! ! UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN FACULTY OF SCIENCE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND GEOGRAPHIC SCIENCE Integrating Sustainability Thinking and Practices into Surfing Events: Case Studies in Hawaii and Jeffreys Bay University of Cape Town Author:!Tina!Nguyen![NGYTIN001]! A!mini9dissertation!submitted!in!partial!fulfilment!for!the!degree!of!Master!of!Philosophy!in! Environment,!Society!and!Sustainability! October!2017! Supervised!by!Associate!Professor!Merle!Sowman! ! ! The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University of Cape Town Declaration This%work%has%not%been%previously%submitted%in%whole,%or%in%part,%for%the%award%of%any%degree.%It% is%my%own%work.%Each%significant%contribution%to,%and%quotation%in,%this%dissertation%from%the% work,%or%works,%of%other%people%has%been%attributed,%and%has%been%cited%and%referenced.%% % Signature:+______________________________________________+++Date:+02+October+2017 2! ! Acknowledgements I’d!like!to!thank!my!mom!and!dad.!Although!they!do!not!speak!English!fluently!and!had!to!endure! the! trauma! of! being! Vietnam! War! refugees,! they! have! not! only! learned! how! to! survive! and! prosper,!they!have!also!passed!on!some!of!life’s!most!valuable!lessons!to!me.!I!have!learned!how! to!persevere!through!the!toughest!moments!of!self9doubt!and!I!will!forever!be!grateful!to!them.!!!! I’d! like! to! thank! my! supervisor! (and! role! model)! Merle! Sowman! for! not! having! the! slightest! hesitation! to! support! me! when! I! told! her! I! wanted! to! do! research! about! surfing.! That! simple! gesture!of!acceptance!at!the!beginning!of!the!Master’s!program!enabled!me!to!mold!my!passion! for!surfing!and!sustainability!into!an!endeavor!that!has!not!only!satiated!my!desire!to!give!back!to! the!ocean!and!sport!that!I!love,!but!has!opened!up!many!doors!of!opportunities!through!which!I! could!continue!my!passionate!work.!! I’d! like! to! thank! my! best! friend! and! housemate! Jessica! Lee! for! her! sometimes! motherly! (but! necessary)!love!and!compassion!towards!me!when!I!needed!to!feel!confidence!and!pressure!to! complete!this!thesis.!Her!companionship!has!been!nothing!short!of!inspiring!and!uplifting.!I’d!like! to!thank!my!boyfriend!Luke!Boyle!for!reading!my!drafts,!for!sharing!genuine!enthusiasm!in!my! progress!and!research!topic,!and!most!importantly,!for!believing!in!me!unconditionally.!Thank!you! for!being!my!rock!and!helping!me!find!the!strength!to!do!the!best!possible!job!I!could!do.! Lastly,!I’d!like!to!thank!all!the!research!participants!who!supported!this!research!and!assisted!with! the!data!collection!in!Hawaii,!California,!and!in!Jeffreys!Bay.!This!research!would!not!have!been! possible!without!their!collaboration.! 3! ! Abstract Sustainable!surfing!events!are!a!recent!phenomenon!and!there!is!little!to!no!academic!literature! reflecting! this! development.! Sustainable! event! management! (SEM)! is! the! integration! of! sustainability!principles!and!practices!into!event!production!to!produce!an!event!that!goes!beyond! economic! longevity! and! fulfils! important! social,! cultural,! and! environmental! roles! that! people! value.!This!research!explores!the!current!practices!and!issues!surrounding!the!implementation!of! SEM!into!surfing!events!held!in!Hawaii,!USA!and!in!Jeffreys!Bay,!South!Africa.!The!thesis!follows!a! qualitative! case! study! approach! using! semi9structured! interviews,! participant! observation! and! documentary! evidence.! Findings! demonstrated! that! the! key! obstacles! to! implementing! sustainable!event!management!principles!and!practices!include!limited!access!to!capital,!lack!of! government! support,! resistance! to! change,! the! absence! of! a! common! vision,! and! a! lack! of! education!and!awareness.!This!study!revealed!the!importance!of!context!in!a!hosting!community’s! journey!towards!sustainable!event!production.!Overcoming!these!obstacles!requires!engagement! of!the!private!sector,!influence!of!local!champions,!involvement!of!NGOs,!trusting!relationships! between! local! and! external! event! stakeholders,! access! to! technology! and! resources,! and! the! strategic!use!of!media!to!promote!sustainability!awareness!to!all!event!stakeholders.!Based!on! these!findings,!recommendations!for!improving!the!sustainability!performance!of!surfing!events! include! the! development! of! a! formal! policy,! education! and! training! for! event! staff,! a! media! campaign! focused! on! sustainability! issues,! and! in9depth! engagement! with! the! local! hosting! community.!How!the!enabling!or!inhibiting!factors!play!out!on!the!ground!depends!on!the!variety! of!factors!previously!highlighted.!In!practice,!there!are!linkages!across!SEM!practices!and!many! work!in!concert!to!enhance!the!overall!sustainability!performance.!Theoretically,!the!implications! of!this!research!lies!in!its!contribution!to!a!growing!body!of!knowledge!pertaining!to!the!surfing! industry’s!transition!towards!more!sustainable!business!operations.!Practically,!this!information! can!be!used!to!inform!policy,!set!goals,!carefully!examine!alternatives,!establish!effective!factors! to! enable! SEM,! and! encourage! sustainable! decision9making! and! actions.! Other! surfing! communities!can!learn!from!the!experiences!of!the!event!stakeholders!in!Hawaii!and!Jeffreys!Bay! to! improve! their! efforts! of! hosting! a! sustainable! surfing! event.! Overall,! this! knowledge! can! promote!a!more!balanced!dissemination!of!sustainability!thinking!and!practices!within!the!global! surfing!events!sector.! ! ! 4! ! Table of Contents ! DECLARATION!.....................................................................................................................................!2% ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS!......................................................................................................................!3% ABSTRACT!............................................................................................................................................!4% TABLE!OF!CONTENTS!..........................................................................................................................!5% LIST!OF!FIGURES!...............................................................................................................................!10% LIST!OF!TABLES!..................................................................................................................................!10% LIST!OF!ACRONYMS!..........................................................................................................................!11% CHAPTER!ONE:!INTRODUCTION!.......................................................................................................!12% 1.1!BACKGROUND!AND!RATIONALE!.......................................................................................................!12% 1.2!AIM!AND!OBJECTIVES!...................................................................................................................!14% 1.3!METHODOLOGY!OVERVIEW!...........................................................................................................!14% 1.4.1$Context$of$the$Study$........................................................................................................$15% 1.4.2$The$North$Shore$of$Oahu,$Hawaii$...................................................................................$17% 1.4.3$Jeffreys$Bay,$South$Africa$................................................................................................$18% 1.6!THESIS!OUTLINE!..........................................................................................................................!20% CHAPTER!TWO:!LITERATURE!INFORMING!THE!RESEARCH!..............................................................!21% 2.1% INTRODUCTION!TO!SUSTAINABLE!DEVELOPMENT!.............................................................................!21% 2.2% INTEGRATING!SUSTAINABILITY!INTO!THE!EVENTS!INDUSTRY!................................................................!23% 2.2.1$The$Growth$and$Importance$of$Events$...........................................................................$23% 2.2.2$Impacts$Associated$with$Events$......................................................................................$24% 2.2.3$What$is$a$‘green’$or$‘sustainable$event’?$........................................................................$28% 2.2.4$Sustainable$Event$Principles,$Guidelines,$and$Benefits$...................................................$29% 2.2.5$Sporting$Events$as$Drivers$of$Sustainability$....................................................................$29% 2.2.6$Diffusion$of$Sustainability$into$Other$Sports$...................................................................$30% 2.3% UNDERSTANDING!THE!IMPLEMENTATION!OF!SUSTAINABLE!EVENT!MANAGEMENT!.................................!31% 2.3.1$Scope$of$Prior$Event$Studies$Research$............................................................................$31% 5! ! 2.3.2$Shifting$the$Research$Agenda$.........................................................................................$32% 2.3.3$Influential$Factors$in$the$Implementation$of$Sustainability$Practices$............................$33% 2.4% SUSTAINABILITY!IN!SURFING!.........................................................................................................!36%