Insights from Emerging Sport Tourism Destinations
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Hosting Regional Sport Events: Insights from Emerging Sport Tourism Destinations by Kenwyn Peter McComie A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfillment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in Recreation and Leisure Studies – Tourism Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2015 © Kenwyn Peter McComie 2015 Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii Abstract The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate and gain stakeholder insights into the nature of hosting sport tourism events and using them as a regional development strategy in two emerging sport tourism markets (i.e., regions that have recently begun to explore the potential of hosting small-scale sport events as a tourism development strategy). Specifically, the current research addressed five research questions in relation to tourism stakeholders’ input from the Waterloo and Niagara Regions in Ontario, Canada: (i) Why do destinations engage in sport tourism development strategies? (ii) What are perceived constraints to engaging in sport tourism events as development strategies? (iii) How do stakeholders decide which sport events to pursue, bid for and host? (iv) What are the perceived regional impacts of hosting sport tourism events? (v) What extent is leveraging these impacts considered in sport tourism strategy development? A total of 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted with key sport and tourism decision making stakeholders in the two regions during February and March 2015. A thematic analysis (Braun & Clark, 2006) was used, which included different phases of coding and analysis to derive key themes and concepts. Themes emerging from the data included, Embracing the current sport tourism situation; Deriving benefits from hosting sport tourism events (e.g. job creation, sport development, volunteerism, enhanced well-being, destination image development, increased community engagement and destination differentiation); Overcoming challenges of hosting sport tourism events (e.g. facility and infrastructure constraints, resident irritation and displacement; resource allocation and navigating the political environment); Understanding regional impacts of hosting sport tourism events and Effective leveraging of sport tourism events. Implications for research and practice are further discussed in relation to each theme. Key words: Sport Tourism Development, Regional Development, Canada, Destination Development iii Acknowledgements In this research process I learnt a number of things about myself and what I am capable of achieving and I am truly grateful for everyone that had an influence along the way. When I made the decision to come to the University of Waterloo to complete my Master’s Degree, I had the unconditional love and support from my entire family, my circle of friends and ‘the man upstairs’. I would like to let you all know that I am truly grateful for your kind encouragement and support. It is deeply appreciated that you kept me in your thoughts and prayers as I made my way through this fierce academic journey entangled with self-discovery and enlightenment. None of this would be possible without the continued support of my parents, Betty and Colin; I would like to especially thank them for their guidance and inspiration throughout this journey. To my friends, new and old, thank you for dealing with me as I made my way through this process. The admiration, praise, wisdom, encouragement, beverages, meals and vacations that we shared helped me to push through to the end. To my new friends that I have come through this program with, thank you for the continued support that was reciprocated in getting to the end of this process. I look forward to sharing the stories of how we made it to the end! I would also like to thank all the professors at the University of Waterloo that guided me through this academic process; I gained something from every course and interaction that we shared. Ultimately, this process would not have been possible without my two supervisors, Dr. Luke Potwarka and Dr. Karla Boluk, I would like to say THANK YOU as I would not have been able to expand my mind in the research process if it wasn’t for your guidance. Another special thank you to Dr. Ron McCarville for taking the time and providing insights in the final Thesis Defence. More thanks also need to be shared with my professors, Dr. David Telfer and Dr. Atsuko Hashimoto for encouraging me to pursue my Masters and also providing some guidance along the way. I would also like to thank all the stakeholders that took the time to participate in my research. I know you did not have to volunteer your time and share your insights but I am grateful for your contributions. I am passionate as you are about sport and tourism and like you, I only want to see this project benefit your regions in a positive manner. To all the distractions in my life, fantasy football; 2015 Trinidad Carnival; the various trips to Trinidad, NYC, Toronto and Miami; my extensive music collection; Victoria and Waterloo Parks; St Catharines; my friends, new and old, at home and abroad. Thank you for keeping me sane and grounded over the last two years and to anyone that I have missed… Thank You and Blessings! iv Table of Contents Author’s Declaration ................................................................................................................ ii Abstract ................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. iv List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... x List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... xi List of Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1 1.1 Sport Events and Tourism .................................................................................................. 2 1.2 Using Sport Events as a Strategy for Tourism Development ............................................. 4 1.3 Sport Tourism Events, Destination Regeneration and Regional Development ................. 5 1.4 Canadian Sport Tourism Events ......................................................................................... 7 1.4.1 Research on Sport Tourism Events in Canada .......................................................... 10 1.5 Rationale of the Study – Aim and Research Questions ................................................... 12 1.6 Methodological Approach to the Study ........................................................................... 15 1.7 Implications and Contributions of the Study ................................................................... 15 1.8 Definition of Key Concepts ............................................................................................. 15 1.9 Organization of the Thesis ............................................................................................... 16 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................... 18 2.1 Tourism Development Strategies ..................................................................................... 18 2.2 Considering Sport Tourism Development ....................................................................... 21 2.3 Formulating a Sport Tourism Development Strategy ...................................................... 23 2.4 Destination Motivations for Hosting Sport Tourism Events ............................................ 25 2.4.1 Utilizing Small-scale Sporting Events in Sport Tourism Development ...................... 26 2.5 Bidding for Sport Events .................................................................................................. 27 2.5.1 Perceived Benefits of Bidding and Hosting Sport Events ......................................... 29 2.5.2 Sport Event Bidding Process ..................................................................................... 30 2.6 Tourism Impacts............................................................................................................... 32 2.7 Impacts of Sport Events ................................................................................................... 35 v 2.7.1 Tourism/Economic Impacts of Sport Events ............................................................. 37 2.7.2 Social and Cultural Impacts of Sport Events ............................................................ 39 2.7.3 Sport Events, Regional Development and Destination Regeneration ....................... 40 2.7.4 Leveraging Impacts of Sport Events .......................................................................... 42 2.7.5 Sport Events and a Sustainable Legacy .................................................................... 46 2.8 A Conceptual Map of the Literature ................................................................................ 49 2.9 Chapter Summary.............................................................................................................