deciding what type of events should be publicly funded. The final conclusion to be drawn from these studies is the importance of establishing mechanisms for measuring and monitoring the impact of events on the quality of life of local residents so that a informed decisions can be made regarding which events should be publicly funded. These decisions have traditionally been made based solely on economic impact evaluations but consideration of the social and environmental impacts associated provides for a more balanced appraisal.

Key Questions (1) When considering which events would be good for the community, why is it important that public decision makers consider a range of effects rather than simply estimating the economic impacts? What might be the long term repercussion of failing to consider the social impacts? (2) How would the impacts of a marathon event be likely to differ from the motorsport events described in this chapter? (3) Would you expect that people who participate in a particular sport (e.g. tennis) would be more likely to support a large scale professional event of that type in their community (e.g. a Grand Slam tennis tournament)? Consider all the possible positive and negative impacts of such an event on this community subgroup. 170


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Active Learning Exercise Think of a medium to large scale sporting event that you are familiar with (i.e. hosted in your home town or another place you know well). Consider how it might impact on the quality of life for local residents, that is what might be the positive effects and what if any negative effects there may be for certain subgroups (e.g. those living close to the venue versus those living far away). Consider what strategies the event organisers might be able to use to maximise the positive impacts and to minimise the negative impacts.

Further Recommended Reading For further reading on the impacts of motorsport events see the following references: Burns, J.P.A., Hatch, J.H. and Mules, T.J. (1986) The Adelaide Grand Prix – The Impact of a Special Event. Adelaide: The Centre for South Australian Economic Studies. Fredline, E. (2000) Host community reactions to major sporting events: The Gold Coast Indy and the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, Griffith University, Gold Coast. Fredline, E. and Faulkner, B. (2002) Residents’ reactions to the staging of major motorsport events within their communities: A cluster analysis. Event Management 7 (2), 103–14. Fredline, E. and Faulkner, B. (2002) Variations in residents’ reactions to major motorsport events: Why residents perceive the impacts of events differently. Event Management 7 (2), 115–26. For further reading on local residents’ perception of the impacts of other tourism related activity and the theoretical frameworks used for understanding this see the following references: Ap, J. (1992) Residents’ perceptions on tourism impacts. Annals of Tourism Research 19 (4), 665–90. Lindberg, K. and Johnson, R. (1997) Modelling resident attitudes toward tourism. Annals of Tourism Research 24 (2), 402–24. Pearce, P.L. Moscardo, G. and Ross, G.F. (1996) Tourism Community Relationships. Oxford: Pergamon.

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Websites Social Impacts of the Olympic Games: http://www.cbn.org.au/member/ ggw/projects/GreenIssues/socimp.html http://www.gamesinfo.com.au/postgames/en/pg002073.htm Personal physiological and social benefits of participatory sport: http:// www.dsr.nsw.gov.au/RESEARCH/index.asp References Ap, J. (1992) Residents’ perceptions on tourism impacts. Annals of Tourism Research 19 (4), 665–90. Burns, J.P.A. and Mules, T.J. (1986) A framework for the analysis of major special events. In J.P.A. Burns, J.H. Hatch and T.J. Mules (eds) The Adelaide Grand Prix: The Impact of a Special Event (pp. 5–38). Adelaide: The Centre for South Australian Economic Studies. Burns, J.P.A., Hatch, J.H. and Mules, T.J. (1986) The Adelaide Grand Prix – The Impact of a Special Event. The Centre for South Australian Economic Studies. Carney, S. (1996) How the coalition built its victory. The Age 1 April, 1. Davis, D., Allen, J. and Cosenza, R.M. (1988) Segmenting local residents by their attitudes, interests and opinions toward tourism. Journal of Travel Research 27 (2), 2–8. Dubecki, L. and Baker, R. (2001) Taxpayer subsidy for races hits $11m. The Age 1 November, 4. Eagly, A.H. and Chaiken, S. (1993) The Psychology of Attitudes. Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Emerson, R. (1972) Exchange theory. Part 1: A psychological basis for social exchange. In J. Berger, M. Zelditch and B. Anderson (eds) Sociological Theories in Progress (pp. 38–87). New York: Houghton-Mifflin. Farrant, D. and Taylor, T. (1993) Fear and anticipation over GP plan. The Age 18 December, 2. Fischer, A., Hatch, J. and Paix, B. (1986) Road accidents and the grand prix. In J.P.A. Burns, J.H. Hatch and T.J. Mules (eds) The Adelaide Grand Prix: The Impact of a Special Event (pp. 151–68). Adelaide: The Centre for South Australian Economic Studies. Freeman, J. (1996) Race fever. The Sydney Morning Herald 24 February, 34. Gleeson, P. (2002) Flat out to 2008 $10m prop keeps race in top gear. Gold Coast Bulletin 26 October, 3. Gold Coast Bulletin (1990) Injunction bid to save ‘Indy’ park. The Gold Coast Bulletin 6 August, 6. Gold Coast Bulletin (1991) For residents, a noisy nightmare. The Gold Coast Bulletin 15 March, 4. Green, J. (2002) The last word. The Age 6 March, 16. Green, S. and Brady, N. (1996) Now for more state sell-offs. The Age 1 April, 1. Hall, C.M. (1992) Hallmark Tourist Events: Impacts, Management and Planning. London: Belhaven Press. Kotler, P. (1988) Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation, and Control (6th edn). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 172


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Lindberg, K. and Johnson, R. (1997) Modelling resident attitudes toward tourism. Annals of Tourism Research 24 (2), 402–24. McCullough, J. (2002) Chequered investment. The Courier Mail 26 October, 73. Madrigal, R. (1995) Residents’ perceptions and the role of government. Annals of Tourism Research 22 (1), 86–102. Moscovici, S. (1981) On social representations. In J.P. Forgas (ed.) Social Cognition: Perspectives on Everyday Understanding (pp. 181–209). London: Academic Press. Pearce, P.L., Moscardo, G. and Ross, G.F. (1996) Tourism Community Relationships. Oxford: Pergamon. Skulley, M. (1996) Grand debate over the Prix benefits. The Australian Financial Review 10 October, 11. Ritchie, J. (1984) Assessing the impact of hallmark events: Conceptual and research issues. Journal of Travel Research 22 (1), 2–11. Roberts, G. (1991) Gold Coast Grand Prix may loose $10 million. The Sydney Morning Herald 19 March, 7. Weston, P. (1990a) Indy silence alarms trackside residents. The Gold Coast Bulletin 26 June, 6. Weston, P. (1990b) UN to be asked to stop surfers race. The Gold Coast Bulletin 20 October, 11.

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Chapter 9

Crime and Sport Events Tourism: The 1999–2000 America’s Cup MICHAEL BARKER

Introduction The spatial and temporal impact of crime at tourism destinations, and particularly during the hosting of sporting events, provides significant planning and management issues for the sustainable development of sports tourism. Indeed, some of the most serious impacts of hosting events arise from an increase in crime and adverse behaviour (Standeven & DeKnop, 1999). This is supported by evidence that reports increased crime as one of the negative impacts of special events (e.g. Burns & Mules, 1989; Hall et al., 1995). The nature of crime at events differs widely and can range from opportunistic to organised crime. Although this chapter is primarily concerned with the impact of crime in relation to offenders and victims, it also recognises the potential impact of hooliganism and terrorism, both of which are significant in the hosting and planning of sporting events. Indeed, negative publicity of criminal activity in any form can have serious repercussions on events, the host destination and on future visitor patronage. The study of tourism events has generated a considerable amount of scholarship (e.g. Getz, 1997; Hall, 1992; Ritchie, 1984). Although the majority of the literature relates to sporting events, largely because of their higher public profile for tourism destinations (Hall, 1992), much of the research has focused on measuring positive economic impacts. Despite an increasing desire to host events, there has not been a corresponding level of research either to quantify or understand negative impacts generated by these events. Research into the social impacts of sport tourism events is therefore limited (as Chapter 8 notes), and little reference has been given to the impact of crime at the host destination. In particular, 174

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there is limited understanding about the impact of crime on hosting events, destination crime rates or on visitor experiences of crime. As such, there are few examples in the literature about how appropriate planning of events can minimise the negative impacts of crime at sporting events. This chapter provides a security perspective to the impact, planning and management of sports tourism events. The concepts of sports-event crime are discussed along with evidence of crimes from a number of sporting events and destinations. The chapter also includes a case study using research data derived from the America’s Cup yachting event held in 1999–2000 in Auckland, New Zealand. The research in Auckland examined the impact of an international sporting event on destination crime rates and on crimes against tourists. Some of the major marketing issues are then presented, followed by a discussion of the planning and management issues facing event organisers. These include the impact of policing measures, spatial considerations associated with events, preventative contingency plans and the ongoing monitoring of crime data. It also highlights a number of paradoxes associated with planning events and observes that the nature and impact of crime differs widely between events and destinations. The chapter concludes by noting that the impact of crime at sporting events requires a more in-depth understanding due to the widespread implications of such behaviour for tourism events and destinations.

Learning Outcomes On completion of this chapter readers should be able: (1) To understand the relationship between sporting events and crime. (2) To identify the impacts of crime on different sporting events, the host destination and on visitors to events. (3) To identify the factors contributing to increased crime at sporting events. (4) To explain the significance of researching the impact of crime at sporting events. (5) To explain the planning, management and marketing implications of crime at sporting events.

Crime and Sports Event Tourism Conceptual framework Interest in crime and sport tourism has become increasingly significant in recent times both because the investment and expected returns 175

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of hosting events can be substantial, and because there is increasing evidence that sporting events attract criminals who engage in illegal activities. Sporting events, and special events in general, are a major focus and revenue generator for cities that host events. It is logical, therefore, that planners of events intend to maximize positive returns and minimise any negative impacts (such as crime) associated with an event. This requires an understanding of the nature of sport tourism and the potential for increased criminal activity within the host destination, whether directly or indirectly attributable to an event. The relationship between crime and sport tourism is derived from previous evidence that supports the wider relationship between crime and the presence and visibility of tourism in a destination (see, for example, Chesney-Lind & Lind, 1986). Sporting events are subject to many of the same social impacts and causes of impacts due to their presence in a destination. This suggests that the temporal and spatial opportunities for tourism-related crime are merely enhanced during the hosting of a sporting event. What is more, some of the negative impacts of events, such as increased crime, can be a long-term impact that persists after the event (Burns and Mules, 1989; Hall et al., 1995). Such impacts need to be measured through continued or longitudinal monitoring of crime if they are to be fully understood, because ‘their multiple impacts cannot be fully understood in the short-term’ (Dimanche, 1997: 68). The impacts of sporting events are both interesting and diverse because events differ in their size, nature, location(s) and duration. The Olympic Games, for example, is a multi-venue event, while the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan involved 20 venues across the two countries with significant implications on managing event security. With regard to visitors to sporting events, crimes against tourists tend to cluster in areas involving the concentration of tourism amenities and attractions, and by implication are likely to be higher in areas hosting special events. Furthermore, the socio-demographic and socio-economic differences of visitors can affect their exposure to criminal risk, victimisation and reporting rates (Jackson & Schmierer, 1996; Prideaux, 1994). In some respects, sporting events are unique because the core visitor market is often resistant to travel crises (World Tourism Organization (WTO), 2001). On the other hand, visitor decision-making is complex and attendance at events is influenced by exposure to negative factors associated with an event or location (Bale, 1989). This is heightened because both events and destinations can develop negative associations with crime. The European Cup, for example, has long been associated with football violence and hooliganism. As a consequence, many traditional 176


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fans may avoid the event due to fear for their safety. Using the same example, the images of the destinations that host these events have often been overshadowed by the anticipation of a heavy police presence and rampaging football hooligans. This is some of the evidence that will be discussed as part of the negative event impacts generated by sport. The negative impacts of crime at sporting events There is increasing evidence that the social impacts of hosting sporting events can be wide ranging and substantial, and, as part of this impact milieu, increases in illegal activity may be generated (Burns & Mules, 1989; Hall, et al., 1995; Kelly, 1993). In order to understand the types of crime most prevalent at sporting events, it is necessary to consider the nature and scale of events and the various types of crime identified. Table 9.1 presents a typology of the nature of crime common to different sporting events. On one level, the relationship between sport and crime may be demonstrated by instances of larceny while spectators are attending a local sports event. The criminal act may be opportunistic or it may be a planned undertaking based on the offenders’ knowledge of the regular occurrence and position of local sporting fixtures. A provincial weekend sports event may experience opportunistic crimes and include theft from visitors within the sports ground, or theft from vehicles while spectators attend an event. A regional or national event involves greater travel, spectator support and associated activities, and includes events where teams from different cities or regions compete. The event experience may involve overnight stays in accommodation and additional social activities, both of which have implications on criminal and hedonistic activity. In some cases, travel to these events is part of the sporting experience and where the influence of crime may arise as nuisance outliers; negative impacts occurring some distance from the sporting venue, associated with the spatial impact of sport (e.g. at transit points such as bars, service stations and convenience stores) (Bale, 1989). Public drunkenness, disorderly behaviour and vandalism by event visitors are common nuisances and these have widespread impacts on the local community. In contrast to the deviant behaviour that may be undertaken by event visitors, Hall in Chapter 10 outlines how government often views sport events as a way to reduce deviant behaviour through neighbourhood renewal and regeneration projects associated with sport tourism. On an international scale, the opportunity to engage in criminal activity at sporting events increases significantly. These events can exacerbate 177

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criminal activity, such as when large numbers of people with little loyalty to the destination congregate for a limited period of time. This may be due to differences in the scale of the event, the increased impact of tourism on the host community, and the attraction of visitors from different backgrounds and countries – both event visitors and criminals. In Australia, Hall et al. (1995: 37) found that ‘evidence of the impacts of hosting the America’s Cup on criminal and illegal activity in the Fremantle area is substantial’. During this 1987 event, police noted increases in major personal crimes of a sexual nature, common assault and robbery, along with significant increases in minor offences such as traffic infringements, drunkenness and disorderly behaviour (Hall et al., 1995). One of the more infamous impacts associated with sport is football hooliganism, which usually involves drunkenness, offensive behaviour, vandalism and violence. Hooliganism is a problem that has plagued football events throughout Europe in particular, despite football officials’ continued efforts to eradicate it from the sport. At the final level, crimes may be highly organized activities by groups of criminals who travel to different destinations to prey on visitors attending major global sporting events. Examples of organised crime are typified by reports of groups of criminals travelling to major sporting events such as the Olympic Games (Yandall, 2001) and the soccer World Cup (AFP, 1998) to target event visitors. Following the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, a group of Peruvian criminals renowned for distraction crimes were apprehended by police in New Zealand in some of the country’s most popular tourism destinations (Yandall, 2001). It was reported that the thieves were part of an organised gang who travelled to the Olympic Games to prey on tourists. Following the conclusion of the Games, some had stayed in Australia while others travelled to New Zealand to continue their criminal activities. On a larger scale, the potential for terrorist and politically motivated activity utilising international sporting events is an ever-present threat against the lives of athletes and spectators, in addition to the impact on the event itself. Such agendas at major events have involved demonstrations at the 1981 Springbok rugby tour to New Zealand, the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia and the terrorist massacre at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Increased crime has been regarded as a consequence of the growth in tourist event activity, the criminal opportunities associated with events and the marketing of hedonistic activities (Prideaux, 1996). In an event environment, disorderly and hedonistic behaviour involving alcohol and drugs may increase, as may crime and recreational disorder (Beke & Elands, 1995; Hall et al., 1995). This can lead to the ‘demonstration effect’ 178


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Table 9.1 A typology of sports event crime Event type Example Local Weekend sport Regional/ National

National or Premier Leagues

International

European Cup, America’s Cup

Global

Olympic Games, World Cup

Crime type Property; predatory; opportunistic Property; personal; nuisance outliners Personal; organized robbery; prostitution Organized; terrorism

Example Theft

Impact on individuals

Alcohol and drugrelated Scams; violence;

Security threats; bombs

Increasing impact on the community

Note: each stage of increasing impact is inclusive of crime from the preceding stage.

where, for example, youths are exposed to illegal influences like drugs from event visitors, while seasonal employees emulate the hedonistic lifestyle sometimes associated with public events (Herda, 1993). It has also been reported that the level of prostitution may increase during major sporting events (Hall et al., 1995; Ryan & Kinder, 1996). This was evident in Fremantle during the 1987 America’s Cup when the number of prostitutes in the region rose significantly in anticipation of increased demand for sexual services (Hall, 1992). With this in mind, it is clear that events can generate a myriad of social impacts arising from factors such as increased population, tourism activity and the nature of the event and destination. The hosting of major international and high profile events in New Zealand has drawn attention to the potential for increased illegal activity, including at the America’s Cup in 1999–2000, which Auckland again hosted in 2002–03. The New Zealand Police examined previous America’s Cup events to assist with the planning and strategic management of the 2000 event. The resulting evidence from the 1987 America’s Cup in 179

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Fremantle revealed changes in both the nature and level of crime in the city and suggested that similar opportunities for crime could exist at the 2000 event in Auckland. It also provided sufficient justification for police to examine the impact of crime during the event, both through a Cup policing unit named Operation Marlin and research support for a study on the America’s Cup. The following case study provides an overview of the main findings of the study on the 2000 America’s Cup, which examined the impact of a sporting event on crime.

Case Study: The 2000 America’s Cup in Auckland This case study reports the major findings of a wider empirical analysis of the impacts of the 2000 America’s Cup. The America’s Cup is a major international event on the yachting calendar held on a recurring basis at the defender’s home location. One of the unique features of the America’s Cup event is its duration, spanning five months of yacht racing in one destination. In 1999–2000, the event was located at the Viaduct Basin in downtown Auckland, a city with a population of over 1,000,000 residents and a history of hosting international maritime events. The research in Auckland utilised official police statistics and statistics of reported crimes against tourists collected during the 2000 America’s Cup.1 This was aided by a collaborative relationship with the New Zealand Police, which was a critical component of the research project. The case study provides an example of how the impact of a major sporting event affects crime rates at the host destination. The study explains that the impact of events on criminal activity is indeed complex, and dependent on a range of factors reflective of the nature of the event and destination. Operation Marlin police arrest reports During the America’s Cup period October 1999 and March 2000, Police Operation Marlin recorded a total of 745 arrest offences against 511 individuals (Table 9.2). The nature of these offences reflected the type of event-related activities, the motivations of event visitors and the availability of criminal opportunities in the area. There was a high proportion of drug and anti-social offences, drunk and disorderly behaviour (23.1%) and violent offences recorded during the event. This reflected the hedonistic night-time activities in the area, the increased detection of offences by police, an increased availability of intoxicating drink and a heightened

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tolerance towards alcohol consumption. While similar historical data is not available, the 2002–03 event in Auckland provided an opportunity to make important follow up comparisons about changes in the level and makeup of crime over time. Tourist victimisation The victimisation data reported here represents crimes reported to police by visitors to Auckland during the America’s Cup. Police recorded victim reports on offences reports designed specifically for use during the event. From December 1999 to March 2000, visitors to Auckland reported a total of 202 offences to police at three major stations located in the local area. During the America’s Cup in Auckland, tourists experienced a high proportion of crimes against property, these accounting for 98.5% of total reports. The nature of crime differed between domestic and overseas tourists reflecting differences in their respective travel styles such as accommodation and use of vehicles. Overseas tourists, who accounted for 78.4% of total reports, experienced a similar amount of theft from vehicles and other theft from accommodation and their person. By comparison, domestic tourists experienced a much higher incidence of theft from vehicles. It is interesting to note that more than half (51.4%) of victims were aged 20–29 years and nearly two-thirds of these (65.8%) were male. This suggests that for reported crimes, young males experienced a disproportionate amount of victimisation, or were more likely to report crime. The nature of these offences differ from arrest statistics, which in turn reflects variations in crimes detected by police and reported crime.

Table 9.2 Operation Marlin summary of arrest offences, October 1999–March 2000 Offence type Violent offences Property and related offences Drugs and anti-social offences Traffic offences Total

n 154 144 336 111 745

Source: New Zealand Police.

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% 20.7 19.3 45.1 14.9 100.0

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Summary According to the study’s total findings, the 2000 America’s Cup resulted in an increase in crimes against property, and a notable proportion of violent offences and disorderly behaviour. However, the increase in crime was less than the rise in visitor activity. On this account, one of the major conclusions derived from the Auckland study is that the staging of sporting events is not necessarily a precursor for a proportional increase in crime. Rather, a range of interrelated factors relating to the event, the destination and the visitor profile influences the impact of crime. The long duration of the event had a favourable effect on dispersing the social impacts over time. By comparison, the conclusion and successful defense of the America’s Cup led to a concentration of activity in a short period, resulting in a temporary, albeit notable, increase in crime. The nature of offences during this period was largely hedonistic, arising from the event celebrations and an increased consumption of alcohol. Another factor contributing to low crime was the presence of family groups and people with similar needs, those being to view the yachts and utilise the wide range of hospitality services including prominent cafés, bars and restaurants. Overall, the number of arrests recorded by police was low given that these figures were based on five months of policing in an area visited by over 4,000,000 people. However, police tolerance towards some minor offences and under-reporting of crime (particularly among tourists) (Jackson & Schmierer, 1996) undoubtedly contributed to an underestimate of the true extent of crime. Furthermore, one of the caveats researchers face when examining crime is that reported crimes cannot be used as a reliable predictor for the nature or the level of unreported crime. In spite of the limitations of crime data, the research presented in this case study is derived from a larger dataset that provides baseline data for future America’s Cup events, allowing the opportunity for longitudinal comparisons of criminal activity at a sporting event.

Marketing Issues Sporting events create significant marketing opportunities for increased public awareness about an event. What is more, favourable publicity generated from hosting an event can lead to the ‘enhancement of the awareness and reputation’ of the destination (Ritchie, 1984). Similarly, sporting events and host destinations can gain an unworthy reputation if associated with occurrences of crime. As noted earlier, in football the European Cup developed a reputation for hooliganism, and as such the 182


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host destinations have also been embroiled by these negative images. The images associated with an event have significant implications for visitor attendance, the ability to attract event sponsorship, and the social and economic viability of staging an event. Such is the importance of the economic viability of staging events, that concerns for visitor safety can influence a destination’s ability to win the right to host events. Indeed, attracting an event to a destination with existing levels of high crime may prove difficult, as South Africa found in its failed bid to host the Olympic Games (Ferreira, 1999). Similarly, organisers of the 1996 Olympics Games in Atlanta had to convince the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that the social and economic problems in the city had been resolved before being granted the rights to host the event (Applebome, 1996). Event organisers in England also face the challenge of convincing FIFA2 that a proposed World Cup event would not attract the football violence that has tarnished previous events when its countrymen have travelled to European events. It is clear, therefore, that there are key management and marketing issues facing sport tourism that need to be addressed in conjunction with the planning of events. Some of the principal planning and management issues will be discussed next using examples from past events.

Security Planning and Management The planning and management of sporting events is a complex undertaking that requires the coordination of a number of interest groups dealing with a range of issues. One of the central issues is the role of police during these events. Insofar as the police provide a sense of security and protection, improved policing has long been considered one of the social benefits of tourism (Rothman, 1978). In Auckland, the effect of an increased police presence (see Kelly, 1993; Prideaux, 1994; Rothman, 1978) undoubtedly had a positive impact of deterring crime during the America’s Cup, both on reducing the opportunity for crime and apprehending crime when it occurred. Although largely a temporary benefit, the policing of events can also enhance ongoing police procedures, including the understanding of managing events, the coordination of resources, and the opportunity to generate data on event-related crime. In most cases, it is important that increased policing utilises a visible yet unobtrusive presence of police and security whereby the event is not preoccupied by the security presence, and visitors are not led into a false sense of security (Mathieson & Wall, 1982). Yet, where safety concerns threaten visitor attendance and an incident-free event, publicity of 183

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security arrangements may be desirable, as will be discussed later in the context of hooliganism and terrorism. Finally, while a rise in police numbers may serve to deter potential offending, it may also increase the detection of criminal activity and the number of arrests. This is one of the many paradoxes faced by police and organisers involved in the planning of events and the evaluation of crime data. Anecdotal evidence from police sources in Auckland suggests that crime was conspicuous by its relative absence during the event, in part due to measures taken by the city, police and the America’s Cup Village using crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) to deter illegal activities. However, crime is mobile by location and security planning should account for the relocation of police at sporting events such that it does not lead to the spatial displacement of criminal opportunities or reduced levels of policing in other areas. In addition, event visitors need to be informed of potential risks of crime and the responsibility for their own safety and well-being, some of which they will gain themselves from environmental learning. Separating residential regions from areas containing major sporting facilities is also a key factor in reducing offending, and this highlights the importance of policing both inside and outside the immediate area (i.e. in and around sporting venues). Policing outside football grounds, for example, has increased in response to the need to segregate rival fans (Bale, 1989). A concentrated increase in policing solely at a sporting venue may result in secondary negative spillover effects such as nuisance outliers as discussed earlier. Traditionally a result of the intensification of policing at football stadiums, sport-induced nuisances typically result from travel to and from sporting events either by visiting teams or supporters. One of the wider impacts is that some retail outlets now close during events to prevent entry from rowdy supporters instead of taking advantage of increased patronage. Others choose to ban supporters altogether (Bale, 1989). Although the impacts emanating from the America’s Cup in Auckland were generally positive, the wider evidence serves to highlight the fact that tourism events staged in different destinations can lead to a diverse combination of impacts. This is related to the nature and scale of the event and destination, the duration of the event, the carrying capacities of the destination, the level of community support and the management and marketing approach. For instance, an increased duration of an event effectively prolongs the impacts (positive or negative), alters residents’ lifestyles and their satisfaction with hosting events. On the other hand, a long event can disperse the impact to sustainable levels of carrying 184


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capacity. The socio-demographic and socio-economic profile of the community and the event visitor also affects the impacts generated as well as having implications for the planning of events to satisfy the needs of different markets. The characteristics of visitors were pertinent to the America’s Cup event in Auckland because the affluence of many visitors and yachting fraternity at the event made them potentially high-yielding targets for crime. Yet, as evident from the examples in this chapter, it is the combination of factors rather than any individual factor that determines the impact of an event on crime; and, for that matter, crime on an event The terrorist attacks in the USA on 11 September 2001 changed global security indefinitely, forcing the establishment of new initiatives to counter terrorism, and increasing event and security budgets to unprecedented highs. For the 2003 America’s Cup event in Auckland, the presence of American entrants competing in the event, the name of the Cup itself, the international publicity and the likely perception of New Zealand as a low security target, has initiated increased security management systems. Even prior to the 2000 America’s Cup, the American FBI3 warned that New Zealand would be vulnerable to terrorist attacks during the event and other high-profile events (Reuters, 1999). As part of the procedure for National Security Special Events established after the bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the US government increased the security budget for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City by around US$200 million. The New York Times also noted that: ‘The $310M security plan is the most extensive and expensive for a sporting event. During the next two weeks, 16,000 soldiers, Secret Service agents, police and volunteers will search spectators, patrol venues and monitor the skies for possible threats’ (Associated Press, 2002). While a direct response to increased potential terrorist activity during the Games following the events of 11 September, this stance on security was equally necessary to appease concerns from athletes and visitors to the Games. Korean and Japanese organisers of the 2002 FIFA World Cup also increased spending on security and staged publicised demonstrations of anti-terrorism and anti-hooliganism tactics. Japanese organisers increased their security budget by 25% due to the 11 September attack (Reuters, 8 March 2002). Some analysts argue that events such as the Olympic Games symbolise an international movement, hence a terrorist assault during the Games would represent an attack against all countries. Yet the massacre of members of the Israeli team by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Olympics provided an explicit example that terrorist activity can be confined to 185

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specific targets at an event. In fact, the major developments in security at the Olympic Games only arose as a significant planning issue in response to the terrorist attack at the Munich Games (Thompson, 1999). As the nature of terrorist activity has changed in recent times, how true this threat is today is a matter of debate. However, the intensive security efforts of governments and event organisers suggest that the threat is both real and significant and illustrate the need to manage for potential crises (as is outlined in Chapter 11 by Miller and Ritchie). One of the key aims of this chapter is to highlight the intrinsic value of measuring event-tourism and crime from a practical perspective. The need for increased research into safety and security at events is paramount, as well as increased coordination between the tourism sector and security professionals involved with the timing and planning of events (Tarlow, 2000). In fact, studies on tourism-related crime can generate police support where the findings help police and the tourism industry to identify areas of concern, and ascertain where their crime prevention and education efforts need to occur (e.g. Barker, 2000; Chesney-Lind & Lind, 1986; Schiebler et al., 1996; Walmsley et al., 1983). For example, crime data can enable police to identify visitors who are most at risk of crime, concerned about crime and likely targets for crime during events. This has practical implications for managing visitor perceptions, personal fears for safety and the targeting of appropriate crime prevention towards both visitors and the event location. Collaboration between the police, industry and researchers can therefore provide a mutually beneficial relationship that ultimately enhances the management of events. The tourism sector has been less responsive in acknowledging the impact of tourism-related crime – no doubt due to concerns about how any form of publicity might affect perceptions of the industry. Nevertheless, recent international visitor surveys in Australia and South Africa have posed questions to tourists about safety and personal victimisation, suggesting that attitudes towards tourist safety as a research area may be changing (e.g. Allen, 19994; South African Tourism Board, 1997). These examples are of interest since industry officials in both countries have acknowledged that previous incidents of tourist crime have had a negative impact on tourism in their countries. In spite of this, these examples are typical of the majority of studies in being reactive after negative incidents of crime rather than proactive in anticipating crime. Thus, one of the major obstacles in the prevention of tourist-area crime is that many organisations still regard it as a potential concern rather than an immediate concern in the planning of future events and of tourism per se.

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Conclusion This chapter is aimed at understanding the impact of crime at sporting events, and highlighting the practical management implications for those involved in the planning and policing of events. It integrates theory and global examples with a case study in order to achieve a more holistic outlook about the impact of crime at events. In this way, the chapter provides an interesting perspective about the impact of sporting events on crime, and about crimes against tourists at sporting events. Nevertheless, the study of tourism-related crime remains a relatively unfamiliar area in the planning and policing of tourism events and destinations. Thus, one of the major difficulties with understanding event-related crime lies with ascertaining the proportion of crime attributable to the increase in population; the increase in tourism activity and that associated with hosting the event. For this reason, it is imperative that longitudinal studies that account for these differences are used to better understand the impacts of sporting events. Indeed, this chapter underscores the critical role of coordinated research on event-related crime for the planning and forecasting of impacts at events, and for the development of tourism in host destinations. Tourism planners also need to recognise interrelationships between the impacts and the success of hosting events, and provide a commitment to measuring the nature and extent of these impacts. Indeed, the impact of crime is influenced by a range of interrelated factors relating to the event and destination, including temporal and spatial factors of the event, previous incidents of crime at the event, the visitor profile, community support, the presence of police and existing crime levels in the destination. The culmination of these factors has significant implications for the short- and long-term planning, management and policing of events. With this in mind, event planners will be able to evaluate more effectively the true costs and benefits associated with hosting sporting events, and ways in which to better manage their resources. This chapter therefore concludes that both the nature and extent of crime can differ widely between events and destinations. For this reason, the chapter also emphasises the critical relationships between various stakeholders including event planners, police, local government, community and visitors to the event for evaluating the impact of crime at sporting events. Indeed, a wellcoordinated approach to hosting sporting events will enable more effective management of the impacts arising from these events.

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Key Questions (1) What evidence is there to suggest that crime is related to the hosting of sporting events? (2) What types of criminal activity are endemic to different sporting events? (3) What are the implications of crime on sport tourism and visitors attending sporting events? (4) What measures can be taken to manage security at sporting events?

Active Learning Exercise Choose one major sporting event, a sporting organisation or an event location, that has an Internet website. Check whether the site contains information about the impact of the event on the host destination. Does the site identify the expected economic benefits from the event? Does it explain the security measures in place for the event (note that some major events will contain information on terrorism following the 11 September attack in the USA). Who is the information targeted at? (e.g. the general public, visitors). Does the site contain safety information for visitors attending the event? If so, what is the nature of this information? Does it include a link to the police website? Note that event organisers may have procedures for tourism security management without necessarily publicizing them on their website.

Further Recommended Reading A useful reference book on the geographical perspective of sport is by John Bale (1989) Sports Geography, London; E. & F.N. Spon. It examines the spatial impact of sport on regions including positive and negative impacts associated with its presence. A comprehensive report on football hooliganism written by P. Marsh, K. Fox, G. Carnibella, J. McCann and J. Marsh (1996) Football Violence in Europe, The Amsterdam Group. It can be sourced online through the Social Issues Research Centre Internet site on http://www.sirc.org/publik/football_violence.html. The report includes a collection of examples from throughout Europe and evaluates measures taken by different cities to combat some of the most serious problems associated with football.

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Websites The following websites provide information on security planning or links to specific events from where information is available about event security. For information relating to specific events, it should be noted that the content contained in some websites is subject to change or removal after the event: World Tourism Organization: www.world-tourism.org International Olympic Committee: www.olympic.org Federal Bureau of Investigation: www.fbi.gov Federation Internationale de Football Association: www.fifa.com

Acknowledgements The case study research reported in this chapter was funded by Massey University through a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship and research funds from the College of Business and Department of Management and International Business. The author wishes to acknowledge the logistical contribution of the Auckland Police during the study including access to the city’s crime data. Notes 1. Specific information about the study methodology can be gained from publications by the study authors (see for example Barker et al., 2002a; Barker et al., 2002b). 2. Federation Internationale de Football Association. 3. Federal Bureau of Investigation. 4. Conducted by the New South Wales Bureau of Crime and Statistical Research (BOSCAR).

References AFP (1998) Some 40 international pickpockets picked up during World Cup, http://www.wc98.com/00nC612u/english/tension/backarchive/19980706/a rchive128.html, 9 July (online accessed 3 April 2000). Allen, J. (1999) Crime against international tourists, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, January, No. 43, www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/bocsar (online accessed 15 June 2000). Applebome, P. (1996) Despite flawed form, Atlanta seems to have won, New York Times on the Web, 5 August, http://www.nytimes.com/specials/olympics/ 0805/oly-atlanta-image.html (online accessed 17 March 2000). Associated Press. (2002) 2002 Winter Olympics open in Utah, New York Times on the Web, 8 February, http://www.nytimes.com (online accessed 15 February 2002). 189

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Bale, J. (1989) Sports Geography. London: E. & F.N Spon. Barker, M. (2000) An empirical investigation of tourist crime in New Zealand: perceptions, victimisation and future implications, Unpublished PhD thesis, Centre for Tourism, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Barker, M., Page, S.J. and Meyer, D.H. (2002a) Evaluating the impact of the 2000 America’s Cup on Auckland, New Zealand. Event Management 7 (2), 79–93. Barker, M., Page, S.J. and Meyer, D.H. (2002b) Modelling the tourism-crime nexus at a special event. Annals of Tourism Research 29 (3), 762–82. Beke, B. and Elands, B. (1995) Managing deviant tourist behaviour. In G.J. Ashworth and A.G.J. Dietvorst (eds) Tourism and Spatial Transformations (pp. 285–301). Wallingford: CAB International. Burns, J.P.A. and Mules, T.J. (1989) An economic evaluation of the Adelaide Grand Prix. In G. Syme, B. Shaw, D. Fenton and W. Mueller (eds). The Planning and Evaluation of Hallmark Events (pp. 172–85). Aldershot: Gower Publishing Company. Chesney-Lind, M. and Lind, I.Y. (1986) Visitors as victims: Crimes against tourists in Hawaii. Annals of Tourism Research 13, 167–91. Diamanche, F. (1997) Special events legacy: The 1984 Louisiana World’s Fair in New Orleans, In P. Murphy (ed.) Quality Management in Urban Tourism (pp. 67–74). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. Ferreira, S.L.A. (1999) Crime: A threat to tourism in South Africa. Tourism Geographies (3), 313–24. Getz, D. (1997) Event Management and Event Tourism. New York: Cognizant Communication Corporation. Hall, C.M. (1992) Hallmark Tourist Events: Impacts, Management and Planning. London: Belhaven Press. Hall, C.M., Selwood, J. and McKewon, E. (1995) Hedonists, ladies and larrikins: Crime, prostitution and the 1987 America’s Cup. Visions in Leisure and Business 14 (3), 28–51. Herda, P.S. (1993) Tourism and Alcohol Use in Wanaka, Queenstown and Arrowtown. Department of Anthropology, University of Auckland. Jackson, M.S. and Schmierer, C.L. (1996) Tourism and crime: More crime but less reporting. Tourism and Hospitality Research: Australian and International Perspectives (pp. 549–59). Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia, Australian Tourism and Hospitality Research Conference. Kelly, I. (1993) Tourist destination crime rates: An examination of Cairns and the Gold Coast, Australia. The Journal of Tourism Studies 4 (2), 2–11. Mathieson, A. and Wall, G. (1982) Tourism, Economic, Physical and Social Impacts. Harlow: Longman. Prideaux, B. (1994) Mass tourism and crime: Is there a connection? A study of crime in major Queensland tourism destinations. Tourism Research and Education Conference (pp. 251–60). Queensland: Bureau of Tourism Research. Prideaux, B. (1996) The tourism crime cycle: A beach destination case study. In A. Pizam and Y. Mansfeld (eds) Tourism, Crime and International Security Issues (pp. 59–76). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Reuters (1999) FBI chief says Pacific events may be terror targets, http://cnn. co.jp/WORLD/asiapcf/9902/25/BC-USA-NEWZEALAND.reut/, 25 February (online accessed 10 November 1999). 190


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Reuters (2002) Japan police face hooligans, bomb in soccer drill, http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/en/020307/1/azk.html, 8 March (online accessed 15 April 2002). Ritchie, J.R.B. (1984) Assessing the impact of hallmark events: Conceptual and research issues. Journal of Travel Research 23 (1), 2–11. Rothman, R.A. (1978) Residents and transients: Community reaction to seasonal visitors. Journal of Travel Research 16 (Winter), 8–13. Ryan, C. and Kinder, R. (1996) The deviant tourist and the crimogenic place – The case of the tourist and the New Zealand prostitute. In A. Pizam and Y. Mansfeld (eds) Tourism, Crime and International Security Issues (pp. 23–36). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Schiebler, S.A., Crotts, J.C. and Hollinger, R.C. (1996) Florida tourists’ vulnerability to crime. In A. Pizam and Y. Mansfeld (eds) Tourism, Crime and International Security Issues (pp. 37–50). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. South African Tourism Board (1997) A Survey of South Africa’s International Tourism Market. Johannesburg: South African Tourism Board. Standeven, J. and De Knop, P. (1999) Sport Tourism, Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Tarlow, P.E. (2000) Creating safe and secure communities in economically challenging times. Tourism Economics 6 (2), 139–149. Thompson, A. (1999) Security. In R. Cashman and A. Hughes (eds) Staging the Olympics: The Event and its Impact (pp. 106–20). Sydney: University of New South Wales Press Ltd. Walmsley, D.J., Boskovic, R.M. and Pigram, J.J. (1983) Tourism and crime: An Australian perspective. Journal of Leisure Research 15 (2), 136–55. World Tourism Organization (2001) Tourism After 11 September 2001: Analysis, Remedial, Actions and Prospects. Special Report Number 18. Madrid: World Tourism Organization. Yandall, P. (2001) Camera footage shows your bag can be gone in a blink. The New Zealand Herald 2 June, p. A3.

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Chapter 10

Sport Tourism and Urban Regeneration C. MICHAEL HALL

Introduction The issue of regeneration has become a major theme for urban policy and planning over the last three decades in much of the industrialised world. The impacts of seemingly on-going economic restructuring, globalisation and technological and policy change has meant that the basis for many urban economies has undergone fundamental shifts within which certain areas have high levels of social exclusion and deprivation. The change in the urban economy has therefore led policy makers to rethink the means by which employment may be created and some of the impacts of restructuring overcome. Much of this is undertaken under the rubric of regeneration. The concept of regeneration includes both physical, i.e. concerned with architecture and image, and social dimensions, i.e. concerned with improving the quality of life of those who already live in target areas (Page & Hall, 2003). This spatial split was noted in the comments regarding the delivery of urban regeneration in Towards an Urban Renaissance: The Report of the Urban Task Force, chaired by Lord Rogers of Riverside for the British Government (DETR, 2000a): There are neighbourhoods where regeneration can only be achieved through comprehensive packages of measures to tackle not just the physical environment, but also the economic and social needs of local people. These areas include inner-urban ex-industrial districts with large amounts of derelict, vacant and under-used land and buildings; and more built-up areas, including many publicly owned housing estates, suffering from concentrated social deprivation. 192

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However, if the social aspects of regeneration programmes are to be achieved then it is apparent that physical and social regeneration goals need to be brought together in an integrated package. A review conducted of urban regeneration policies in the United Kingdom provides interesting insights into the success of such initiatives. The DETR sponsored evaluation defined ‘regeneration’ as broadly consisting of Area Based Initiatives (ABIs) mainly introduced by the Department of the Environment and/or DETR, in England, since 1990. Such ABIs were introduced to address cumulative, social, economic and physical problems in disadvantaged areas. In the 1980s and early 1990s, many regeneration measures were orientated towards land and property led economic regeneration. Initiatives included projects such as City Challenge and the Single Regeneration Budget Challenge Fund (SRB) which placed a stronger emphasis on comprehensive regeneration through partnership working, and the more recent New Deal for Communities (NDC) projects which target substantial resources at deprived neighbourhoods of 1000–4000 households. Although the evaluation reported that the schemes have made improvements to areas on some indicators substantial issues remain particularly with assisting those who live in such areas. Indeed, it concluded that ‘Physical regeneration has, in many cases, played an important role in improving neighbourhood identity and external image, and in attracting employment opportunities into the area – although most jobs have not been secured by residents of deprived neighbourhoods’ (DETR, 2000b).

Learning Outcomes On completion of this chapter readers should be able to: (1) Understand the role of sports tourism as a mechanism for urban regeneration. (2) Identify research issues related to sports tourism and its contribution to overcoming social exclusion. (3) Understand the importance of employment as the key factor in urban regeneration strategies.

Sport Tourism and Regeneration Both sport and tourism have long been perceived as urban regeneration mechanisms (Hall, 1992; Law, 1992, 1993; Page, 1995; Page & Hall, 2003). For example, sport is often seen as a mechanism to overcome social problems such as delinquency and there is a rich therapeutic recreation 193

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tradition within leisure, recreation and sport studies (Sugden & Yiannakis, 1982; Purdy & Richard, 1983; Hastad et al., 1984; Coalter, 1988; Glyptis, 1989; Robins, 1990; Tsuchiya, 1996; Witt & Crompton, 1996; Institute of Leisure & Amenity Management, 1999) which has proven enormously influential on government policy making at all levels. Typical of this perspective is that of the UK Policy Action Team 10 report which suggested that sport (and the arts) can contribute to ‘neighbourhood renewal by improving communities’ “performance”’ on four key indicators – health, crime, employment and education (Department of Culture, Media & Sport, 1999: 22). In particular, sport is regarded as playing a positive role with respect to community development: ‘the strengthening of the social resources and processes in a community, by developing those contacts, relationships, networks, agreements and activities outside the household that residents themselves identify will make their locality a better place in which to live and work’ (Thomas, 1995: 2). This perceived wisdom is often to be found as one of the keystones of government leisure and sport policies, particularly with respect to regeneration strategies. For example, the Wirral Partnership (2001) state that ‘Sport brings with it benefits for the economy, for the area’s health and provides a positive focus for individual and community motivation’. Nevertheless, as Coalter and Allison (1996: 8), suggest in a review of the literature on sport and community development with reference to one of the UK sport initiatives of the 1980s (see Rigg, 1986; Deane, 1998): ‘The lesson from Action Sport is that the shift from attempting to provide sporting opportunities at a local level for disadvantaged groups to the instrumental use of sport within community development programmes is fraught with dangers’. Indeed, the issue of the real social benefits that sports may bring to disadvantaged areas is increasingly under question (Long & Sanderson, 1998), particularly as unemployment and low income are at the root of social exclusion and urban deprivation (Roche & Annesley, 1998; Coalter et al., 2000). A number of reports have suggested that sports-related employment can contribute to ‘neighbourhood renewal’ (e.g. Department of Culture, Media & Sport, 1999) and community development (e.g. McDonald & Tungatt, 1992). However, there is little research on the regenerative potential of investment in sport, or the long-term benefits to local communities of sports-led investment strategies (Gratton, 1999; Coalter et al., 2000). For example, existing economic impact studies of local areas (Henley Centre for Forecasting, 1989) have simply estimated the value of the sports industry, rather than addressed issues of regeneration per se (Leisure Industries Research Centre, 1997). Similarly, Coalter et al. (2000: 64) report 194


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on a study of the economic importance of sport in the northern region Lincoln and Stone which concluded that ‘although many claims are made for the contribution that this sector makes in terms of economic welfare, these are frequently based on assertion rather than concrete evidence. There is a need for a more systematic evaluation process to underpin strategies of support for sport both generally and in the region’. Unfortunately, such evaluation processes are generally not forthcoming and, where they are conducted, the findings are often not encouraging in terms of the original expectations for sports-generated economic development (Hall, 1992, 2001; Crompton, 1995; Page & Hall, 2003). Despite such misgivings a number of cities have embarked on large-scale sporting developments associated with regeneration strategies usually in relation to the hosting of major sports events such as the Olympics (e.g. Sydney, Barcelona), the Commonwelath Games (e.g. Manchester, Melbourne) or even the World Student Games (e.g. Sheffield). For example, the official City of Sheffield website proudly proclaims itself as ‘Britain’s first National City of Sport and boasts some of the best international sports venues in the country’ (see http://www.sheffieldcity.co.uk/citysport. htm) including the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre for swimming and diving and the Don Valley International Sports Stadium which were built for the 1989 World Student Games as well as the Sheffield Ski Village, Europe’s largest artificial ski resort. More recently Manchester has also been positioning itself as a sports city in terms of its own regeneration strategy: Eastlands Sport City site is a development of international significance. With the 48,000 seat Commonwealth Games stadium as its centre piece, Sport City will include the National Cycling Centre, the North West Sports Institute, an indoor tennis centre and major retail and leisure opportunities. Sport City will be the focal point for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and will provide real new employment and leisure opportunities that are accessible to local people. The extension of the Metrolink light rail system will improve linkages to the city centre and across the conurbation, increasing job and social opportunities for local people. (Manchester City Council, 2001) Sports related tourism is typically perceived as a key component for the effectiveness of sports related regeneration strategies related as they are to the reimaging of locations in order to attract and retain capital and people. Undoubtedly, the ‘intangibles’ of sport have a powerful influence on decision-makers with respect to the role of sport in economic development (Baade, 1996; Whitson & Macintosh, 1996; Page & Hall, 2003). 195

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Baim (1994) examined financial data from 15 subsidised stadiums in the USA and found that, with very few exceptions, the sole rational justification for stadiums built to receive or keep a sports franchise revolve around the external benefits (e.g. civic pride, tourism and leisure time options) brought to a city. However, the costs to the taxpayer varied widely depending upon the lease negotiations for each facility, noting that the smaller the market size, the more likely that the market accrued external benefits. Nevertheless, such a position could be negated because the per capita subsidy tends to be higher, and the lease terms far more generous to teams from smaller cities because of the substantial competition between medium-sized markets to attract sporting teams (Whitford, 1993). For example, the Los Angeles Rams moved from Anaheim Stadium in Orange County, California – where they were losing $6 million a year – to St. Louis’ new municipally funded $276 million domed downtown stadium for the 1995 season. In exchange, the Rams organisation received a stadium lease with rent of only $250,000 for the whole season, $13 million in moving expenses, half of game day expenses paid by the city, a separate practice facility, all the revenues from boxes, club seats and regular tickets, guaranteed sales of deluxe seats, most of the advertising and concession profit and $27 million to pay off the lease in Anaheim (Sickman, 1995). Indeed, a common characteristic of studies of the economic impacts of sports stadia and facilities and the events that fill them is that their positive effects are usually grossly overestimated (Burns et al., 1986; Hall, 1992). For example, in an analysis of 20 studies in the USA Cromption (1995) identified 11 sources of error leading to overestimates. These errors included the misrepresentation of generated employment (particularly service sector jobs), the concentration on total rather than marginal economic benefits, and the ignoring of opportunity costs. Similarly, Gratton (1999: 9) concluded that ‘although some evidence is available on the economic benefits of sports events and sports tourism, many of the economic benefits to the local community have been poorly researched’. The potential attraction of sports tourism for urban areas is illustrated by Rawn’s (1990) study of sports fans in Indianapolis. She describes the transition of Indianapolis from manufacturing town to international sports venue under the heading of ‘smokestacks to stadiums: affluent sports fans are a clean industry’. Rawn cited an analysis of the spectators at the 1989 GTE Tennis Championships in Indianapolis, where 36% of the spectators had household incomes over $75,000 (as opposed to 4% of the Indianapolis population), one third stayed in a hotel and went shopping 196


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and 84% ate in restaurants. According to Rawn such sports events helped create service jobs in Indianapolis which make up for employment loss in the manufacturing sector. However, in a later analysis of the investments, policies and strategy behind Indianapolis’ US$172.6 million sports-related economic development strategy, Rosentraub et al. (1994) determined that the sports strategy actually had little impact on development and economic growth in Indianapolis versus other mid-sized cities in the region (Rosentraub, 1996). The Indianapolis strategy entailed substantial municipal capital investment in five major facilities, a National Institute for Fitness and Sports and the hosting of seven governing bodies of sport. However, as with many other forms of urban development (Page & Hall, 2003), Rosentraub et al. (1994: 225) noted that ‘it is very difficult, if not impossible to completely disentangle the sports strategy from the nonsports elements of the downtown development program’, and observed that although ‘the overall sports strategy might have contributed to Indianapolis’s image, that different or changed image did not result in higher average salaries or a substantial increase in jobs when growth rates for similar areas are considered’ (1994: 233). Although the strategy ‘generated a substantial number of service sector and hotel jobs’ (Rosentraub et al., 1994: 237) and associated spin-offs from attendance at sporting events, they calculate that that sports-related jobs accounted for only 0.32% of all jobs in the Indianapolis economy (an increase of 0.03%) and the sports-related payrolls accounted for less than 0.5% of the total payrolls of all Indianapolis businesses. Rosenbtraub et al. (1994: 238) concluded: without minimising the success and publicity Indianapolis has enjoyed, outcomes of this magnitude are so small that it is plausible to consider that, had the city focused on other factors, a larger economic impact would have been possible . . . Given how small sports is as an industry and the low pay associated with the numerous service sector jobs created by sports activities, sports is not a prudent vehicle around which a development or redevelopment effort should be organised. It is perhaps not surprising, therefore, that in their review of eventspecific evaluations, Coalter et al. (2000: 6–7) concluded, that ‘there is little evidence about the medium to long-term economic effects of such sports event-led economic regeneration strategies. . . . In particular, there is a lack of available data on the regenerative impact of sports investments on local communities’. Indeed, Gratton (1999: 16) argues that the commercial sports sector ‘is the lead sector in any strategy of economic 197

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regeneration based on sports-related industry. This is mainly due to the substantial economic benefits in terms of the sector’s contribution to the generation of employment, the value of consumer expenditure, the investment opportunities and the ‘foot-loose’ nature of the industries within the sector’. Nevertheless, despite such caution sport and sport-related tourism continues to be integral to regeneration strategies. For example, as part of its regional strategy the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) in the UK state: NWDA will help to capture and support a long-term programme of arts, sport and cultural events with engendering pride and raising aspirations. It brings in and helps to retain the more skilled and talented members of the community – people whose leadership skills are needed to sustain the capacity of every community. (NWDA 2000: 34) More significantly for sports tourism they later go on to claim: Quality infrastructure for sport, arts and museums can help to build the region’s image and is part of the package needed to attract and retain those with the highest levels of talent and skill. These facilities are major tourist and visitor attractions too. The NWDA together with partners will identify the strategic gaps required to strengthen the region’s position and image within the context of an action plan for viable new investment. The action plan will consider the need for new facilities, new investment, and improvements to existing facilities. (NWDA, 2000: 50) Undoubtedly, facilities can generate employment, particularly through the construction phase, and may generate some employment in the longer-term though in the case of event employment much of it will be part-time or casual and low-skilled. However, integral to the successful contribution of such facilities to job recreation will be the extent to which facilities have a policy to train and employ people from within the target area. An example of the use of sport and sports tourism for urban regeneration in a developing country was that of the bid by Cape Town to host the 2004 Olympics. The bid was unsuccessful but nevertheless significant as it explicitly linked the hosting of a mega-event to development needs (Page & Hall, 2003). The Cape Town bid sought to add a fourth ‘pillar’ of ‘human development’ to the Olympic Movements pillars of sport, culture and the environment. The Bid Book argued that every aspect of hosting the Olympics ‘should contribute to the upliftment and quality of 198


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life of the people of the city . . . we place special emphasis on our disadvantaged communities’ (in Hiller, 2000: 441). Rather than merely focus on urban regeneration through the provision of new infrastructure and increase in city profile the Cape Town bid sought to be transformative in a social as well as economic sense. Therefore, the Cape Town bid introduced two innovative ideas into the role of hosting the Olympics. First, the Olympics would serve as a catalyst for improving the social and economic conditions of the historically disadvantages. Second, they would act to redesign the apartheid city and create new linkages between people and cultures. The bid aimed to achieve these objectives through a number of measures (Hiller, 2000; Page & Hall, 2003): • A transformational catalyst accelerating change – using the Olympics as a mechanism to effect immediate short-term change in the physical and social well-being of the city as well as longer-term impacts. • The construction of facilities in disadvantaged areas – of the 42 activity sites for competitions in the Cape Town region, seven were planned for disadvantaged areas. However, 66 of the 77 proposed training sites were planned for disadvantaged areas thereby creating a substantial permanent resource in those urban areas most substantially impacted by the legacy of apartheid. • Facilities as ‘kick-start’ initiatives – the development of new facilities and the upgrading of some existing ones was seen as a mechanism for community revitalisation as part of a wider redevelopment strategy to attract new housing, retailing and investment to disadvantaged areas. • Quality sports facilities supporting community sports programmes – sport and recreation provision was seen as a means of improving the quality of life as well as reducing crime and improving community pride. • A human resource opportunity – it was projected that 90,000 permanent jobs would be created in South Africa as a result of hosting the Olympics. • Contribution to the stock of affordable housing – it was expected that the Olympic developments, including the athletes and media accommodation, would make a small though significant contribution to the housing stock in Cape Town. • Support for small business – the bid explicitly sought to assist small businesses through an economic empowerment policy which offered 50% of its business transactions to enterprises from previously marginalised communities. 199

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• Urban integration of the transport system – 70% of the transport system development funds were earmarked for projects that would directly benefit disadvantaged areas by linking those areas more effectively into the wider urban structure. • Community consultation – the Olympic bid group explicitly sought to involve the community in the bid process through a variety of mechanisms including, local Olympic Steering Committees, a Community Olympic Forum, and a Strategic Environmental Assessment process. As Hiller (2000: 455) noted, ‘the idea of harnessing a mega-event to a broader urban agenda that moves beyond the interests of finance capital, developers, inner-city reclamation and the tourist city is a relatively new idea. This is especially so given the preoccupation with winning IOC votes internationally and the minimisation of local costs and dissent’. However, it is worth noting that Cape Town did not win its bid (coming third in the final vote) and that, subsequently, South Africa missed out to Germany in a bid to host the 2006 World Cup Soccer (although it did win the rights to the 2003 Cricket World Cup). Therefore, the Cape Town Bid Company’s argument that in awarding the bid to Cape Town, the International Olympic Committee would have demonstrated that the Olympic Movement was not ‘beholden to gigantism and commercial exploitation’ and was instead ‘devoted to the progress of all people and must therefore also offer opportunity to those still struggling for their place in the economic sun’ (1996: 38 in Hiller, 2000: 442) holds considerable weight in judging why events are located where they are. Nevertheless, what is also significant in the Cape Town bid is that it demonstrated that the hosting of sporting events can be utilised as much for the broader public good as for the regeneration of cities as places of consumption, entertainment and leisure (Hannigan, 1995; Page & Hall, 2003). As Hiller (2000: 455) observed: ‘When local people in the millions lack adequate housing, food and other subsistence needs, preparing for a “circus” when people need “bread” will always appear inappropriate. But the Cape Town bid raises some new options for consideration that could give mega-events new humanitarian urban value’. The Cape Town bid, as with bids by Toronto to host the Summer Olympics (Hall, 2001), also reflects the growing recognition that the hosting of mega-events, as perhaps with all large scale urban regeneration projects, need to be perceived as part of a broader social contract (Page & Hall, 2003). Indeed, one of the most significant aspects of large-scale urban regeneration strategies, such as mega-sports events, is that they often exclude participation from urban social democracy while at the same time requiring such 200


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large public investments that if they do not work as revitalisation strategies then their actual and opportunity costs are substantially modified (Page & Hall, 2003). Reflecting Law’s (1993: 23) observation, ‘Urban policies are concerned with both winning economic growth for a city and regenerating the core areas, goals which may not always be coincident’. The potential contribution of sports tourism to urban regeneration therefore needs to be seen in context. Municipal regeneration strategies frequently see sport and tourism and the relationships between them as integral to regional development. Benefits are usually perceived in terms of infrastructure development and the hosting of sporting events which utilise such infrastructure which then contribute to both employment and the generation of a positive image which, in turn, may then assist in attracting and retaining capital, employment and people.

Conclusion As Coalter et al. (2000) have concluded, sports facilities can make an important contribution to the physical infrastructure of communities, providing a social focus for a community and affecting people’s perception of their neighbourhood and can also contribute to the quality of life of communities. Nevertheless, the contribution of sports infrastructure and sports tourism in the wider context is open to substantial debate plagued as it is by frequently problematic evaluation and, related to this, often gross over-estimation of the economic benefits of sport tourism both in the short and longer term. In particular, the opportunity costs of investing in sport as opposed to other redevelopment options in terms of employment generation is rarely undertaken. However, sport is extremely hard to argue against. The inherent belief of many that sport is good for you, makes for better citizens, creates pride in the community and generates a positive image is hard to overcome. This belief and a relative lack of criticism of it means that in terms of urban regeneration many large-scale projects and events are going to continue to be funded as it provides opportunities for politicians and civic boosters to cut ribbons, reveal plaques and be seen with sporting winners. The reality is that urban regeneration requires much more than just sport and tourism to generate social and economic capital and create jobs (Page & Hall, 2003). Investment in accessible and affordable education, health and communications technology, along with a diversified job creation strategy is likely to have far more long-term benefits for target areas than investment in elite, often commercial, sports clubs, facilities and infrastructure. But perhaps we will avoid these issues and just watch the football instead. 201

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Key Questions (1) What are the key problems which urban regeneration strategies are seeking to address? (2) What are the costs and benefits of utilising sports tourism as an urban regeneration mechanism? (3) Why is sport usually such a significant component of urban regeneration strategies? (4) Is employment the most important outcome of an urban regeneration strategy?

Active Learning Exercise Compare the urban planning and/or regeneration strategies of three different cities. Evaluate the different weight each city provides to sport and tourism and the interrelationships between them. Provide reasons for the different emphases given to sport and tourism in the strategies, particularly with respect to the differential weighting to health, community development, infrastructure, image and employment factors.

Further Recommended Reading For general accounts of the relationships between sport, tourism and urban regeneration see: Gratton, C. and Henry, I.P. (eds) (2001) Sport in the City: The Role of Sport in Economic and Social Regeneration. London: Routledge. Page, S.J. and Hall, C.M. (2003) Managing Urban Tourism. Harlow: Prentice-Hall. For a discussion of the overestimation of the economic returns from sport related development see: Crompton, J.L. (1995) Economic impact analysis of sports facilities and events: Eleven sources of misapplication. Journal of Sport Management 9 (1), 14–35. and on place marketing and promotion see: Whitson, D. and Macintosh, D. (1996) The global circus: international sport, tourism, and the marketing of cities. Journal of Sport and Social Issues 23, 278–95.

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Websites Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games: http://www.commonwealth games.com/Home/ Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games: http://www.melbourne2006. com.au/ Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, UK, Urban Policy Unit: http:// www.urban.odpm.gov.uk/ Sport England: http://www.sportengland.org/ References Baade, R.A. (1996) Professional sports as catalysts for metropolitan economic development. Journal of Urban Affairs 18 (1), 1–17. Baim, D.V. (1994) The Sports Stadium as a Municipal Investment. Westport: Greenwood Press. Burns, J.P.A., Hatch, J.H. and Mules, T.J. (eds) (1986) The Adelaide Grand Prix: The Impact of a Special Event. Adelaide: The Centre for South Australian Economic Studies. Coalter, F. (1988) Sport and Anti-Social Behaviour: A Literature Review. Research Report No. 2. Edinburgh: Scottish Sports Council. Coalter, F. and Allison, M. (1996) Sport and Community Development, Research Digest No. 42, Scottish Sports Council, Edinburgh. Coalter, F., Allison, M. and Taylor, J. (2000) The Role of Sport in Regenerating Deprived Urban Areas. Centre for Leisure Research, University of Edinburgh, The Scottish Executive Central Research Unit, Edinburgh. Crompton, J.L. (1995) Economic impact analysis of sports facilities and events: Eleven sources of misapplication. Journal of Sport Management 9 (1), 14–35. Deane, J. (1998) Community sports initiatives – An evaluation of UK policy attempts to involve the young unemployed – the 1980’s Action Sport scheme. In Sport In The City: Conference Proceedings, (Vol. 2) (pp. 140–59). Sheffield, 2–4 July 1998, Sheffield: Sheffield Hallam University. Department of Culture, Media and Sport (1999) Policy Action Team 10: Report to the Social Exclusion Unit – Arts and Sport. London: HMSO. Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (2000a) Towards an Urban Renaissance. The Report of the Urban Task Force, chaired by Lord Rogers of Riverside. DETR, http://www.regeneration.detr.gov.uk/utf/renais/index.htm Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (2000b) Regeneration Research Summary: A Review of the Evidence Base for Regeneration Policy and Practice (No. 39). http://www.regeneration.detr.gov.uk/rs/03900/index.htm Glyptis, S. (1989) Leisure and Unemployment. Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Gratton, C. (1999) Sports-Related Industry Study: Final Report. Manchester: Manchester City Council and Northwest Development Agency. Hall, C.M. (1992) Hallmark Tourist Events: Impacts, Management, and Planning. London: Belhaven Press. 203

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Hall, C.M. (2001) Imaging, tourism and sports event fever: The Sydney Olympics and the need for a social charter for mega-events. In C. Gratton and I.P. Henry (eds) Sport in the City: The Role of Sport in Economic and Social Regeneration (pp. 166–83). London: Routledge. Hannigan, J. (1995) The postmodern city: A new urbanisation. Current Sociology 43 (1), 151–217. Hastad, D., Segrave, J., Pangrazi, R. and Petersen, G. (1984) Youth sport participation and deviant behavior. Sociology of Sport Journal 1, 366–73. Henley Centre for Forecasting (1989) The Economic Impact and Importance of Sport in Two Local Areas: Bracknell and The Wirral. London: Sports Council. Hiller, H. (2000) Mega-events, urban boosterism and growth strategies: An analysis of the objectives and legitimations of the Cape Town 2004 Olympic bid. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 24 (2), 439–58. Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management (ILAM) (1999) The Contribution of the Arts and Sport to Neighbourhood Renewal and Reducing Social Inclusion. Reading: ILAM. Law, C.M. (1992) Urban tourism and its contribution to economic regeneration. Urban Studies 29 (3/4), 599–618. Law, C.M. (1993) Urban Tourism: Attracting Visitors to Large Cities. London: Mansell. Leisure Industries Research Centre (1997) A Review of the Economic Impact of Sport: Final Report. Sheffield: Leisure Industries Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University. Long, J. and Sanderson, I. (1998) Social benefits of sport: Where’s the proof? In Sport In The City: Conference Proceedings (Vol. 2) (pp. 295–324). Sheffield, 2–4 July 1998, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield. Manchester City Council (2001) Regeneration in Manchester Statement. http:// www.manchester/gov.uk/regen/statemen/ McDonald, D. and Tungatt, M. (1992) Community Development and Sport. London: Sports Council. Northwest Development Agency (2000) Regional Strategy. Manchester: Northwest Development Agency. Page, S.J. (1995) Urban Tourism. London: Routledge. Page, S.J. and Hall, C.M. (2003) Managing Urban Tourism. Harlow: Prentice-Hall. Purdy, D.A. and Richard, S.F. (1983) Sport and juvenile delinquency: An examination and assessment of four major themes. Pacific Sociological Review 14, 328–38. Rawn, C.D. (1990) From smokestacks to stadiums: Affluent sports fans are a clean industry in Indianapolis. American Demographics October, 49–50. Rigg, M. (1986) Action Sport: Community Sports Leadership in the Inner Cities. London: The Sports Council. Robins, D. (1990) Sport as Prevention: The Role of Sport in Crime Prevention Programmes Aimed at Young People. Occasional Paper No. 12. Oxford: University of Oxford, Centre for Criminological Research. Roche, M. and Annesley, C. (1998) Comparative Social Inclusion Policy in Europe: Report 1: Contexts. Sheffield: Sheffield University. Rosentraub, M.S. (1996) Does the emperor have new clothes? A reply to Robert A. Baade. Journal of Urban Affairs 18 (1), 3–31. 204


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Rosentraub, M.S., Swindell, D., Przybliski, M. and Mullins, D. (1994) Sport and downtown development strategy: If you build it, will jobs come? Journal of Urban Affairs 16 (3), 221–39. Sickman, P. (1995) Sports pork. The American Enterprise 6 (3), 80–2. Sugden, J. and Yiannakis, A. (1982) Sport and juvenile delinquency: A theoretical base. Journal of Sport and Social Issues 6 (1), 22–30. Thomas, D.N. (1995) Community Development at Work: A Case of Obscurity in Accomplishment. London: CDF Publications. Tsuchiya, M. (1996) Recreation and leisure programmes for delinquents: The noncustodial option. In M.F. Collins (ed.) Leisure in Industrial and Post-Industrial Societies (pp. 287–302). Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association. The Wirral Partnership (2001) Economic Regeneration Strategy 2001–2, Priority 4 Infrastructure and the Environment. http://irdss.wirral.gov.uk/ecregen/prior4. asp (online accessed 1 April 2002). Whitford, D. (1993) Playing Hardball: The High-Stakes Battle for Baseball’s New Franchises. New York: Doubleday. Whitson, D. and Macintosh, D. (1996) The global circus: international sport, tourism, and the marketing of cities. Journal of Sport and Social Issues 23, 278–95. Witt, P.A. and Crompton, J.L. (eds) (1996) Recreation Programs that Work for AtRisk Youth. Pennsylvania: Venture Publishing.

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Chapter 11

Sport Tourism in Crisis: Exploring the Impact of the Foot-and-Mouth Crisis on Sport Tourism in the UK GRAHAM A. MILLER AND BRENT W. RITCHIE

Introduction This chapter explores the impact of crises and disasters on sport tourism through an examination of the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak in the UK. The chapter briefly outlines the impact of the FMD on sport and events tourism in the UK before examining the impact on one of the country’s premier horseracing events, the Cheltenham Festival. The chapter discusses the impact of the outbreak on the surrounding economy and key issues that have arisen for sport and tourism managers in the region due to the outbreak. Key questions have been raised concerning the ownership and commercialisation of the event, the relationship of the organisers with the local tourism industry and an important re-evaluation of policies surrounding the management of the event has taken place. The chapter suggests that an over reliance on the Cheltenham Festival for the local economy, and indeed for the income of the management team, has led to the reassessment of the role of the event in the local economy and the relationship between sport event organisers, clients and suppliers.

Learning Outcomes On completion of this chapter readers should: (1) Understand the foot and mouth outbreak in the UK and its impact on sport tourism. (2) Recognise the importance of sport tourism for many rural destinations. 206

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(3) Understand the impact of the foot and mouth crisis on the Cheltenham region. (4) Be aware of how crises and disasters can be both negative and positive forces for change. (5) Be able to reconcile the relationship between sport and tourism within the rural sector as illustrated by the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

Background In February 2001, the first case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) was confirmed in the UK since an outbreak of the disease in 1967. A total of 2030 cases of the disease were identified and a total of over 4,000,000 animals were culled during the crisis. The English Tourism Council (ETC) predicted that losses to English tourism in 2001 would be £5 billion, while in 2002 and 2003 reductions would total £2.5 billion and £1 billion respectively (ETC, 2001b). On 15 January 2002 government officials announced that the disease had finally been defeated after 11 months of battling the outbreak. Despite the end of the disease, the outbreak deeply affected the rural tourism industry and raised questions concerning government policy toward both the farming and tourism industry. It has also raised issues concerning the dependence of some regions on rural tourism and in some destinations sport and events tourism. Although the outbreak was unexpected, questions have been specifically raised concerning the responsiveness and preparedness of the rural tourism industry for the falling numbers that resulted from FMD. Faulkner (2001) notes there are an increasing number of disasters and crises which affect the tourism industry, ranging from natural to human influenced disasters. This has been made most evident since the events of 11 September 2001, which has dramatically impacted upon the tourism industry illustrating the need to understand and effectively manage such incidents. Although tourists primarily visit urban centres in the UK an increasing proportion are visiting the countryside. This is best illustrated by a 26% growth in tourism revenue over the past year now contributing 7% of the workforce, compared with a 21% decline in agricultural revenue contributing only 1.5% of the workforce (English Tourism Council, 2001a). Tourism is now one of the key drivers of the British economy and supports around 1,000,000 jobs, with one in five of all new jobs created in the tourist industry (Star UK Statistics, 2001), while 20% of ‘leisurerelated’ expenditure in England occur in the countryside (HM Treasury, 2001). Thus, tourism initiatives, including the development of events and 207

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sport tourism, have been a popular avenue of economic revitalisation as rural regions attempt to restructure themselves (Bramwell & Lane, 1994). However, as rural tourism and the demand for sport and event tourism grows in rural areas, an over reliance on such forms of tourism may be misguided, particularly if crises such as the foot and mouth outbreak occur. Faulkner (2001) argues that there is a lack of research on disaster phenomena in the tourism industry, on the impacts of such events on both the industry and specific organisations, and the responses of the industry to disasters. Yet Lee and Harrald (1999: 184) note that crisis management, disaster recovery and organisational continuity are important competencies for managers in both the public and private sector. Over dependence on sport and events tourism can be compounded by a lack of disaster or crisis preparedness by both sport and tourism organisations with major economic, social and political implications for both industry and destinations. This fact related to sporting events was also discussed by Barker in Chapter 9 concerning crime and terrorist activity. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport were responsible at the national government level in England for both sport and tourism policy development, and in April 2001 they released guidelines for event and sport to minimise the spread of the foot-and-mouth outbreak. In June 2001 as the outbreak continued to spread they released amended guidelines (see Table 11.1). However, although these guidelines and information were useful they often did not prevent the cancellation or postponement of a number of events in early to mid 2001. A number of sporting and recreational fixtures were abandoned throughout the UK as organisations and associations took precautionary measures in an attempt to limit the spread of the disease. Governing bodies in sports such as horseracing and rugby union had to make tough decisions to postpone or cancel many events. Although the foot-and-mouth disease could not harm humans, people and other animals (such as horses) could act as carriers and help spread the disease throughout the UK. Along with the cancellation of small rural events and sporting fixtures was disruption to larger sporting events and recreational activities that attract sport tourists. Motorsport was affected with the cancellation of the Malcolm Wilson Rally in Cumbria, the Rally of Wales and the Isle of Man TT Motorcycle race. The Isle of Man TT Motorcycle race has in the past attracted up to 40,000 motorbike enthusiasts and are worth between £5 million and £7 million to the island’s economy (Etim, 2001). According to Etim (2001) it was considered impractical to restrict spectator movements and disinfect thousands of motorists who might have travelled from 208


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infected areas. It simply became too big a task to successfully host the event at that particular time because of the nature of sporting events and the crisis that loomed. The Welsh Rugby Union commented that ‘there are very serious implications that are obviously more important than an international rugby fixture’ (BBC News, 2001) in response to the postponement of the Wales versus Ireland, Ireland versus England and Scotland versus Ireland Six Nations rugby matches. Athletics was also impacted with the World Cross-Country Championships being moved from Dublin to Brussels in March 2001, while other international events such as the British Isles Bowls Championships were subsequently postponed. However, not only were major events impacted but several recreational activities were unable to occur due to restrictions implemented to contain the disease. Fishing, rambling, hiking, caving, mountaineering, orienteering and sailing were all affected with many governing bodies requesting that members exercise caution or indeed stay away from the countryside. In late February 2001 the Irish government announced the suspension of all horse and greyhound meetings, while the British Horseracing Board and Jockey Club suspended all meetings from late February 2001 until early March 2001 in a bid to stem the spread of the foot-and-mouth disease. Some of the horseracing fraternity believed that a suspension of all activity should occur to support the farming community which was seen to have a close relationship with the horseracing fraternity. The remainder of this chapter examines the case of the cancellation of the Cheltenham Festival and the impact that this had on the region of Cheltenham and the organisers of this major sporting event, the Cheltenham Horseracing Association. The chapter acknowledges that although the event was cancelled for 2001 it provided an opportunity for the organisers and community to ‘take stock’ of the sporting event, its management and role in the surrounding region.

Sport in Crisis: The Case of Cheltenham, England The Cheltenham Horseracing Association The main activity of the Cheltenham Horseracing Association is the hosting of an annual horseracing festival called the Cheltenham Festival. The Festival is second only in the UK to the Grand National in the national hunt racing calendar, and lists itself as one of the top ten sporting events in the UK. The racecourse, in a rural part of the west of England, contains the biggest corporate entertainment area for any British sporting event. 209

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3. In cases where an event is to be held in an infected area which can only be accessed by a non-tarmacked or single track road, organisers should seek advice from the divisonal vet. In all cases, maintenance of an appropriate disinfectant regime must be applied for venues which can only be reached by nontarmacked roads, for example muddy roads or tracks, or where the event takes place adjacent to land where there are susceptible livestock. The MAFF website gives details of approved disinfectants etc

2. Events, which can be reached by a tarmac public highway, can open in any part of the country. Events should not be held where access is down single track country lanes and non-tarmacked roads within or adjacent to infected areas. However, tarmac roads accessing some venues may carry mud and manure from agricultural traffic. If possible, these roads should be swept with tractor-mounted brushes and disinfectant.

1. To reduce the risk of spreading FMD around the country, event organisers can take fairly simple precautions: • Request that those who have been in direct contact with livestock do not attend; • It is vital that those attending do not come into any contact with livestock; • Access and movement around the site should be carefully managed and monitored • in particular potential exit points to adjacent farmland should be closed; • At vehicle entry points and car parks, ensure that there is effective disinfectant provision and exclusion of livestock; and • Explain restrictions you place on participants and spectators and encourage their understanding and compliance.

Guidelines released 10 April 2001 What you need to know

Table 11.1a FMD information and guidelines for event organisers (2001)

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This guidance will be kept under continual review.

10. Dogs, where permitted, should be kept on a short lead.

9. One way of ensuring spectators and participants do not mix with animals is to create a ‘buffer zone’. This should be a minimum of 10 metres, between any place where people have access and where susceptible livestock or parkland deer are.

8. Deer roam wild in many parts of England. You do not need to ensure that wild deer or other wild animals have been excluded from your venue before opening it to the public, particularly in woodlands.

7. Do not allow access to areas with susceptible livestock, including parkland or farmed deer.

6. Where animals are on site they should be kept apart from spectators and participants, particularly from susceptible livestock. A list of animals, which are susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease, is set out below.

5. It is essential to consult neighbouring landowners and it is good practice to consult other members of the local community about proposals to stage your event.

4. Ensure that all stewards, officials and other staff are fully briefed and trained in necessary precautionary measures.

www.maff.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/fmd/disinfectant.htm. If you do not have a computer to access the website, then you can phone MAFF’s Helpline on 0845 050 4141 (calls charged at local rate).

Guidelines released 10 April 2001

Table 11.1a (continued)

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2. Events which can be reached by a tarmac public highway can open in any part of the country. 3. Events should not be held within 3 km of an Infected Premises (where FMD has been confirmed or is suspected), which require one to pass through agricultural land (including open land). 4. Maintenance of an appropriate disinfectant regime is a sensible precaution for revised visitor attractions which can only be reached by non-tarmacked roads, for example muddy roads or tracks, or where the attraction is adjacent to land where there are susceptible livestock. The MAFF website gives details of approved disinfectants etc www.maff.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/fmd/disinfectant.htm. If you do not have a computer to access the website, then you can phone MAFF’s Helpline on 0845 050 4141 (calls charged at local rate).

1. To reduce the risk of accidentally spreading FMD around the country, event organisers can take fairly simple precautions: • request that those who have handled cattle, sheep, goats, pigs or deer in the previous 7 days should stay off all other farmland, including parkland with deer; • at all vehicle entry points and car parks, ensure the exclusion of livestock; potential exit points to agricultural land within a 3 km radius of an Infected Premises should be closed; • where relevant to your site, you should give clear guidance to the public that: – visitors must not go near and never touch, handle or feed livestock; – dogs, where permitted, must be on a short lead where there are any livestock in the vicinity; and in Infected Areas, dogs should be kept out of fields and other areas with cattle. • explain restrictions you place on participants and spectators and encourage their understanding and compliance; and ensure that all staff are fully briefed and trained in necessary precautionary measures.

Guidelines released 14 June, 2001 What you need to know

Table 11.1b FMD information and guidelines for event organisers (2001)

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Source: Department of Culture, Media and Sport (2001a) and (2001b).

5. Ensure that all stewards, officials and other staff are fully briefed and trained in necessary precautionary measures. 6. You should consult neighbouring landowners and occupiers, and other members of the local community about proposals to stage your event. 7. This guidance will be kept under review. Key changes to previous advice on staging events 8. In the light of new veterinary advice resulting in changes to the MAFF/DETR guidance on Rights of Way, the following key changes have been made to our previous bulletin: • a relaxation, outside the 3 km zone of an Infected Premises, of the need physically to keep people and livestock apart. Fencing or a buffer zone is only needed now, outside 3 km of an infected premises, where the particular local circumstances dictate that this is essential to ensure that the public can follow the guidance that they should not go near, and never touch, handle or feed livestock. Such measures are only likely to be needed for places attracting substantial numbers of visitors where susceptible livestock are present, and notices are not thought sufficient to ensure people and livestock are kept apart; and • a relaxation in access for dogs in areas where livestock are present. They are allowed, provided they are kept on a short lead. No dogs are allowed in Infected Areas where cattle are present. Animals susceptible to foot-andmouth disease 9. Animals susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease include cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, wild boar, deer, camelids and certain zoo animals, such as elephants. 10. As well as a website, MAFF has a Helpline which you can ring for full advice on: 0845 050 4141 (calls charged at local rate). You can call seven days a week from 8 am to 11 pm. Regional Tourist Boards 11. A list of England’s Regional Tourist Boards follows. Events organisers should inform the relevant Regional Tourist Board whether an event is going ahead, postponed or cancelled.

Guidelines released 14 June, 2001

Table 11.1b (continued) Sport Tourism in Crisis 213

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The Festival has been organised in its current format since 1948 and today is held over three days in March and comprises 20 races with prize money of over £1 million. The largest race is the Gold Cup, which takes place on the final day of the Festival and attracts prize money of £290,000. Each day of the Festival draws capacity crowds of 50,000 (plus an additional 10,000 acting as staff, media, security etc.) – with the day of the Gold Cup being sold out several months in advance. Over 250,000 visitors attend the racecourse for racing events during the course of the winter season. In 2000, Cheltenham was named the racecourse of the year for the seventh time in eight years by the Racegoers Club. Cheltenham employs 50 staff on a permanent basis, but this number will increase to over 1000 on a normal race day and in excess of 5000 per day for the Festival. Figures show Cheltenham racecourse has a turnover of £12 million, which includes £11.5 million from racing and £500,000 from non-racing events (Cheltenham Racecourse, 2001). Of the £11.5 million from racing, £9 million (75% of total turnover) is derived from the three-day festival in March. From all racing throughout the year, approximately £6 million (over 50% of total turnover) comes from the cost of admission to the races. Such ratios signal high reliance on racing for income, high reliance on the Festival for racing income, high reliance on admissions during the Festival and ultimately high reliance on corporate customers (where hospitality is included in the admission prices) during the Festival. The vast majority of these tickets are advanced sales. Around 5000 customers from Ireland attend the Festival each year, as well as a large number who live in England, giving the Festival its famed Irish atmosphere. Media revenues contribute around £1 million to turnover (1,000,000 viewers are recorded as watching the Gold Cup live on TV) and the 6500 members are worth about £1.2 million through their membership fees. Corporate hospitality and the hire of boxes also add a further £1.2 million to the racing turnover. The policy of the racecourse to play no role in the managing of non-racing events, means that revenue is restricted to the fee for letting facilities and thus contributes only £500,000 to total turnover, although more people attend the racecourse for non-racing than racing events. Cheltenham Horseracing Association and the surrounding economy Cheltenham is the principle town within the county of Gloucestershire, which is a rural county with a population of less than 500,000 but within easy access of the major cities of Birmingham and Cardiff, and all the 214


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permanent attractions consistent with the second city of England and the capital of Wales. Cheltenham has therefore sought to develop a plethora of festivals to promote tourism. These festivals include the International Festival of Music, the Festival of Literature, Jazz Festival, Cricket Festival and an arts festival. In 1999, over 6,000,000 visitors were attracted to Cheltenham, contributing £220 million to the town’s economy and helping to support over 6000 jobs (Cheltenham Borough Council, 2002). For the county of Gloucestershire as a whole, 27,000,000 visitors were recorded, contributing £500 million and supporting a direct workforce of 18,612, the fourth largest employer in the county and responsible for one in 10 jobs in Gloucestershire (Gloucestershire Tourism, 2002). Visitors to Cheltenham therefore generate nearly half the tourism revenue for the county and the Cheltenham Festival is the largest single contributor to tourism in Cheltenham, demonstrating the prominent role that the threeday Festival has in the local economy. During the winter season, 10,000 of the 250,000 attendees to races stay overnight in Gloucestershire, while for the Festival, 10,000 of the 60,000 daily customers and staff remain overnight, making available accommodation extremely difficult to find during the Festival. The local tourism office pride themselves that they do not go home until everyone has been found a room for the night, although the area over which customers stay is spread far beyond the borders of the county. A fully booked accommodation stock for the three-day Festival would contribute around £1.5 million to the Cheltenham economy, gate receipts are equal to approximately £4.5 million and a conservative estimate of spending at £75 per person per visit would give a total direct contribution to the local economy of over £17 million. No formal attempt has been made to measure the benefits enjoyed by the town or the county as a result of the Festival, although it is felt that the expansion of the November meetings and the addition of Sunday racing to the schedule has encouraged racegoers to stay overnight and further explore the county. The managing director of the Cheltenham Horseracing Association notes that ‘great emphasis is placed on ensuring the Racecourse is effectively portrayed as a Gloucestershire based location to help boost the local economy. The majority of people who come to the Racecourse do so for that specific reason but also use the opportunity to take in the beautiful surroundings of the Cotswolds at the same time’ (Gillespie, 2001). Yet, although it is intuitive to believe with the large numbers who visit the racecourse throughout the year that some will return later to visit the Cotswolds or the wider region around Cheltenham, the tourism officer for Cheltenham feels that it is a misnomer to suggest that many do 215

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(Jennings, 2001). Indeed, the market who go to watch the racing are seen as a separate group from those who attend the arts festival, or the literature festival and attempts should be made to further separate, rather than look to combine, the various festivals of Cheltenham town. Thus, the racecourse at Cheltenham can be seen as an independent event, which generates income for the region during the time of the races, but does not operate significantly as a shop window for the local tourism industry generating income at other times of the year outside race days. As a response to FMD the British Horseracing Board (BHB) and the Jockey Club in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture, Farms and Fisheries (MAFF) set down strict instructions and guidelines in order that racing might continue despite FMD. In the absence of any confirmed cases near the racecourse these instructions enabled preparations for the Festival to continue as planned despite vocal opposition from the local farming community who wanted the event to be cancelled. Advice received was that the Festival would pose no greater threat than a premiership football match, none of which had been cancelled. This advice was strongly contested by the farming community, who instead wanted to limit as far as possible the number of people visiting the area and increasing the risk of spreading the disease. A distinguishing feature of the FMD was the evolving nature of the disaster and the way in which policies were amended as the disease refused to abate. Instructions passed down from BHB and MAFF were subsequently changed, necessitating the postponement of the Festival from its traditional date in March and its rescheduling to take the place of a smaller meeting planned for April. The nature of the Hunt racing season meant that dates not conflicting with other courses were scarce and that the ground would not be suitable for hunt racing once into May. In operational terms, May also carries a heavier number of other sporting fixtures and so reduces the availability of the required plant, equipment and staff. A further issue was the importance of the Irish racegoers and horses. The Festival is famed for its links with Irish supporters, which it feels gives it a distinctive atmosphere and the source of much of its attraction for non-Irish customers. As a key element in attracting supporters, media and sponsors from a distinct market is to attract horses from that market, and races in Ireland form an important element of the preparation for the Festival. Thus, in a bid to prevent the spread of the disease to the island, the Irish government cancelled all races in Ireland and stated that 30 days must elapse after the final outbreak of the disease in the UK before racing could resume in Ireland, this decision served to further disjoint the racing 216


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season. On 1 April, the BHB ruled that confirmation of FMD at a farm about five miles from the racecourse meant the abandonment of racing in April and the possibility of simply postponing the Festival to a later date. The Festival was thus cancelled for 2001. In total there were 258 confirmed cases of FMD in the south-west, including 76 cases in Gloucestershire. This led to a reduction in general business turnover in the south-west of £760 million and the loss of 2500 jobs in just two months from the outbreak of the disease to April 2001. Tourism and agriculture related businesses were shown to have suffered more than any other type of business, while rural businesses were also shown to have fared worse than urban businesses. 90% of visitor attractions reported a decline in turnover during March 2001 as compared to the previous year, while 72% of all tourism businesses reported a fall in turnover over the same period. It is estimated that there was a decline in tourism expenditure in the south-west tourism region of £127 million for the whole year, roughly equivalent to 4% of the total tourism expenditure. This figure represents a contribution to the regional GDP of £60 million and this would support 1900 full time equivalent jobs (Gripaios et al., 2001). However, the initial calculations are based on an early end to the disease, whereas FMD was not finally eradicated for almost one year from its discovery, had other external events not intervened, the figures would represent a low estimation of the total impact.

Discussion of Key Issues Whose event is it? The course at Cheltenham was first set out in 1898 and in 1904 was selected by the National Hunt Committee to host the National Hunt Steeplechase, the race that developed into the three-day Cheltenham Festival of today. By 1911, due to the success of Cheltenham in hosting the race and promises for future development, Cheltenham was awarded the race permanently and the Festival has been organised in its current format since 1948. As such, the racecourse has been a part of rural life in the region for over 100 years, having developed from the leisure and business pursuits of the rural community. The role of the farming community as an important constituent in the racecourse had gone unchallenged until the outbreak of FMD when the willingness of the management of Cheltenham racecourse to continue with the races if at all possible was seen as duplicitous by local farmers. The managing director of Cheltenham racecourse explained,

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. . . we look out from this modern grandstand and its countryside and you cannot deny that we are part of the countryside, but we are in a modern stadium and we are part of a modern stadium culture . . . you have to deal with the responsibilities and the national media interest in that, but . . . you have got to remember that the farming community see this as a manifestation of their own lives. (Gillespie 2001) Such a position can lead us to consider who the event ‘belongs to’, not strictly in terms of ownership, but in the sense that the local community feel the event is one that they will support and can relate to. The tourism literature is full of warnings of the need to mitigate social impacts in order that the local populace support the tourism industry and so create a positive atmosphere for the tourists (Cohen, 1972; Butler, 1974; Doxey, 1975). Similarly, the event tourism literature notes that festivals and events can be designed not only to attract visitors to rural regions, but also to develop community solidarity and civic pride amongst local residents (Getz, 1991). Mayfield and Crompton (1995) noted that increasing socialisation, promoting and preserving culture, improving the well-being of a community, and gaining recognition and support from various publics were motivations of rural event organisers. While Aronoff (1993) noted that community celebration in rural areas can help regions overcome past rivalries and can generate valuable resources for local economic recovery. However, there is also evidence to suggest that the role of tourism in rural development can lead to a negative change in residents’ relationships with one another and with their community (Huang & Stewart, 1996). Conflicts of interest may result over whether or not to develop tourism (Lankford, 1994), or whether to change and modify an event or festival for commercial purposes. Therefore ‘when festivals and other special events are consciously developed and promoted as tourist attractions, there is the risk that commercialisation will detract from celebration; that entertainment or spectacle will replace the inherent meanings of the celebrations’ (Getz, 1994: 313). Indeed, the managing director of Cheltenham racecourse stressed the value of the event retaining its distinctive local flavour in the face of the needs for an increasing number of staff being brought in by event companies just for the Festival who might be working at Wimbledon next week and Silverstone the week after. The march of corporatism is in direct response to the decision to expand the Festival, which in turn is a response to the continuing popularity of the Festival, based largely on its links with the local community. Gillespie (2001) describes,

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. . . the pubs, the hotels, in the main they love it, they rise to the occasion . . . the locals get involved with it because they go to the pub and they have racing stories, as do the local stores, it invades peoples lives . . . there is a relationship between the town, the racecourse and the countryside. However, the willingness of the local residents to decorate their houses, shops, pubs and restaurants for a Festival they no longer feel ownership of could threaten the atmosphere of a rural event and advance the move to a more corporate event that simply occurs in a rural economy. Such a position depends on the local residents supporting the position of the farmers and being critical of the racecourse for its decision to reject protestations from farmers to cancel the Festival. Having demonstrated that the Festival has outgrown its origins, and now sees its place as being among the sporting community, whether the Festival can retain the local involvement that has made it such a success presents a key challenge to the management team. The challenge to the town of Cheltenham is to recognise their role within an event that provides benefit to their economy. The relationship with the local tourism industry No formal links exist between Cheltenham and the surrounding elements of the tourism industry, although frequent contact is maintained between the managing director of Cheltenham and the Cheltenham tourism officer. Trips to meet with key market organisers are made with the Cheltenham tourism officer and officials from the Heart of England tourist board. Cheltenham has always been part of the Heart of England tourist board, although the region identifies itself more with the southwest of England. Thus, special dispensation has been made to allow Cheltenham town to belong to both tourist boards and enjoy the benefits of these associations. A similar arrangement has been made for the town with the Regional Development Agencies of Gloucestershire and the Heart of England. This pragmatic approach enables the town of Cheltenham to ally itself with promotions suited to the tourism product rather than being constrained by artificial catchment areas. No formal mechanism exists between the region’s largest tourism attraction and the local hoteliers, with instead the local tourism board being used as a conduit through which contact can be made by the racecourse with the hoteliers as necessary. While the relationship between the racecourse and the hoteliers is held to be good, problems have arisen as a result of the FMD with key customer groups:

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the Irish were generally pretty upset with us in February and March when we originally said we were going to go ahead and the Irish were not able to come, they got very upset. It was like going ahead with a party but our chief guest couldn’t come, they got very upset with us. And then when we postponed, a lot of the hotels didn’t look after the Irish, because someone has got to pick up the risk somewhere and a lot of the smaller hotels in particular have made it very difficult . . . the Irish people have spent a lot of money and they never had a festival, and it seems because there is an assumption that the Irish will turn up, there is an increasing number of obstacles put in their path. (Gillespie, 2001) Many hoteliers chose to retain deposits once it was clear that the Festival would be abandoned and have subsequently demanded higher deposits from visitors from Ireland for the Festival. The racecourse itself refunded all ticket sales and all suppliers contracted for the event, but this spirit was not evident throughout all organisations who play a role in the Festival. Beyond the immediate region of the Festival, the main airline serving customers from Ireland for the Festival has announced payment must be made in full 10 weeks before travel as well as requiring customers to use Internet booking. Such actions by hoteliers and airlines have left the Irish feeling slighted, as well as financially hurt. The result has been a charm offensive waged by the racecourse and representatives of the various tourism boards to encourage the Irish racing public to return to the event. However, the actions by the hoteliers are indicative of the short-termist approach that can be taken by organisations to the possible detriment of the long-term success of their and other businesses. The danger for the Festival is that this short-termism costs them customers, who will then get out of the habit of coming to the racecourse, this is a particularly acute danger when so much of the annual revenue is derived from a three-day event. An additional threat is a recent rise in the power of Irish hunt racing, to the point where Cheltenham’s role in the racing calendar can be seen as vulnerable to challenge. Such a challenge would threaten the prosperity of the town of Cheltenham and the wider regions who currently benefit from the Festival and its other events. The actions of the industry has illustrated the importance of the tourism industry for the successful running of the sports event and the need to have more a closer working relationship with the tourism industry.

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Re-evaluation of policies ‘. . . while I wouldn’t have wished it (FMD) on anyone else, it has put into focus our relationship with others’ Gillespie (2001). FMD has led to a re-evaluation of the relationship between the Festival, its suppliers and stakeholders, particularly with regard to issues such as dependency and partnership. Some authors note that crises and disasters are turning points for destinations and organisations, and chaos theory itself sees chaos as creative rather than a destructive process. As Berman and Roel (1993: 82) note ‘crises bring about marked regressions as well as opportunities for creativity and new options’. While Faulkner (2001) suggests that transformation will bring about both positive and negative change through organisational learning. The disaster has forced a recognition that there had been complacency with regard to the value of customers from Ireland as well as the 6500 ‘members’ of Cheltenham who were not entitled to a refund on their membership because of the cancellation of one particular racing meet during the year, even though the Festival represents the main attraction of membership. This caused great upset amongst some members and the managing director concedes the problems arose in describing a policy that was not well stated originally and ‘. . . if you haven’t had a reverse in 55 years, you get out of the habit of how to handle it’. However, as a result of the disaster ‘. . . we will better state it (the policy) so that people know at the point of engagement what the deal is . . . it is a very good example of how we have taken them for granted and therefore we haven’t managed it well and so we now have a whole new redesign of how we are going to engage with our members’ (Gillespie, 2001). Similarly, the cancellation of the Festival meant local hoteliers, restaurateurs and others dependent on the three-day meet were forced to re-evaluate their relationship with the racecourse. There is evidence that suppliers have profited from FMD by being refunded after the decision to cancel, and then not passing this refund on to those who would supply the suppliers. Such practices have led to a revision of relationships and a tightening of the procedures for engagement with suppliers. Further, attention has been drawn to the inappropriately low levels of insurance cover that many organisations had, weighing the likelihood that FMD would not happen against the increasing cost of insurance. Cheltenham racecourse was insured for such an event, marking it as unusual in the tourism industry.

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Conclusion This chapter has highlighted the growing importance of tourism and in particular sport and event tourism in regional UK and the problems associated with the over reliance of tourism for some regional economies. The case of the Cheltenham Festival in the UK has illustrated the importance of the Festival for the local economy and the organisers, the Cheltenham Horseracing Association. However, an analysis of the impact of the foot-and-mouth outbreak and its impact upon the event has raised a number of key issues, which will need to be addressed in the coming years. In particular, the issue of balancing the social and community needs of the event with marketing and commercial development may need to be addressed in the future. The difficulty in balancing these goals may be difficult, and Getz (1994) notes whether the social/cultural and marketing goals of events can ever be balanced. Furthermore, the foot-and-mouth outbreak has outlined the relationship of the festival with key stakeholder groups. First, it has outlined the short-term gain of some hotel and tourism operators and how this may impact upon the future viability and atmosphere of the event. The footand-mouth outbreak has also led to a re-evaluation of policies surrounding the management of the event, particularly in light of the behaviour of the tourism industry, but also the reaction of members to the Festival being cancelled for 2001. For Cheltenham, FMD has meant a valuable revision of its relation with its customers and stakeholders. The disaster has forced recognition that there had been some complacency with regard to the value of customers from Ireland and a determination not to take them for granted in the future. Within the course of 11 months the rural tourism industry suffered huge losses from FMD and such a course of events illustrates the vulnerability of the sport tourism industry to disasters, but demonstrates the potential for positive change to emerge. However, the extent of negative or positive impact is largely beyond the control of the sport tourism industry. The FMD and could not have been influenced by the sport tourism industry, only responded to, while both events were entirely unpredictable. The case of FMD illustrates the vulnerability of destinations reliant on sport tourism to support their economies. It has also illustrated the interrelationship between the tourism and sport industry within rural society and economies and the increasing importance of sport tourism in such regions.

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Key Questions (1) Why are sport and events tourism becoming increasingly important for rural regions? (2) Why was the sport tourism industry not prepared for the foot and mouth outbreak? (3) Outline three strategies or new policies that the Cheltenham Horseracing Association could implement to reduce the impact of crises/disasters on future events based on your reading.

Active Learning Exercise Search websites for companies that offer crisis management training and consultancy services. What kinds of services do they offer and how could these have helped the Cheltenham Horseracing Association and other sport tourism managers? If you were a consultant what advice would you give sport event organisers like the Cheltenham Horseracing Association to help minimise the impact of crises or disasters?

Further Recommended Reading Bramwell, B. and Lane, B. (eds) (1994) Rural Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development. Clevedon: Channel View Publications. Faulkner, B. (2001) Towards and framework for tourism disaster management. Tourism Management 22 (2), 135–47. Miller, G.A. and Ritchie, B.W. (2003) A farming crisis or a tourism disaster? An analysis of the foot-and-mouth disease in the UK. Current Issues in Tourism 6 (2), 150–71. Ritchie, B.W., Miller, G. A., Dorrell, H. and Miller, D. (2003) Crisis communication and recovery for the tourism industry: Lessons from the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the United Kingdom. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing 15 (2), 199–216.

Websites The Guardian newspaper: http://www.guardian.co.uk (good archive of the foot-and-mouth crisis and links). Department of Culture, Media and Sport: http://www.culture.gov.uk (policy documents and archives). Bluedome: http://www.bluedome.co.uk/FootandMouth/footandmouth. html (good links to adventure sport cancellations and policy documents).

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References Aronoff, M. (1993) Collective celebration as a vehicle for local economic development: A Michigan case. Human Organization 52 (4), 368–79. BBC News (2001) Racing in Britain abandoned. www.news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/ other_sports/1192212.stm (online accessed 27 February 2001). Berman, R. and Roel, G. (1993) Encounter with death and destruction: The 1985 Mexico city earthquake. Group Analysis 26, 89–91. Butler, R. (1974) Social implications of tourist development. Annals of Tourism Research 2, 100–11. Bramwell, B. and Lane, B. (eds) (1994) Rural Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development. Clevedon: Channel View Publications. Cheltenham Racecourse (2001) Cheltenham: The Book. Cheltenham: Cheltenham Racecourse. Cheltenham Borough Council (2002) The importance of tourism in Cheltenham, www.cheltenham.gov.uk (online accessed 4 February 2002), Cohen, E. (1972) Towards a sociology of international tourism. Social Research 39, 164–82. Department of Culture, Media and Sport (2001a) Guidance for Organisers When Staging Events During the Outbreak of the Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD). 10 April http://www.ukpsf.com/demsguidance.doc (online accessed 5 September 2002). Department of Culture, Media and Sport (2001b) Guidance for Organisers When Staging Events During the Outbreak of the Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD). Revised 14 June http://www.culture.gov.uk/PDF/fmd_event_guide.PDF (online accessed 5 September 2002). Doxey, G.V. (1975) When enough’s enough: The natives are restless in old Niagara. Heritage Canada 2 (2), 26–7. English Tourism Council (2001a) English Tourism Council, http://www.englishtourism.org.uk/ (online accessed 21 December 2001). English Tourism Council (2001b) Press briefing, 25 July. London: ETC. Etim, A. (2001) Disease risk sees off TT races: Isle of Man suffers tourism blow as sporting event is called off. The Guardian 25 April, 200. Faulkner, B. (2001) Towards and framework for tourism disaster management. Tourism Management 22 (2), 135–47. Getz, D. (1991) Festivals, Special Events, and Tourism. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. Getz, D. (1994) Event tourism and the authenticity dilemma. In W. Theobold (ed.) Global Tourism: Toward the Next Decade (pp. 313–29). Oxford: ButterworthHeinemann. Gillespie, E. (2001) Managing director of the Cheltenham Horseracing Association. Personal interview, 20 August. Gloucestershire Tourism (2002) Gloucestershire tourism facts 1999, http://www. glos-cotswolds.com (online accessed 4 February 2002). Gripaios, P., Brand, S. and McVittie, E. (2001) The Economic Impact of Foot-andMouth Disease. Final Report, June 2001. South-West Economy Centre: University of Plymouth. HM Treasury (2001) Recent Economic Developments and Prospects. London: HMSO. 224


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Huang, Y.H. and Stewart, W. (1996) Rural tourism development: Shifting basis of community solidarity. Journal of Travel Research 34 (4), 26–31. Jennings, K. (2001) Tourism officer with Cheltenham Borough Council. Personal Interview, 24 September. Lankford, S. (1994) Attitudes and perceptions toward tourism and rural regional development. Journal of Travel Research 32, 35–43. Lee, Y.F. and Harald, J.R. (1999) Critical issues for business area impact analysis in business crisis management: Analytical capability. Disaster Prevention and Management 8 (3), 184–9. Mayfield, T. and Crompton, J. (1995) Development of an instrument for identifying community reasons for staging a festival. Journal of Travel Research 33 (3), 37–44. Star UK Statistics (2001) United Kingdom tourism survey notes: Star UK tourism statistics, http://www.staruk.org.uk/ (online accessed 18 December 2001).

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Chapter 12

Beyond Impact: A General Model for Sport Event Leverage LAURENCE CHALIP

Introduction Cities, regions and countries are increasingly incorporating events into their marketing mix (Ghanem & Ashkenazy, 1993; Janiskee, 1994; van den Berg et al., 2000). Place marketers (tourism marketers and economic development agencies) have found that by creating events or by obtaining the right to host events, they can enhance their community’s appeal to travellers and to businesses. In fact, recent estimates indicate that event tourism is the fastest growing element of the leisure travel market, with the result that room night demand for events now surpasses that for business conventions (Shifflet & Bhatia, 1999). As a result, events ‘are starting to dominate natural or physical features in the identification of cities’ (Burns et al., 1986: 5).

Learning Objectives After reading this chapter, you will: (1) Be able to articulate the rationale for event leverage. (2) Have the tools to formulate strategies to optimise the total trade and revenue that host communities obtain from an event. (3) Understand what is required to enhance the host community’s image using event-related media recognise the criteria necessary to ascertain how leverageable an event is likely to be. (4) Be able to describe research that is needed to advance the practice of event leverage. 226

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The Emerging Challenge A number of reasons for the emerging significance of events have been identified in the literature. Events can increase visitation to a region (Bohlin, 2000; Light, 1996), provide employment (Ritchie, 1984; Roche, 1994), improve a destination’s image or brand (Brown et al., 2002; Ritchie & Smith, 1991), generate further development (Bramwell, 1997; Spilling, 1996) and reduce seasonal fluctuations in visitation (Getz, 1997; Ritchie & Beliveau, 1974). Each of these aspects can enhance an event’s aggregate impact on the economy (Dwyer et al., 2000). In fact, one of the appeals of events to governments and to place marketers is the economic impact that events are thought to have. The expectation that events can enhance the economy of the host city, region, or country has been used to justify public subsidies for events. Subsidies take the form of direct cash infusions, provision of public services, and/or use of facilities with little or no rent. Mules and Faulkner (1996) examined the economic impact of large events, and found that the estimated impact typically exceeded the amount of public subsidy. However, several analysts have criticised the assumptions and, sometimes, the accuracy of economic impact estimates. Gamage and Higgs (1997) noted that the decision to host an event is a political one which is not generally subject to independent appraisal. When independent analyses have been forthcoming, claims about the economic value of events have sometimes been found to be systematically flawed or downright inaccurate (Black & Pape, 1995; Crompton, 1995). Further, when the economic benefits are disaggregated, one typically finds that although some businesses benefit from events, others are actually worse off (Putsis, 1998). The same may be true for different social classes. Olds (1998) observed that the economic gains obtained from events by middle-class and upper-class residents of the host community may come at the expense of the destination’s most economically disadvantaged residents. Mules (1998) has argued that public subsidies for events should be replaced by direct investments from businesses most likely to benefit from an event. One of the reasons that events sometimes fail to obtain the anticipated scope or magnitude of economic impact is that economic gains have not typically motivated destinations’ efforts to host events. Although claims about economic benefits are commonly used to legitimise event creation or event bids, public officials may seek events for other reasons. Several authors have shown that claimed economic benefits merely serve to mask the less politically viable goal of nurturing the status of political elites by enhancing the visibility and profile of the communities those elites govern 227

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(e.g. Hiller, 2000; Whitelegg, 2000; Whitson & Macintosh, 1996). Boyle (1997) contends that claims about economic benefits are really a form of political propaganda. Sack and Johnson (1996) demonstrate that the status aspirations of political elites can exclude stakeholders from event planning, thereby mitigating against achievement of the very gains that were used to justify the event in the first place. Other work has been concerned about the ways that economic impact of events can be enhanced (Brown, 2000a; Chalip, 2001; Chalip & Leyns, 2002). Yet, given the volume of work which shows that events serve political rather than economic ends, it could be argued that efforts to optimise the economic impact of events are really beside the point. If hosting an event is more about politics than it is about economics, then overt efforts to enhance the economic impact of events may simply run afoul of political exigencies. In other words, if events are really intended to serve politics, then there is no point in focusing on economics. That argument fails on two grounds. The most obvious is a moral one; if events are legitimised on economic grounds, then event organisers, place marketers, and political elites have an obligation to deliver the best economic impact possible. The more subtle but equally vital ground is a practical one; if events fail to deliver what has been promised, then taxpayers may eventually demand an end to the public subsidies on which events commonly rely. We have already witnessed an analogue effect in the case of public subsidies for sport stadia in the USA. As independent economic estimates began to show that public subsidies for stadiums did not engender the expected economic benefits (e.g. Baade & Dye, 1990; Coates & Humphreys, 1999), public officials found themselves under increasing pressure to reduce or eliminate those subsidies (Keating, 2000; Rosentraub, 1999; Sandomir, 1999). Unless events can generate the economic benefits claimed for them, they could suffer a similar fate (cf. Fredline & Faulkner, 2002). The processes through which the benefits of investments are maximised are called ‘leveraging’ (see Boulton et al., 2000; Slywotzky & Shapiro, 1993). In the case of events, leveraging divides into those activities that need to be undertaken around the event itself, and those which seek to maximise the long-term benefits from events (cf. Chalip, 2001). Immediate event leveraging includes activities designed to maximise visitor spending, utilise local supply chains and build new markets. Long-term leveraging seeks to use events to build the host destination’s image in order to enhance the quality of its brand or market position. The general model for event leverage is presented in Figure 12.1. The model envisages a destination’s portfolio of events as a leverageable 228

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229 Opportunity

Strategic objective

Means Entice visitor spending

Optimise total trade and revenue

Event visitors and trade

Lengthen visitor’s stays Retain event expenditures Enhance business relationships

Portfolio of events

Event media

Enhance host destination’s image

Showcase via event advertising and reporting

Use the event in advertising and promotions

Figure 12.1 A schematic representation of event leverage resource. The opportunity for leverage arises from event visitors and trade (which are the immediately leverageable elements), and from event media (which can render a more long-term leverageable impact). The strategic objectives are to optimise the total trade and revenue obtained, and to enhance the host community’s image. Trade and revenue are pursued by enticing visitor spending, lengthening visitors’ stays, retaining event expenditures and enhancing business relationships. The host destination’s image is enhanced by showcasing the destination in event advertising and reporting, and by using the event in advertising and promotions for the destination. The model and the requisite tactics to implement it are elaborated in the remainder of this chapter. Immediate and long-term leveraging strategies are described in the following sections. The need for a portfolio approach to event leverage is then described. The chapter concludes by considering future research needs.

Immediate Leverage An event’s immediate economic impact depends on the amount of spending by event visitors. Larger volumes of spending render higher 229

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economic impacts (Dwyer et al., 2000). However, when the money spent leaves the economy (for example, to import goods or services), the impact will cease (Crompton, 1995). So, event leverage begins by encouraging visitor spending, and by retaining visitor expenditures within the host economy. This can be achieved by fostering spending during the event, as well as by lengthening visitor stays. Events also have the potential to create or enhance business relationships. These may occur through event-based hospitality (Brown et al., 2002), new business alliances fostered by events (cf. Moody, 1993; Olkkonen, 2001), or the supply chain developments that are engendered by events (cf. Brenner, 1997; Heide & John, 1990). Thus, event leverage also requires an effort to use the event to build relationships for businesses in the host destination. Fostering event visitor spending In addition to the tickets, souvenirs and food that visitors purchase at events, event visitors may also shop in local stores, eat in local restaurants or visit local attractions. In order for events to optimise total visitor spending, these activities must be encouraged. However, a recent study of event leveraging by local businesses found that very few implemented the necessary tactics to engender shopping, eating in local restaurants or visitation to local attractions by event patrons (Chalip & Leyns, 2002). Those that did obtained greater benefit from event visitors. Businesses that succeeded in generating visitor spending implemented special promotions targeted at event visitors. They advertised themselves to event visitors, and they executed event-related promotions (e.g. coupons, contests) through local media. Wherever possible, they developed theming tactics that tied-in with the event. These included decorations and/or entertainment designed to appeal to event patrons. Theming and promotional strategies were particularly effective when local businesses developed their tactics jointly, thereby rendering an event-related look-and-feel to the entire precinct in which the businesses were located. These findings suggest the value of a coordinated strategy for event leveraging. Local business associations, government economic development agencies and/or event organisers can facilitate leveraging by fostering the alliances necessary to generate joint promotions and neighbourhood theming. They can assist with formulation and implementation of strategic plans, and can help to coordinate the necessary market research to identify appropriate stocking, menu, and/or display strategies 230

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for the period of the event. A coordinated strategy for themes, promotions and sales can render returns-to-scale, and can give the host destination a look-and-feel that harmonises across precincts. The market during an event consists of more than event attendees. There may be accompanying markets, such as spouses and children, who prefer activities, shopping or tours away from the event. Pre-event market research needs to identify these markets and their preferences. Once the nature of accompanying markets has been established, then activity, shopping or tour packages designed for those markets can be promoted through event media and the accommodations at which event visitors stay. A related market is the aversion market – visitors or locals who do not like the event (Dwyer et al., 2000; Loventhal & Howarth, 1985). If some visitors do not come to the host locale because they find the event aversive, then economic impact is diminished. If some locals leave during the event, then their spending leaves the local economy, thereby diminishing the aggregate economic gain from the event. Consequently, if there are aversion markets, it may be useful to create event-free zones where visitors and/or locals can enjoy themselves away from the event. While the 2000 Olympic Games were taking place in Sydney, Australia, one rural region of the country enjoyed a booming tourist business by promoting itself as an Olympics-free zone. The challenge

The eight questions that strategists need to ask in order to formulate tactics designed to entice spending by event visitors are displayed in Table 12.1. As examination of Table 12.1 suggests, one of the key challenges will be to foster the necessary alliances among local businesses. The distinctive advantages afforded by business partnerships have been well demonstrated by research (e.g. Lorenzoni & Lipparini, 1999; Murphy, 1992), and it has been shown that interventions designed to foster cooperative effort among local businesses can enhance the performance of local economies (Plosila, 1989; Rosenfeld, 1995). Nevertheless, interventions that seek to create cooperative effort among local businesses are often resisted by managers – either because cooperation seems antithetical to normal business practice (Herrigel, 1993) or because the businesses that must cooperate have an established tradition of competing against one another (Levin, 1993). The challenge, then, is to foster the requisite cooperation among businesses to generate and implement the necessary leveraging strategies. 231

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Table 12.1 Questions to build tactics that entice spending by event visitors 1. 2. 3.

4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Who should coordinate the leveraging efforts of local businesses? Which businesses need to be coordinated in order to develop theming strategies and joint promotions? What information do we need in order to make retail stocks, menus, displays, and the host destination’s overall look-and-feel particularly appealing to event visitors? What promotions will appeal to event visitors? Which precincts would benefit from theming designed to tie into the event? How should themes be designed, coordinated, and implemented? What can we do to serve accompanying markets? Do we need to create and promote event-free zones in order to minimize aversion? If so, which precincts should constitute eventfree zones?

Chalip and Leyns (2002) observe that suppliers, event organisers, local business associations and government economic development agencies each have identifiable stakes in event leverage. They suggest that any of these organisations working independently or cooperatively could foster event leverage. During the Sydney Olympics, this was achieved by creating local, regional and national task forces that were charged to formulate and implement tactics to leverage the Games. Lengthening visitor stays

Research suggests that people who travel specifically to attend an event are likely to be focused on the event itself (Chalip et al., 1998), and may therefore not undertake other activities or tours while at the host destination (Pennington-Gray & Holdnak, 2002). This point was noted in Chapter 7 by Ritchie regarding the rugby union and tourism. However, if event visitors can be enticed to remain for a longer time at the destination, their total expenditures for accommodation, food and incidentals will increase (cf. Frechtling, 1987). Thus the economic effect of hosting an event can be enhanced by enticing event visitors to lengthen their stays. Three tactics can be identified. First, the period of an event can be lengthened in order to increase the amount of time one must stay in order to fully appreciate the event. Second, pre-event or post-event opportunities 232

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can be created for aficionados to share time together. Third, opportunities for pre-event and/or post-event activities or tours can be bundled and marketed with the event. The first tactic has become increasingly common. Event planners continue to create augmentations that increase the number of days over which their event occurs. It is not uncommon, for example, for auto races to include several days of racing prior to the showcase event. Indeed, over the three days leading up to the IndyCar race on Australia’s Gold Coast, other auto races feature on the programme. These have included V8 Supercars, HQ Holdens, GT Production cars, the Porsche Cup and drag racing. These additional races increase the duration of the event, and the length of time that auto race enthusiasts stay on the Gold Coast. A related means to increase event length is to add pre-event parties and shows. The Preakness is a horse race that takes place in Baltimore, Maryland on a single day in May. Although it is one of the Triple Crown events, its economic impact was once limited by its short duration. In order to enhance its impact (and its prestige) event organisers worked with governments of the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland to create what is now called ‘The Preakness Celebration’. The Preakness Celebration consists of activities during the week leading up to the race. In 2002, these included a balloon festival, 5 and 10 kilometre races, the Preakness Parade, a pub event at which jockeys served as bar tenders, live music events and a sunset cruise. By packaging and selling these with the Preakness, total attendance at the event is increased, and many visitors now stay for the entire week. Whereas event augmentations like those of The Preakness Celebration are designed as mass entertainment, it can be useful to formulate augmentations that provide opportunities for aficionados to come together before and after an event. Green (2001) reviews work showing that some event spectators and participants identify closely with the subculture that is associated with the particular activity around which the event is focused. Green and Chalip (1998) describe a women’s football tournament, showing that women typically attend in order to spend time with other women football players, and to celebrate and parade their shared identity as footballers. Some remain at the host destination after the event in order to continue sharing the camaraderie that is associated with the event. Green and Chalip suggest that the creation of social spaces and activities which provide opportunities for event participants and spectators to spend time together revelling in the values of their shared subculture will enhance their overall event experience, and may entice them to stay beyond the event itself. 233

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The final tactic treats the host destination’s total package of amenities as potential complements to the event itself. The attractions and activities that a destination offers can enhance an event’s appeal, and may provide an incentive for visitors to stay beyond the period of the event itself (cf. Dellaert et al., 1995; van Limburg, 1998). Pre-event and post-event activities or tours can be offered in conjunction with event tickets, preferably at a slight discount from the cost that would be incurred if visitors were to pay for those activities or tours separately. Discounted product bundles of this kind have been shown to improve the attractiveness of an offer (Johnson et al., 1999; Yadav & Monroe, 1993), and thus to elevate total sales volume and aggregate profits (Kinberg & Sudit, 1979; Solberg, 2001). Although pre-event and post-event activities and tours have only rarely been bundled into event packages, it would seem that destination marketing and event marketing have the potential to complement one another more strongly than they currently do. The challenge

The four sets of questions that strategists need to ask in order to formulate tactics designed to lengthen event visitors’ stays are displayed in Table 12.2. As examination of Table 12.2 shows, each set of questions has two parts. The value of event augmentations or complementary activity bundles will depend on the preferences of each event’s particular market segments. In order to know how best to design augmentations, or which activities or tours to bundle into event packages, the event’s market needs to be researched. Although the literature suggests some general principles for augmenting and packaging events, the specifics will depend on the nature of each event’s particular market. Retaining event expenditures

Some of the monies spent by event visitors leave the host destination (Dwyer et al., 2000). This occurs in two ways. If event organisers, workers or concessionaires do not reside in the host destination, their earnings will depart with them as they take their money and return home. Monies that leave the host destination in this way may have no impact whatsoever on the local economy. In other words, some event spending may never find its way into local hands. The second way that event monies leave the host economy is through imports. When local businesses or event organisers purchase goods or services from outside the host economy, the money used to buy those goods or services leaves. Although efficiency may demand that some supplies come from outside the local economy, the event’s aggregate 234

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Table 12.2 Questions to build tactics that lengthen event visitors’ stays 1.

2.

3.

4.

What new event components can we add to increase the number of days over which the event takes place? How will the market respond to those components? What entertainments might be added in the lead-up to the event in order to create a lengthened festival atmosphere around the event? How will the market respond to those entertainments? What post-event social spaces and activities can we create through which event visitors can revel in their shared subcultural identities? What is required to make those spaces and activities particularly appealing to event visitors? What activities or tours can we offer as part of event package bundles? Which activities and tours will be particularly attractive to the event’s market segments?

impact will be enhanced to the degree that goods and services can be purchased within the local economy. The trick to retaining event expenditures within the economy is to make the best possible use of local business services. If local management, local labour and local concessionaires can be obtained, then event earnings will remain within the local economy. Local search firms, business networks, and employment agencies can help to identify people and firms with the capabilities that events require. Much the same is true in the case of supply. By building local supply chains for an event, the expenditures associated with the event are retained within the host economy. Local business networks and economic development agencies can often provide assistance in locating local suppliers. In some cases, an event’s needs may exceed the capacity of any single local business to meet the demand. However, if two or more businesses can jointly supply an adequate quantity or product mix, then the order can still remain within the local economy, providing that bid requirements specified by event organisers permit businesses to seek contracts jointly. The challenge

The three question sets that strategists need to ask in order to formulate tactics designed to retain event expenditures are displayed in Table 12.3. As examination of Table 12.3 suggests, there are two challenges. The 235

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Table 12.3 Questions to build tactics that retain event expenditures 1. 2.

3.

What local search firms or employment agencies are available to help locate local management and labour for the event? What will the event organisers and the participating teams or performers require? What business networks can be used to help identify potential suppliers for those needs? In which instances will local supply require that several businesses contract jointly to provide the goods and services required for the event? What needs to be done to bring those businesses together in order to enable supply via multiple local suppliers?

first is simply to identify local sources of supply for human and material resources. There are usually established networks and services to accomplish that objective. The second challenge emerges when local businesses need to work jointly to supply an event. The difficulties inherent in forming and maintaining the necessary alliances will inhere (Herrigel, 1993; Levin, 1993). However, if local economic development agencies assist with the task of identifying the necessary partners, and by helping to create appropriate alliances, then the likelihood of retaining supply contracts within the host economy will be enhanced (Maniukiewicz et al., 1999; Metzgar et al., 2000). Creating and enhancing business relationships

Events have long been used as occasions during which sponsors can entertain important clients (Sleight, 1989). The objective of sponsor hospitality programmes is to create new business relationships or to enhance existing ones. Events can provide businesses in the host economy with opportunities to build or enhance their relationships with buyers and suppliers. The value of hospitality programmes is not limited to the sponsors themselves. Managers and marketers from the host destination can create or enhance business relationships by attending event sponsors’ parties and gatherings, even if they are not sponsors. During the Sydney Olympics, for example, several Australian businesses that were not sponsors obtained invitations to sponsors’ parties as a consequence of being an event supplier, or as a result of relationships they had obtained with sponsors through local business networks. At those parties, they were able to generate new contacts to be followed-up later. As a consequence, 236

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they often obtained contracts that would not have been forthcoming had they not used event hospitality as a business opportunity. In other instances, local businesses can undertake joint marketing programmes with event sponsors, or they may be able to act as local suppliers for sponsors. During the Sydney Olympics, the Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB) joined forces with Visa (an Olympic sponsor) to seek convention business for Sydney. Visa used the relationship to link itself more strongly to the lucrative convention market, and to add value to its relationship with the host Olympic city. The SCVB used Visa to provide introductions to organisations that were seeking a place to host their convention. Both organisations benefited from the joint effort. Sponsors are not the only businesses with which it is possible to network during an event. Events can be occasions to provide hospitality to business associates, even if not a sponsor. This may occur by providing event tickets, or it could occur through hospitality associated with celebrations and activities that surround the event. Events can also provide opportunities to meet business people who attend the event, those associated with event participants or whose businesses provide supplies or services to the event. During the Sydney Olympics, for example, businesses throughout the Hunter Valley region (approximately two hours north of Sydney) networked with European business people associated with the Olympic teams that were training in the Hunter Valley region. The resulting relationships yielded new export contracts and trade show invitations. The challenge

The six questions that strategists need to ask in order to formulate tactics designed to enhance the business opportunities that local businesses obtain through an event are displayed in Table 12.4. As examination of Table 12.4 suggests, the fundamental challenge is to assist local businesses to identify and then to exploit opportunities the event affords to expand their client networks. The event is an opportunity to build or enhance business relationships particularly because it facilitates creation of social bonds between business people (cf. Williams et al., 1998). Nevertheless, local businesses are likely to need assistance to take adequate advantage of the networking opportunities that an event provides. Although small and medium-sized enterprises often do use networking as a marketing tool (Gilmore et al., 2001), research suggests that they do not typically do so in a manner that results in measurable increases in sales or employment (Havnes & Senneseth, 2001). However, 237

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Table 12.4 Questions to build tactics that enhance business relationships 1.

2. 3.

4. 5.

6.

Who are the event sponsors? What supplies or services will they require? Which local businesses can provide those supplies or services? Through which sponsors can local businesses network to obtain new relationships with other (non-sponsor) businesses? How can we use this event or relations with event sponsors in order to attract meetings, conventions, exhibitions, or incentive travel? How can local businesses use this event to provide hospitality for their suppliers or customers? What business people are likely to attend this event? How can local business people contact them in order to begin the process of building a relationship? How can we build person-to-person relationships obtained through the event into long-term trade relationships?

networking can be fostered and implemented effectively when business associations and government economic development agencies assist local businesses to identify opportunities and to formulate the requisite strategies to capitalise on those opportunities (Cooke & Wills, 1999; McNaughton & Bell, 2001). For example, in the case of the Hunter Valley region described above, a full-time economic development executive was employed by a consortium of Hunter Valley business associations and city governments specifically to assist local businesses to create new networks and trade through the Olympic Games.

Leverage for the Long-Term Each of the strategies and tactics described so far seeks to optimise the economic value of an event through the actions taken during the time that the event takes place. However, the potential value of an event neither begins nor ends with the event itself. Host communities have increasingly been concerned to identify means to optimise the effect that events have on the image that the destination projects into domestic and international markets (Chalip, 1990; Kang & Perdue, 1994; Ritchie & Smith, 1991). The effect occurs primarily through media as a consequence of the association 238

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of the host destination with an event (Brown et al., 2002). The value of image enhancement is that it can attract tourists, businesses, and investment to the destination beyond the time of the event, thereby rendering a long-term economic gain (Kotler et al., 1993). In the past, media management techniques have only rarely been employed to optimise the effects of events on the host destination’s image. One of the important lessons from the Sydney Olympic Games was that media management strategies can make a significant difference to the impact that hosting an event can have on the host’s image in domestic and international markets (Chalip, 2000). The long-term impact of an event on the host destination’s image can be systematically enhanced by using tactics designed to optimise the quantity and content of stories and images that the destination obtains as a result of hosting an event. This can occur by linking the host destination strongly to the advertising and reporting that an event obtains. It can also occur through the use of event imagery and mentions in advertising or promotions for the host destination. Using event advertising and reporting Two forms of media are typically generated by an event: advertising which seeks to build consumer interest in the event, and reporting about the event. Shrewd sponsors will also build the event into some of their advertising, promotions and public relations. This is an essential means by which sponsors leverage their sponsorship investment (Cornwell et al., 2001; Quester & Thompson, 2001). The five sets of questions that strategists need to ask in order to formulate tactics designed to capitalise on each of the three forms of event media – event advertising, event reporting and sponsor media – are displayed in Table 12.5. The means to those questions are described below. Event advertising

There is an essential link between an event and its host destination. The destination’s brand image becomes linked to the event’s brand image, and the event’s brand image becomes linked to that of the destination (Gwinner & Eaton, 1999; Simonin & Ruth, 1998). This linkage can be exploited in event advertising to the mutual benefit of both the destination and the event organisers. The first step is to identify those aspects of the host destination that are likely to appeal to the event’s target market. These may include activities, amenities, services, special attractions, natural features, famous icons, distinctive characteristics or climate. These can then be built into 239

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Table 12.5 Questions to build tactics that showcase the host destination in event media 1.

2.

3.

4. 5.

What aspects of the host destination are likely to appeal to the event’s target market segments? How can those be built into event advertising? How can journalists be assisted to locate and research background stories or anecdotes about the host destination? What stories or anecdotes are they likely to find appealing? What supporting visuals are they likely to find useful? How can the event be constructed and located in order to showcase the destination? How should photographers and/or television cameras be placed in order to obtain the most favourable destination backdrop for shots of the event? What elements representing the host destination can be designed into the event logo? Who are the sponsors? How can they be prompted and assisted to use host destination mentions, imagery, and awards in their advertising and promotions?

advertising for the event through background visuals or special mentions depicting those aspects of the destination which are most likely to enhance the event’s appeal to target markets. While the event benefits through the associated enhancement of its aggregate appeal, the host destination benefits through the consequent elaboration or reinforcement of its brand in the marketplace (Brown et al., 2002). The design of advertising which elaborates the relevant linkage needs to be nurtured. Event marketers are not place marketers. They may need assistance to identify those aspects of the host destination that are most likely to appeal to the market segments that the event is targeting. Event marketers may also need assistance to formulate mentions or to obtain visuals which best represent those features of the destination that are likely to enhance the impact of event advertising. Thus, there is a basis for an alliance between event marketers and those who market the destination (e.g. tourism organisations, economic development authorities). Existing market research by those who market the destination may already have identified aspects of the destination which best appeal to the event’s target markets. Similarly, past advertising for the destination, as well as the photo and video libraries of those responsible for marketing 240

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the destination, may provide the requisite verbal or visual advertising elements. Event reporting

If an event is large or special, it is news. Consequently, events attract reporters. The larger or more special an event is, the more reporters it attracts from both print and broadcast media. Yet, the vast majority of event reporting is about the event itself, providing little exposure for the host destination. However, with careful planning, it is possible to enhance the volume of media coverage that the destination receives (Brown et al., 2002; Chalip, 2000). The most common tactics to enhance exposure before, during, and after an event are built from standard public relations techniques. Reporters seek background materials to provide colour for their reporting about the event. Aspects of the host destination can provide that colour, and can fill column inches or dead airtime. By helping event reporters to locate useful stories, interesting anecdotes and impressive visuals, the host destination can increase the amount of coverage it obtains. In the years leading up to the Sydney Olympics, for example, the Australian Tourist Commission (ATC) capitalised on the interest that the event had sparked among journalists. The ATC worked with journalists by helping them to find stories about Australia, by facilitating familiarisation visits and by providing the necessary introductions to enable stories that showcased the country. During the Olympic Games, they provided press conferences to journalists to help them write interesting stories about Sydney and Australia. Before, during, and after the Games, the ATC provided event broadcasters video postcards (short visuals of Australian icons) that could be inserted into telecasts. These techniques can elevate the volume of exposure that the host destination receives. Nevertheless, they do not inject the host destination into media reports about the event itself. In the vast majority of event media, the destination will not appear at all. The challenge is to find means to increase the destination’s exposure during the event. One tactic is to build images of the host destination as fully as possible into event production. For example, during the Seoul Olympics, event organisers worked with destination marketers to identify a marathon route that would optimally showcase the city, its parks and the Han River. They then established sites for photographers and television cameras that would provide angles giving optimal views of the city, parks or river. Consequently, newspaper stories, magazine features and television coverage about the event included visuals that showed the city to best 241

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advantage. Post-event evaluation showed that international audiences developed much more favourable impressions about Seoul and Korea as a consequence of such tactics (Chalip, 1990). A related tactic is to provide visuals of the destination to broadcasters to be used as background for shots of commentators. Thus, pictures of the destination’s icons or distinctive features can be shown behind commentators as they speak. This technique is commonly used during American telecasts of international events. Although the commentator is actually sitting in a studio or event production facility, a shot of the host destination is electronically superimposed behind the commentator when he or she is speaking to the camera. This provides a more visually arresting backdrop for the telecast than would the studio or broadcast booth. It also showcases the host destination. A more subtle tactic is to embed destination images into the event logo itself. The event logo may appear throughout event facilities and on event paraphernalia. Consequently, it commonly gets picked-up in telecasts and action photos. It is possible to use the logo to reinforce the link between the host destination and the event. For example, the 2002 NCAA Women’s Final Four basketball tournament was hosted by San Antonio, Texas. Event organisers placed a silhouette of the Alamo (the city and state’s most famous icon) and the words ‘San Antonio’ into the icon. Post-event evaluation showed that the city obtained the overwhelming majority of its media exposure through this clever logo design (Green et al., 2002). Sponsor media

Sponsors have a stake in their relationship with the host destination. Consider, for example, that Visa has long been the exclusive Olympic sponsor in the credit card category. For many years, American Express ambushed Visa by airing television commercials featuring Olympic host cities, thus giving the impression that American Express, rather than Visa, was an Olympic sponsor (Card watch, 1992; Sutton, 1993). By the time of the Sydney Olympics, the lesson had been learned: It is not sufficient for a sponsor to advertise its association with an event; the sponsor must also link itself to the event’s host destination (Chalip, 2000). By forming a marketing alliance with destination marketers, a sponsor can protect itself from ambush. Consequently, there are now opportunities for host communities to capitalise on sponsors’ media programmes in order to promote the destination’s image in the marketplace (Brown, 2000a, 2000b). During the years leading up to the Sydney Olympics, for example, the ATC joined forces with several sponsors to develop joint advertising and promotions. In order to leverage its Olympic sponsorship, Visa developed 242

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advertising campaigns featuring Australia in vital source markets (including the USA, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and Asia). In addition, Visa developed promotions (e.g. merchant passbooks, awards programmes) using Australian visuals and awards. Similarly, Kodak launched promotions in the USA using images of Australia to promote its new line of films and cameras. McDonalds worked with the ATC to deliver an in-store campaign in New Zealand. Joint promotions were also developed with Air New Zealand and Ansett Australia. After the Games, the ATC estimated that A$160 million worth of publicity was generated for Australia through cooperative arrangements with sponsors of the Sydney Olympics. Using the event in advertising and promotions

An event can be useful beyond the period of the event itself if it is built into the destination’s marketing communications mix. This is particularly true for hallmark events. The event can be featured in the destination’s advertising and promotions in much the same manner that any of the destination’s other products or services are featured. The conceptual basis for developing appropriate tactics has been described by Brown et al. (2002). There are two essential insights. First, the brand images of events and their host communities are multi-faceted. In other words, consumers’ images of each are made up from networks of varied concepts or impressions (called ‘association sets’). For example, a destination might be thought of in terms of its characteristics (e.g. climate, services, features) or the emotional states it enables (e.g. relaxation, excitement). Similarly, events may be thought of in terms of their characteristics and/or the emotions or experiences they enable. This leads to the second insight: the trick to using an event to build the brand image of a host destination is to associate the destination with those aspects of consumers’ associations about the event that the destination wants to transfer to its own brand image. As an example, imagine that a destination seeks to strengthen the image that potential visitors have of its beaches and sunny climate. The destination might feature in its advertising a beach volleyball tournament, a surfing competition or a triathlon that it has hosted. Any one (or all) of these might be featured; or they might be noted only incidentally in a brief mention or as visual background. Events are merely one element of the destination’s overall product and service mix, so events will be featured alongside other elements from the mix (Chalip, 2001; van den Berg et al. 2000). The effect of event mentions and visuals can be reinforced 243

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through promotions that feature prizes or discounts to visit the destination to attend the event. The same tactic can be used to change a destination’s image. Imagine, for example, that target markets for a destination (e.g. potential tourists) find the destination unappealing because they feel that it lacks entertaining nightlife. The destination could seek to improve that image by incorporating into its advertising events that it hosts which are associated with nightlife, such as festivals of theatre, music, food or wine. It might strengthen the impact by launching promotions that feature prizes or opportunities to visit the destination to enjoy one of those festivals. Table 12.6 displays the four questions that strategists need to ask in order to use an event effectively in destination advertising and promotions. As examination of the table shows, market research is required in order to identify the ways that both the event and the destination are perceived in the marketplace. Then the task is to formulate advertising and promotions that emphasise the particular associations from the event that the destination seeks to transfer to itself.

Event Portfolios There has been some discussion in the literature on events about the value that communities may obtain by creating a portfolio of events (e.g. Getz, 1997; Schreiber & Lenson, 1994). The underlying insight is that by

Table 12.6 Questions to build the event into destination advertising and promotions 1. 2. 3.

4.

How does the destination’s target market view the destination? What is its association set for the destination? How does the destination’s target market view the event? What is its association set for the event? What elements from the event’s association set do we want to use to strengthen or change the destination’s image in the marketplace? How can we build event visuals or mentions into advertising or promotions for the destination in order to emphasise the associations that will best strengthen or change the destination’s image in the marketplace?

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having several events throughout the year, a destination can obtain a broader reach and frequency of exposure. Communities can also use events to bring visitors during times of the year when tourism levels would otherwise be relatively low, thereby using events to fill capacity that would otherwise be unused. The foregoing presentation of leveraging strategies suggests that the criteria for choosing events to include in a destination’s portfolio can be extended beyond those having to do with reach, frequency, or creating more even tourist flows. Each of the six leveraging strategies renders additional considerations for choosing events to be included in a destination’s event portfolio. For example, the four strategies designed to optimise the total trade and revenue for an event suggest the value of choosing events on the basis that they are likely to attract visitors who will make purchases while in the destination, or who can be enticed to stay beyond the event itself. The strategies also suggest the value of considering whether an event will bring visitors, sponsors or suppliers with whom local businesses are likely to obtain ongoing trade relationships. Similarly, the two strategies designed to enhance the host destination’s image suggest the value of considering whether an event has target audiences that match the host destination’s target market. The strategies also suggest the value of choosing events for which consumers’ associations include elements that can be used to strengthen or change the destination’s image in the marketplace. The six questions that can be used to ascertain the degree to which an event can be leveraged are displayed in Table 12.7. These may be useful when determining what kind of event to design, or for which event to bid.

The Future The shift in thinking from event impact to event leverage mandates a shift in the ways that events are planned, managed, and evaluated. It is no longer suitable merely to host an event in the hope that desired outcomes will be achieved; it is necessary to form and implement strategies and tactics that capitalise fully on the opportunities each event affords. Although the presentation in this chapter outlines the scope and focus of event leveraging, there is still a great deal to be learned. Consider, for example, that people who attend events are exercising their interest in the activity or entertainment that the event represents. Interest profiling is a well established technique in market research (Plummer, 1974). By understanding the interest profiles of event goers, host communities could develop service and activity bundles that ideally 245

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Table 12.7 Questions to determine an event’s potential for leverage 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

To determine visitor spend and length of stay: To what degree can the event attract visitors whose profiles of preferred activities and interests fit with the services and attractions that the destination offers? To determine retained expenditure: To what degree will the event require suppliers and/or skills that can be provided by the local market? To build new business networks: To what degree will the event attract visitors, sponsors, or suppliers with whom local business might profitably build relationships through which to create trade? To determine fit with event media: To what degree do the event’s target markets or audiences match the destination’s target markets? To determine fit with event sponsors: How likely is the event to attract sponsors whose media will reach the destination’s target market? To determine the event’s utility for advertising or promotions: Does the event have strong associations with elements that we can use to create or strengthen the image that the destination seeks to project in the marketplace?

suit event goers’ wants and needs, thereby increasing their length of stay and total spend. Yet we know very little about the interest profiles of event goers. Similarly, although it is clear that event leverage requires that businesses in the host destination network and build strategic alliances, there has been scant work on the matters that facilitate or impede networking and alliance formation for and through events. There are similar knowledge gaps regarding the management of event portfolios and the media uses of events. We know very little about how to create synergies among events in order to optimise their combined impact on the host destination’s brand. Nor has there been any work examining the most effective means by which to incorporate events in an integrated marketing communications strategy. Each of these matters warrants further research. Over recent years, there have been a number of clarion calls for managers and organisations to build formal learning procedures into their 246

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management systems (e.g. Crossan et al., 1999; Edwards, 1999). Events are a non-incremental stimulus to the local economy. Consequently, they can engender a substantial amount of learning – not merely by event organisers, but by government and businesses alike (Løwendahl, 2000). Yet events are, by their very nature, temporary, with the result that much of the learning associated with events simply dissipates. In order for events to be leveraged effectively, systems through which to secure the learning they engender need to be built into the management of local enterprise and the governance of host communities.

Key Questions (1) How does an emphasis on event leverage differ from an emphasis on event impact? (2) What are the key tactics required in order to optimise spending by event patrons, and to retain that spending in the host economy? (3) What are the key tactics required to capitalise on event media? (4) What steps would you recommend to build systems that enhance and retain the learning that managers and organisations obtain as a result of leveraging an event?

Active Learning Exercise Event portfolio analysis Pick a destination with which you are familiar. Identify the full range of events in its portfolio. Analyse the events to determine what elements of leverage are already applied and those elements of leverage that are missing. Develop a plan to leverage the portfolio. Consider whether the addition of a new event or replacement of an event that is currently hosted would improve the portfolio’s potential for leverage (perhaps through cross-leverage with events that are currently in the portfolio).

Further Recommended Reading Bramwell, B. (1997) Strategic planning before and after a mega-event. Tourism Management 19, 35–47. Brown, G. (2000) Emerging issues in Olympic sponsorship: Implications for host cities. Sport Management Review 3, 71–92. Brown, G., Chalip, L., Jago, L. and Mules, T. (2002) The Sydney Olympics and brand Australia. In N. Morgan, A. Pritchard and R. Pride (eds) Destination Branding: Creating the Unique Destination Proposition (pp. 163–85). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. 247

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Chalip, L. (2000) An interview with Maggie White, business manager Olympic Games for the Australian Tourism Commission. International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship 2, 187–97. Chalip, L. (2001) Sport and tourism: Capitalising on the linkage. In D. Kluka and G. Schilling (eds) The Business of Sport (pp. 78–89). Oxford: Meyer & Meyer. Chalip, L. and Leyns, A. (2002) Local business leveraging of a sport event: Managing an event for economic benefit. Journal of Sport Management 16, 132–58. Edwards, A. (1999) Reflective practice in sport management. Sport Management Review 2, 67–81. Green, B.C. (2001) Leveraging subculture and identity to promote sport events. Sport Management Review 4, 1–20. Kotler, P., Haider, D.H. and Rein, I. (1993) Marketing Places: Attracting Investment, Industry, and Tourism to Cities, States, and Nations. New York: Free Press. Sack, A.L. and Johnson, A.T. (1996) Politics, economic development, and the Volvo International Tennis Tournament. Journal of Sport Management 10, 1–14. Slywotzky, A.J. and Shapiro, B.P. (1993) Leveraging to beat the odds: The new marketing mind-set. Harvard Business Review 71 (5), 97–107. van den Berg, L., Braun, E. and Otgaar, A.H.J. (2000) Sports and City Marketing in European Cities. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Euricur.

Websites http://www.blues.uab.es/olympic.studies/index.html http://www.preaknesscelebration.org/ http://www.indy.com.au/ References Baade, R. and Dye, R. (1990) The impact of stadiums and professional sports on metropolitan area development. Growth and Change 21, 1–13. Black, T. and Pape, A. (1995) The IndyCar Grand Prix: Costs and benefits. Australian Accountant 65 (8), 25–8. Bohlin, M. (2000) Travelling to events. In L.L. Mossberg (ed.) Evaluation of Events: Scandinavian Experiences (pp. 13–29). New York: Cognizant Communication. Boulton, R.E.S., Libert, B.D. and Samek, S.M. (2000) A business model for the new economy. Journal of Business Strategy 21 (4), 29–35. Boyle, M. (1997) Civic boosterism in the politics of local economic development – ‘institutional positions’ and ‘strategic orientations’ in the consumption of hallmark events. Environment and Planning A, 29, 1975–97. 248

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Bramwell, B. (1997) Strategic planning before and after a mega-event. Tourism Management 19, 35–47. Brenner, S. (1997) Pursuing relationships in professional sport. Sport Marketing Quarterly 6 (2), 33–4. Brown, G. (2000a) Emerging issues in Olympic sponsorship: Implications for host cities. Sport Management Review 3, 71–92. Brown, G. (2000b) Taking the pulse of Olympic sponsorship. Event Management 7, 187–96. Brown, G., Chalip, L., Jago, L. and Mules, T. (2002) The Sydney Olympics and Brand Australia. In N. Morgan, A. Pritchard and R. Pride (eds) Destination Branding: Creating the Unique Destination Proposition (pp. 163–85). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Burns, J., Hatch, J. and Mules, T. (1986) The Adelaide Grand Prix: The Impact of a Special Event. Adelaide, Australia: Centre for South Australian Economic Studies. Card Watch (1992) Olympic marketing on the cheap. Credit Card Management June, 14. Chalip, L. (1990) The politics of Olympic theatre: New Zealand and Korean crossnational relations. In B.-I. Koh (ed.) Toward One World Beyond All Barriers (Vol. 1), (pp. 408–33). Seoul, Korea: Poong Nam. Chalip, L. (2000) An interview with Maggie White, business manager Olympic Games for the Australian Tourism Commission. International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship 2, 187–97. Chalip, L. (2001) Sport and tourism: Capitalising on the linkage. In D. Kluka and G. Schilling (eds) The Business of Sport (pp. 78–89). Oxford: Meyer & Meyer. Chalip, L. and Leyns, A. (2002) Local business leveraging of a sport event: Managing an event for economic benefit. Journal of Sport Management 16, 132–58. Chalip, L., Green, B.C. and Vander Velden, L. (1998) Sources of interest in travel to the Olympic Games. Journal of Vacation Marketing 4, 7–22. Coates, D. and Humphreys, B.R. (1999) The growth effects of sport franchises, stadia, and arenas. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 18, 601–24. Cooke, P. and Wills, D. (1999) Small firms, social capital and the enhancement of business performance through innovation programmes. Small Business Economics 13, 219–34. Cornwell, T.B., Roy, D.P. and Steinard, E.A. (2001) Exploring managers’ perceptions of the impact of sponsorship on brand equity. Journal of Advertising 30 (2), 41–51. Crompton, J.L. (1995) Economic impact analysis of sports facilities and events. Journal of Sport Management 9, 14–35. Crossan, M.M., Lane, H.W. and White, R.E. (1999) An organizational learning framework: From intuition to institution. Academy of Management Review 24, 522–37. Dellaert, B., Borgers, A. and Timmermans, H. (1995) A day in the city: Using conjoint choice experiments to model urban tourists’ choice of activity packages. Tourism Management 16, 347–53. Dwyer, L., Mellor, R., Mistilis, N. and Mules, T. (2000) A framework for assessing ‘tangible’ and ‘intangible’ impacts of events and conventions. Event Management 6, 175–89. 249

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Kinberg, Y. and Sudit, E.F. (1979) Country/service bundling in international tourism: Criteria for the selection of an efficient bundle mix and allocation of joint revenues. Journal of International Business Studies 10 (2), 51–63. Kotler, P., Haider, D.H. and Rein, I. (1993) Marketing Places: Attracting Investment, Industry, and Tourism to Cities, States, and Nations. New York: Free Press. Levin, M. (1993) Creating networks for rural economic development in Norway. Human Relations 46, 193–218. Light, D. (1996) Characteristics of the audience for ‘events’ at a heritage site. Tourism Management 17, 183–90. Lorenzoni, G. and Lipparini, A. (1999) The leveraging of inter-firm relationships as a distinctive organizational capability: A longitudinal study. Strategic Management Journal 20, 317–38. Loventhal and Howarth (1985) The Impact of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games on the Lodging and Restaurant Industry in Southern California. Sydney: Author. Løwendahl, B.R. (2000) Learning effects – The case of the Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games 1994. In L.L. Mossberg (ed.) Evaluation of Events: Scandinavian Experiences (pp. 63–85). New York: Cognizant Communications. Maniukiewicz, C., Williams, S. and Keogh, W. (1999) Partnerships and networks: Lessons from facilitating entrepreneurship. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 6, 68–79. McNaughton, R.B. and Bell, J. (2001) Competing from the periphery: Export development through hard business network programmes. Irish Marketing Review 14 (1), 43–54. Mezgar, I., Kovacs, G.L. and Paganelli, P. (2000) Co-operative production planning for small- and medium-sized enterprises. International Journal of Production Economics 64, 37–48. Moody, P.E. (1993) Breakthrough Partnering: Creating a Collective Enterprise Advantage. Essex Junction, VT: Oliver Wright. Mules, T. (1998) Taxpayer subsidies for major sporting events. Sport Management Review 1, 25–43. Mules, T. and Faulkner, B. (1996) An economic perspective on special events. Tourism Economics 2, 314–29. Murphy, P.E. (1992) Urban tourism and visitor behavior. American Behavioral Scientist 36, 200–11. Olds, K. (1998) Urban mega-events, evictions and housing rights: The Canadian case. Current Issues in Tourism 1, 2–46. Olkkonen, R. (2001) The network approach to international sport sponsorship arrangement. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 16, 309–29. Pennington-Gray, L. and Holdnak, A. (2002) Out of the stands and into the community: Using sports events to promote a destination. Event Management 7, 177–86. Plosila, W. (1989) Developing Network Relationships: The Experiences of Denmark, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. Rockville, MD: High Technology Council. Plummer, J.T. (1974) The concept of life style segmentation. Journal of Marketing 38, 33–7. Putsis, W.P. (1998) Winners and losers: Redistribution and the use of economic impact analysis in marketing. Journal of Macromarketing 18, 24–33. Quester, P.G. and Thompson, B. (2001) Advertising and promotion leverage on arts sponsorship effectiveness. Journal of Advertising Research 41 (1), 33–47. 251

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Chapter 13

Sport Tourism in the UK: Policy and Practice JOHN DEANE AND MICHELLE CALLANAN

Introduction Harris (1972) makes the point that sports tourism has been around since the first multi-sport festivals of the ancient Greek and Roman civilisations (the Olympic Games being the most well-known) and has attracted tourists over many centuries. With the mass development of international travel and tourism since the 1960s, there have been far more opportunities to engage in such activities. As such, destinations have utilised sports events and activities as a means to develop their product portfolio. From a UK perspective, sports tourism has gradually gained greater significance on a national level due to the growing recognition of its potential economic and regenerative benefits. In fact, the British Tourism Authority (BTA), now reorganised into VisitBritain, suggests that sports tourism is now more popular and economically significant than it ever has been for the following reasons; higher populations, higher incomes and a greater desire to travel, lower air fares and easier travel, especially long-haul, greater interest in a growing number of sports, more information on, and awareness of, international sports fixtures, especially via the Internet and global sports broadcasters, the growing popularity of short breaks, activity and special-interest holidays, and the improved marketing of the sports and tourism industries.

Aims of this Chapter This chapter seeks to address the development of sports tourism in the UK since the early 1990s, and in particular to consider how the administrative structures and policy agenda have supported the development of 253

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what the Blair Labour government refers to as ‘joined up thinking’. In order to examine the above issues, this chapter will be divided into two sections: the first section will provide a broad theoretical overview of ‘sports tourism’, the potential contribution of sports tourism to destinations and the rationale for a sports tourism policy. The second section will then examine these issues in relation to the UK.

Learning Outcomes After studying this chapter you should be able to: (1) Define sports tourism. (2) Identify the potentially positive and negative impacts of sports tourism. (3) Identify the agencies responsible for sport and tourism at a national and regional level in the UK. (4) Describe sport and tourism and sports tourism policy in the UK. (5) Outline the how current central government policy initiatives contribute to sports tourism.

Definition of Sports Tourism ‘Sports tourism’ is a complex term to define as discussed in Chapter 1 of this book although various definitions were outlined (including one from Standeven & De Knop, 1999). One omission from Standeven and De Knop’s (1999) definition is that it does not take into account sporting infrastructure. In fact, Smith (2001) contends that the staging of major sports events and the building of sporting infrastructure may lead to certain cities or countries developing an image as a ‘sporting destination’. The recent success of the 2000 Sydney Olympics could afford Sydney an image as an international city of sport. However, Sydney’s success would have been significantly hampered if the city did not also have the supporting tourism infrastructure in place. Therefore, for the purpose of this chapter, sports tourism will include the following elements: • active or passive involvement away from the home/work environment; • commercial or non-commercial sporting activities/events; • effective sporting and tourism infrastructure in place. Given the broad scope in definition, Standeven and De Knop (1999) suggest eight types of sport tourism (see Figure 13.1). 254

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255 Passive sport

Non-holiday/ business

Active sport

Casual observer

Passive sport Tourism

Relevant to sport

Connoisseur* Events, *Sports museums

Holiday

Organised Holiday sport activities Independent

Active holiday Multiple sport activity holiday *Camps, clubs, hotels, adventure holidays

Sport activity holiday Single sport activity holiday *Sport, adventure sports, sporting tours, sport festival

Figure 13.1 Types of sport tourism

Contribution of Sports Tourism to an Economy Collins and Jackson (1998) in their review of the economic benefits of sports tourism highlight positive and negative impacts of sports tourism. The potentially positive impacts of sports tourism include: (1) Sports tourism can provide new and valuable (both economic and social) use for otherwise surplus land – thus it can strengthen rural economies. (2) Sports tourism can strengthen national heritage, identity and community spirit as local people join together to promote their culture. (3) Sports tourism can provide a vehicle through which visitors can come to know foreign people and their culture. (4) Sports tourism can be a stimulus to develop and improve the built infrastructure and the natural environment. 255

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(5) Exclusion of nations from sport touristic activity can be a stimulus to internal reform. (6) Sports tourism can instigate the regeneration and preservation of cultural traditions. Weed (1999) sees the positive aspects of the sports tourism link as being individual benefits to the sports participant; tourist; mutual benefits for both; economic and community development and hosting of major events and development of arenas. The key individual and mutual benefits include the development of new sporting infrastructure, which can be used by the community and tourists, as well as shared opportunities to access new funding streams. For example, tourism could access Lottery funds via sport and sport could access EU funding through tourism. Weed (2001: 126) suggests, ‘literature elsewhere documents the benefits to be gained from linking these two spheres’ (see also Redmond, 1991; Jackson & Glyptis, 1992; Bramwell, 1997; Collins & Jackson, 1998). What is sports tourism’s potentially negative impact? (1) The attraction of more remunerative sport touristic employment opportunities can erode traditional communities and adversely affect the balance of a local economy. (2) Sports tourism can contribute to the loss of cultural identity and heritage. (3) Sports tourism can bring about modifications to cultural experiences to accommodate tourism. (4) Sports tourism can lead to crowd disorder at events. (5) Excessive violence can be related to sport tourism. (6) Sports tourism can contribute to tensions between hosts and visitors. Weed (1999) suggests that the negative aspects of sports tourism are concerned with environmental issues such as noise pollution from motorbikes, shooting, water-skiing, in non-designated areas. The other area of concern is safety – especially for young people. Weed (2001) points out that sports and tourism agencies have rarely worked together or developed successful links

Administration and Policy Issues Administration Standeven and De Knop (1999) argue that administration is the executive part of government concerned with sport and tourism and sports tourism. Traditionally, governments have regarded sport and tourism as 256


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individual entities for the purposes of administration Glyptis (1991). Standeven and De Knop (1999: 297) argue that issues that government address as far as sports tourism are concerned include: regulation of land use, planning and protection; capital investment ownership, support, and management of the infrastructure including the setting up of the institutions that provide, assist, and supervise leisure facilities; facilitation of development including the recognition of professional qualifications, taxation on services and redistribution involving subsidy, social welfare, and equity; and exchange controls and consumer protection through licensing and safety regulations. Clearly, such issues are significant and need considerable coordination between government and the agencies responsible in order to ensure effective delivery of provision, which is not always easy due to the fragmented nature of sport tourism policy which does not make coordination easy.

Policy Communities and Policy Networks for Sport and Tourism and Sport Tourism Policy is about a group of decisions and the selection of certain goals as a way of achieving them. Standeven and De Knop (1999) talk about policies that are either about ‘control’, or creating opportunities, ‘development’, and which are dependent upon the political ideology of the government in power. Alternatively, government policy is seen as the framework within which society must operate (Weed & Bull, 1999). In terms of the provision of leisure, Henry (2001) suggests that in the 1970s the issue was the rights of citizenship; combating urban/youth problems in the late 1970s–mid 1980s; good (commercial) management practices in the late 1980s to late 1990s. Weed and Bull (1999) suggest that in terms of political ideology there is a tension between sport, whose government focus has been about welfare ideology, and tourism being about commercial ideology. Standeven and De Knop (1999) believe that it is not only tourism that has become commercially focused but that the increase in western economies having market-led economies; this has meant an increase in market oriented entrepreneurial approaches to sports tourism. Weed and Bull (1999) and Weed (2001) examine the extent to which sports tourism forms an effective part of what they refer to as a ‘policy community’ or ‘policy network.’ Both concepts, and the impact they have on sports tourism will now be explored. Weed and Bull (1999: 283) 257

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highlight the work of Wright (1988) on policy communities and networks. Policy communities are those in a particular policy arena, such as sport or tourism, ‘who share a common identity or interest.’ A policy network is again related to those who share a common interest, but membership can come from different policy communities and outside the policy universe. Figure 13.2 shows the leisure policy universe and membership of the sport tourism policy network could come from economic development or foreign affairs policy communities. The sports tourism policy network outlined by Weed and Bull (1999) is a useful method of exploring the contribution made by both sport and tourism to the development (or lack thereof) of policy in the sports tourism arena. Their model allows examination of the role of relevant agencies in the formation and implementation of policy. Weed and Bull (1999) argue that leadership of the policy network is important and usually falls to government. Thus, the suggestion is that the only way forward for a sports tourism policy network is for shared programmes between both agencies at national and regional levels. Weed and Bull (1999) argue that access to resources is also significant when it comes to having a voice in the policy network; the resources of both key agencies are for their sector alone, and so highlight the sectorised nature of the policy arena. The other key issue is that of claims to legitimacy to speak authoritatively on behalf of a group. There are many agencies in the Sports Tourism policy network that feel they have the right to speak on policy issues and lead such discussions (Weed & Bull, 1999). Weed and Bull (1999) contend that there are five key factors – ideology, government policy, organizational structure, organizational culture, and key staff – that impact upon the relationship between sport and tourism agencies. The specific influence of each of these factors is ‘responsible for the limited and fragmented patterns of liaison that have emerged’ (Weed

Support policy community

Sport – Tourism policy network

Figure 13.2 Sport-tourism relations 258

Tourism policy community


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& Bull, 1999). However, these issues and factors are not restricted to the UK situation alone and may be applied to other countries where sport tourism policy is also fragmented and requires greater coordination.

Sports Tourism from a UK Perspective The early studies into sport tourism in the UK first appeared the 1960s, but the most recognised works have been those undertaken by Glyptis (1982, 1991); Redmond (1990; 1991); Jackson and Glyptis (1992) and Standeven and Tomlinson (1994). Weed and Bull (1999: 277) are concerned about identifying a complex, multi-faceted, symbiotic link between sport and tourism, with main opportunities being: (1) the development of sport and tourism for economic benefits; (2) the benefit of sport and tourism for social benefits; (3) the generation of tourism through sport – particularly using sport as a means of spreading the tourism pound more widely; and (4) the use of holidays as an introduction to sport and to sustain interest thereafter. Prior to the recognition of these opportunities, sport and tourism were seen as separate entities and justified the opportunities they offered to government and hence the community and business as separate entities. Indeed, throughout the 1990s there is limited evidence, except at a regional level (Weed & Bull, 1997b), of an integrated approach in the sports tourism policy area. Redmond (1990) highlighted in the UK the growth in the development of hotels with health and fitness facilities, which were becoming an increasingly important part of the leisure and business trip. The growth in sports events and sporting holidays, such as golf, being growth areas (the issues surrounding the growth of golf tourism in the developing world are outlined in Chapter 11). In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the growth of sports museums in the UK was part of an international trend (Redmond, 1991) which can be seen in Chapter 2 of this book. Contribution of sport tourism to the UK economy The major study conducted by Glyptis (1982), which evaluated the worldwide data on the subject, found that there are mutual benefits to both sectors of agencies that administer sport and tourism policies cooperating more closely on strategy development. Weed’s (1999) study of regional sports tourism in England supports Glyptis’ (1982), findings and suggests that there are real benefits from sports tourism agencies working 259

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more closely. In their review of the economic impact of sport tourism, Collins and Jackson (1998) suggest that the overall value of sport tourism in the UK was £1.5 billion. However, they point out that there is a lack of reliable statistics on sport activity holidays, mega-events and sport and tourism (see also Gratton & Taylor, 2000). Gratton and Taylor (2000) point to evidence that suggests sport-related tourism is an increasing part of the tourism market; they cite evidence from UKTS (1998) which indicated that 55% of all trips taken by UK residents in the UK involved some type of sport and recreation. For 20% of all such trips, sport was the main purpose of the holiday. Gratton and Taylor (2000) argue that the sports tourism figures collected seriously underestimate the market, as they do not take account of the level of end of season trips by sports clubs, or the large number of trips by elite athletes (Reeves & Jackson, 1998). A report by UK Sport on the benefits of major events on 3 April 2001 highlights the economic benefits of events to the UK economy by indicating that the 2000 London Marathon generated £63 million worth of economic activity, while the 1999 Rugby Union World Cup brought £83 million worth of economic activity to the economy of Wales. The report also highlights the potentially negative aspects of hosting major events by stating that even today Sheffield has a continuing annual debt burden of £22 million for the provision of facilities for the poorly attended 1991 World Student Games. The UK Sports Major Events Group recognise that in 1999 there was a lack of capitalisation of the tourism benefits of major sporting events, but that since the publication of the BTA strategy on sports tourism there was a growing recognition by the government, sports and tourism bodies of the full tourism potential of major sporting events. Recognition of such benefits by central government and those agencies who were responsible for sport and tourism, such as the English Tourism Board (ETB) and Sport England (SE) in the mid-1990s, was nonetheless long over due. Administrative structure of sports tourism in the UK Table 13.1 highlights key dates in the development of administrative and policy issues of sport and tourism and sports tourism in the UK from the late 1960s to 2003. The key point to note is how sport and tourism were dealt with as separate entities up until the mid to late 1990s. Standeven and De Knop (1999) argue that between 1972–92 the Sports Council and Tourism Boards had separate policies except in relation to the countryside, where the Countryside Commission brought them together. In 1992, John Major’s Conservative government set up the Department for 260


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Table 13.1a Key dates in the development of sports administrative structures and policies in the UK 1965 1972

1972–77 1974 1974 1976 1980–81 1983–84 1985–86 1987–88 1992 1994 1995 1997 1997 1997

1999 2002

Sports Council set up only as an advisory body Sports Council set up by Royal Charter and given independence – Scottish Sports Council and Sports Council for Wales also established Sport for All Sports Council for Northern Ireland established Government White Paper on Sport published Regional Councils for Sport and Recreation set up in England – established strategic plans for the regions Sport for Disabled People 50+ and All to Play For Ever thought of Sport? – young people What’s Your Sport? – women Department of National Heritage set up by John Major’s Government incorporating sport and tourism in same department Launch of National Lottery Sport Raising the Game published John Major’s Strategy for Sport Labour replaces DNH with Department of Culture Media and Sport UK Sport set up to oversee doping control, sports medicine, sports science and coaching Sport England (formerly Sports Council) focuses on distribution of lottery fund, sport for young people and sporting excellence A Sporting Future for All published New Labours’ Governments Strategy for sport Performance & Innovation Unit Review Sports Policy – ensure public investment in sport is used effectively, develop overall strategy for guiding governments decisions on sports policy (including major events) and to clarify roles and responsibilities of Government relative to private and voluntary sectors

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Table 13.1b Key dates in the development of tourism administrative structures and policies in the UK 1969

Development of Tourism Act – formation of the British Tourist Authority, English Tourism Board, Wales Tourism Board, Scottish Tourism Board 1972–73 Britain’s first world advertising campaign organised by the BTA in 21 different countries 1984–85 First joint chairman of BTA and English Tourism Board 1984–85 BTA publishes ‘Strategy for Growth 1984–88’ first 5 year plan to assist local authorities with the planning and marketing of tourism 1985 BTA and ETB re-organisation is complete and they move to shared offices in London 1985–86 ‘Pleasure, Leisure – the Business of Tourism’ Report published 1985–86 BTA and ETB formally transferred to the Department of Employment 1992 Department of National Heritage set up by John Major’s Government incorporating sport and tourism in same department 1992–93 BTA and ETB transferred to the new Department of National Heritage – brings together for the first time tourism, heritage, arts and sport, with representation at Cabinet level 1995 National Heritage Secretary – Stephen Dorrell launches ‘Competing with the Best’ Government’s agenda for tourism 1997 Labour replaces DNH with Department of Culture Media and Sport 1998 Final phase of the BTA/English Tourist Board separation takes place 1999 English Tourism Council (ETC) launched as strategic body overseeing Tourism in England 1999 New Labour publishes its tourism strategy; ‘Tomorrow’s Tourism with actions aimed at improving the competitiveness of the tourism industry 2000 BTA launches action plan for Sports Tourism. A sport tourism unit was created and sport tourism seen as a pillar in the international marketing of tourism alongside culture and heritage 2000 Department for Culture Media and Sport undertake Financial Management Review of BTA 262


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Table 13.1b (continued) 2000 2003

2003

BTA seeks sports personalities to be ‘ambassadors’ for Britain BTA is merged with the English Tourism Council (domestic marketing and tourism development agency) to combine functions under the organisation called VisitBritain VisitBritain plan to develop a specific sector based strategy for golf tourism

National Heritage (DNH), which coordinated the work of various leisurerelated sectors, arts, sport, tourism and broadcasting and gave them Cabinet status. According to Standeven and De Knop (1999: 299) the DNH established: ‘for the first time in Britain, a connection between sport and tourism was formalised, although issues relating to the countryside and water based recreation remained under a separate department’. In 1997, the new Labour government renamed the DNH the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) and embraced tourism. There is clear evidence of greater coordination of the administration of sport tourism in the UK at both national and regional levels and will continue to attract government support as long as potential political or economic advantages can be identified (Standeven & De Knop, 1999).

Policies of Development and Control In terms of development, the Labour government since 1997 has been concerned with the social inclusion agenda regarding sport as well as supporting elite sport. Their 1999 tourism strategy Tomorrows Tourism published a range of measures ‘to provide a new support structure for tourism in England’. Joint sport and tourism statements – regional level At a regional level in England the Sports Council (SW) and West Country Tourist Board published a joint policy statement in 1992 with 27 statements. This region is the most popular holiday destination in the UK, and both agencies recognise the need to protect the region from resorts in nearby Europe that boast ‘better’ weather conditions. There was similar evidence of such policies in south-west England (Standeven & De Knop, 1994). 263

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Weed and Bull’s (1999) review of sport tourism at a regional level showed that there was an increased amount of short-term activity but little evidence of ‘real integration’ in sports tourism policy between the regional agencies. In certain parts of the country such as the south-west there was greater evidence of the South-West Sports Council and South-West Tourism Boards working in closer cooperation due to the dominance of the regional economy in terms of tourism. The level of cooperation was not replicated elsewhere in other regions. Table 13.2 shows the policy area matrix for sport and tourism developed by Weed (1999) in his review of links between sport and tourism at a regional level. This matrix highlights the complexity of the sport and tourism policy areas, and reinforces the importance of greater coordination between government and all relevant agencies. Standeven and De Knop (1999) suggest that policies of ‘control’ are common at the opposite end of the development scale. From 1979–96 the thrust of Conservative policy was the centralisation of government and movement of control away from local authorities. Concurrently, local authority leisure provision became more commercially focused during the late 1980’s with the introduction of Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT), which meant contracting out of major leisure services. The key impact of CCT, in terms of leisure and tourism, was a fundamental change in the ethos of delivering local authority services. During the late 1980s and early 1990s the British Conservative Party gave responsibility for economically regenerating inner cities to Urban Development Corporations (UDC) who provided grants for sport-tourism programmes. However, this invasion of local authority ‘policy space’ caused tensions in the levels of the policy network. Issues of control are often environmentally based and relate to strict outdoor recreation planning polices. There is real concern of the potentially negative impact of the growth in sport tourism on the countryside. For example, areas such as the Lake District and Snowdonia National Park have introduced restrictions on the number of cars entering the parks and planning restrictions on the purchase of housing except by existing local residents. There have been some public safety concerns arising from the death of 39 spectators at Heysel, Brussels, during the European Cup Final in 1985. A particular type of sports tourist – the football hooligan – contributed to the tragedy, with the sorry episode leading to a new range of public safety powers for the courts and police.

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Leadership of Sports Tourism Policy in the UK In the UK, responsibility for sport in the past was devolved to Sports Councils (SC) and Tourism to the English Tourism Council (ETC), which is now combined with the British Tourist Authority (BTA) to form VisitBritain. Previously, neither the Sport Councils or the ETC wanted to take a lead on sports tourism, as both feared their own ‘policy space’ being invaded. However, as restructuring to VisitBritain is fairly recent there is some uncertainty concerning policy and whether changes in organizational culture may create opportunities for greater coordination. In the past, the area of tourism could involve the Tourism Society or The Institute of Travel & Tourism, as well as the national tourism boards and the British Tourist Authority. For sport it could be the Central Council for Physical Recreation, SPRITO (until May 2002 formally the national training agency for sport) as well as Sport England and UK Sport. In their review of the sports tourism policy network within the UK, Weed and Bull (1999: 285) argue that: ‘The agencies act independently, perhaps due to a lack of value census or perceived mutual interest across the two policy communities, so no sport-tourism policy network emerges’. Weed (2001) in his review of policy development within the sports tourism domain, highlights that the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) has gradually eroded the role of both the tourism and sports agencies, namely the English Tourism Board (previously the English Tourism Council (ETC) and now VisitBritain) and the Sports Councils. Weed (2001) is arguing that the ‘arms length’ principle upon which both agencies were established has been eroded. This will have a knock-on effect with respect to the sport and tourism policy communities because, as might be expected, both the former English Tourism Board and English Sports Council (ESC) were looked towards by other agencies to take a lead on national policy. The ETC had previously been marginalised through having its funding cut, while the ESC has essentially become a way of distributing lottery funds; it is thus closely linked with DCMS and now acts as an agent rather than as an initiator of policy (Weed, 2001). Weed (2001) suggests that the lack of sports tourism strategy at a national level is due to the fact that sport has what he calls a ‘primary community’, which includes DCMS and Sports Councils which convert government policy into action. By contrast, tourism does not have a lead agency and its members are made up mainly from the commercial sector. In the past the ETC has not acted as lead agency as it has been marginalised by government and does not have the resource dependency relationship 265

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Regional identity

Regional identity

Social goals

EU funding

Economic contribution


Social goals

EU funding

Regional identity


Major arenas

Out-of season

Specialist facilities


Social goals tourism

Regional identity

Major arenas

Major arenas

EU funding

Tourist information centres


Marketing activity

Regional forums

Joint bid for funding

Supple mentary funding

Economic and social regeneration Conference market

Policy and planning

Resources and funding

Nuisance sports

Water sports

Resolving conflict

Table 13.2 The policy area matrix for sport and tourism

Nuisance sports

Social goals

Social goals

EU funding

Regional identity

Cycling/ walking

Water sports


Major arenas

Joint lobbying

Nuisance

Water sports


Major arenas

Codes of practice

Tourist information centres

Leisure centres

Information distribution channels Regional identity

EU funding


Conference market

Nuisance activities

Major arenas


Research and advice

Information and promotion

266 Sport Tourism

Spectator events

267

Source: Weed (1999: 22)

Social goals

Special- Nuisance Conferist activities ence facilities market Out-ofLeisure Major season Nuisance centres arenas tourism market ConferSports Water ence develop- sports market ment Cycling/ Sports walking development Sports development Major arenas

Conference market Social goals


Major arenas

Off-peak use

Regional identity Specialist facilities

Differential pricing


Social goals

Leisure centres

Hotel Use of leisure tourism facilities to sustain local facilities Out-ofMajor season arenas tourism SpecialConfer- ist ence facilities market DifferenOff-peak tial use pricing

Dual use of tourist facilities

General holidays with sports opportunities Water sports

Sports Activity training holidays

‘Upmarket’ sports holidays

Facility issues

Sport holidays


Regional identity

Nuisance activities

Water sports

Cycling/ walking Out-of season Nuistourism ance activities Major arenas Social goals Specialist facilities

EU funding

Conference market

Water sports

Nuisance activities

Farm Country- Marina diversifica- side develoption access ment and integration

Environmental countryside and water issues Sport Tourism in the UK 267

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which sport has with government through the Sports Lottery Fund. However, the merger between the ETC and BTA to form VisitBritain may strengthen their role in developing sport tourism policy especially as sport tourism has been given heightened priority by VisitBritain.

National Strategies for Sport and Tourism and Sports Tourism First, this section will consider the current role of the leading agencies for sport and tourism. England is being considered here rather than all regions of the UK, so for tourism the agency agency in the past has been the English Tourism Council (ETC) and for sport, Sport England. Second, the current government strategies for sport and tourism will be considered for the extent to which they contain elements of sports tourism policy. For tourism the policy is ‘Tomorrow’s Tourism’ and for Sport ‘A Sporting Future for All’. Finally in this section, the current Sports Tourism Strategy developed by the British Tourism Authority will be examined and the recent restructuring of the ECT and BTA to form VisitBritain will also be briefly discussed. Tourism – English Tourism Council and Tomorrow’s Tourism The English Tourism Council (ETC) was set up by New Labour in July 1999 as a radical transformation of the English Tourist Board. Its role is to support the business of tourism and to drive forward a long-term vision for the fragmented tourism industry . . . The ETC is a strategic body brokering partnerships, setting standards, developing policy, providing research and forecasts, and championing issues at the highest level. (DCMS, 1999) In their 2001 report on tourism, CBI, the veritable voice of British industry, argued the case for a stronger strategic and leadership role for the English Tourism Council, and state that it is increasingly clear that the English Tourism Council is inadequately resourced to assist government in achieving its targets (CBI, 2001). Because of the issue of resources and the debate over the marketing of domestic tourism, the English Tourism Council merged with the British Tourist Authority in April 2003 to form VisitBritain which took on the marketing and development of domestic tourism alongside their brief of international marketing (which was the role of the BTA). 268


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Tomorrow’s Tourism is the current government policy on tourism, launched in 1999. This policy document outlines the size and extent of tourism in the UK pointing out that the tourism industry: • employs 17,500,000 people in 125,000 businesses; • has accounted for one in six of all new jobs; • has brought in over 26,000,000 overseas visitors to Britain in 1999, spending over £13 billion. Globally, tourism is one of the biggest industries in the world with international tourism receipts of £130 billion in Europe and £270 billion world wide in 1999. Tomorrow’s Tourism (1999: 5) has a key aim, which does make a specific reference to the contribution that can be made by sport tourism, suggesting that the development of innovative niche markets, such as film tourism, and sports tourism (author emphasis in italics) to unlock the full potential of Britain’s unique cultural and natural heritage. The government put forward the case in Tomorrow’s Tourism that they are committed to working in partnership to ensure greater coordination of effort across all government departments and tourist regions in the delivery of tourism policy. The establishment of a Tourism Forum Chaired by the Culture Secretary is central to this issue. This initiative agrees with the arguments made in earlier research by Weed (2001) that government ought not control the policy agenda, and that the English Tourism Council did not operate at ‘arms length’ from government, therefore having little independence from government. Tomorrow’s Tourism committed the British Tourist Authority (BTA) (now VisitBritain) to develop joint marketing plans and work very closely with the Scottish and Wales Tourist Boards. The BTA had been committed to working with the various governing bodies of sport in promoting the major international events regularly hosted in the UK, such as the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. A further key aim of the plan is the commitment of the government to bring international sporting events to the UK. For example, the plan highlights the economic and thus tourism value of Euro ’96, which was self-financing and attracted 100,000 foreign visitors, generating more than £40 million in tourist expenditure in London alone (Gratton and Taylor, 2001). More recently London has announced to bid for the hosting of the 2012 Olympic Games which will require the coordination of key agencies and industry to ensure that the bid document is produced before the deadline and should enable the sport and tourism organisations at the public and private sector to work more closely together. 269

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Furthermore, the Tomorrow’s Tourism plan focuses on the significant role of the Regional Development Agencies (RDA’s) in meeting regional needs: ‘Regional Cultural Consortia will identify priorities for cultural initiatives in each region and encourage the various cultural interests (including tourism) to work together to achieve common aims’ (DCMS, 1999: 17). Tomorrow’s Tourism also allowed the Regional Tourist Boards (RTB’s) for the first time to bid for funds in relation to the ETC’s remit ‘for projects in a way that enables local factors and circumstances to be taken into account’. Additionally, the aim was to ensure that a greater proportion of the funds that go to domestic tourism will be channeled through the RTB’s to the regions. In the current year 2002, the aim is to increase funding to the regions from £5.5 million to £6.5 million. In the third Tourism Summit hosted by the government on the 5 March 2002, ‘The Modernising Agenda for Tourism’, the statement was made that: ‘Regional Development Association’s would be the strategic coordinator of tourism in the region’s, and Regional Tourist Boards the strategic delivery arm’ (DCMS, 2002). The Summit established a ‘Tourism Alliance’, to act as the single voice of tourism, and to develop a strategy for the industry which would start to have an impact in three to five years on issues, such as ensuring greater liaison between RDA’s and local authorities in terms of recognising the economic and social benefits of sports tourism, as well as the need to develop quality training programs for the industry Sport – Sport England and ‘A Sporting Future for All’ The key agency responsible for sport in England, Sport England. Sport England has as its slogan ‘more people, more places, more medals’ and is concerned with getting more people playing sport, building new and better facilities, and supporting elite performers. Sport England is also responsible for the distribution of the Sports Lottery Fund, distributing £1.4 billion since 1994. As with tourism, the value of sport to the UK economy is significant. Torkildsen (1999) cites the research of the Leisure Industries Research Council, which estimates that (1) 400,000 jobs relate to sport; and (2) consumers spent £10 billion on sports goods in 1995. ‘A Sporting Future for All’ plan contains no real formal link between sport and tourism. In p. 3 of the introduction to the document, British Prime Minister Tony Blair states that: only if we modernize the way sport is run will we be able to create wider participation and greater achievement which are our aims . . . 270


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We need to see new thinking and new action about ways to improve sport in our country. (DCMS, 2000) However, of the 17 key actions in the policy none mention a direct relationship between sport and tourism. It is significant to note the response of The Local Government Association (LGA) (in their submission to the Government Select Committee on Staging International Events) to ‘A Sporting Future for All’: it was disappointing that the economic and social aspects of sports events were not built upon within ‘A Sporting Future for All’ linking together the opportunities that events can stimulate in providing modern and sustainable community facilities and improved participation and performance standards in sport. (DCMS, 2001) The document goes on to make the case for ‘getting England winning’ is about building a strong participation base and investing in identified talent. Examples given include the investment in major sporting facilities, such as for the Commonwealth Games, and the new National Stadium in Wembley, thus ensuring England has sporting infrastructure capable of hosting world-class international events. British Tourist Authority (now VisitBritain) sports tourism strategy In 2000 the BTA formed a sports tourism unit within their organisation with the goals to • Promote Britain as the country to visit for the sporting enthusiast and to encourage more overseas visitors to watch, play and experience sport in Britain. • Consolidate Britain as the ‘birthplace’ of many of the world’s most famous sports and sporting venues. (BTA, 2000a) As part of the development of this unit the BTA suggested that the British sports tourism market was estimated to be worth over £1.5 billion. They highlight the fact that the Euro ‘96 football tournament in the UK attracted over 280,000 overseas visitors, providing the eight host cities with a cash injection of around £120 million. In order to capitalise on these and other potential tourism opportunities, the BTA took the lead in the development of a cross-industry, cross-agency, cross-governmental sports tourism initiative. This initiative led to the development of a Sports Tourism Strategy developed in conjunction with the Department for Culture, Media and 271

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Sport, UK Sport, and other sports and tourism bodies. In developing the Sports Tourism Strategy the BTA aimed to maximise the potential of sport for inbound tourism to Britain. The strategy has five key objectives: (1) To position sports as an integral part of the British tourism product alongside heritage, culture, lifestyle and the countryside. (2) To raise awareness among the sports industry of the economic benefit and potential of overseas visitors. (3) To contribute to the wining of major international sporting events. (4) To position BTA as the leading agency of an integrated approach to the development of sports tourism. (5) To complement the Sports Strategies of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly. (BTA, 2000b) In order to move this strategy forward the BTA formed a Sports Tourism Forum under the chairmanship of Des Wilson, who was Deputy Chairman of Sport England at the time. Whilst this strategy is laudable, recent events in relation to hosting international sporting events (Objective 3 of the strategy) in particular, the government’s decision not to build the Picketts Lock Athletics stadium, which was the centre piece of the bid to host the 2005 World Athletics Championships, may have had a negative impact. The report by the select committee into the impact of the Picketts Lock decision was significant regarding the UK’s international reputation when it comes to staging international events in the future: The evidence from our many witnesses was that the damage to the UK’s credibility in making bids for international events was considerable . . . UK Sport made the point that, where competition for an event is stiff, the UK’s competitors would be able to use the history of Picketts Lock ‘to plant seeds of doubt in the minds of decision makers . . . especially true if an event requires a new facility construction or transport infrastructure improvements’. Any competition to host the summer Olympics would certainly fall Into this category and the BOA told us that ‘the decision to sacrifice The World Athletics Championships is extremely unhelpful. (DCMS, 2001) The 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester had many sports tourism links set up by the North-West Tourist Board and North-West Sports Council, and the outcomes were seen as part of the way towards rebuilding the credibility of the UK when it comes to the hosting of major sporting events. Based on their success and the potential regeneration of East London the government in early 2003 decided to bid for the hosting of the 2012 Olympic Games. 272


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On 1 February 2002, Prime Minister Blair announced that he had asked the Performance Innovation Unit (PIU) and the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) to carry out a joint study examining long-term sports strategy. The review aims to ensure public investment in sport is used effectively, to develop overall strategy for guiding governments decisions on sports policy (including major events), and to clarify roles and responsibilities of Government relative to private and voluntary sectors. The fact that this review is seen as essential by the PM suggests that he understand the problems that have dogged sport in the UK over the last few years need resolving. Such concerns include the bid to host 2006 Football World Cup, and the loss of 2005 World Athletics Championships. However, the commitment to producing a bid for the 2012 Olympics in London perhaps demonstrates the governments desire to hold worldclass sporting events and will hopefully lead to more successful integration between sport and tourism policy markers at the national level. Since the merger of the BTA and ETC to form VisitBritain, there has also been restructuring within the new organization with sports tourism now combined within a unit dedicated to youth, sport and activities within the international marketing department. Furthermore, in July 2003 the unit embarked towards the creation of a golf tourism strategy involving relevant sporting organizations (such as the PGA), golf courses and the tourism industry.

Framework for a Sports Tourism Policy If the UK government and all the interested agencies in the sport and tourism fields are to be committed to the development of a UK-wide sports tourism policy, then a number of things need to happen. As has been argued earlier, there needs to be far better statistical information about the benefits of sports tourism ‘coming together’ (Collins & Jackson, 1998; Gratton & Taylor, 2000). VisitBritain can play an important role by measuring the success of their sport tourism strategy in terms of attracting overseas visitors. In other countries such as Australia, sport tourism has been elevated since the hosting of the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and the Federal government have developed a draft National Sports Tourism Strategy and undertaken research on the value and importance of both international and domestic sports tourism. Hosting major sporting events, such as the successful Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002 273

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Central Government DCMS

Scottish Office

Welsh Office

NI Office

BTA

ETC

STB

WTB

NITB

Overseas Office

Regional Tourist Boards

Area Tourist Boards

Regional Tourist Companies

Regional Development Associations

Figure 13.3 Tourist board framework in UK in 2000

has raised the profile of sports tourism on national and international levels and illustrated the value for host destinations. It is important for the immediate future of ‘sports tourism’ as a policy area that the Games were successful and have perhaps contributed to convincing the government to bid for the 2012 Olympics, despite some initial doubt over the feasibility of a bid. The current Sports Tourism Forum needs to become more strategic and powerful in bringing together the many disparate agencies that represent the sport and tourism sectors. Such a group would be best served by having a high profile Chairperson who already has access to the key stakeholders outside and inside government. As mentioned previously, tourism does not have what Weed (2001) calls a ‘primary community’, as it does not have a role in distributing large sums of money. By contrast, sport does have a resource allocation role through the Sports Lottery Fund. Furthermore, tourism’s membership is mainly made up of representatives from the commercial sector. The key industry body in the England, the CBI in its 2001 report on the tourism industry, recommended to government the need for more targeted resources and a strategic role for the English Tourism Council which has been merged with the BTA. This CBI view supports the case for tourism to join sport if it is to get ‘sports tourism’ on the political agenda. 274

275 Cultural Consortium

Regional Development Agencies

10 Regional Sport Councils

Sports England

Department of Culture Media and Sport (English policy)

UK Sport Elite sport (anti-doping major events)

Central Government

Sports Councils for NI

Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure

NI Assembly

Regional Sports Boards

Arts, sports, heritage, tourism and creative studies Development of regional cultural strategy

Sports Council for Wales

Department of Education and Culture

Welsh Assembly

Figure 13.4 Organisation of sport at a national and regional level in the UK

Sports Scotland

Department of Environment and Sport

Scottish Parliament

Sport Tourism in the UK 275

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Both sport and tourism are represented at the highest level of government, Cabinet level, by Tessa Jowell, the Minister for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). In order to develop policy over the longer-term, it must be an aim of both sport tourism to gain Cabinet representation in its own right. The current government strategy, Tomorrow’s Tourism, needs to be evaluated in terms of the success of its sports tourism elements. The current sports strategy ‘A Sporting Future for All’ needs reviewing, and must consider incorporating sports tourism. Just as the BTA, and now VisitBritain has championed sports tourism for the tourism field, so UK Sport within the sports field must champion sports tourism. UK Sport, in its current strategy for major events, talks of ‘the need for the event to attract sufficient interest in terms of domestic and overseas visitors.’ Thus, UK Sport must lobby with Sport England for the next sports strategy to include sports tourism. At a regional level in England it is important for the Regional Development Agencies (RDA’s) to develop fully inclusive cultural consortia which can in turn develop regional cultural strategies that meet regional needs. It is imperative that the Regional Tourist Boards and Regional Sports Councils work closely together in developing sports tourism policies. As has been highlighted earlier, since the mid-1990s only a couple of regions have started to recognise the benefits of working in partnership on sports tourism initiatives (Standeven & Tomlinson, 1994; Weed & Bull, 1997a). In Australia, the draft National Sports Tourism Strategy suggests the development of clusters at a regional level to bring together sport and tourism providers and government agencies. The Federal government realise that they should attempt to facilitate the creation of these cluster groups because they help to provide innovation and a competitive advantage for destinations in the area of sport tourism.

Conclusion This chapter has mostly considered sports tourism policy in the UK and, within that context, strategies for the development of sport and tourism in England. Elsewhere in Europe, and in countries abroad such as Australia, the case for sports tourism is more developed than in the UK. A joint review by UK Sport and VisitBritain of ‘best practice’ in terms of how sport tourism policy has been developed in key markets around the world would be a useful exercise. While it is acknowledged that systems in different countries vary significantly, evaluating the successes and failures of these models can help to ensure a more robust UK sports tourism policy. 276


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Key Questions and Active Learning Exercises 1. Why is it difficult to define sports tourism simply and the types of sports tourism that exist? Task In small groups examine Standeven and De Knop’s (1999) model of the types of sports tourism and for each category identify three examples. For example, for the Connoisseur category for events and sports museums list three of each. 2. What are the potential positive and negative impacts of greater integration of the sports tourism fields? Task For each of the positive and negative impacts of sports tourism outlined by Collins and Jackson (1998) attempt to provide examples, which illustrate each. 3. Who is responsible for the administration and delivery of policy of sport and tourism as separate entities, and sports tourism as a new area, at national and regional level? Task In small groups identify the key of objectives of the following agencies in relation to sport and tourism as separate entities and sports tourism as a new area, by examining their websites: • • • •

Department of Culture, Media and Sport; UK Sport; Sport England; VisitBritain.

4. Why does sport have a stronger policy community than tourism? Task Draw two separate diagrams highlighting that you believe are the primary and secondary agencies responsible for sport and tourism. Draw a further diagram showing any links that you believe exist between the primary agencies in relation to the new sports tourism field. 277

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Further Recommended Reading British Tourist Authority (BTA) (2000) Sport Tourism – Trade Advisory Pack. London: BTA. Standeven, J. and De Knop, P. (1999) Sport Tourism. Champaign, IL: Human Kenetics. Weed, M. and Bull, C. (2003) Sports Tourism: Participants, Policy and Providers. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Websites Britain and UK VisitBritain: www.visitbritain.com/sport British Incoming Tour Operators Association: www.bitoa.co.uk Coach Tourism Council: www.coachtourismcouncil.co.uk UK Sport: www.uksport.gov.uk England The former English Tourism Council: www.Englishtourism.org.uk Department for Culture Media and Sport: www.culture.gov.uk Sport England: www.sportengland.org Regional Consortia see ETC website for contacts. Wales Wales Tourist Board: www.wales-tourist-board.gov.uk The Sports Council for Wales: www.sports-council-wales.co.uk Scotland VisitScotland Lead agency for tourism: Tourist information: www.visitscotland.com Tourist trade information: www.scotexchange.net Sport Scotland: sportscotland.org.uk Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Tourist Board: www.discovernorthernireland.com The Sports Council for Northern Ireland: www.sportni.org 278


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Europe European Commission Tourism Unit: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enter prise/services/tourism/index_en.htm Sport and EU http://europa.eu.int/comm/sport/index.html References Bramwell, B. (1997) A sport mega-event as a sustainable tourism development strategy. Tourism Recreation Research 22 (2), 13–19. British Tourist Authority (BTA) (2000a) Tourism and Sport – Britain’s Perfect Match – Sports Tourism Strategy. London: BTA. British Tourist Authority (BTA) (2000b) Sport Tourism – Trade Advisory Pack. London: BTA. CBI (2001) Targeting Tourism – The Agenda for Change. March 2001. Collins, M.F. and Jackson, G.A.M. (1998) The economic impact of sport tourism. In M.F Collins and I. Cooper (eds) Leisure Management Issues and Applications. Oxon: CAB International. Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Tourism Division) (1999) Tomorrow’s Tourism – A Tourism Strategy for England. London: DCMS. Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Sports Division) (2000) A Sporting Future for All – The Government Strategy for Sport. London: DCMS. Department for Culture, Media and Sport (2001) Staging International Sporting Events: Government Response to the Third Report from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee Session 2000–2001. London: The Stationary Office. Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Tourism Division) (2002) Third Tourism Summit – Key Conclusions and Action Points to Drive Forward the Modernising Agenda for Tourism. London: DCMS. Glyptis, S. (1982) Sport and Tourism in Western Europe. London: British Travel Educational Trust. Glyptis, S. (1991) Sport and Tourism. In C. Cooper (ed.) Progress in Tourism, Recreation and Hospitality Management (pp. 166–83). London: Belhaven Press. Gratton, P. and Taylor, P. (2000) Economics of Sport and Recreation. London: Spon. Harris, H.A. (1972) Sport in Greece and Rome. Ithica, NY: Cornell University Press. Henry, I.P. (2001) The Politics of Leisure Policy (2nd edn). Basingstoke: Plagrave. Jackson, G.A.M. and Glyptis, S.A. (1992) Sport and tourism: A review of the literature. Unpublished report to the Sports Council, London. Redmond, G. (1990) Points of increasing contact: Sport and tourism in the modern world. In A. Tomlinson (ed.) Sport in Society: Policy, Politics and Culture (No. 43). Brighton: Leisure Studies Association. Redmond, G. (1991) Changing styles of sports tourism: Industry/consumer interactions in Canada, the USA and Europe. In T. Sinclair and M.J. Stabler (eds) The Tourism Industry – An International Perspective. Oxon: CAB International. 279

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Reeves, M. and Jackson, G. (1998) Evidencing the sport-tourism interrelationship: A case study of elite British athletes. In M.F. Collins and I. Cooper (eds) Leisure Management Issues and Applications. Oxon: CAB International. Smith, A. (2001) Sporting a new image? Sport-based regeneration strategies as a means of enhancing city image of the tourist destination. In C. Gratton and I. Henry (eds) Sport In The City – The Role of Sport in Social and Economic Regeneration. London: Routledge. Standeven, J. and Tomlinson, A. (1994) Sport and Tourism in South East England. London: South East Council for Recreation and Sport. Standeven, J. and De Knop, P. (1999) Sport Tourism. Champaign, IL: Human Kenetics. Torkildsen, G. (1999) Leisure and Recreation Management. London: Spon. UK Sport (2001) Report of major events group. 3 April. UKTS (1998) The UK Tourist: Statistics 1997. English, Scottish, Wales and Northern Ireland Tourist Boards. Weed, M. (1999) More than sports holidays: An overview of the sports-tourism link. In M. Scarrott (ed.) Exploring Sports Tourism (pp. 3–15). Sheffield: SPRIG. Weed, M. (2001) Towards a model of cross-sectoral policy development in leisure: The case of sport tourism. Leisure Studies 20, 125–41. Weed, M.E. and Bull, C. (1997a) Integrating Sport and Tourism: A review of regional Policies in England. Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research 3 (2), 229–48. Weed, M. and Bull, C. (1997b) Influences on sport-tourism relations in Britain: The effects of government policy. Tourism Recreation Research 22 (2), 5–12. Weed, M. and Bull, C. (1999) The search for a sport-tourism policy network. In M.F. Collins and I. Cooper (eds) Leisure Management Issues and Applications. Oxon: CAB International. Wright, M. (1988) Policy community, policy network and comparative industrial policies. Political Studies 36 (4) 15–25.

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The Future of Sport Tourism: The Perspective of the Sports Tourism International Council JOSEPH KURTZMAN AND THE LATE JOHN ZAUHAR

Introduction In any given social system, the value ideology has a two-dimensional focus. On one hand, the people within a set society are directly involved in their living standard process. Their acceptable values are internalised; their norms and standards are already established. Their social inherencies, over the years, have been reasonably patterned and routinised. On the other hand, core individuals and/or groups who are outsiders to this given society, bring along their particular value system from whence they reside, accept it on a temporary basis, to evolve within different lifestyle factors. These are travellers who seek experiences based on initiatives and evolution coupled with curiosity, challenge and adventure. The concept of identification is of importance. Their powers of incorporation may be gradual or rapid dependent on past experiences, psychological readiness and satisfaction level. And, this is also true for sport tourism.

Learning Outcomes By the end of the chapter the reader should: (1) Be prepared for the ultimate purpose of contemplating a vision with respect to sport tourism. (2) Be able to understand the future perspectives of sport tourism. (3) Be motivated through interactive positioning. (4) Be helped to formulate a consistent theory on sport tourism.

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(5) Be better able to appreciate tourist behaviours in terms of sport tourism. (6) Be better able to interpret the goals and objectives of our modern society in relation to sport tourism.

Future Perspectives When looking to the future of sport tourism and its potential impacts on lifestyles, changes are on the horizon, in particular to sport tourism happenings and expectancies. With Virtual Reality, people can simulate games and events and with advanced technology, the Internet can show every step of any event with intimate details (Zelkovich, 1999). With TV merging more and more with all forms of communication including mobile communication formats, with interactive TV, the Internet and imaging available as well as the new ‘high speed chips’, the ability to perform complex tasks at nano-second speed (Pimental & Teixeria, 1993). For sport tourism, the possibilities are beyond imagination, as the games of today will be realities of tomorrow for sports enjoyment, satisfaction and fulfilment (Kurtzman & Zauhar, 1999).

Sports Tourism Industry Will sport tourists want to travel to different happenings when sounds, sights and ambience can be virtually and surrealistically created? Will there be a desire to physically displace oneself when happenings could be modulated, interactive and enjoyed in the comforts of home or local establishments through existing and futuristic technologies? Simulation of learning sport skills, has also been impacted by the virtuality of technology. This concept may also apply to multiple sports tourism attractions, some of which are found in sports tourism museums and halls of fame (Museum Renewal, 2001). The interactive and controlled environments of the sports tourism experience contribute to the enhancement of individual satisfaction. Likewise, this magnetic polarisation can also stimulate sports tourists during their resort visitations. Here, the virtuality impacts on skill concentration and development. Sports tourists demonstrating a greater interest in Sport Tourism Adventure which can also be a simulated reality. Above all, attendance at sport events may increase. However, technologies may eventually change the whole operational systems and structures, not to mention their philosophy (Gibbs, 1998). Natural terrain destinations, such as trekking and climbing the mountains in Nepal, tubing in the Grand 282

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Canyon, rafting in the white waters are becoming more attractive and appreciated by clients worldwide. In essence, the contributing factors in sporting adventures are being increasingly recognised by different and diverse cultures (Dial, 2000). Furthermore, the cruise industry has manifested an impetus for change in the sport tourism domain. Of note are sport tourism factors such as ‘Cities on the Sea’, with ships the size of football fields offering condominiums and state-of-the-art sport facilities coupled with personalised programmes and services (Immen, 1999). Perhaps, ‘Cruise Bowls’ will be held, similar to the World Cup to be hosted by different urban centres. Unfortunately, it would appear that limited attendance would be restricted to interactive local spectatorship. In such ‘Cruise Bowl’ scenarios, economic impacts will be more difficult to accumulate by a particular country, region or city. ‘Cruise Lines’ will enjoy the economic feasibility by not only hosting the event but also by accommodating the tourists on board (Kurtzman, 2001).

Potential Growth Sport tourism, a growing segment of tourism, has been shown to equal 32% of the world wide tourism receipts (Research Notes, 1994). There is no doubt that much touristic activity affects sport tourism, allowing for many new opportunities and innovations to stimulate entrepreneurism. In addition, lifestyle work patterns throughout the world are invariably contributing to sport tourism development and to its value/benefit impacts (Thompson, 2001). As examples: (1) The short term holiday opportunity is proving to be a favourable aspect in the touristic business, responding well to the pursuits of many desirable sports tourism destination experiences. (2) Travellers who are motivated and committed, may take a long term holiday bringing about a higher economic impact to the selected sports tourism destination, as well as a loyalty value to the activity in question. (3) The sport tourism ‘destination dabblers’ are those busy, hardworking individuals who wish to take a break from the stress of their jobs. They are willing to pay for short trips to enjoy their aspired activities. As examples, these sports tourists can be seen tubing in mountain rivers, sea kayaking and scuba diving the reefs. (4) Another dimension includes sports tourists with their families who can be seen touring and researching historical sport perspectives, willing to be satiated with education, culture, environmental knowledge and understanding. 283

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Innovative Experiences Various innovations in sport tourism are assisting and contributing to the growth of offerings. Indoor simulation on a large scale of outdoors facilities, natural and/or artificial, is sustaining sport tourism activities of fun and unusual events motivating the diversities within emerging profiles of sport tourists. Examples of such types of simulation include cruise ship skating rinks and virtual reality luge rides. As well, sky dome coloured snow and dome golfing, gravity free games (Kurtzman, 2001). A good illustration of value marketing and demonstration could be found in the Key West area where more than US$100,000 was spent on bait over a three-day mackerel fishing tournament. Fishermen generated economic impacts from expenditures on travel, accommodation, food and tackle equipment (Roehl et al., 1993).

Particular Developments The use of natural surroundings leads to greater development of resorts in smaller urban centres, illustrated as follows: (1) The use of certain facilities (skiing, scuba diving, golfing) has initiated establishment of specific resorts becoming the central economic stimuli. Lake Placid has used the natural terrain of the Adirondack Mountains to host two Winter Olympic Games and establish many ski resorts in the area (Research Unit, 1998). (2) Snow boarding on mountainous terrain is helping certain ski resorts to flourish since more families are participating in this activity. For example, data from some ski areas suggest there are more than 150 new snowboarders on weekends, many of whom are children. (3) Mountain biking groups host competitions in BMX, road racing, motor bike trail and track racing. These sport tourists are fitness oriented groups who cross over from mountain biking to road racing and vice versa. (4) Sport experiences in the wilds of nature are being more effectively controlled, efficiently administered and smoothly packaged. These experiences have been created and structured to value and benefit particular types of tourists. An example of such management can be seen as Gaming in Kenya and Sportings in Gambia which have led to new varieties of sport tourism (Sindiga, 1999).

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Group Focus Meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions, shows and fairs (MICES) have also demonstrated positive values and benefits to sport tourism. As examples: (1) Meeting planners and organisers are including sporting activities for the purpose of attendee retention. (2) Incentive travel from a sport tourism perspective is on the rise. This increase is specifically due to worldwide popularity of participation sports and highly visible mega events. (3) Each of the MICES activities has an attraction drawing visitors to host cities and is considered a ‘shoulder’ or ‘low’ touristic season activity; as well as a ‘support’ mechanism to the sports tourism industry (Kurtzman, 2000).

Specific Components Classifications Six specific component classifications were theorised to predict future characteristics and benefits of sport tourism. Social value component Contributions to sport tourism in this classification are non-tangible. Sport tourism experiences, individual in nature, are affected by cultural appreciations, status of activity happening, as well as travel projections and realities. The degree of social acceptance and satisfaction varies from individual to individual and from group to group. Evidently, openness and transferability are dependent largely on demographics. Interpersonal value component The future of sport tourism both directly and indirectly impacts on the individual persona. Participation, be it active or passive, may influence one’s behaviour, character, value philosophy and ideology. Evidently, opposite or negative elements could be generated, adversely affecting one’s emotions and spiritual appreciations. These interpersonal relations are subjected to lifestyle experiences, psychological readiness and multidimensional interpretations.

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Social/knowledge value component Without question, some degree of learning usually takes place wherever sport tourism is portrayed, be it professional or amateur participation. Self-assessment is the key to maturity and development. Sport happenings assist in skill activation and rating knowledge within the perimeters of a set activity. The better one grasps these developments, be they in participatory or spectator fashions, the more appreciative of the displayed talents and activity composition one is likely to become. In other words, the mere association with a specific sporting activity has a potential educational value, with possibilities of being incorporated into one’s skill practices and judgements. Health value component Fitness or bodily health are displayed through participation in physical activity. Imitation and emulation are overtly and covertly induced to better one’s lifestyle. These positive values grow, resulting in appropriate nutrition, physical exercise, good sleeping habits and active listening to one’s vital bodily functions. This value component, through the future of sport tourism development, may impact tremendously on work habits, family relationships and societal policies. In essence, through sport tourism, an individual’s mind and spirit will benefit and this may help to cultivate a better outlook on one’s environment and lifestyle. Marketing/publicity value component The promotion and selling of a country’s area, culture, traditions and mores are the spine of viable communities. The more people worldwide who know about and recognize a particular tourism destination in detail, the more attractive the destination is likely to become. How far reaching can such a value be considered is relative to the respective sport offerings and services. Without question, the greater the sophistication of the experience, the greater the inducement and retention factors. The magnetic pull is initiated from the very outset of visionary projection and potential expectation. Sport tourism does and will affect the future viabilities and diversities in a peculiar fashion. Economy value component To put on a sport tourism display or happening may be costly in terms of finance, volunteer efforts and community stability. Specific facilities 286


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may require upgrading; state-of-the-art installations and equipment may be necessary, roads may need repairs and infrastructures modernizing. Funding from different sources may become essential. These economic aspects result in a mini-boom, usually maximising benefits on a short term basis with a retention value over a longer period. When appropriate planning takes place, communities prosper and visitors experience enjoyment, satisfaction and fulfillment. And, in the larger picture, the world becomes smaller, and perhaps those living in it more understanding and knowledgeable of each other.

Conclusion: Possibilities and Potential Future possibilities and potentialities of sport tourism are based on current trends, discoveries and creativity of everyday life styles and opportunities. In an attempt to keep abreast with rapidly changing technology, to understand human motive and curiosity, and looking for meaning in the activities of people worldwide, customary sequence and tendency movement, anticipation and prediction of values and benefit of sport tourism are identified, chartered and interpreted in terms of integrated social forms. The forecasted and interpreted pathways are not necessarily unique or singular towards the future mapping of sport tourism. All aspects of the world society are acknowledged; unprecedented opportunities are being challenged, persona and collective values are evolving. As such, value components related to sport tourism are integrative and interdependent. New social processes, new economic principles, new technologies and new political systems are impacting upon the world’s future directions. In essence, values and benefits directly and indirectly, permeates people’s way to happiness, satisfaction and meaning in life. Hence, as the world matures, anticipating new and desirable dimensions, commitment – overtly or covertly – is being undertaken to capitalise on basic desirable and distinct values and benefits that are reflected in many areas of life, including sport tourism. The poignant question underlying the futuristic perspectives of sport tourism is whether the expansion of accepted values, benefits and characteristics is subjected to lifestyle restraints and constraints. To what extent is or will the people of the world be comfortable? – not overlooking the fact that major events, be they political, economic, natural disasters, or other, can and do change people’s nature or motives. Presently, fantasies and curiosity feed people’s experiences. And composite values are gradually gaining acceptance and appreciation. It is suggested that if people search for happiness as an end in itself, they will never find it. 287

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Purpose in life must provide meaning, changing our interests and living out one’s values. As an industry, sport tourism must respond to rising societal elements impacting upon destination experiences within the different categories (sports tourism events, sports tourism attractions, sports tourism tours, sports tourism cruises, sports tourism resorts, sports tourism adventure). A response is needed enabling potentials and possibilities to be realised within the framework of future forms of sport tourism.

Active Learning Exercise Scenario prologue To enhance reader’s knowledge and indepth understanding, the following scenarios are presented in terms of problem solving methodology and investigation. Consequently particular attention should be devoted to different aspects and implications resulting in greater knowledge and fundamental understanding. Scenario A Recently, 14 rural and urban municipalities have amalgamated to form the mega-city of Molina Bay. With a population close to 1,000,000, the new city council is facing many difficulties and problems related to a touristic vision for the next 15–20 years. In the past, each individual community operated within a set structure suitable to its particular public interests and desires. Each, throughout the years has constructed different types of recreational and sports facilities – some with basic amenities; others offering more sophisticated services; and still others with state-ofart installations and equipment. The new mega city council is quite perplex with a great number of facilities, with so many different operational practices and principles, with many different rental and admission fees. How can all aspects be exploited to respect local recreation and sport initiatives as well as sport tourism factors and factions which are being increasingly developed throughout the country and the world? The newly elected Mayor, with all her enthusiasm and negotiation skills, has convinced all members of the council to hire an expert in sport tourism, at all costs, to develop a sport tourism guide booklet which would include definitions, philosophical rationales, facility set-ups, operational standards all within the future perspectives of sport tourism. 288


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You have been selected as the specialist. As such, you have been contracted to produce the required guide booklet to be discussed and ratified by the mega-city councillors and interested sport organisers. For this, you must design an action plan underlying all steps to be followed. Furthermore, you must detail each step of this action plan with a logical scope bearing all parameters required to attract and induce major sport tourism happenings. A listing of appropriate queries would be beneficial to better understand the substance of the projected plan. Scenario B Local people, as well as politicians, are clamouring to have a major sport happening in their region to attract tourism – participants and spectators of all ages. In effect, the local council is prepared to build state-of-the-art facilities with financial help from governments, private enterprise and sport federations. As an employee of the municipal tourism sector, you have been assigned to look into this sport tourism perspective. It has been strongly suggested that you consider a major sport happening and describe all necessary elements as to the eventual possibilities and probabilities. It is also expected that you produce an extensive report wherein analysis, procedures, responsibilities, tasks, costs are to be delineated.

Further Recommended Reading Gammon, S. and Kurtzman, J. (eds) (2002) Sport Tourism: Principles and Practice. Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association (Segment 2). Museum 2000 A renewal program (2001) Olympic Revue, XXVII-37, February–March. Ritchie, B. and Adair, D. (eds) (2000) Sports Generated Tourism: Exploring the Nexus. Proceedings of the First Australian Sports Tourism Symposium. Canberra: Tourism Program, University of Canberra. Schwark, J. (2002) Sporttourismus zwischen Kultur und Okonomie, 13. Munchen: Waxman GmbH. Standeven, J. and De Knop, P. (1999) Sport Tourism (Chapter 10). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Turco, M., Riley, R. and Swart, K. (2002) Sport Tourism (Chapter 10). Morgantown, WV: Fitness Technology, Inc. World Tourism Organization (WTO) (2001) Long Term Forecast – Tourism 2020 Vision. Madrid: WTO. Zauhar, John (1996) Historical perspectives of sport tourism. Journal of Sport Tourism 3 (3) (Section III). 289

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Websites The websites listed below represent major tourism associations which directly or indirectly impact n the future potentials and possibilities of sport tourism. Furthermore, selected websites identifying examples of ‘products’ within the categories of the sports tourism industry. Major associations related to sport tourism (a) Sports Tourism Sports Tourism International Council: http://www.sptourism.net Serves as the professional association of the sports tourism industry and publishes a quarterly Journal of Sport Tourism. As well, programmes include Certification Program for Sports Tourism Managers, Data Base, Consultation and Annual Awards which honour outstanding achievements in the field. (b) Sports International Olympic Committee: http://www.olympic.org Serves as the umbrella organisation of the Olympic movement and supervises the summer and winter Olympic Games. Site is a practical source to global sports related to the Olympics. (c) Tourism World Tourism Organization: http://wwww.world-tourism.org The leading international organisation in the field of travel and tourism and serves as a global focus for tourism. Serves as a practical guide to tourism research and knowledge. (d) Hospitality International Hotel and Restaurant Association: http://www.ih-ra.com Is a global organisation which serves the hospitality industry worldwide. Many of the factors within the hospitality industry are considered to be functionally related to sports tourism. Examples of organizations/groups within the categories of the sports tourism industry (a) Tours National Bicycle Tour Directors Association: http://wwwnbtda.com An example of tours association, which relates to bycle and rafting tours; includes world wide event listings. 290


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(b) Cruises Cruise Lines International Association: http://www.cruising.org Serves North America with membership links to major cruise lines, site contains also contains special interest guide to cruising. (c) Resorts Negril Resort Association: http://www.negriljamaica.com This resort association is an example of a national resort association, which in this case is located in Jamaica. Site contains examples of sports tourism resort products. Professional Association of Dive Instructors: http://www.padi.com/padi Includes a dive centre and resort directory. (d) Adventure International Adventure Travel Centre http://www.adventuretraveltips.com Site contains many informative hints on adventure travel as well as examples of the nature of adventure travel. Adventure Travel On-Line: http://www.adventuresports.com/index/ travldir.htm International adventure travel resources are available from the site. Provides an overview of adventure products and services including many destinations. (e) Attractions International Association of Sports Museums and Halls of Fame: http:// www.sporthalls.com Site contains information pertaining to sports museums/halls of fame throughout the globe. As well, a locator (search) is available to find locations of specific sport halls/museums. National Sports Foundation: http://www.natlsportsfoundation.com Provides information on sport film festival, gallery, exhibits, hall of champions and sports library. (f) MICES tourism A segment of the MICES tourism which are a ‘Support’ to the sports toursim Industry, as well the sports tourism industry provides a support to that segment: Professional Convention Management Association: http://www.pcma. org The convention management association has many elements relating to the MICES industry. 291

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International Congress and Meetings Association: http://www.icca.nl The international congress and meeting association has many elements relating to the MICES industry. Virtual Reality impacting upon the sport tourism industry Virtual Reality Sports: http://www.vrports.com Examples of sports games in virtual reality with VR clips. References Dial, C. (2001) The high and the mighty. Corporate and Incentive Travel 18 (11), November. Gibbs, S., Arapis, C., Breitender, C., Lalioti, V., Mostafawy, S. and Speier, J. (1998) Virtual studios – an overview. IEE MultiMedia 5 (January–March), 18–35. Immen, W. (1999) Who is the biggest of them all? Cruising section. Globe and Mail November, 27, T7. Kurtzman, J. (2000) The PARRC Continuum – Sports Tourism Potentials Identified. Occasional Papers, Sports Tourism International Council. Kurtzman, J. (2001) Sports tourism futures. Presentation. Leisure Studies Association Conference. Luton: University of Luton Kurtzman, J. and Zauhar, J. (1999) The virtual sport tourist. Journal of Sport Tourism 4 (4), 26–37. Pimental, K. and Teixeira, K. (1993) Virtual Reality: Through the New Looking Glass. New York: Intel/Wincrest/McGraw Hill, Inc. Research Notes (1994) Sports tourism contribution to overall tourism. Journal of Sport Tourism 1 (4), 19–21. Research Unit, Sports Tourism International Council (1998) Case study – Lake Placid and region. Journal of Sport Tourism 4 (4), 43–7. Roehl, W., Ditton, R.B., Holland, S.M. and Perdue, R.R. (1993) Developing new tourism products: Sport fishing in the south-east USA. Tourism Management 14 (4), 279–88. Sindiga, I. (1999) Alternative Tourism and Sustainable Development in Kenya. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 7 (2), 12–16. Thompson Holidays (2001) The Holiday Maker Report. London: Thompson Holidays. Zelkovich, C. (1999) Sports on TV: Sky’s the limit for couch potatoes. Toronto Star 28 December, A31.

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Chapter 15

Conclusions and Reflections: Sport Tourism Challenges and Opportunities BRENT W. RITCHIE AND DARYL ADAIR

Introduction This chapter concludes the book by briefly summarising the main focus, themes and issues outlined by the individual chapter authors, which were also noted in chapter 1 and Figure 1.1 and Table 1.2. It suggests that interdisciplinary research is required to advance the knowledge of sport tourism for students, policy makers and providers in the sport tourism industry. A better understanding of the interrelationships, impacts and management issues surrounding sport tourism will allow for more informed policy decisions and better planning and management for the future development of the sport tourism industry.

Learning Outcomes On completion of this chapter readers should: (1) Be able to identify the main themes of the book. (2) Understand how interdisciplinary research can advance the understanding of sport tourism. (3) Understand how this improved understanding may impact upon sport tourism policy, planning and education.

Impacts and Issues This book has outlined in the various chapters some of the key impacts and issues associated with the development and management of sport tourism. In particular, although some chapters (such as Chapter 14) have 293

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taken a positive view of sport tourism and its future development, many other chapters have taken a critical approach towards its development and highlight many of the problems related to the development of sport tourism. For instance, many Chapter authors note the need to broaden research away from the economic impact of sport tourism towards social and environmental issues. Although we do not dispute the potential economic benefits of sport tourism we suggest a need for a holistic view concerning the development and impact of sport tourism. Fredline discussed this in Chapter 8 concerning the hosting of motorsport events, while Hall (in Chapter 10) noted this as important for the debate over sport tourism and regeneration, with sport often linked to broader social goals such as employment, crime reduction and neighbourhood renewal. However, as Hall rightly notes the use of sport tourism may not be the best option to achieve these goals. Similarly, Fredline notes that sporting events may not be the most appropriate type of event for certain host destinations and that the nature of the host community is important in planning and managing sporting events, especially motorsport events which can disrupt the quality of life of residents. Furthermore, as Barker noted in Chapter 9, the hosting of large scale sporting events can attract crime which may persist after the event is finished. The strategy of encouraging golf tourism in developing countries was discussed by Palmer in Chapter 6 who noted that because of external factors such as globalisation and the growth of tourism to the less developed world, golf tourism can have significant environmental and social impacts on the host community, partly due to the historical dependency that these destinations have on developed countries, but also because many of these destinations require outside or external expertise. Nevertheless, Palmer notes that these impacts are exacerbated because of the way in which tourism development is regulated and the politics associated with tourism development in less developed countries. Politics is an important concept related to sport tourism and was also mentioned by Adair in Chapter 3 and Hall in Chapter 11. It is wise to consider the important question of who actually benefits from hosting sporting events, building sport tourism attractions or associated infrastructure. As Adair notes in Chapter 3 the Olympic Museum in Lausanne is perhaps a prime example of the commercialisation and professionalism of the Olympic Games, not necessarily the Olympic ideal. Adair is highly critical of the representation of the history of the Olympics and the lack of intellectualism or willingness to discuss issues associated with the changing nature of sport. These changes in sport towards commercialisation and professionalism also provide economic and marketing opportunities for 294

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tourism managers, as noted in Chapter 7 by Ritchie who examined tourism and rugby union competitions in Australia. As sport develops and changes, so it impacts on tourism and recreation activities as Bourdeau et al. note in Chapter 5 regarding active sport tourism in the alps. The growth of individual sport activities and development of summer tourism in the French Alps has provided a playground for sport enthusiasts but also poses substantial challenges to managers of the sensitive alpine environment as activities are now dispersed throughout the alpine environment. It is through examining the development and impact of sport on tourism and vice versa that we can begin to see the interrelationships between the two sectors. Some destinations may be over reliant on sport tourism to provide associated employment, generation and other economic benefits as was discussed in Chapters 10 and 11. Hall in Chapter 10 noted this with respect to sport tourism and urban regeneration whereas Miller and Ritchie in Chapter 11 noted the over reliance of sporting events can cause major problems for host communities through examining the impact of the foot and mouth outbreak on a rural sporting event (The Cheltenham Festival in England). What is also required from sport tourism managers is more sophisticated management and planning associated with sport tourism segments. In particular, there is a need for managers of sporting events to consider how to leverage or maximise the positive impacts and benefits from hosting such events and consider how to minimise some of the negative impacts and costs to the host destination. Fredline in Chapter 8 notes that this is especially important considering many large scale events are funded by local government. Ritchie in Chapter 7, and Chalip in Chapter 12 consider the need to leverage the benefits and the positive economic and marketing benefits of hosting sporting events by managers planning to maximise the positive impacts and minimise the negative impacts. Fredline also notes that managers of motorsport events should consider specific strategies to minimise the impact of such events on local residents quality of life. Bourdeau et al. in Chapter 5 and Hudson in Chapter 4 also note the need for more sophisticated management in alpine destinations concerning the expansion of sport tourism activities in the French alps and the changing nature of winter sport tourism in North America.

Toward Interdisciplinary Research The advantages of an interdisciplinary perspective are illustrated in Figure 15.1. This book has advocated a multi-layered approach to research 295

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within the sport tourism field. First, this is suggested by the different areas of expertise of the respective authors, and second, is demonstrated by a variety of concepts, theories and models they have brought to their chapters . It is hoped that this catholic approach to sport tourism has provided the reader with a better understanding of the breadth and depth of the field. We have also taken an inclusive approach with regard to sport and physical activity, thus including in our study non-competitive and informal types of tourism, such as adventure travel. Figure 15.1 illustrates that tourism studies as well as sport and leisure studies have each contributed greatly to the study and development of the field of sport tourism. However, the field of sport tourism, as suggested in Chapter 1, can be greatly advanced through drawing upon, and involving researchers and research theories, as well as concepts and models, from other disciplines. Similar to tourism, sport tourism is best served by the development of interdisciplinary research that can assist our understanding of the interrelationships, impacts and issues associated with active, event and nostalgia categories of sport tourism. When applied specifically to sport tourism, generic crisis management, destination marketing, or other business approaches can expand our knowledge of sport tourism and help to improve the industry itself. Similarly, theories related to social science disciplines such as history, sociology and political science are often incorporated into tourism or sport/leisure research but have seldom been applied to sport tourism research. Gibson (2002) also acknowledges that the wider fields of sport management and sport sociology hold promise for future sport tourism research and improved understanding in this field. For instance, Gammon in Chapter 2 notes that sport tourism attractions may be viewed as pseudoreligious shrines that provide important meaning in the lives of sport tourists. This aspect of meaning is also mentioned by Kurtzman and Zauhar in Chapter 14 as an important consideration for the future development of sport tourism. However, Gammon notes that the influence of such experiences have not been researched to date, highlighting the need for further study into the nostalgia or pilgrimage aspects of not only sport tourism attractions, but also other forms of sport tourism, thereby incorporating notions of authenticity, novelty and narrative – as outlined by Adair in Chapter 3. Moreover, Ritchie, in Chapter 7, notes that sport motivations/behaviour or rituals of fandom do influence sport tourist travel and event behaviour. Additional insights may be gained by drawing on literature in the leisure field to examine concepts related to the customs, loyalties, and dedications of recreational fanatics (Gibson, 2002). 296


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Greater Interdisciplinary Research

Tourism studies

Sport management and leisure studies

Sport Tourism

Social sciences

Business studies

Potential Outcomes and Synergies • Better understanding of the interrelationships between the segments and various components of sport tourism • Better understanding of the economic, social, environmental and personal impacts generated from sport tourism • Better understanding of the management issues associated with the planning, development and management of sport tourism

Policy Making and Planning

Education and Curricula

• Better integrated practice between sport and tourism policy makers and providers • Better understanding of policy issues associated with sport tourism as an economic and social phenomenon • More effective policy development and policy structures to maximise economic and social benefits of sport tourism at the international, national, regional and local level

• Understanding of sport tourism as a broader phenomena comprising many disciplinary areas and types (rather than events and/or active sport tourism) • Development of collaborative sport tourism courses with a wider disciplinary input • Better understanding of impacts related to the development of sport tourism • Improved understanding for students of management tools and strategies to increase the economic and social benefits of sport tourism to society

Figure 15.1 Potential outcomes of interdisciplinary research on sport tourism understanding, policy, planning and education 297

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Examination of the wider body of knowledge related to criminology and the social impacts of tourism will assist our understanding of relationships between sport, crime and the quality of life of residents located nearby sporting events. Just as important, an awareness of the broader political, economic and social context related in which urban sport tourism development (stadia, infrastructure and employment opportunities) is vital for shrewd and perceptive managers and administrators. Equally significant, of course, is sports tourism developments and infrastructure in developing countries, where locals are particularly susceptible to the power and influence of multinational corporations – as outlined in Chapters 6 and 10. Concepts and theories concerning strategic alliances and collaboration may assist further research on the leveraging of the tourism benefits from sporting events (as in Chapter 12). Finally, the development of discrete policy structures to facilitate the development of sports tourism policy and planning (through regional cluster networks at the national and regional level involving government agencies and industry members) could be an outcome of applying business studies literature related to clusters, networks and policy-making in the field of sport tourism policy development.

Toward Better Sport Tourism Policy, Planning and Education The use of theories, models and concepts drawn from various disciplines can assist researchers to further our understanding of sport tourism as an economic and social phenomenon. This is likely to provide policy makers and decision makers with a better grasp of the both the economic and social impacts of particular sport tourism strategies. For instance, Hall in Chapter 10 notes that sport is often mentioned as one way to reduce social exclusion and create opportunities for communities, yet little research or policy development has taken place into possible links between these areas. Hall also notes that little research has been conducted about the real (as opposed to assumed) benefits of sport tourism and socio-economic regeneration – despite a plethora of studies into the impacts of other types of industries and employment providers. This research is critical if policy making is to be transparent and accessible to the wider community, not just relevant to those who groups who benefit directly from the development of sport tourism stadia and infrastructure such as local businesses, elites and politicians. Management issues may also be explored from a wide range of perspectives, leading to an interdisciplinary portfolio of precedents and policy 298


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responses to specific issues. These insights are likely to assist the future development of sport tourism policy and planning at international, national, regional and even local levels. For instance, as mentioned earlier, concepts of clusters, networks and collaboration in the discipline of business studies and in the tourism planning area may provide useful examples for the creation of clusters for sport tourism (at a national and regional level). Jamal and Getz (1995), Keogh (1990), Marsh and Henshall (1987) and Bramwell and Lane (2000) all note the importance of collaboration for tourism planning and development. Deane and Callanan, in Chapter 13, acknowledges the general lack of collaboration and integration between sport and tourism agencies and the need for greater integration and commitment to sport tourism policy by individual governments and agencies. Partnerships by non-governmental agencies and businesses were also noted as important by Chalip in Chapter 12, where he highlighted the potential benefits of leveraging at major sporting events. Partnerships were also suggested by Barker in Chapter 6 so that stakeholders (such as the police, local community groups and event organisers) can work together to improve their understanding and management of crime at major sporting events. A sensitivity towards the impact of change is also required by sport tourism providers. As Hudson notes in Chapter 4, fluctuations and change in winter sport tourism are to be expected, and the industry needs to face challenges associated with the vagaries of the environment and global warming. As Hudson points out, one obvious response is the development of new tourism strategies, such as attracting new groups to participate in winter sport tourism activities, and providing year round tourism experiences to cater for the interests of non-winter visitors. The prospect of change also continues in the latent impact of crises or disasters on sport tourism providers. Crisis management models or concepts may also provide useful strategies for providers of sporting events and managers of sporting infrastructure, so that the negative impact of such incidents can be minimised. Furthermore, diversification is also required for rural destinations that are perhaps too economically reliant on sporting events as tourist attractions. Such destinations should include a broader range of sport tourism activities as part of their marketing and development strategies, such as active adventure and nostalgia sport tourism products, and thus not rely solely on event sport tourism for their bread and butter. As discussed in Chapter 1 the growth of collaboration and interdisciplinary research in the sport tourism area will heighten the awareness and legitimacy of sport tourism as a field of study and provide new 299

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insights for researchers. This interdisciplinary approach will also improve the development of educational curricula and, more generally, a better understanding among stakeholders about the field of sport tourism. This ought to benefit researchers, policy makers, the sport tourism industry and those who work in the industry (including potential graduates). There is obviously a link between improved understanding through research and education and policy and planning. Graduates in the field of sport tourism will hopefully work in the sport tourism policy or planning area, or they may work in the sport tourism industry or indeed develop their own sport tourism businesses. It is hoped that students will gain a greater appreciation of sport tourism as an economic and social phenomenon and that this understanding will improve if modules or courses are developed collaboratively by sport tourism academics from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds.

Conclusion This book has provided a broad overview of the field of sport tourism and, in the process, offered readers a better understanding of the impacts and issues associated with sport tourism and in doing so an understanding of the interrelationships between sport and tourism. It has provided additional insights into impacts associated with the development of sport tourism, including economic, social, environmental and personal impacts upon sport tourists. The book also highlighted some of the key issues surrounding the development of active, event and nostalgia sport tourism – particularly related to policy, planning and management. The future of sport tourism is uncertain due to unpredictable factors like security, financial markets, and technological change. Also, we can hardly be certain about the experiences that will be sought by sport tourists of the future, or changes to patterns of behaviour and motivation. What is virtually certain, however, is that sport tourism will be a topic that receives increased attention in academic, government and industry circles for some time to come. Although sport tourism can provide many opportunities for destinations, both the sport and tourism industry and local communities, is also provides threats and distinct challenges to destinations, industry and local communities if it is not planned or managed effectively. The first step towards more effective planning and management is understanding the nature of sport tourism and the impacts and issues associated with its development. We hope that this book has made a small contribution towards this goal.

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Key Questions (1) Outline what you believe are the most important themes or issues related to the development of sport tourism within this book. (2) What do you believe will be the most important themes or issues related to the development of sport tourism in the twenty-first century? (3) The benefits of an interdisciplinary approach to research have been highlighted and discussed in this book. But what do you see as some of the disadvantages of such an approach?

Active Learning Exercise Consider developing a research project or even a dissertation project related to the field of sport tourism and attempt to write a research proposal. What topic areas or elements of sport tourism interest you the most? What aspects related to the field of sport tourism would you like to research and why is this important study area? Try and develop a research aim and set of research objectives for your study. What research methods might you undertake to satisfy your research objectives, aim and questions? Explain how you would gain access to data to achieve your research objectives and what obstacles would you have to overcome. Bring all of this information together in a ‘research proposal’ to present to your tutor or employer to comment upon.

Further Recommended Reading Related to sport tourism planning and policy we recommend: Weed, M. and Bull, C. (2003) Sports Tourism: Participants, Policy and Providers. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Related to the business, management and marketing of sport tourism we recommend: Turco, D.M., Riley, R. and Swart, K. (2002) Sport Tourism. Morgantown: Fitness Information Technology. Related to adventure sport tourism we recommend: Hudson, S. (2002) Sport and Adventure Tourism. New York: Hawthorn Press Inc. Related to the development of sport tourism we recommend: Hinch, T. and Higham, J. (2003) Sport Tourism Development. Clevedon: Channel View Publications. 301

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References Bramwell, B. and Lane, B. (eds) (2001) Tourism Collaboration and Partnerships. Clevedon: Channel View Publications. Gibson, H. (2002) Sport tourism at a crossroad? Considerations for the future. In S. Gammon and J. Kurtzman (eds) Sport Tourism: Principles and Practice (pp. 111–28). Eastbourne: Leisure Studies Association. Jamal, T.B. and Getz, D. (1995) Collaboration theory and community tourism planning. Annals of Tourism Research 22 (1), 186–204. Keogh, B. (1990) Public participation in community tourism planning. Annals of Tourism Research 17, 449–65. Marsh, N.R. and Henshall, B.D. (1987) Planning better tourism: The strategic importance of tourist-resident expectations and interactions. Tourism Recreation Research 12, 47–54.

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Sport Tourism: Interrelationships, Impacts and Issues (Aspects of Tourism, 14)

Philosophical Issues in Tourism (Aspects of Tourism)

Recreational Tourism: Demands and Impacts (Aspects of Tourism , 11)

Tourism Ethics (Aspects of Tourism)

Wildlife Tourism (Aspects of Tourism)

Nordic Tourism: Issues and Cases (Aspects of Tourism)

Progressing Tourism Research (Aspects of Tourism, 9)

Oceania: A Tourism Handbook (Aspects of Tourism)

Progressing Tourism Research (Aspects of Tourism, 9)

Tourism Impacts, Planning and Management

Sport Tourism Development

Sport & Tourism

Sport and Tourism - Introductory Report

Mallorca and Tourism: History, Economy and Environment (Aspects of Tourism)

Tourism Employment: Analysis and Planning (Aspects of Tourism, 6)

Zoos and Tourism: Conservation, Education, Entertainment? (Aspects of Tourism)

Shopping Tourism, Retailing, and Leisure (Aspects of Tourism)

Tourism, Recreation, and Climate Change (Aspects of Tourism)

Music and Tourism: On the Road Again (Aspects of Tourism)

Tourism and Tourism Spaces

Teaching Travel and Tourism 14+ (Teaching 14+)

Marine Ecotourism: Issues and Experiences (Aspects of Tourism, 7)

Polar Tourism: An Environmental Perspective (Aspects of Tourism)

Classic Reviews in Tourism (Aspects of Tourism, 8)

North America: A Tourism Handbook (Aspects of Tourism)

Marine Tourism: Development, Impacts and Management

The Economics of Tourism (Routledge Issues in Tourism)

Lake Tourism: An Integrated Approach to Lacustrine Tourism Systems (Aspects of Tourism)

Contemporary Issues in Tourism Development (Routledge Advances in Tourism, 6)

Sport Tourism: Interrelationships, Impacts and Issues (Aspects of Tourism, 14)

Philosophical Issues in Tourism (Aspects of Tourism)

Recreational Tourism: Demands and Impacts (Aspects of Tourism , 11)

Tourism Ethics (Aspects of Tourism)

Wildlife Tourism (Aspects of Tourism)

Nordic Tourism: Issues and Cases (Aspects of Tourism)

Progressing Tourism Research (Aspects of Tourism, 9)

Oceania: A Tourism Handbook (Aspects of Tourism)

Progressing Tourism Research (Aspects of Tourism, 9)

Tourism Impacts, Planning and Management

Sport Tourism Development

Sport & Tourism

Sport and Tourism - Introductory Report

Mallorca and Tourism: History, Economy and Environment (Aspects of Tourism)

Tourism Employment: Analysis and Planning (Aspects of Tourism, 6)

Zoos and Tourism: Conservation, Education, Entertainment? (Aspects of Tourism)

Shopping Tourism, Retailing, and Leisure (Aspects of Tourism)

Tourism, Recreation, and Climate Change (Aspects of Tourism)

Music and Tourism: On the Road Again (Aspects of Tourism)

Tourism and Tourism Spaces

Teaching Travel and Tourism 14+ (Teaching 14+)

Marine Ecotourism: Issues and Experiences (Aspects of Tourism, 7)

Polar Tourism: An Environmental Perspective (Aspects of Tourism)

Classic Reviews in Tourism (Aspects of Tourism, 8)

North America: A Tourism Handbook (Aspects of Tourism)

Marine Tourism: Development, Impacts and Management

The Economics of Tourism (Routledge Issues in Tourism)

Lake Tourism: An Integrated Approach to Lacustrine Tourism Systems (Aspects of Tourism)

Contemporary Issues in Tourism Development (Routledge Advances in Tourism, 6)

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