Motivating factors for sports tourism

SPORT TOURISM: FACTORS INFLUENCING MOTIVATION FOR SPORT TOURISM.

1. OVERVIEW AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY………………

Introduction……………………………….3

Purpose of the Study ………………………….3

Aims and Objectives………………………….3/4

2. LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………..

Defining Sport Tourism…………………………4

Event Sport Tourism………………………..4/5

Motivation Theory………………………….5

Fan Motivations…………………………..5/6

3. METHODOLOGY………………………………..

Questionnaire based interviews……………………6

Street Surveys……………………………..6/7

Focus Groups……………………………….7

1. Introduction & purpose of study

The purpose of this study is to provide an insight into visitor motivation for sport tourism. The proposal will investigate the importance of sport to individuals and the motivation to travel for sporting purposes. Sport tourism is an ever growing industry which has continued to thrive in all aspects, particularly of late. This is highlighted by Gibson (1998) who states that “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”. The definitions of sport vary between authors with “some critics insisting that an all-embracing definition is impossible because sport is a socially constructed activity that has varied across historical eras, societies and cultures” (Ritchie & Adair, 2004). Others have suggested that “sport has specific and timeless characteristics, such as being goal-oriented, competitive and a forum for the creation of winners and losers (Rader, 1979, Paddick 1975,Goodman, 1976)”. Furthermore, it is evident that like various other topic areas, sport tourism has a vast and broad research base.

Sport and tourism are currently two of the most important industries, with a significant increase in tourists travelling for sport related purposes in recent years. However, researchers such as Delphy (1998) and Gibson (1998) have recognized that people have been travelling to participate or watch sports for centuries”. Furthermore, Hall (1992) postulates that “sport tourism falls into two different categories, travel to participate in sport and travel to observe sport”. Sport tourists choose to travel to either participate or spectate. With regard to this, particular focus of this study will be placed on spectators and what motivates them to travel, attend and observe at various sporting events.

Visitor motivation is a significant topic area which will be investigated rigorously within this study. The research will focus on the factors which influence motivation for sport event tourism. According to Mullins (2008) “motivation is a force which drives any person to show a specific behaviour towards any condition or situation or things”. Motivation is perceived by various authors as being either “Intrinsic or “Extrinsic”. Intrinsic motivation is widely regarded as a self generated procedure which encourages an individual to act in a particular way. Extrinsic motivation on the other hand is perceived as an external influence which encourages an individual to act in a certain way. In other words something is done for an individual to motivate them to behave in a specific way. Specific examples of motivation within businesses include freedom to act and responsibility (Intrinsic) and also promotion and praise from others (Extrinsic). Visitor motivation will look at tourist’s behaviour, profiles and the motivation they have to attend various sporting events.

2. Aims & Objectives

The main research question will be to ascertain what motivates individuals to travel for sporting events. The following aims and objectives will be pursued throughout the study in order to critically examine the topic area.

• To analyse visitor motivation theory
• To discuss the importance & understanding of Sport Tourism
• To discuss factors of influence on travel motivations for spectators
• To attend numerous sporting events in order to get a feel of the influences on travel motivation

The scope of research will be primarily focused on the relationship between motivation and sport tourism. In order to meet the aims of the study the following objectives will be set to enable a successful investigation into the research area:

• Assess the concepts, theories and models related to motivation & Sport Tourism
• Examine previous studies related to sport event travel motivation
• Conduct primary and secondary research to understand the “spectator experience”

3. Critical Literature Review

The following literature review will provide an introduction on sport tourism, highlight the key authors related to the field and also provide a deeper understanding of the factors influencing people to conduct sport related tourism.

Sports tourism is defined by Gibson (2006) as “leisure based travel that takes individuals outside of their home communities to participate in physical activities (Active Sport Tourism), to watch physical activities (Event Sport Tourism) or to venerate attractions associated with physical activities (Nostalgia Sport Tourism)”.On the other hand, Standevan and De Knop (1999) 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”. The key authors related to this field of study include Heather Gibson, James Higham, Mike Weed and Thomas Hinch to name a few. Notable academic books and journals include Sport Tourism: Concepts and Theories (Gibson, 2006), Sport Tourism – Interrelationships, Impacts and Issues (Ritchie, B. & Adair, D. 2004) and also The Journal of Sport & Tourism.

Although both definitions mentioned are very similar it is interesting to note that Gibson (2006) has separated sport tourism into three different segments. This includes Active Sport Tourism, Event Sport Tourism and also Nostalgia Sport Tourism. However, Standevan and De Knop (1999) have opted on a more broad definition stating that sport tourism is “all forms of active and passive involvement in sporting activity”. The definition provided by Gibson (2006) illustrates a clear and concise understanding of what sport tourism is whilst also depicting the different types of sport tourism specifically.

Robinson and Gammon (2004) like Gibson (2006) have also separated sport tourists into different segments. They depicted that “sport tourism could firstly be divided into two areas of focus, differentiating between those who travel primarily for sport (sport tourists) and those where sport is perceived as a secondary consideration (tourism sport). This study however, will focus on what Gibson (2006) describes as “Event Sport Tourism”. This refers to tourists who travel to spectate physical activities or events. Event tourism includes travelling to attend a range of different events although it is interesting to note that sporting events have had the most significant impact on the industry. This is backed up by authors Chalip and McGuirty (2004), Turco (2003) and Saayman and Uys (2003) who state that “Although event tourism includes arts festivals and cultural activities as well as sport events, the latter have played a key role in the growth of the event industry. One reason for this is that sport events have been seen to make an effective contribution to the economic development mix of cities and regions”.

Furthermore, this study will aim to ascertain what motivates tourists to travel to watch sporting events. In order to determine this successfully the literature related to motivation theory will need to be critically discussed. According to the Journal of Sport (2004) “The motivation(s) of the sport tourist has been a regular source of discussion within much of the sport tourism literature (Gammon and Robinson, 1997; Gibson, 1998a; Hinch and Higham, 2004; Kurtzman and Zauhar, 1995a; Standeven and De Knop, 1999)”. Every year there are numerous events taking place with increased numbers of tourists travelling. Tourism is conducted domestically as well as outbound in order to actively take part or spectate at sporting events. Hollyforde & Widdett (2002) postulate that motivational theory “outlines a researchers answers to questions such as “why do people make the choices they make? Or what makes someone persist at one activity and yet quickly give up another “.

Abraham Maslow is a renowned psychologist who proposed the motivational theory the “hierarchy of needs”. This theory has been an important framework related to motivation and assumes that human motivations proceed through various stages of needs. The hierarchy of needs starts off with the more primary basic needs such as physiological and safety needs at the foundation further leading to belongingness & love and esteem needs and lastly ending with self-actualisation. According to Gibson (2006) “psychologists such Maslow and also Murray have long postulated that behaviour is a function of needs, indeed, much of their work has provided the theoretical foundation for studies that have investigated the relationship between leisure or tourism and need satisfaction”.

Fan motivations are an important aspect when determining the reasoning behind “Event Sport Tourism”. Tourists love for the game/sport provides a big influence in them wanting to travel in order to watch their favorite team/player or event live rather than from a television set. A good example of this would be Football, where individuals purchase season tickets in order to watch their team play on a regular basis. This includes home games only but first option on away games is usually provided. Tourists will also be motivated to attend the away games especially on the big European nights away from home in order to support their team. This relates to Simon Hudson’s theory that “sport events away from can have an appeal based on their uniqueness or their quality that, when combined with escaping from the familiar and routine, generates personal and interpersonal benefits which make it a worthwhile expenditure of time and resources.

Sport event tourism also provide a range of positive impacts for the consumer, destination and also the events. This is backed up by Hudson (2003) who states that,

• Special events can attract more tourists than regularly scheduled games.
• Sport events attract corporate sponsors.
• When sport facilities are built, they become permanent event venues.
• Major sport events can be catalysts for new facilities and new or improved infrastructure.
• Sport events can assist in destination branding by providing powerful, active lifestyle images and making cultural themes come alive. (Hudson, 2003)

It is envisaged that this study will further strengthen the current body of literature related to sport tourism. A conceptual framework will be used in order to meet the aims and objectives of the research, placing particular focus on “Event Sport Tourism”.

4. Methodology

The following section will provide details of how the planned research will be conducted, what method(s) will be used and how long it may take to obtain relevant data.

According to the research methods workbook “the research process or methodology is the approach to the entire study – it is the master plan. It is the blueprint for achieving objectives, one of which is the production of the dissertation” (Workbook, 2014). There are generally two main processes of conducting research, the qualitative approach and the quantitative approach. Quantitative data is primarily concerned with assessing numerical data and conducting statistical tests. Conversely, qualitative data focuses on descriptions that can be observed and includes methods such as participant observation and unstructured interviews. In simple terms the main difference between the two approaches is that quantitative data collection deals with ‘quantity’ of research whereas ‘qualitative’ data collection emphasise quality research.

The methodology section will emphasise how the research will be conducted in order to attain relevant information regarding sport tourism and motivational theory. Within this study it is envisaged that the research process will consist of questionnaire based interviews with tourists that attend sporting events. This will be completed in order to determine the factors which influence their decision/desire to attend. It is believed that interviews can have a number of positives including “the encouragement of participation, clarification of any confusion regarding questions and also the inclusion of people who are incapable of reading (Long, 2007)”. By mixing the two concepts of questionnaire and interview it will in a sense provide the “best of both worlds” and enable the researcher to gather sufficient data. Authors such as Kendall (2008) postulate that “while questionnaires can provide evidence of patterns amongst large populations, qualitative interview data often gather more in-depth insights on participant attitudes, thoughts, and actions”.

Furthermore, alternative research methods will also be taken into consideration in order to determine the most efficient and effective way of obtaining information. Street surveys and focus groups will be the other two approaches in question, they will be looked at in detail as potential research methods. Street surveys are a quantitative research method whereas focus groups provide a qualitative approach to data collection.

Street surveys are a tempting research method considering it is an efficient way of gathering data from individuals. According to Long (2007) “street surveys are a quick and cheap route to gathering survey data. The ‘street’ in this may represent any convenient location for ‘capturing’ respondents (e.g. the mall or refectory/canteen). Street surveys will be conducted outside specific sporting events in order to receive data from relevant sport tourists. However, there are disadvantages like any other method, including relatively low response rates due to the typical locations in which surveys are conducted. The lack of quality of data gathered and the overall amount of data collected are also negatives of using this method. Conversely, surveys can also have various positives including the ease and efficiency of conducting the process. According to March (1982: 147) “Surveys have a lot to offer….since experimentation cannot be used to investigate a wide range of macro-social processes, there is often no alternative to considering variation across cases in a systematic fashion”.

Focus groups will also be taken into consideration when depicting the ideal research method to use in order to conduct research for this study. Focus groups are a traditionalist method of research, enabling the researcher to obtain information on a face to face and personal basis. Therefore, the researcher is able to obtain descriptive answers rather than numerical or statistical data. It is envisaged that “Qualitative research is generally based on the belief that the people personally involved in a particular (leisure or tourism) situation are best placed to describe and explain their experiences or feelings in their own words. They should be allowed to speak without the intermediary of the researcher and without being overly constrained by the framework imposed by the researcher” (Veal,2006) . With regard to this, focus groups should be high on the list of potential research methods. However, there are also disadvantages of using this method like any other. Focus groups can become difficult to control, analyse and conduct. It is easy to get a group of people together but it is not as easy to avoid disagreements, conflicts between individuals and irrelevant discussions. Transcribing a focus group is also a very time consuming process due to the amount of people involved within the discussion. Participants may also feel under pressure to follow the lead of a dominant individual within the group therefore succumbing to peer pressure and holding back their own views.

Regardless of which research approach will be used, significant methods will need to be included within the process of obtaining information. This includes personally attending various sporting events in order to get an idea of the “spectator experience”. It is interesting to note that Weed (2008) postulates that in order to ascertain ‘why’ sport tourists travel, researchers need to focus on participation experiences underpinned by ontological research. Furthermore, significant library based research will need to be conducted as well as the visitation of numerous libraries and archives. Fieldwork will also be conducted during event visitations in order to broaden knowledge in relation to the topic area. The subjects of research will include randomly selected individuals with an interest in “Event Sport Tourism”. Conversely, small groups may be required if focus groups are chosen as the most suitable research method. The timeframe for the research to be conducted is yet to be finalised however, it is understood that the following research will take several months to complete in order to obtain the relevant data required.

Bibliography

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Journals

Harris, Lois R. & Brown, Gavin T.L. (2010). Mixing interview and questionnaire methods: Practical problems in aligning data . Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 15(1). Available online:

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