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Sport Fan Tourism: Understanding Those Who Travel To Follow Sport Teams Author Fairley, Sheranne Published 2006 Thesis Type Thesis (PhD Doctorate) School Griffith Business School DOI https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/3828 Copyright Statement The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/366608 Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au Sport Fan Tourism: Understanding Those Who Travel To Follow Sport Teams Sheranne Fairley Batchelor of Business (with Honours) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Griffith Business School, Griffith University This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself. _________________ Sheranne Fairley Acknowledgements I would first like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to my supervisors Chris Green and Laurence Chalip who continued their role as my visors from over 8000miles away! There’ve been plenty of newspaper written, read and rolled – but it’s been a great experience! Thank you both for your help and support over the years. To Tracey Harrison-Hill, thank you for the encouragement and support. To my parents Stuart and Suzanne Fairley, thank you for supporting me in so many ways. Thank you also to my brothers Breck and Scott. One of the best parts of the experience for me has been hearing the creative ways of interpreting and trying to make sense of what it is I’ve been doing over the past years. I think at times the explanations that I’ve heard have been far more interesting than what I’ve actually been doing. Scott, I assure you that no “surveys” have been conducted during the course of this research, and no “hefty loads” have been included. To my Grandparents Colin and Dell Wilson, thank you for your endless love and support, not to mention the “phone a thesaurus” service that I’ve utilized on numerous occasions. Thank you to Liz Fulop and the School formerly known as Marketing and Management for providing financial support to conduct my research. Thank you also to the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre for their financial contribution. Thank you to all the travel groups that allowed me to be part of their experience. I’m especially grateful to the help provided from Betty Fowler and Michael Halstead. A special thanks to Caroline Frost and Marg Cotton who have given me endless support and encouragement during the entire process. I really appreciate all that you’ve done for me during my time at Griffith. Thank you also to my roomies during the PhD process, Brad Hill and Lyn Batchelor, and to fellow colleagues: Megan Cleaver Sellick, Grace Wenpan, Lisa Beesley, Ronald J. Fisher, Pamm Kellett, and Danny O’Brien. I would also like to acknowledge the support of the faculty and staff at University of Texas at Austin during my visits. A special thanks to Sylvia Trendafilova (Trendy) and Xiaoyan Xing (X-squared) for all of their support. In writing an acknowledgements section at the end of the process, it is likely that I have left off individuals who have been integral throughout. So, to all those who I have forgotten to thank but should have – thank you! i I would like to dedicate this dissertation to the memory of Megan Cleaver Sellick Taken from this earth 2 July 2004, aged 29. A beautiful friend, colleague, and mentor An hour before submitting this dissertation I learned that my beautiful friend, colleague, and mentor, who offered continual support during this process would be leaving us. With a heavy heart, I submitted this dissertation and would like to dedicate it to the memory of Megan Cleaver Sellick whose memory will live on in the minds of the many that she loved and touched. I am truly blessed to be one of them. I first met Megan as a tutor during my undergraduate studies at Griffith University. Megan clearly impressed me as someone who had a great understanding for the subject (marketing research) and a passion for imparting her knowledge to others. It was with that same passion and understanding that Megan took me under her wing when I started my honours as a friend, colleague, and mentor. When I started my honours degree Megan was in the early stages of her own PhD. Megan and I developed an instant rapport, as we were both “young ones” in a postgraduate environment where most were many years our senior. From this point, Megan was always there to offer support and advice on how the academic world worked, on life in general, and also on how it was essential to have a matching handbag and shoes. Megan introduced me to her close circle of friends, and to many a late night out. When Megan moved to Atlanta at the end of 2001 and then on to Ellensburg we continued our friendship and our collegial interaction. Through the wonderful invention of hotmail messenger, and the occasional phone call we kept in contact. We’d also send conference papers and articles across the continents for feedback and advice. Through this process we helped each other grow and learn. In January of this year, I sent Megan a paper and even though she was ill she provided me with prompt feedback. I was blessed to be able to catch up with Megan in between trips to America in May. Even then, Megan’s endearing personality made it hard to believe that there was anything wrong. Megan was keen to share with me her experiences of moving to America to start an academic career. She offered much advice on moving and setting up which I know will prove helpful over the next couple of months/years. Megan had an infectious smile that made people warm towards her. Her radiant personality and zest for life was most evident on her wedding day in 2002 where she clearly shone. Her accomplishments both in and out of academia are truly something to be admired. ii Abstract Sport events and attractions which encourage both participants and spectators are seen as significant contributors to the tourism economy (Delpy, 1998; Glyptis, 1991; Standeven & DeKnop, 1999). Further, Gratton and Taylor (2000) note that sport related travel accounts for 7% of total expenditure on sport. To date, the main focus of event sport tourism research has been on the economic impact of large-scale sport events (Burgan & Mules, 1992; Crompton, 1995; Mules & Faulkner, 1996; Walo, Bull, & Breen, 1996). However, Higham (1999) posits that smaller scale events such as regular season games may be of greater benefit to the host community as these events are hosted within existing infrastructure and therefore limit the need for public expenditure. However, fans who travel to regular season competition are a market segment that has been largely ignored by both sport and tourism marketers. Sport marketers have focused on home game attendance, media viewership and product purchases, while tourism marketers have focused on leveraging the destination. Anecdotal evidence suggests that fans who travel organise a substantial proportion of their discretionary time and income around this activity. Recent research by Gibson, Willming and Holdnak (2002, 2003) has begun to understand the behaviours of sport fans who travel to home games. This study seeks to understand the behaviours and experiences of those who travel to attend away games. In particular the study asks: What motivates fans to travel to follow professional sport teams, what experiences fans have and seek during the travel, and what place does travelling to follow a sport team have in the overall consumption behaviour of sport fans. This study examined the motives and experiences of six fan groups travelling interstate to follow their Australian Football League (AFL) team in the 2001 season. As the behaviours and experiences of those who travel to follow sport teams have not previously been explored, exploratory analysis using an iterative process of constant comparison between data colleted from the research setting and the existent literature. Using this method the researcher was able to describe the social world under investigation without preconceived hypotheses. The researcher travelled interstate with each fan group, and collected data via participant observation and interviews with key informants. Data were coded using standard protocols for analysis of qualitative data (Spradley, 1980). The researcher read through the transcripts and field notes and coded all phrases and opinions from the manuscript. Data were analysed through the process of data reduction, selective sampling of the literature, and selected sampling of the data (Stern, 1980). From the initial codes, data reduction identified core variables and emergent themes. Through this grounded theory methodology, a conceptual model was developed which illustrates the motives and experiences of those who travel to follow professional sport teams. Three distinct types of groups were identified, each garnering a distinctive sport tourism experience. The groups identified were: supporter groups, long-term travel groups, and temporary travel groups. While travel to follow the team is the stated rationale for all iii three groups, the game experience for each is substantially different, four major themes emerged which distinguished the groups and the experiences that they had. These were: (1) group structure, (2) trip characteristics, (3) socialisation, and (4) game experience and reaction to game outcome. Each type of group was found to have a distinct group structure, communication pattern, but differed in terms of the objects to which they identified. Findings suggest that sport fans do not necessarily identify with the team or related object, but can identify with a smaller social group, which has a shared interest in the team.

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