Journal of Sport Tourism 9(1), 2004, 5–101 Historical perspectives of sports tourism John Zauhar Sport Tourism International Council .................................................................................................................................... PREAMBLE ‘In 1992, there were 1.3 million people arriving in a country outside that of their residence and spending an average of $764 million on accommodations, meals, entertainment and shopping’ (Segal, 1987). Total international tourist arrivals for 1989 have been established by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) at 405.3 million. And travel and tourism contribution to the world economy amounted to $US2 trillion in sales. In effect, the European Council on Development has deter- mined that, by the year 2000, the tourism industry will be the largest in the world (World Tourism Organization, 1994). Whereas in previous decades tourism has been largely shaped by transport technol- ogy advances, the future decade will be determined by a number of factors, already evidenced: socio-demographic changes; electronic information and communication systems; more knowledgeable and demanding consumers; de-regulatory market place (Fridgen, 1991: 3–26). Some influences on, and determinants of, tourism activity in the 1990-2000 period will be: the scale and variety of tourism development in all types of tourism destinations; the growing interest in peoples and cultures of developing countries; increases in the number of consumers with free time, financial ability and interest to travel; the growing importance of ethnic ties between different nations. Prime examples of market niche targeting related to sports, according to the WTO forecast, are: sailing, yachting, scuba diving, golfing, resort holidays and island hopping. Themed holidays are also becoming popular, accounting for a significant proportion of total tourist demands – approaching the stage of mainstream holiday rather than the traditional ‘beach’ sequence (McCourt, 1989: 13). Historical Link Travel is an ancient behaviour. History reveals harsh realities of travel in earlier times and civilizations – restrictions and constraints on modes of travel, accommodation and services. Furthermore, leisure time required for pleasure travel in primitive societies was quite scarce. As quality of life became indicatively higher and better, people began to move more readily from one place to another. Shorter working weeks, holidays and holy days contributed to mass travel, relaxation and ....................................................................................................................................................... Journal of Sport Tourism ISSN 1477-5085 print/ISSN 1029-5399 online/04/010005-96 2004 Sports Tourism International Council http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals DOI: 10.1080/1477508042000179348 6 Zauhar self-development. Gradually, travel and tourism were transformed. In addition, technological, political and social events made tourism a world-wide leisure experi- ence (Bhatia, 1983: 6). Tourism has usually been studied in terms of travel patterns, typology, financial implications, general activity movements, as well as the demand–supply equation and service developments. Travel motivational studies often refer to pleasure, religion, culture, business and the like. Many authors and specialists refer to tourism as a relatively modern phenomenon (Curran, 1978: xix–xx). Some consider the beginnings culminating in the popularity of the Grand Tour (Bannister, 1981: 1). Rarely, if ever, has the concept of tourism been analysed through sports pursuits and offerings. Tourist options have been focused chiefly on cultural tastes and attitudes. And, Romanticism’s interests lured people to beauty and to natural settings such as mountains, lakes and seashore areas. Sports, in the annals of history, seem to have played a minor or secondary role in touristic popularity and thrust. Since the term ‘tourism’ did not appear in the English language until the early nineteenth century, the word ‘tour’ was more closely associated with the idea of an individual being temporarily away from his/her home environment (Laverty, 1989: 13). Furthermore, people world-wide are participating more in sports and travelling to certain destinations for the pleasures and enjoyments of physical activities, amateur and/or professional. These travellers are more readily conscious of the inherent values emanating from sports and are prepared to financially support their inclina- tions. Moreover, sports travel is gradually increasing for all levels and ages of society. Indeed, many sports destinations are being organized and marketed according to knowledgeable approaches and human inherencies. The past has never been analysed, in terms of sports tourism, to understand better the present. Little background has been provided to indicate lessons and relationships that still exist today. There is a notable legacy that has never been explored. There exists a symbiosis between sports and tourism that needs to be examined. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the extent to which various sports have been intermingled and associated with tourism throughout history – leading to the identification of the status of sports tourism in light of historical development. Definition of Terms For the purposes of this paper, the following terms are defined to ensure correct interpretation: 1. historical perspectives – refers to the outlook or view drawn from chronological narrative events and scenes relative to pertinent dimensions, significance and meaningfulness to sports tourism; 2. sports tourism – refers to different sports that throughout history have been the source and/or the principal reason for travel – relative in distance according to the lifestyle epochs of history; 3. genealogical approach – refers to the principal lineage recordings of sports tourism activities as developed and evolved throughout history to which second- ary or other sports tributaries are grafted; 4. categories of sports tourism – refers to specifically defined divisions within a sports tourism classification, namely attractions, resorts, cruises, tours and events. Historical Perspectives of Sports Tourism 7 METHODOLOGY Sources of Data The following resources were investigated and analysed: textbooks; journals; confer- ence proceedings; organization reports; televised documentaries; internet websites; microfilms; and other printed materials. Analysis Data were analysed for purposes of determining relationships between sports and tourism throughout different eras of history. Diverse sequential historical periods were explored, chiefly from a genealogical approach. Emphasis was particularly placed on the developed nations in accordance with their chronological place in time. Categories of sports tourism were used as the framework for the research. Sports tourism circumstances, situations and environments were investigated from the following perspectives: • the era’s relative travel distances; • the traveller sports participant; • the traveller sports spectator; • the haphazard sports participant/spectator; • the polarizing sports elements; • the developers of sports; • the marketeers of sports; • the explosion of certain sports; • the implosion of various sports; • the sport facility allurements; • the invitational sports dimensions; • the pertinence of sports tourism definitions; • the distinctive sports purposes. These views were all considered within the necessitated displacements of people from their natural habitat. Format The first section discusses the relationship between sports and tourism. The following sections illustrate the different sequential historical periods pursued in a ‘genealogi- cal’ approach – that is, a mainstream trend to which various historical events and situations are grafted or entwined. Emphasis is placed on the more developed countries and nations through the ages of civilization. Sub-sections are organized in accordance with the nature of researched materials. A specific summation is included at the end of each main section to underline salient facts and highlights referring to sports tourism. 8 Zauhar SPORT TOURISM–APHENOMENON Introduction The spirit of travel has lived on down the ages (Kinnaird & Hill, 1993: 2). Throughout, ‘man has traveled in search of new places, new lands, new cultures and new experiences’ (Heath & Wall, 1992: 3). As such, there is little doubt that travel ‘has been, and continues to be, a focus for development’ (Butler, 1950: 2–25). ‘Successive changes in transportation, technology, including the steamboat, railway, automobile and airplane, coupled with a myriad of socio-economic transformations, have enabled growing numbers of people to travel’ (Baker, 1988: 31). Human behaviour can be understood by determining the motives, drives or concerns which are being satisfied. A motive can be explained as ‘a person’s basic disposition to reach for or strive towards a particular goal or combination of goals (Eduardo, 1989: 47). A drive can be conceived as an inner factor predisposing one to react either positively or negatively towards some particular object or act (Baker, 1988: 31). A concern, on the other hand, deals with a person’s commanding role to become involved (Zeigler, 1984: 2). Throughout history, men and women have been impelled to travel because of sport – the motive, the drive or the concern. In effect, in the last decade or so, there has been an increasing participation in a wide variety of sporting activities. Visitors, be they