Sustainable Development of Sports Tourism Edited by:Edited Matej Iztok Retar, Rado Pišot, Alenka Obid by:Plevnik, Uroš Marušič, Boštjan Šimunič, Rado Pišot
Annales University Press
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOURISM
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOURISM EDITED BY: Matej Plevnik Iztok Retar Rado Pišot Alenka Obid
Annales University Press
Koper 2015
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOURISM
Edited by: Matej Plevnik, Iztok Retar, Rado Pišot, Alenka Obid Knjižnica Annales Kinesiologiae Editor-in-Chief: Rado Pišot Technical Editors: Matej Plevnik, Alenka Obid Reviewers: Nataša Slak Valek, PhD; Helena Nemec Rudež, PhD; Edvard Kolar, PhD; Jakob Bednarik, PhD; Mišela Mavrič, PhD; Jean Loup Chappelet, PhD; Anestis Fotiadis, PhD; Maja Uran Maravić, PhD; Anton Jagodic, PhD; Tanja Mihalič, PhD Cover design: Mateja Oblak Photo on the cover: Dunja Wedam Typesetting: Alenka Obid Publisher: University of Primorska, Science and Research Centre, Institute for Kinesiology Research; Annales University Press For the Publisher: Rado Pišot Electronic publication, available at: www.sportstourism.si and www.zrs.upr.si/monografije This publication is copyrighted © 2015 University of Primorska, Science and Research Centre, Annales University Press Authors guarantee the authorship of their papers and take full responsibility for published contributions.
CIP - Kataložni zapis o publikaciji Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, Ljubljana 338.48:796(0.034.2) 502.131.1(0.034.2) SUSTAINABLE development of sports tourism [Elektronski vir] / edited by Matej Plevnik ... [et al.]. - El. knjiga. - Koper : University of Primorska, Science and Research Centre - Institute for Kinesiology Research, Annales University Press, 2015. - (Knjižnica Annales Kinesiologiae) ISBN 978-961-6964-27-2 (pdf) 1. Plevnik, Matej, 1981279898624
CONTENTS scientific PART ABU DHABI SPORT TOURISM: FROM ZERO TO HERO (Nataša Slak Valek)
11
ANALYSIS OF THE COMPETITIVENESS OF SLOVENIAN SPORT TOURISM DESTINATIONS (Maja Uran Maravić, Jakob Bednarik, Miha Lesjak)
21
GROWTH OF SPORT INDUSTRY AND CREATION OF NEW JOBS (Jože Jenšterle)
31
HERITAGE SPORTING EVENTS AND PLACE MARKETING (Jean-Loup Chappelet)
57
IMPORTANCE OF SEVERAL ASPECTS WITHIN THE DESTINATION CHOICE PROCESS IN WINTER SPORT TOURISM AMONG GERMAN AND POLISH STUDENTS (Alexander Hodeck)
73
Evolution and Impact on the Environment of Trail Running Sporting Events – The Case of France and Romania (Sorina Cernaianu, Claude Sobry)
81
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SPORTS INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CREATION OF A TOURIST PRODUCT (Marcel Vučetić, Romana Lekić, Dubravko Kraus)
91
PARAGLIDING IN TERMS OF SAFETY IN THE UPPER SOČA REGION (Janez Mekinc, Katarina Mušič, Špela Šterk)
97
TESTING A BRAND OF DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS (Hessa Alqemzi) 111 Is sports tourism AN opportunity for hotels on the Slovenian coast? (Patricij Omar, Gordana Ivankovič)
121
CAN THE BARCELONA EFFECT BE NOTICED IN POLAND? EX-POST ANALYSIS OF LEGACY ON TOURISM TWO YEARS AFTER UEFA EURO2012 (Jagoda Komusińska)
133
THE CONTRIBUTION OF SPORTS EVENTS TO LOCAL ECONOMIES: THE CASE OF MALLORCA312 (Maria Antonia Garcia Sastre, Margarita Alemany Hormaeche, Angela Aguilo Lemoine) 145 EXPLORING THE PROFILE OF INTERNATIONAL HIKERS IN THE BALEARIC ISLANDS (Maria Antonia Garcia Sastre, Margarita Alemany Hormaeche, Angela Aguilo Lemoine, Juan José Montaño Moreno)
153
SPORTS TOURISM IN THE BALEARIC ISLANDS: A FIRM COMMITMENT OR A NECESSITY? (Margarita Alemany Hormaeche, Maria Antonia Garcia Sastre, Angela Aguilo Lemoine)
163
THE ROLE OF SPORT EVENTS IN DESTINATION BRANDING: THE DUBAI WORLD CUP “THE WORLD’S RICHEST HORSE RACE” (Aisha Saleh Al Ghubbi Al Suwaidi, Russell Blair Williams)
175
PROFILING PARTICIPANTS OF SPORTING EVENTS IN THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT: TRAILS RUNNING RACES (Estela Inés Farías Torbidoni, Jordi Seguí Urbaneja, Eduard Inglés Yuba)
185
DEVELOPMENT OF A SPORT EVENT UNDER THE COMMUNISM AND DEMOCRATIC REGIMES (Mart Reimann, Kaarel Tilmer, Erkki Erkki)
195
ATHLETIC PREPARATIONS AS A TOURIST PRODUCT THAT CAN BOOST SPORT TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE REGION (Iztok Retar, Primož Sulič)
203
SLOVENIAN SPORTS TOURISTIC BRANDS: A MYTH OR REALITY? (Darko Ravnikar, Ana Bardorfer, Iztok Retar)
211
TRAVEL AND HEAT RELATED ILLNESSES (Dorjana Zerbo Šporin)
219
THE CASE OF A NEW MASS SPORT EVENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF TOURIST DESTINATIONS (Saša Pišot)
225
BRANDING IN SPORTS TOURISM: ON THE CASE OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF KOPER AND THE WIDER AREA OF SLOVENIAN ISTRIA (Marko Vidnjevič)
233
DIMENSIONS OF KINESIOLOGY AS THE STARTING POINT OF SPORT TOURISM DESTINATIONS AND PRODUCTS (Rado Pišot, Iztok Retar)
243
PROFESSIONAL PART SOME POSSIBLE “MEANINGS” OF “SPORT” IN ITS HISTORICAL AND LINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE (Tonči Kuzmanić)
253
ABSTRACTS
259
Authors
277
SCIENTIFIC PART
ABU DHABI SPORT TOURISM: FROM ZERO TO HERO Nataša SLAK VALEK
INTRODUCTION United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a young country, 43 years old in November 2014 to be precise. Established in December 1971, the country is a federation of seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. Abu Dhabi is not only one of the seven sheikhdoms of the United Arab Emirates, but is a capital city of UAE as well. In addition, Abu Dhabi is a country that has become increasingly popular around the world over the last two decades, owing in large part to two phenomena: the abundance of oil, which was first discovered in the1950s; and more recently, the innovative architecture and rapid urban development that have attracted a great deal of attention (Hashim, 2011). GDP per capita in UAE is 65,000 US$ according to Cia World Factbook (www.cia.gov), when in Abu Dhabi Emirate the GDP per capita is 61,000 US$ in 2014. According to the Statistical Center Abu Dhabi the Total GDP of Abu Dhabi was 383,430 million AED in 2005, when the estimation for 2013 is almost 2.5 times more (Statistical Year Book Abu Dhabi, 2014). From the same data it is clear that the Oil industry is still very strong in Abu Dhabi, representing about 57% of GDP (Table 1).
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
Table 1: GDP of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 2005, 2011, 2012 with estimate for 2013 (Source: Statistics Centre of Abu Dhabi, 2014) 2005
2011
2012
2013*
GDP (Million AED)
383,430
846,684
909,721
953,239
Oil GDP (Million AED)
215,455
484,737
518,861
523,899
Non-oil GDP (Million AED)
167,975
361,947
390,860
429,340
279.0
391.7
389.7
388.6
GDP per capita (000 AED) Oil GDP per capita (000 AED)
156.8
224.2
222.3
213.6
Non-oil GDP per capita (000 AED)
122.2
167.4
167.4
175.0
GDP per capita annual growth (%)
26.1
20.4
-0.5
-0.3
Oil GDP per capita annual growth (%)
39.7
39.1
-0.9
-3.9
Non-oil GDP per capita annual growth (%)
12.1
2.1
0.0
4.5
*Preliminary estimates Source: Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi
With over 10% of proven global oil reserves sufficient to last 120 years, the emirate has more oil per hectare than anywhere else in the world and it is, therefore, certain that oil will continue to play a dominant role in economic development (Sharpley, 2002). Although the emirate of Abu-Dhabi, through its Policy Agenda 2007 to 2008, the strategic Plan 2008 to 2012 and the Plan Vision Abu-Dhabi 2030 has recently re-branded itself. It has made a series of assertive moves in order to boost its tourism development as well as to create a more diversified economy (Hazime, 2011). Abu Dhabi has, over the past decade, been seeking to diversify its economy in order to reduce its dependence on oil. Most recently, attention has been focused on developing tourism (Sharpley, 2002). The data of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority shows that the total number of hotel establishments was 150 in 2013, an increase of 15.4% compared with 2012. Over the same period, the number of guests increased by 17.5%, the number of rooms by 18.2% and the occupancy rate by 8.6%, while the average length of stay reached 3.1 nights. In 2013, the number of guests totaled about 2.8 million, an increase of 17.5% compared with the previous year (Statistical Year Book of Abu Dhabi, 2014), but what is even more interesting is that 1 million more tourists visited Abu Dhabi in 2013 than in 2010, which is an impressive increase in a 3-year period only (Table 2).
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ABU DHABI SPORT TOUR ISM: FROM ZERO TO HERO
Table 2: Key statistics of Abu Dhabi Tourism (Source: Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority) 2010
2011
2012
2013
116
129
130
150
Number of rooms
18,844
21,254
21,997
26,001
Number of guests (000)
1,812
2,112
2,388
2,806
Number of overnights (000)
5,132
6,270
6,997
8,789
Number of hotel establishments
Average length of stay (nights)
2.8
3.0
2.9
3.1
Occupancy rate (%)
64.7
68.9
65.2
70.8
Source: Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority
Abu Dhabi tourism numbers could be easily compared with Slovenian results: in 2013 there were a total of 3.3 million guests in Slovenia and 2.8 million in Abu Dhabi. In the same year Slovenia recorded 9,5 million overnights and there were almost 8,8 million in Abu Dhabi. The big difference is in the growth, where is it clear that Abu Dhabi Tourism is developing much faster: 64.5% more guests and 58,3% more overnights in the period of 3 years, an impressive growth. Table 3: Tourism arrivals and overnights in Slovenia 2010–2013 2010
2011
2012
2013
Number of guests (000)
3,006
3,218
3,297
3,384
Number of overnights (000)
8,906
9,388
9,510
9,579
Source: Statistical office of RS
It is not a secret that before the discovery of oil, Abu Dhabi and the rest of the United Arab Emirates were poor and undeveloped, with an economy based on farming in the inland oases, as well as on fishing and the pearling industry (Hashim, 2011), but from the presented data is it clear that the Emirate of Abu Dhabi is on the right way in developing its tourism image. Abu-Dhabi has been investing heavily in the development of its tourism facilities with many mega projects: Shams Abu-Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, Yas Island, Desert Islands, Al Raha Beach, Warner Brothers Theme Park, Souwwah Island, Capital Centre, Al Reem Island, Khalifa Port, Mina Zayed, Ferrari Theme Park (Hazime, 2011), in order to create a favorable images. On the other hand, there are some Worldwide recognized sport events hosted in Abu Dhabi, as Formula 1 by Etihad, Mubadala
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
World Tennis Championship, HSBC Golf Championship and Volvo Ocean Race, showing an interest in developing sport tourism. It has to be pointed out here that Abu Dhabi has been using sport events to promote the emirate as a (sport) tourism destination, although a strategy in this contest is still missing. The same gap is found when trying to analyze or find the data about sport tourists in Abu Dhabi – one of the main motivations for travel. Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority has published research about domestic and international tourists, where is it clear that 71% international visitors travel to Abu Dhabi with a Leisure purpose (TCA, 2014), but from the same research is it not clear how many tourists travel to Abu Dhabi with “sport” being their main motive for travelling. Thus, the purpose of the present paper is to present the development of Abu Dhabi Sport Tourism from available sources and to point out a number of challenges in development of sport tourism.
SPORT TOURISM IN ABU DHABI The image that the first city builders wanted to portray in Abu Dhabi was that of a totally ‘modern’ city fit for the technological revolution of the 1960s and beyond, especially the rapid increase in the ownership of motor vehicles (Damluji, 2006). But recently the government of Abu Dhabi, in partnership with powerful western institutions, has embarked on a breathtaking scheme to build four world-class museums and a performing art center as cornerstones of the development of a new culture-leisure-tourism complex on Saadiyat Island (McClellan, 2012). The building is still under process, but is growing very fast and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi has big plans with the “Cultural District”. The use of cultural attractors for triggering urban development is more recent and cities apparently compete to collect new pieces of architecture as if they were pieces of art (Ponzini, 2011). Abu Dhabi sees cultural tourism as pivotal to its development as a world capital, and also as a particularly important means to encourage intercultural discourse and understanding (Gerson, 2008). Investment in sporting activities is also a fundamental component of the branding strategy of Abu-Dhabi not only to increase their visitor numbers but also to position the Emirate as an international sports destination (Hazime, 2011). Events and festivals plays a strategic and significant role in building brand awareness and positioning Abu Dhabi as a world class destination,
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ABU DHABI SPORT TOUR ISM: FROM ZERO TO HERO
with international and regional events and festivals spanning the arts, culture and sport. Although it takes a long time for events to become firmly associated with a particular destination and it is still early days for Abu Dhabi, the portfolio of events is growing year on year as new venues worldwide destination reputation together with benefits such as increasing number of visitors, employment and community engagement is beginning to realized (Morgan, Pritchard, & Pride, 2011). The Yas Island Project, covering an area of almost 25 square kilometers, valued at 39 billion dollars, is the most popular part of Abu Dhabi in terms of sport tourism. It has completed a Formula 1 circuit, a Ferrari theme park, a hotel by Asymptote and other sport, retail, leisure and tourism related facilities (Ponzini, 2011). There are several sport events taking place in Abu Dhabi now, to mention just some of them: Formula 1 by Etihad, Mubadala World Tennis Championship, Volvo Ocean Race, HSBC Golf Championship. Motorsports is particularly popular sport for sponsorship (Hazime, 2011), although the economic benefits of hosting sports events in the Gulf countries are not easily quantifiable (Holt and Ruta, 2015). In order to make socio-economic benefits of events hosted in Abu Dhabi clearer, some statistics of sport events hosted in Abu Dhabi is the purpose of this paper.
SPORT EVENTS AS MAIN TYPE OF SPORT TOURISM IN ABU DHABI Gibson (2003) suggests there are three types of sport tourism: (a) active sport tourism where participants travel to take part in sport; (b) event sport tourism where participants travel to watch sport; and (c) nostalgia sport tourism where participants visit sports related attractions such as halls of fame, famous stadia, or sports-themed cruises. Sport Tourism supply in Abu Dhabi mainly focuses on the b) definition - event sport tourism. All major and internationally recognized sport events fall under the organization of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA). TCA is a multi-faceted organization with a mandate to manage the emirate’s tourism sector and markets it internationally through a wide range of activities and major events, aimed at attracting both culturally sensitive visitors and increased investment (www.tcaabudhabi.ae). Sport events presented in the following of that paper are just some of main sport events in Abu Dhabi all year around and the source of data presented is TCA.
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
Abu Dhabi Golf Championship According to the data of TCA (Event Report, 2014) around 60,000 visitors visited the HSBC Golf Championship, organized in January in Abu Dhabi. Visitors are mainly residents of UAE (Emirati and Expatriate), which is a logical consequence of the number of nationalities residing in UAE. This makes the country and the target market so diverse and different. In 2013 Abu Dhabi’s population was estimated to be 2,453,096, of which 20.2% are Local Emiratis and 79.8% are foreign residents (Statistical Year Book Abu Dhabi, 2014). It is interesting that the HSBC golf event visitor’s population differs significantly from the residence’s population and that, although golf is not a traditionally known Emirati sport, is it possible to notice a higher share of Emiratis (24%) at HSBC event than in the residences population (20.2%). In 2013 it was still different, but opposite (9% for Emirati visitors). Does this mean that the organization of events can affect the Emirati’s attitude towards sport? 60% 2013
51% 50%
46%
2014
40%
32%
30%
27%
24%
20% 10%
9%
8% 3%
0% Resident (Emirati)
Resident (Expatriate)
GCC Visitor
International Visitor
Figure 1: Share of visitors at HSBC Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, 2013–2014 (Source: TCA, 2014)
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ABU DHABI SPORT TOUR ISM: FROM ZERO TO HERO
Volvo Ocean Race Traditional economic activities in the Gulf were pearling, seaborne trade, fishing, ship building, small-scale oasis agriculture and pastoralism (Khalaf, 1999), which could lead to an understanding in why Abu Dhabi tourism shows a big interest, and probably some investment also, in sailing in general, or specifically in the Volvo Ocean Race. Thus, on the first page of the presented event report from TCA is it possible to find the mission, which among others is “…leaving a solid maritime legacy of upgraded infrastructure…”. In fact, residents of the desert travelled by dhows (which was the inspiration of designing the shape of Abu Dhabi brand, also) between Dubai and Abu Dhabi not a long time ago (Tatchell, 2009) and here is where a connection with nowadays sailing events can be seen. More than just a connection with the culture and tradition, Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) has brought to Abu Dhabi economic and tourism impacts, presented in the table 4.
Old Dhow Sailing (Arabic traditional sailing) (Source: iStock)
Sailing at VOR today (photo: N. Slak Valek, 2014)
Figure 2: A comparison of traditional sailing and sailing today
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
Table 4: Economic impact generated by VOR stopover in Abu Dhabi Total number of visitors welcomed to the Destination Village
120,604
Hotel stays in Abu Dhabi generated by the Stopover
32,000 room nights
Total sales by destination village retail outlets
1,564,628 AED*
Total sales turnover by Souk stalls during the stopover
222,600 AED**
VOR website visit leading up to a during the stopover
4,850,111
* Equal to 426,329 US$ based on yearly average convert rate in 2012, source: http://data. worldbank.org ** Equal to 60,653 US$ based on yearly average convert rate in 2012, source: http://data. worldbank.org Source: TCA, 2013
The Volvo Ocean Race runs across four oceans and five continents with one of the stops in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi has first taken part in the race in 2011-2012, with a 10 days stopover in Abu Dhabi (3-14 January). As seen from the table 4 the economic impacts are evident; 42,600 US$ per day average was only the sale in the visitors village.
CONCLUSION Abu Dhabi sport tourism philosophy has focused mainly on organization and development of generally called “elite” sports, such as Formula 1, golf, sailing, tennis, but has never ignored tradition and culture. In fact, plenty of “Traditional Arabic” sport events can be found all year around, which could be even more interesting events for international tourists visiting Abu Dhabi or UAE. Camel racing, horse racing, saluki racing, falconry are just some of interesting sport events that are typical for Arabic world. Since Abu Dhabi through its high profile cultural projects try to emerge from the shadow of its neighbor, Dubai, and put itself to the tourism map, traditional sports (events) also provides an opportunity for Abu-Dhabi to promote sports-cultural tourism. As observed by Sharpley in 2002 there were no official statistics for tourist arrivals and expenditure in Abu Dhabi and it was, therefore, difficult to establish a clear picture of that time scale, value and characteristics of tourism in the emirate. Today, general numbers of tourism statistics are followed and published, but a further step is needed in “sport tourism
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ABU DHABI SPORT TOUR ISM: FROM ZERO TO HERO
statistics”. No research in this context has been carried out and no strategy of further development of sport tourism in Abu Dhabi has been established, although worldwide recognized sport events are hosted by Abu Dhabi. There is great potential in Abu Dhabi Sport Tourism and further research in this area is recommended.
References Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA, 2012). Abu Dhabi riding the wave of success, Volvo Ocean Race event report, 2011-2012 Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA, 2013). Abu Dhabi HSBC, 2013 Event Report, p. 60. Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA, 2014). Abu Dhabi International and Domestic Visitors Survey 2014. CIA: The World Fact Book. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworld-factbook/geos/ae.html on April 15, 2015. Damluji, S. S. (2006). The Architecture of the United Arab Emirates. Reading, UK: Garnet Publishing. Gerson, J. (2008, September 25). Cultural tourism ‘key to economy’. The National, p.1. Gibson, H. J. (2003). Sport tourism: An introduction to the special issue. Journal of Sport Management, 17(3), 205-213. Hashim, A. R. A. A. B. (2012). Branding the brand new city: Abu Dhabi, travelers welcome. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 8(1), 72-82. Hazime, H. (2011). From city branding to e-brands in developing countries: An approach to Qatar and Abu Dhabi. African Journal of Business Management, 5(12), 4731-4745. Holt, R., & Ruta, D. (Eds.) (2015). Routledge Handbook of Sport and Legacy: Meeting the Challenge of Major Sports Events. Routledge. Khalaf, S. (1999). Camel Racing in the Gulf. Notes on the Evolution of a Traditional Cultural Sport. Anthropos, 85-106. McClellan, A. (2012). Museum expansion in the twenty-first century: Abu Dhabi. Journal of curatorial studies, 1(3), 271-293. Morgan, N., Pritchard, A., & Pride, R. (Eds.) (2011). Destination brands: Managing place reputation. Routledge. Ponzini, D. (2011). Large scale development projects and star architecture in the absence of democratic politics: The case of Abu Dhabi, UAE. Cities, 28(3), 251-259.
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Sharpley, R. (2002). The challenges of economic diversification through tourism: the case of Abu Dhabi. International Journal of Tourism Research, 4(3), 221-235. Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia. http://www.stat.si/StatWeb/en/shownews?id=5111, data retrieved on April 20, 2015. Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (2014). Statistical Yearbook for Abu Dhabi 2014. Retrieved from www.scad.ae on April 19, 2015. Tatchell, J. (2009). A Diamond in the Desert: Behind the Scenes in Abu Dhabi, the World's Richest City. Black Cat. TCA. www.tcaabudhabi.ae
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ANALYSIS OF THE COMPETITIVENESS OF SLOVENIAN SPORT TOURISM DESTINATIONS Maja URAN MARAVIĆ, Jakob BEDNARIK, Miha LESJAK
INTRODUCTION The global tourism supply is infinite, with destinations facing tough operating conditions at the present time. Successful strategic planning and development of the tourist destinations requires appropriate tools to best to assess the operational situation. Such tools help to better identify the situation and, at the same time, can be used to design easier and clearer measures for improvement. In addition, they also contribute to the coordination of various tourism destination stakeholders. One of the most well known tools to assess such situations are certainly the model of the destination competitiveness. The main goal of this paper is to present some stakeholders’ opinions of tourism (micro) destinations in Slovenia. All local and regional tourist organisations in Slovenia were asked to complete a survey. The approach and methodology used for the execution of this paper is based on different destination competitiveness models. To assess the competitiveness of these micro destinations, an integrated instrument of destination competitiveness was developed and tested for its content validity. Special emphasis was given to the fact that we were assessing destinations for their sport tourism supply. The key question was how the stakeholders identified their competitiveness within their local and international markets. Another question was whether they were more competitive against sport or non-sport supply.
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
DESTINATION COMPETITIVENESS Tourist destinations (e.g. city, region or site) are no longer seen as a set of distinct natural, cultural, artistic or environmental resources, but as an overall appealing product available in a certain location: a complex and integrated portfolio of services offered by a destination that supplies a holiday experience which meets the needs of the tourist. The tourist destination can thus produce a compound package of tourist services based on its indigenous supply potential (Cracolici & Nijkamp, 2008). Defining and measuring the competitiveness phenomenon are complex tasks. Studies by Crouch and Ritchie (1999), and Dwyer and Kim (2003) represent the main works on tourism competitiveness, not only in the construction of conceptual models and in the understanding of competitive factors, but also in the search for measuring systems that can compare tourism destinations (Parra-Lopez & OrejaRodriguez, 2014). There is no method available that can be used to integrate “hard” and “soft” factors into a single index (Dwyer & Kim, 2003). Different studies on the determinants/indices/indicators of tourism destination competitiveness share some common features. This paper adopts the findings of such competitiveness studies and use of such destination competitiveness measuring scales.
SPORT TOURISM Currently, there are a number of authors (such as Hinch, Higham, Hall, Weed, Gibson in Uran Maravić, Bednarik, Pišot, Sedmak, Lesjak & Rameša, 2014), who have dealt with the definition of sports tourism. Slak Valek (2008) in her doctoral thesis, concluded, that for marketing sports tourism in the Slovenian context, the most suitable definition is that sports tourism is a journey that stimulates the individual to temporarily depart from their usual environment with a motive for actively participating in sport, watching sports or visiting sports and tourist attractions. Sports and active tourism covers those tourists who travel with the motive to engage in sports activities, regardless of the sporting discipline. Tourism sporting events includes viewers and visitors to sporting events; staff and professional athletes
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ANALYSIS OF THE COMPETITIVENESS OF SLOVENIAN SPORT TOUR ISM DESTINATIONS
are excluded, because, while they are also part of such sports events, they travel for business purposes. Travelling to attend sports attractions includes all those tourists who visit for the purpose of viewing sports attractions (Hall of Fame, Olympic and other stadiums, sports museums, etc.) for their own personal motives. We must emphasise that what is discussed here is sport tourism as a part of leisure tourism while sport business tourism is not included. It is necessary to include the business aspect of sports tourism, which can be classified into such sport tourism products as sports preparation (professional athletes), sports camps (educational aims), outdoor learning courses, sport camps for children. Gammon and Ramshaw (2013) also defined sport tourism and classified it in two forms: hard and soft. The soft definition of sport tourism describes sports tourists as those traveling for leisure or recreational reasons while engaging in sports such as hiking or kayaking. The hard definition covers participants of competitive events, for example FIFA World Cup, F1 Grand Prix, the Olympic Games etc. Gammon and Ramshaw (2013) also believe that sports museums, halls of fame, awards, thematic events for former or active athletes are additional tourism products, which also have great potential.
METHODOLOGY Following and adopting the model developed by Omerzel Gomezelj & Mihalic (2008), a survey was conducted to determine the competitiveness of destinations, comparing them to other Slovenian destinations and to foreign destinations. As suggested by Omerzel Gomezelj & Mihalic (2008), a set of indicators of destination competitiveness was chosen. Special emphasis was given to sports supply. Most indicators of macro environment were omitted. The survey was administered from July to September 2014. Respondents were managers at local and regional tourism organisations in Slovenia. The whole instrument consisted of 60 items. In total, 38 fully completed questionnaires were returned, 20 for comparison with domestic destinations and 18 for comparison with foreign destinations. The respondents amount to 83% of all overnight stays in Slovenia, so we can say that the sample is sufficiently representative. The respondents were asked to rate a series of statements (on a 5-point Likert scale, for each of the 60 competitiveness indicators). The ratings ranged from
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
one (well below average) to five (well above average). For clearer assessment of respondents’ assessments to the indicators, the results are grouped into the seven categories. For each of these groupings, tables were produced, where mean and standard deviation for each group are displayed together. The SPSS standard package for personal computers was used for this purpose. At this stage, items were tested for normality. We did not test for other assumptions due to using a standard scale. Based on the research questions for this study, seven hypotheses were proposed to determine the differences between destination competitiveness, domestically or abroad. One hypotheses was added to address the question of whether destinations were more competitive in terms of sport or non-sport (tourism) supply. The hypotheses are follows: H1: Destinations are more competitive domestically than abroad in the field of Transport. H2: Destinations are more competitive domestically than abroad in the field of Hospitality. H3: Destinations are more competitive domestically than abroad in the field of Primary supply. H4: Destinations are more competitive domestically than abroad in the field of Secondary supply. H5: Destinations are more competitive domestically than abroad in the field of Sport supply. H6: Destinations are more competitive domestically than abroad in the field of Tourist services. H7: Destinations are more competitive domestically than abroad in the field of Destination image. H8: Destinations are more competitive in non-sport than sport supply.
RESULTS Table 1 presents descriptive statistics for the item groupings. We analysed mean comparison data for domestic destinations with the mean comparison data for foreign destinations for each grouping. For that purpose, eight new variables were introduced. The new variables were computed through SPSS procedures as
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ANALYSIS OF THE COMPETITIVENESS OF SLOVENIAN SPORT TOUR ISM DESTINATIONS
total mean of individual groupings. That was followed by independent T-test to check the hypothesis (Table 2). Table 1. Descriptive statistics
Transport Hospitality Primary supply Secondary supply Sport supply Support services Image Non-sport supply Competitiveness total
Destination
N
Mean
Std. Deviation
Std. Error Mean
Slovenian
20
3.3900
.72104
.16123
Foreign
18
2.7333
.67213
.15842
Slovenian
20
3.4500
.65172
.14573
Foreign
18
2.9000
.67650
.15945
Slovenian
20
4.0000
.51866
.11598
Foreign
18
3.6111
.79418
.18719
Slovenian
20
2.9150
.65556
.14659
Foreign
18
2.4889
.73155
.17243
Slovenian
20
2.8519
.65251
.14591
Foreign
18
2.4274
.63513
.14970
Slovenian
20
3.4286
.65219
.14583
Foreign
18
3.0635
.81142
.19125
Slovenian
20
3.1250
1.13410
.25359
Foreign
18
2.3472
.92410
.21781
Slovenian
20
3.3848
.53313
.11921
Foreign
18
2.8573
.59545
.14035
Slovenian
20
3.3086
.52818
.11811
Foreign
18
2.7959
.57495
.13552
Source: Own calculations.
The Transport grouping consisted of five items, measuring competitiveness in terms of destination accessibility with different modes of transportation. The items were: accessibility by air, road accessibility, railway accessibility, transport from airport to destination and price competitiveness of air travel. The mean value in Transport grouping is 3.39 and is higher when comparing their own destination to other domestic destinations. The T-test proved that the difference was statistically significant. We can confirm H1.
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
Table 2. Independent T-test T-test for Equality of Means Group
Sig. Mean Std. Error (2-tailed) Difference Difference
95% Confidence Interval of the Difference
t
df
Lower
Upper
Transport
2.894
36
.006
.65667
.22690
.19650
1.11683
Hospitality
2.551
36
.015
.55000
.21558
.11279
.98721
Primary supply
1.805
36
.079
.38889
.21546
-.04809
.82587
Secondary supply
1.894
36
.066
.42611
.22498
-.03018
.88240
Sport supply
2.028
36
.050
.42457
.20935
-.00001
.84915
Support services
1.536
36
.133
.36508
.23773
-.11705
.84721
Image
2.301
36
.027
.77778
.33796
.09236
1.46320
Non-sport supply
2.881
36
.007
.52742
.18305
.15618
.89867
36
.007
.51273
.17894
.14982
.87563
Competitiveness 2.865 total Source: Own calculations.
The Hospitality grouping consisted of five items: hotel accommodation, other accommodation facilities, price of accommodation services, food and drink and the price of food service. The mean value of all the items in the Hospitality grouping were higher in terms of being more domestically competitive (mean 3.45) than for abroad (mean 2.90) and the difference was statistically significant. We can confirm H2. The Primary tourism supply grouping consisted of three items: natural attractions, cultural attractions and fees for visits to natural and cultural attractions. The mean values for all the items in the Primary tourism supply grouping were higher (mean 4). The T-test showed that the difference was not statistically significant. It is interesting that in other studies, there is an emerging trend in high value for the primary tourist supply (natural and cultural attractions), but it is also clear that these resources are not optimally exploited. We cannot confirm H3. The Secondary tourism supply grouping consisted of 10 items: shopping, festivals, MICE, theatre, cultural events, museums and galleries, casinos, nightlife, amusement parks and fees for visit of the attractions. The mean value for all the items in the Secondary tourism supply grouping was higher for the destination
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ANALYSIS OF THE COMPETITIVENESS OF SLOVENIAN SPORT TOUR ISM DESTINATIONS
when compared with other domestic destinations than if it was compared with destinations abroad. The T-test showed that the difference was not statistically significant. We cannot confirm H4. Respondents were asked to assess how well sport tourism products are represented in their destination. The Sport tourism supply grouping consisted of 26 items: sport sites, sport events, supply of active holidays, ski slopes, cross-country skiing, hiking, biking, golf, tennis, climbing sites, cave activities, sailing, rafting, kayak, canoeing, fishing, swimming sites, adrenaline activities, sport animation programs, professional sports preparation programs, sport camps, team building programs, medical sport tourism, sport museums, sport shops, sport equipment rentals, sport agencies and charges for sport activities. On average, respondents believe that the Sport tourism supply in their destinations is more competitive domestically than abroad. The T-test proved that the difference was statistically significant. We can confirm H5. The Support tourist services grouping consisted of 8 seven items: information in the Tourist Information Centre (TIC), information on sport tourism products in the TIC, tourist information on the web and in printed media, sport tourism product information on the web and printed media, organised visits to tourist attractions, tourist animation and tourist information in travel agencies in the tourists’ home towns. The mean value for all items in the Support tourist services grouping was higher for domestic destinations (mean 3.42) than for foreign destinations (mean 3.06). The T-test proved that the difference was not statistically significant. We cannot confirm H6. The Destination image grouping consisted of items related to perceptions of the destination’s image. These items were image of the tourist destination, image of the destination’s tourist products, global visibility of tourist products and global visibility of the destination’s sport tourist products. The mean value of all items in the Destination image grouping was higher for the destination when compared with other domestic destinations than for foreign destinations. The T-test proved that the difference was statistically significant. We can confirm H7. An extra variable was added. This variable consisted of all non-sport items. We wanted to know whether the destinations were more competitive for sport supply versus other tourism supply. The results indicated a higher mean value for non-sport supply – or in other words – the respondents believe that they are more competitive for tourism supply than for sport tourism supply. We can confirm H8.
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION The mean value for all 60 items was higher where the destination was compared with other domestic destinations, than if it was compared with foreign destinations. The T-test proved that the difference was statistically significant. We can confirm the general hypothesis that destinations are more competitive domestically than abroad as assessed by the respective group of respondents. One of the major goals of this research was to develop and test the validity of an instrument for micro destination competitiveness in sport tourism supply, especially for content validity. We see many opportunities for further research, especially in the context of further testing the instrument for its reliability and validity. We strongly believe that this instrument is an essential tool for any kind of strategic development activity for sport tourism destinations. The link between sport and tourism in tourist-developed countries is growing stronger, which is also reflected in tourist product design. This is not just a temporary trend in modern tourism development. In this respect, Slovenia is lagging behind competing countries, as it has not yet prepared a strategy for how best to develop and market Slovenia as a sports tourism destination. The fact remains that in Slovenia, sports tourism is one of the main tourism products (RNUST 2007-11, Strategy for Development of Tourism 2012-16). It is true that Slovenia is diverse and offers a variety of tourism products, but it is not known for a single product or tourist attraction that can be immediately identified as Slovenian. Sport tourism products would definitely help to position Slovenia better on the international tourist market. The results of this study will help to identify and overcome the key obstacles to the development of tourism and sports supply.
REFERENCES Cracolici, M. F., & Nijkamp, P. (2008). The attractiveness and competitiveness of tourist destinations: A study of southern Italian regions. Tourism Management, 30, 336-344. Crouch, G. I., & Ritchie, J. R. (1999). Tourism competitiveness and social prosperity. Journal of Business Research, 44 (3), 137-152. Gammon, S., & Ramshaw, G. (2013). Nostalgia and sport. In A. Fyall & B. Garrod (Eds.). Contemporary Cases in Sport (pp. 201-220). Oxford: Goodfellow Publishers.
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Dwyer, L., & Kim, C. (2003). Destination competitiveness: determinants and indicators. Current Issues in Tourism, 6 (5), 369-414. Omerzel Gomezelj, D., & Mihalic, T. (2008). Destination competitiveness: applying different models, the case of Slovenia. Tourism management 29 (2), 294-307. Parra-Lopez, E., & Oreja-Rodriguez, J. R. (2014). Evaluation of the competiveness of tourist zones of an island destination: An application of a Many-Facet Rasch Model. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management 3, 114-121. Slak Valek, N. (2008).The suitability of tourism supply of destination for a sports-active tourist demand: doctoral dissertation. Ljubljana: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics. Uran Maravić, M. Bednarik, J. Pišot, R., Sedmak, M., Lesjak, M. & Rameša, M. (2014). Analysis of sport tourism in Slovenia. Ljubljana: Slovenia Tourist Board.
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GROWTH OF SPORT INDUSTRY AND CREATION OF NEW JOBS JoĹže JENĹ TERLE
INTRODUCTION
European Union countries defined the future development policy of sport in EU in several documents. The Lisbon Treaty (2007) encompassed basic definition of sport policy, defining the coordinating and supporting role of European Commission. The Commission addressed sport and sport-related issues comprehensively in the White Paper on Sport. The Paper analysis and partially explains the economic dimension of sport. The European Commission Communication (2011) invited the European Parliament and the European Council of Ministers to support activities in the sport sector and the Council invited member states and the Commission to set up an expert group, which would work on solutions and proposition for sustainable financing of sport. In December 2012, the Group proposed specific recommendations on removing barriers to sport at grassroots level and to professional sport. In 2014 The European Commission launched an initiative for accepting EU measures for growth of sport industry and creation of new jobs. High-level meetings laid out the approach strategy and the expert group designed proposals for measures aiming to: a) maximizing the efficiency of sport infrastructure, b) fostering the competitiveness of sportrelated industry through innovation and internationalization and c) maximizing the spill-over effect on growth and employment. The author prepared this article
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
gradually from 2012 to 2015, using data, sources and ideas from (1) International Association of Sport and Leisure Infrastructure Management (IASLIM) research and development analyses materials for designing MPSI Evaluation system of sport and leisure infrastructure investment and management, (2) several consultancy work conclusions, analysing and evaluating sport and leisure infrastructure and preparing recommendations for improving and upgrading infrastructure in Spain (Barcelona), Slovenia (sport centers in 52 municipalities), Italy (Torino), Montenegro (sport centers in 6 towns), Russia (Novosibirsk), Chile (Santiago) and Poland (Warsaw and Szczecin), which were performed by IASLIM and partners and (3) research and development materials and documentation for European Commission initiative on growth of sport industry and creation of new jobs and action plan for the sport-related industry, prepared by FESI, Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry, IASLIM and other stakeholders in the economic sector of sport and sport-related industries.
SPORT The Vilnius Definition of Sport defines sport in three stages. Central definition is NACE sector 92.6. The two other definitions are Narrow Definition and Broader Definition. Broad Definition Narrow Definition NACE Statistical Definition
Scheme 1: Definitions of sport
NACE Statistical Definition The Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community, commonly referred to as NACE, is a European industry standard classification
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GROWTH OF SPORT INDUSTRY AND CR EATION OF NEW JOBS
system consisting of a 6 digit code. Within the NACE framework of economic sectors there was entry »92.6 Sporting activities«, but this was limited to »92.61 Operation of sport arenas and stadiums« and »92.62 Other sporting activities«. This was 92.6 in NACE 1.1. and is now the corresponding »93.1. Sport activities« in NACE 2.0.
Narrow Definition The first extension of NACE Statistical Definition covers all businesses, which are necessary to do sport (for example production, wholesale and retail of sport equipment), basically the industrial sectors which produce sport as an output.
Broad Definition The second extention of NACE Statistical Definition contains all businesses, which have sport as input (for example hotels have sportsmen as guest, sport events are shown on TV and people can bet on the outcome of these events). Some businesses are borderline cases. Big sport events have to have insurance, thus insurance business can be interpreted as an input to sport. But the main character of insurances businnes is not sport related (it is possible to play tennis without insurance), therefore this business was enlisted in broad definition. Technically speaking, the Vilnious Definition itself is a list of 124 businesses identified by NACE. For each of these businesses the definition is given (e.g. production of tennis rackets is in the Narrow Definiton, thus also in the Broad Definition, but not in the Statistical Definition).
SPORT INDUSTRY Broad Definition of sport includes all upstream industries that produce goods, services and works needed for sport, and the downstream industries which use sport as a significant input - media, tourism, advertising, etc. As a whole, the sports sector is a dynamic and fast-growing industry and significantly contributes to growth and jobs. According to different studies, the share of sport-related gross value added (GVA) of the total EU GVA varies from 1.76% to 3 % for the broad definition of sport. Direct employment in sport (upstream and downstream
33
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
industries) is 4.5 million people, representing 2.1 % of the EU total employment. Total employment generated by sports activities in its broad interpretation is 7.3 million and is equivalent to 3.5 % of total EU employment. These figures confirm that sport is an important economic sector in the EU, and plays significant role in national economies. Its current impact, which is expected to rise in the future, is comparable with that of the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors combined.
Scheme 2: Sport in upstream and downstream industries.
The supply chain of sport The supply chain in sport represents an economic process that stimulates development and innovations in the sport industry and related industries, ranging from the production of goods and services needed for sport to businesses, for which sport is an important input (such as media, advertising, tourism). This chain includes all upstream industries producing goods and services needed for sport, and downstream industries for which sport is an important input - media, tourism, advertising, ‌ The supply chain depicted under is based on this broad definition of sport.
Scheme 3: The supplay chain in sport industry (Source: Study on the contribution of sport to economic growth and employment in the EU’ for DG EAC)
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GROWTH OF SPORT INDUSTRY AND CR EATION OF NEW JOBS
Gross value added and employment generated by sport activities Gross value added Upstream and downstream sport industries with multiplier effects to other industries, which are not part of this supply chain, generate € 294 bn of gross value added. The contribution of sport industries to total EU gross value added is 3 %. Upstream industries generate more value added (€ 137 bn) than downstream industries (€ 108 bn). Practising sport generates less value added (€ 49 bn).
Scheme 4: Gross value added in sport industries (Source: Study on the contribution of sport to economic growth and employment in the EU’ for DG EAC)
Employment Upstream or downstream sport industries directly employ 4,5 million people, which represent 2,1 % of the EU workforce. The total employment generated by sports activities is 7,3 million, which represent 3,5 % of total EU employment. Sport industries are more labor intensive than other industries, because the percentage of total employment (3,5 %) is higher than percentage of gross value added (3 %). The consequence of these relations is that growth in the wider sportrelated economy generates more employment than growth in the economy as a whole. Moreover, every new job in the sport supply chain generates 0.65 new jobs in related industries outside the supply chain. The 2012 study of European Commission shows that direct employment in broadly defined sport industry in Luxemburg is 5,6 % (19.000 employees), in Austria 5,4 % (206.000 employees), in Germany 3,2 %, Finland 3,1 %, Slovenia 3,0 %. These are countries with higher share in total workforce than EU 27 average. Lithuania has 1,1%, which is the lowest share of employees directly employed in sport-related businesses.
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
Scheme 5: Direct jobs in sport industries (Source: Study on the contribution of sport to economic growth and employment in the EU’ for DG EAC)
THE EUROPEAN UNION MARKET FOR SPORT PRODUCT & ARTICLES The retail market for sport products & articles is an important upstream activity. According to the 2012 study, retail sales of sport articles in the EU amounted to more than € 61 bn in 2005, ranging from less than € 20 per capita in Bulgaria, Poland and Romania, to more than € 300 per capita in Luxembourg. The largest markets for sport articles are the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain. These days, most sport articles are manufactured in Asia, but majority of its the design takes place in the EU and there are positive effects for suppliers in the EU: industries such as rubber, plastics, metals and textiles benefit from increasing demand for sport goods. Where EU producers are involved as suppliers, they often produce more sophisticated and advanced inputs to the sport industry than their non-EU competitors. The EU has an important role to play as enforcer of intellectual property rights: last year alone, customs officials in the EU seized counterfeit sport shoes worth more than € 36.5 million.
IMPACT ON SELECTED SECTORS EU gross value added of sport industry (only the direct effects) in 2012 was € 174 bn. Services sectors generated € 127 bn, which represented 73 % of the gross value added in sport industry. Manufacturing sectors generated € 20.6 bn, which is 11.8 %. Other sectors produce € 26.4 bn and represents 15.2 %.
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GROWTH OF SPORT INDUSTRY AND CR EATION OF NEW JOBS
EU Sport indistry sectors gross value added
15%
€ 127.0 bn - Services sectors
12%
€ 20.6 bn - Manufactoring sectors 73%
€ 26,4 bn - Other sectors
Scheme 6: EU Sport industry sectors gross value added
Services sectors shares in EU Sport industry gross value added € 53 bn -Recreational cultural and sporting services € 22 bn - Education 27%
€ 21 bn - Hotels and restaurants
30%
€ 9 bn - Health and social work services 8%
€ 8 bn - Retail trade, without motor vehicles, motorcycles, repair services
23%
5% 5%
12%
€ 14 bn - Other services sectors € 47 bn - Other sectors
Scheme 7: Services sectors shares in EU Sport industry gross value added
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
Based on the broad definition of sport and including only direct effects, most of the value added is generated in Germany, followed by UK, France, Italy and Austria.
Sport tourism This is a special form of tourism. It encompasses: (1) travelling outside of one’s usual environment, (2) passive or active involvement in competitive sport, where sport is the prime motivational reason for travelling and (3) the touristic or leisure overall experience. It is estimated that on average, 12 to 15 million international trips are made worldwide each year for the main purpose of watching sport events. This niche market in tourism is expected to grow around 6 % per year for the next several years. Nearly one out of each ten euros of value-added generated in Europe by sports activities is made by the hotel and catering industry: € 17 billion out of a total of € 174 billion. The main countries of origin of sport tourists in EU are the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. Moreover, an indirect effect of sport events is that major tourist destinations are developing products around pleasure sports to attract more tourists. International sport events, and in particular competitions and tournaments, generate not only flows of visitors and income, but also interest in destinations. Conversely, promoting a destination in the light of a sport event raises the profile of that event, as well as of the EU sport industry, with clear benefits for the visitor economy of the country concerned. Recent examples include last year’s Olympic Games (31.1 million visits made to the UK in 2012) and UEFA Euro 2012 (a million visitors to Poland and Ukraine during this event). Member States are well positioned in this regard, as sport events are frequently hosted in the EU. For many years, Europe ranked high in terms of the number of sports events it organised. Now, new competitors with huge markets have emerged, challenging Europe’s attractiveness for hosting sports events. However, organising a big event does not automatically mean that the hosting country will maximise the returns on related tourism. Therefore, another issue to address is, whether Europe is fully exploiting its potential for attracting sport tourism. Sport and tourism are closely linked. When sport is the prime motivation for travelling, leisure activities will reinforce the overall experience. Sport tourism has therefore positive spill-over effects on the rest of the economy. Of course, any administrative difficulties in the country to be visited (in issuing
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GROWTH OF SPORT INDUSTRY AND CR EATION OF NEW JOBS
visas, for instance) can deter tourists from visiting the country. Well-managed sport events will contribute to the structural expansion of tourism, and will boost sport-related industries. Another aspect to explore is the importance of regularly practised sport-tourism (such as skiing, trekking, etc.) for the economies of Member States. For instance, about half of Austria’s tourism revenue is sport-related. During the winter season, only much larger countries (Spain, Germany, UK, and Italy) report more overnight stays than Austria. The European Commission supports strongly sport tourism. Through COSME programme it finance projects, which: 1) increase tourism demand; 2) diversify tourism; 3) strengthen the quality, sustainability and accessibility of tourism, and related skills, information and innovation; 4) improve socio-economic knowledge in the sector; and 5) increase Europe’s visibility as a tourist destination. To promote diversified tourism, the EU’s macro-regional strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR) has a specific pillar on sustainable tourism, aiming to integrate diversified forms of tourism (such as cycling and sports tourism) into wider regional development strategies. Austria This alpine country in Central Europe has one of the most developed sport tourism industry in the World. Based on the evaluation of how important tourism is to one’s national economy, The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) places Austria on the 20th place amongst 184 countries. The Council estimates that in Austria tourism alone will make € 22.8 billion in 2015, which will represent 5.8 % of Gross Domestic Product. With multiplication effect on the other sectors of national economy it will reach 13.6 % of GDP. Tourist industry provides 229.000 jobs. That is 5.3 % of all employment in the country. Most of the Austria’s tourism is somehove connected with sport industry. Estimation is that 26 million tourists will visit Austria. Over half will be recreational sports(wo)men and families in winter ski centers, tourists in recreational & sport related programs and visitors of sport & recreation & cultural events. Investors will invest € 3.2 billion in the new facilities, technologies, programs and services. Slovenia It is neighbouring country of Austria. It is located in the Alpe - Adria Region (Alps, Karst, Pannonia, wetlands). The country has no highly developed sport
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
tourism industry. Based on evaluation of tourism in national economy, the WTTC places Slovenia on the 76th place amongst 184 countries. Tourism alone will make € 1.3 billion in 2015, which will represent 3.7 % of Gross Domestic Product. With multiplication effect it will reach 12.7 % in GDP. Tourist industry provides 31.500 jobs. That is 4.0 % of all the jobs in the country. Less than one fifth of the Slovenia’s tourism is connected with sport industry. The offer of recreational and sport destinations, programs, services and events for sports(wo)men, families, professional athletes and clubs and sport fans is not adequately developed, although the country has natural and human resources and appropriate sport and leisure infrastructure. Investments in the new facilities, technologies, programs and services are estimated to be € 739 million.
INNOVATIONS Research and development work and constant innovations are characteristical for the sport industry. Innovations flow in both directions: sport benefits from breakthroughs in other sectors, while at the same time giving rise to innovations that are subsequently taken up in other sectors. We categorise innovations in three groups. The categorization is based on evaluation of the competitive element, rule enforcement or spectators. The first group of innovations is stimulated by the need to enable athletes to produce better results, which is the most obvious driver of innovation in sport. Examples of such innovations include new materials (nanocomposites, shape memory alloys, carbon nanotubes, self-healing polymers, technical textiles, etc.), new and improved sport products (shoes, clothes, skis, bikes, boats, rackets, poles, etc.) but also new sport nutrition and drinks. The second category of innovations represent the need to ensure that rules are properly and fairly applied, not just during sport events (e.g. refereeing) but also in the run-up and following events (e.g. doping controls). There is a growing trend towards computer-assisted tools to enable referees to make as accurate decisions as possible. In such cases, the input comes either from advanced computer vision and pattern recognition, or from sensors embedded in clothes, balls or other equipment. The third group of innovations is aimed in the improvement of the spectator experience, not only for those attending sport events but also for spectators
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GROWTH OF SPORT INDUSTRY AND CR EATION OF NEW JOBS
enjoying the same events elsewhere (radio, TV and other media). These two groups of spectators have some challenges and needs in common, such as the need for information and customisation. The two needs can often be satisfied simultaneously by new technological tools, giving each spectator a unique experience of an event: replays on command, views from different angles, historical and statistical information. Other needs, such as comfort, safety and security, are not shared by the two groups of spectators and need to be addressed separately. Innovations in ergonomics, wireless networks, microclimate environments, and closed-circuit security cameras have contributed to making the spectator experience safer, more comfortable and more secure. These three groups of innovations have made sport technology a leader in several fields of applied science: new materials, textile technology, mechanic of human motion, sensors, actuators, human-oriented design, and others. Innovations in the sport industry spill over to other sectors, thereby benefiting the entire EU economy directly and indirectly.
SPORT INDUSTRY AS A GROWTH ENGINE FOR EU ECONOMY Sport industry represents an important sector in the European Union economy. Its share in the national economies is comparable to agriculture, forestry and fisheries combined. We anticipate that its share and influence to the growth of European economy and creation of new jobs will rise in the future. Overall the sports sector accounts for 2% of the EU global GDP, while the total employment generated by sports activities is 7.3 million-equivalent to 3.5% of the total EU employment. Despite these impressive figures, the economic impact of the sportrelated industries is still underestimated.
PROPOSALS FOR CONCRETE ACTIONS TO FOSTER SPORT AND SPORT-RELATED INDUSTRIES IN EUROPE Sport and leisure infrastructure operators support the European Commission initiative to foster sport industry growth and creation of new jobs with concrete measures for implementation of three main objectives:
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
1. Maximising efficiency of investment in sport and leisure infrastructure Sustainable development of local communities, sport, leisure and infrastructure must be feasible with (1) research work and development projects, (2) standardization of planning, construction, management, maintenance and usage sport and leisure programs and infrastructure, (3) improvement of efficiency of investment in sport infrastructure, (4) development of sport and recreational tourist programs, events and destinations, (5) transfer of knowledge and professional training of managers, (6) promotion of best practices, (7) supporting foundation of sport industry clusters, (8) facilitating the creation of public-private partnerships and (9) “innovative public procurement� under Horizon 2010.
2. Fostering the competitiveness of sports-related industries The sport industry is very innovative, especially in close collaboration with other industries (textiles, electronics, aerospace, etc.). Investment in innovative goods for sport must be protected with the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Free trade and investment agreements (FTAs) between the EU and third countries are critical to improve the market access conditions of EU sport-related industries. Against this background, a set of actions are proposed, including: developing studies on the effectiveness and sustainability of sporting events in Europe, promoting synergies at EU level, encouraging Member states to take full benefit of the funding possibilities from European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Moreover, Member states should exchange best practices with transfer of knowledge and professional training of managers. The European Commission should support foundation of sport industry clusters and collaboration across Member States, develop case studies about new trends and opportunities and consider sport-related industries' needs when negotiating bilateral FTAs. Major sports event in third countries should represent promotion of European sports industries, programs, events and destinations.
3. Enabling demand for sports and recreational activities and related goods and maximizing the spillover effects of sports on growth and employment Sport industry sustains creation of jobs, because every new job in the sport supply chain generates 0.65 new jobs in related industries outside the supply chain. Sectors
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GROWTH OF SPORT INDUSTRY AND CR EATION OF NEW JOBS
with the highest multipliers are found in the construction branch and in tourismrelated sectors. Against this background, a set of actions are envisaged including: exploiting COSME funding possibilities, supporting enterprises operating in the “app economy”, creating specific agencies at regional level to facilitate the organization of sporting events and adopt measures to facilitate sport-related tourism activities. The EU together with Member states and other stakeholders shall also encourage tourism from third countries to Europe at the occasion of major sport events and, finally, consider whether to follow up the recommendations of the Expert Group on the sustainable financing on sports on reviews of the VAT system to take into account the specific nature of sport.
PROPOSALS FOR CONCRETE ACTIONS TO CREATE NEW JOBS European Union and Member States implement long-term development strategy through programmes and funds, which provide support and funding to different stakeholders, which enable sustainable development, high economic growth and creation of jobs. Multiannual financial framework 2014-2020 allocate funds to the programmes for competitiveness for growth and jobs: (1) Connecting Europe Facility, (2) Heading: Competitiveness for growth and jobs Total amount: € 21 936,76 million (current prices) Aims: the Connecting Europe Facility supports the development of highperforming, sustainable and efficiently interconnected trans-European networks in the field of energy, telecommunications and transport; building missing crossborder links and removing bottlenecks along main trans-European transport corridors. The Connecting Europe Facility will allow the construction of projects that would not be taken up by the market otherwise. In addition, a centrally managed infrastructure fund will minimise administrative burden and decrease the costs for the EU budget by promoting synergies. Legal bases: Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 establishing the Connecting Europe Facility Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network
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Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure Regulation (EU) No 283/2014 on guidelines for trans-European networks in the area of telecommunications infrastructure More information: Mobility and Transport website Energy website Gigital Agenda for Europe website Consumer Programme Heading: Security and citizenship Total amount: € 188,83 million (current prices) Aims: the Consumer Programme helps citizens to fully enjoy their consumer rights and to actively participate in the Single Market. The programme focuses on four areas: monitoring and enforcing product safety; consumer information and education; consumer rights and effective redress; strengthening enforcement cross-border. Legal basis: Regulation (EU) No 254/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on a multiannual consumer programme for the years 2014-20 More information: Consumers website Copernicus, (3) Heading: Competitiveness for growth and jobs Total amount: € 4 291,48 million (current prices) Aims: Copernicus is a European system for monitoring the Earth. It ensures the regular observation and monitoring of Earth sub-systems, the atmosphere, oceans, and continental surfaces, and provides reliable, validated and guaranteed information in support of a broad range of environmental and security applications and decisions. Legal basis: Regulation (EU) No 377/2014 establishing the Copernicus Programme More information: Enterprise and Industry website Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs (COSME), (4) Heading: Competitiveness for growth and jobs Total amount: € 2 298,24 million (current prices) Aims: the COSME programme supports the competitiveness, growth
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and sustainability of EU's enterprises, in particular SMEs, and promoting entrepreneurship. To reach these goals, the programme eases SME's access to finance by providing loan guarantees and risk-capital. It facilitates access to new markets inside and outside the EU and reduces the administrative burden on SMEs. Legal basis: Regulation (EU) No 1287/2013 establishing a Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (COSME) More information: Enterprise and Industry website Customs, Taxation and Fight against Fraud, (5) Heading: Competitiveness for growth and jobs Total amount: â‚Ź 908,01 million (current prices) Aims: Customs and taxation: the Customs 2020 programme supports the functioning and modernisation of the Customs Union. The Fiscalis 2020 programme supports the functioning of the taxation systems in the Union and in particular the fight against tax fraud, tax evasion and aggressive tax planning. Both programmes achieve this objective by funding a highly secured communication network allowing exchange of information between national customs and tax administrations and by promoting knowledge-sharing and networking between officials of the EU countries' customs and tax authorities. Fight against fraud: the Pericles 2020 programme aims at combating eurocounterfeiting in Europe and worldwide. It funds exchanges, assistances and training for authorities, banks and others involved in the protection of euro coins and banknotes. The Hercule III programme is dedicated to fighting fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities affecting the financial interests of the EU, including the fight against cigarette smuggling and counterfeiting. The programme helps national law enforcement authorities in their fight against illegal cross-border activities by financing technical and operational support and professional training activities. Legal bases: Regulation (EU) No 1294/2013 establishing an action programme for customs in the European Union for the period 2014-2020 (Customs 2020) Regulation (EU) No 1286/2013 establishing an action programme to improve the operation of taxation systems in the European Union for the period 2014-2020 (Fiscalis 2020):
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Regulation (EU) No 331/2014 establishing an exchange, assistance and training programme for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting (the 'Pericles 2020' programme) Regulation (EU) No 250/2014 establishing a programme to promote activities in the field of the protection of the financial interests of the European Union (Hercule III programme) More information: Taxation and Customs Union website European Anti-Fraud Office Creative Europe Heading: Security and citizenship Total amount: € 1 462,72 million (current prices) Aims: the Creative Europe programme supports European cinema and cultural and creative sector. It supports tens of thousands of artists, cultural professionals and cultural organisations in the performing arts, fine arts, publishing, film, TV, music, interdisciplinary arts, heritage, and the video games industry, allowing them to operate across Europe, to reach new audiences and to develop the skills that are needed in the digital age. By helping European cultural works to reach new audiences in other countries, the programme contributes to safeguarding and promoting Europe's cultural and linguistic diversity. Legal basis: Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013 establishing the Creative Europe Programme More information: Creative Europe website Development Cooperation Instrument Heading: Global Europe Total amount: € 19 661,64 million (current prices) Aims: the Development Cooperation Instrument focuses on combating poverty in developing countries. It also contributes to the achievement of other objectives of EU external action, in particular fostering sustainable economic, social and environmental development as well as promoting democracy, the rule of law, good governance and respect for human rights. Legal bases: Regulation (EU) No 233/2014 establishing a financing instrument for
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development cooperation for the period 2014-2020 Regulation (EU) No 236/2014 laying down common rules and procedures for the implementation of the Union's instruments for financing external action More information: Development and Cooperation website Employment and Social innovation Programme, (6) Heading: Competitiveness for growth and jobs Total amount: € 919,47 million (current prices) Aims: the Employment and Social innovation Programme supports employment and social policies across the EU. The programme supports Member States efforts in the design and implementation of employment and social reforms at European, national as well as regional and local levels by means of policy coordination and the identification, analysis and sharing of best practices. Legal basis: Regulation (EU) No 1296/2013 on a European Union Programme for Employment and Social Innovation and establishing a European Progress Microfinance Facility for employment and social inclusion More information: Employment, Social affairs and Inclusion website EU Aid Volunteers Heading: Global Europe Total amount: € 147,94 million (current prices) Aims: the EU Aid Volunteers project provides a practical training for humanitarian volunteers and ensures their deployment in EU funded humanitarian aid operations worldwide. Legal basis: Regulation (EU) No 375/2014 establishing the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps ("EU Aid Volunteers initiative") More information: Humanitarian aid and Civil protection website EU Civil Protection and European Emergency Response Coordination Centre Heading: Global Europe Total amount: € 144,65 million (current prices) Aims: the Civil Protection Mechanism coordinates the EU's response to natural and man-made disasters within and outside the Union. Legal basis: Decision No 1313/2013/EU on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism More information: Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection website
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European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights Heading: Global Europe Total amount: € 1 332,75 million (current prices) Aims: the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights provides support for the promotion of democracy and human rights in non-EU countries. Legal bases: Regulation (EU) No 235/2014 establishing a financing instrument for democracy and human rights worldwide Regulation (EU) No 236/2014 establishing common rules and procedures for the implementation of the Union's instruments for external action More information: Development and Cooperation website European Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Heading: Sustainable Growth: Natural Resources Total amount: € 7 404,84 million (current prices) of which: European Maritime and Fisheries Fund: € 6 396,6 million (current prices) Aims: the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is a set of rules for managing European fishing fleets and for conserving fish stocks. The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund supports the implementation of the CFP with the necessary financial resources. The fund focuses on funding projects which promote a sustainable future for the European fishing industry and coastal communities with particular focus on the rebuilding of fish stocks, reducing the impact of fisheries on the marine environment, and the progressive elimination of wasteful discarding practices. Legal bases: Regulation on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy More information: Fisheries website Erasmus+, (7) Heading: Competitiveness for growth and jobs Total amount: € 14 774,52 million (current prices) Aims: Erasmus+ aims at boosting skills and employability. The programme will increase the quality and relevance of Europe’s education systems by providing
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funding for the professional development of education and training staff, as well as youth workers and for cooperation between universities, colleges, schools, enterprises, and NGOs. Legal basis: Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 establishing "Erasmus +": the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport More information: Erasmus+ website European neighbourhood Instrument Heading: Global Europe Total amount: € 15 432,63 million (current prices) Aims: the European neighbourhood Instrument promotes enhanced political cooperation and progressive economic integration between the Union and its neighbouring countries. Legal bases Regulation (EU) No 232/2014 establishing a European Neighbourhood Instrument Regulation (EU) No 236/2014 establishing common rules and procedures for the implementation of the Union's instruments for external action More information: Development and Cooperation website Europe for Citizens Heading: Security and citizenship Total amount: € 185,47 million (current prices) Aims: the Europe for Citizens programme supports activities to increase awareness and citizens' understanding of the EU and of its values and history. The programme will also help people become more engaged in civic and democratic activities through debates and discussions on EU-related issues. Legal basis: Council regulation (EU) No 390/2014 establishing the ‘Europe for Citizens’ programme for the period 2014-2020 More information: Citizenship website Food and feed Heading: Security and citizenship Total amount: € 1 891,94 million (current prices) Aims: the new animal and plant health programme aims at strengthening
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the enforcement of health and safety standards for the whole agri-food chain. The package of measures provide a modernised and simplified approach to the protection of health and more efficient control tools to ensure the effective application of EU agri-food chain rules. Legal basis: Regulation (EU) No 652/2014 laying down provisions for the management of expenditure relating to the food chain, animal health and animal welfare, and relating to plant health and plant reproductive material More information: Health and Consumers website Galileo, (8) Heading: Competitiveness for growth and jobs Total amount: € 7 071,73 million (current prices) Aims: the Galileo programme is Europe's initiative for a state-of-the-art global satellite navigation system, providing a highly accurate, guaranteed global positioning service under civilian control. The fully deployed system will consist of 30 satellites and the associated ground infrastructure. Galileo will be inter-operable with GPS and GLONASS, the two other global satellite navigation systems. Legal basis: Regulation (EU) No 1285/2013 on the implementation and exploitation of European satellite navigation systems More information: Enterprise and Industry website Guarantee fund for External actions Heading: Global Europe Total amount: € 1 193,07 million (current prices) Aims: the Guarantee Fund for external Actions covers defaults on loans and loan guarantees granted to non-EU countries or for projects in non-EU countries. Legal basis: Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 480/2009 establishing a Guarantee Fund for external actions More information: Economic and Financial Affairs website Health Heading: Security and citizenship Total amount: € 449,39 million (current prices) Aims: the EU Health Programme is about fostering health in Europe by encouraging cooperation between Member States to improve the health policies that benefit their citizens. The programme aims at complementing the health
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policies of EU Member States to promote health, reduce health inequalities, protect people from serious cross-border health threats, encourage innovation in health and increase the sustainability of their health systems. Legal basis: Regulation (EU) No 282/2014 on the establishment of a third Programme for the Union's action in the field of health (2014-2020) More information: Public Health website Horizon 2020 and (9) Heading: Competitiveness for growth and jobs Total amount: € 79 401,83 million (current prices) Aims: the Horizon 2020 programme aims at securing Europe's global competitiveness, strengthening its position in science and its industrial leadership in innovation by providing major investment in key technologies, greater access to capital and support for SMEs. The programme aims at tackling societal challenges by helping to bridge the gap between research and the market. Horizon 2020 is designed to be a different kind of EU research programme - funding the entire value creation chain from fundamental research through to market innovation, and with drastically less red tape. Legal bases: Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 establishing Horizon 2020 - the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020) Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013 laying down the rules for participation and dissemination in Horizon 2020 Decision establishing the specific programme implementing Horizon 2020 Regulation (EU) No 1292/2013 establishing the European Institute of Innovation and Technology Decision No 1312/2013/EU on the strategic innovation agenda of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT): the contribution of the EIT to a more innovative Europe More information: Horizon 2020 website Humanitarian aid Heading: Global Europe Total amount: € 147,94 million (current prices) Aims: the aim of the EU humanitarian aid policy is to provide assistance, relief and protection to people outside the EU victims of natural or man-made disasters.
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Legal basis: Council regulation (EC) No 1257/96 concerning humanitarian aid More information: Humanitarian aid and Civil protection website Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC) Heading: Global Europe Total amount: € 225,32 million (current prices) Aims: the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation finances measures to support a higher level of nuclear safety, radiation protection and the application of efficient and effective safeguards of nuclear materials in non-EU countries. Legal basis: Regulation (EURATOM) No 237/2014 establishing an Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation More information: Development and Cooperation website Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II) Heading: Global Europe Total amount: € 11 698,67 million (current prices) Aims: the Instrument for Pre-Accession provides financial support to the enlargement countries in their preparations for EU accession. Legal bases: Regulation (EU) No 231/2014 establishing an Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II) Regulation (EU) No 236/2014 establishing common rules and procedures for the implementation of the Union's instruments for external action More information: Development and Cooperation website Instrument contributing to stability and peace Heading: Global Europe Total amount: € 2 338,72 million (current prices) Aims: the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP) is one of the key external assistance instruments that enable the EU to take a lead in helping to prevent and respond to actual or emerging crises around the world. Legal bases: Regulation (EU) No 230/2014 establishing an instrument contributing to stability and peace Regulation (EU) No 236/2014 establishing common rules and procedures for
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the implementation of the Union's instruments for external action More information: Service for Foreign Policy Instruments Internal Security Fund Heading: Security and citizenship Total amount: € 3 764,23 million (current prices) Aims: the Internal Security Fund supports the implementation of the Internal Security Strategy and the EU approach to law enforcement cooperation, including the management of the union's external borders. Legal bases: Regulation (EU) No 515/2014 establishing, as part of the Internal Security Fund, the instrument for financial support for external borders and visa Regulation (EU) No 513/2014 establishing, as part of the Internal Security Fund, the instrument for financial support for police cooperation, preventing and combating crime, and crisis management More information: Home Affairs website IT systems Heading: Security and citizenship Total amount: € 138,66 million (current prices) EU State authorities need to cooperate on border management to ensure the security of citizens and travellers in the EU. A number of information sharing mechanisms are central to this cooperation: the Visa Information System (VIS) allows Schengen States to exchange visa data; the Schengen Information System (SIS) allows Schengen States to exchange data on suspected criminals, on people who may not have the right to enter into or stay in the EU, on missing persons and on stolen, misappropriated or lost property. More information: Home Affairs website ITER. The sector of sport industry is appropriate economic field to create new jobs with high value added and high spill-over effects on growth and employment to other industries. As such sport industrie should be important part of European Union long-term development strategy.
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Action plan for creation new enterprises and jobs encompasses: –– European Union and national support and funding of research and development work and constant innovations in the sport industry. Project leaders: European Agencies (EACI Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation, EIT European Institute of Innovation and Technology, ERCEA European Research Council Executive Agency, REA Research Executive Agency), Member States Ministries and Agencies, Research Institutes, Universities and Business Schools, Sport Industry Stakeholders. –– Sustainable development of tourist regions (destinations) and support of sport tourism projects. Project leaders: European Agencies (EACI Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation), Member States Ministries and Agencies, Tourist Regions and Municipalities, Tourism Industry Stakeholders. –– National and regional coordination in urban planing and investments in multipurpose local and regional tourist, sport and leisure infrastructure. Project leaders: European Agencies (EEA European Environment Agency), Member States Ministries and Agencies, Regions and Municipalities, Construction Industry Stakeholders. –– Cooperation with international sport federations and clubs in development of sport events. Project leaders: International Sport Federations, Club Associations, Sport Tourism Centers, operators of sport and leisure infrastructure. –– Comprehensive planing and investments in sport industry, especially dynamic (sub)sectors with high growth potentials and high multiplier effects on other industries, such as sport nutrition, technical textile, wearable technologies (clothing, leather and footwear), sport insurance, economic and legal consultancy and many other (sub)sectors with mass consumption services and products. Project leaders: European Agencies (EACI Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation, EIT European Institute of Innovation and Technology, ERCEA European Research Council Executive Agency, REA Research Executive Agency), Member States Ministries and Agencies, Research Institutes, Universities and Business Schools, Sport Industry Stakeholders.
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–– Development of innovative business concepts connected with sport fashion. Project leaders: European Agencies (EACI Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation, EIT European Institute of Innovation and Technology), Research Institutes, Fashion Industry, Sport Industry Stakeholders
REFERENCES White Paper on Sport, European Commission, Brussels, 11. 7. 2007. The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member states on 13. 12. 2007. Jenšterle J. (2014). European Union Sport and Leisure Industry. The European Commission Initiative, high-level meeting documentation, Brussels. Material with limited accessibility. The European Commission Expert Group coordinated by FESI (2014). Towards an action plan for sport-related industry, documentation and memo. Material with limited accessibility. The Austrian Tourism Strategy for 2015, Emphasis on Growth and Employment, Egon Smeral. The Slovenian Tourism Strategy 2012–2016. June 2012. Jenšterle J. (2014). MPSI Evaluation system of sport and leisure infrastructure investment and management. (Manual 37-2014) 2-52. An article in the manual. Jenšterle J. (2005–2014). IASLIM reports, analyses, evaluations and recommendations of sport and leisure infrastructure in Spain (Barcelona), Slovenia (sport centers in 52 municipalities), Italy (Torino), Montenegro (sport centers in 6 towns), Russia (Novosibirsk), Chile (Santiago) and Poland (Warsaw and Szczecin). Materials, reports and manuals in IASLIM archive and web site.
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HERITAGE SPORTING EVENTS AND PLACE MARKETING Jean-Loup CHAPPELET
INTRODUCTION Over the last twenty years, many cities, regions and countries have introduced strategies and policies to systematically host sports events, and allocated human and financial resources to attract elite or mass-participation single-sport or multisport competitions (Chappelet 2006, Mantei 2011, Zakias 2014). Such policies have often been inspired by cities hosting a major event and then seeking ways of reusing facilities built at great cost for the occasion. An early example of this is Sheffield, in England, where a special unit of the council, set up after the city hosted the 1991 Universiades, has brought a whole series of events to the city (Henry 1999). Several urban centers in the UK have now copied this pioneering strategy, supported by the government body UK Sport. The culmination of these strategies was the attribution of the 2012 Olympic Games to London and of the 2014 Commonwealth Games to Glasgow. However, the 1990s saw a huge increase in the number of cities wishing to host major sports events, starting with the Olympics. Bids for the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics were received from only one (Los Angeles) and two (Seoul and Nagoya) cities, respectively. However, the organizational and financial success of Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988 inspired many more cities to consider an Olympic future. As a result, six cities bid for the 1992 Games, awarded to Barcelona, eight cities bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics, awarded to Salt Lake City, and a record eleven cities bid for the 2004 Olympics, awarded to Athens.
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Today, competition to host the Olympic Games and a number of other sports events, such as major championships and the Football World Cup, is so great that entire countries have begun introducing, either explicitly or implicitly, policies to attract sports events. Such countries include Denmark (through Sport Event Denmark), Qatar (via the National Olympic Committee) and Russia (whose prime minister, re-elected president in 2012, takes a personal interest in the matter). Following the Euro 2008 football championships in Switzerland and Austria and the failed bids for the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, Switzerland now has a federal policy for attracting sports events (Weber 2010). France also has a strategic committee for international competitions (CNOSF 2011). Created in 2010, this committee is charged with carrying out feasibility studies for hosting major events and proposing any legislative, regulatory and financial measures needed to maximize France’s chances of being attributed such events. It also includes an “Expertise and International Resources” unit, coordinated by the National Center for Developing Sport, whose tasks include assessing potential bids for major sports events and examining requests for bid subsidies. Paris should bid for the 2024 Olympics together with Boston, Hamburg, Rome and other cities, although the number of Olympic bids has dwindled since the 1990s. As a result of the sometime frantic race to obtain major competitions, many cities and sub-national territories are turning to smaller or less coveted sports events, events in minor sports or trendy events that do not require major infrastructure. This is the case for Lausanne. In the 1990s Lausanne hosted several world championships, under the impetus of former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch (curling 1988 and 2001, badminton 1995, figure skating 1997, gymnastics 1997, triathlon 1998, chess 1998, etc.). Today, Lausanne focusses on less-prestigious competitions that nevertheless provide a substantial boost to the local economy due to the number of participants involved. For example, the orienteering world championships (2002, 2012) or the World Gymnaestrada 2011 which brought almost 20,000 gymnasts, of all ages and backgrounds, and of 55 nationalities to the “Olympic Capital”, as well as the candidature for the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games. One drawback of downsizing event-hosting strategies to smaller events is that their promotional effects are much more limited than those of major competitions. In addition, smaller events do not have a great impact on regional development, especially in terms of enabling a city or area to stand out on the tourist-destination
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map. Even the biggest one-time events are often forgotten as soon as they are over, despite receiving extensive media coverage during the event. Who remembers where most world championships took place a year after the event? And who would choose a holiday destination or a base for their company on the basis of such a championship? Given the difficulty of promoting development via the classic approach to event hosting, ever larger numbers of cities and regions are turning towards “heritage sporting events� or events that have the potential to become heritage events over the years. The present article provides a definition of this relatively new concept and, focusing on Switzerland, examines possible ways in which such events can be used to boost territorial development. This analysis suggests that local authorities, especially in Europe, should implement policies to host heritage sporting events as a way of reinforcing development and resisting the escalation in bids to host major competitions being driven by certain countries such as Azerbaijan, Qatar and Russia.
The notion of heritage sporting event Although many sports events have close links with a particular city or a specific venue - for example, the Roland-Garros tennis arena in Paris - and are part of a place’s heritage, the literature rarely associates the concepts of sports event and heritage. A heritage sporting event can be defined as an event, generally involving a single sport, that has taken place in the same place for many years and that has been held regularly since its foundation. Table 1 provides examples of such events that were founded more than 50 years ago (outside Switzerland, which will be examined in the next section) and that are still held every year, even if there have been breaks in their histories.
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Table 1: Examples of heritage sporting events founded before 1970 (outside Switzerland) Founded
Official name
Sport
City
Country
1656
Palio di Siena
Horse riding
Sienna
Italy
1780
The Derby Stakes
Horse riding
Epsom, England
Great Britain Great Britain
1839
The Henley Royal Regatta
Rowing
Henley-onThames
1850
Wenlock Olympian Games
Multi sports
Much Wenlock
Great Britain
1860
The Open Championships
Golf
Ayrshire, Scotland
Great Britain
1875
The Kentucky Derby
Horse riding
Louisville, Kentucky
United States
1877
The All England Lawn Tennis Championships Meeting
Tennis
Wimbledon, London
Great Britain
1884
England test matches
Cricket
Lord’s, St John’s Wood, London
Great Britain
1892
Liège-Bastogne-Liège
Cycling
Liège to Bastogne and back
Belgium
1896
Paris-Roubaix
Cycling
Paris to Roubaix
France
1897
Boston Marathon
Athletics
Boston, Massachusetts
United States
1905
Australian Open
Tennis
Melbourne
Australia
1907
Milano-San Remo
Cycling
Milan to San Remo
Italy
1909
Hatsu basho
Sumo
Tokyo
Japan Netherlands
1909
Elfstedentocht
Speed skating
From and to Leeuwarden, through 11 towns
1922
Vassaloppet
Cross-country skiing
Sälen to Mora
Sweden
1925
Internationaux de France Roland-Garros
Tennis
Paris
France
1928
Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycle Classic
Cycling
Belize City
Belize
1931
Hahnenkamm-Rennen
Alpine skiing
Kitzbühel, Tyrol
Austria
1934
The Masters
Golf
Augusta, Georgia
United States
1945
Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race
Sailing
Sydney to Hobart
Australia
1950
Boxing Day Test
Cricket
Melbourne
Australia
1951
La Sainté Lyon
Athletics
St-Etienne to Lyon
France
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Founded
Official name
Sport
City
Country Germany and Austria
1952
Vierschanzentournee
Ski jumping
Obserstdorf, Garmisch, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen
1960
Tuen Ng Dragon Boat Festival
Rowing/ Kayaking
Hong Kong
China
1961
Pokal Vitranc
Alpine skiing
Kranjska Gora
Slovenia
Diving
Mostar
Bosnia
Mostar Bridge Diving Competition Source: Author’s compilation 1968
The ancestors of these heritage events are the ancient Olympic Games held every four years since 776 BC for almost twelve hundred years, and the various Panhellenic games held throughout Antiquity (Pythian Games, Nemean Games, etc.). These ancient games have been succeeded by multi-sport events that move from city to city and are therefore not part of any single city’s heritage (modern Olympic Games, Mediterranean Games, Commonwealth Games, Student Games or Universiads, etc.). Sienna’s Palio, a horse race through the Tuscan city’s main square that was first run in 1656, is another of these ancestral events, as modern sport had not yet been invented when it was founded. The Palio is now a major tourist attraction. The Wenlock Olympian Games, founded by Dr William Penny Brook and held since 1850 at Much Wenlock in Shropshire (England), was one of the inspirations for the modern Olympics, founded by Pierre de Coubertin in 1892. Unlike almost all other heritage events which are centered on one sport, the Wenlock Olympian Games is a multi-sport event. In the case of modern sport, invented in the 18th century in Great Britain, it is unsurprising that the oldest heritage sporting events are in this country and involve sports that were once a British preserve, such as rowing, golf, horse racing, and lawn tennis. At the end of the 19th century, continental Europe and the United States entered the arena with different sports (cycling, athletics, and winter sports). However, except for Australia, there are very few other countries and continents on this list because the rapid growth in global sport did not begin until the 1950s. In the French-language literature, the notion of heritage event has been associated with the concept of “place of memory”, defined by the historian Pierre Nora in his 1984 book “Lieux de mémoire”. According to Nora, places of memory
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can range from the most highly concrete objects, possibly in a specific geographical location, to the most abstract objects. Hence, they may be monuments, important people, events or institutions. For example, he considers the Tour de France to be a place of collective memory built on the experiences shared by very large numbers of people throughout France during the 20th century. Pfister (2011) argued that this concept can be applied to the modern Olympic Games, citing the 1896 Athens, 1936 Berlin and 2000 Sydney Olympics. Thanks to their long tradition, the Olympics, like the Tour de France, can be seen in a continuum between “pure HSE” (always in the same place) and one-off events. The concept of HSE is even more applicable when a sports event has been held in the same place for many years, has become an institution, or even has its own museum, as is the case for the Henley Royal Regatta, founded in 1839. The English-language literature contains the concepts of “hallmark event”, “signature event” and “heritage event”; however, these concepts are defined slightly differently than the definition of heritage sporting event given above. Jago and Shaw (1998) divided major sports events into two categories: hallmark or mega. Hallmark (typical) events are “occasional” and have “an international profile and a permanent venue”, whereas mega events are “one-time” events that change venue for each edition. However, Goldblatt (1997) considers the modern Olympic Games, which do not have a permanent venue, to be a hallmark event. Hall (1989) defines hallmark events as “major fairs, expositions, cultural and sporting events of international status which are held on either a regular or a one-off basis. A primary function of the hallmark event is to provide the host community with an opportunity to secure high prominence in the tourism market place” (Hall 1989). Richtie (1984) does not distinguish between recurring hallmark events (which are held regularly in the same place) and one-time hallmark events (for which every edition is held in a different place). He notes that hallmark events “rely for their success on uniqueness, status or timely significance” (anniversary, celebration, commemoration, etc.). More recently, Jones (2008) introduced the concept of “signature events”, which he defines as “one-time or more likely recurring events developed primarily to enhance the image and cultural identity” of the place in which they are held. A signature event gradually becomes an important date in the local calendar. Jones mentions such events as a key part of the Welsh government’s events policy, although the examples he gives are all cultural events.
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Ramshaw and Gammon (2005) and Ramshaw (2005) proposed the notion of “heritage event” as a way for the North American sport industry to reconnect with the past. One of the examples they give is the “Heritage Classic Outdoor Ice Hockey Event”, which was held in Edmonton in 2003 to nurture nostalgia for outdoor ice hockey in Canada. Reconstitutions of jousting tournaments and mob football games in the mediaeval fairs held by some old European towns fall into this category. But these heritage events are quite different from our concept of HSE.
Characteristics of heritage sporting events The above mentioned authors provide a starting point for drawing up a definition of heritage sporting events. Above all, such events must belong to a specific place and be held there regularly, usually every year, sometimes every two years, without interruption other than under exceptional circumstances. The owner of the event must be a local organization, generally a not-for-profit association or a local council, but not an international organization. Consequently, there is no need to bid to host the event. This makes it easier to capitalize on the expertise needed to stage the event, through local skills that are progressively built up and honed with each edition. Finally, there is usually a strong link between the event and the place it is held, through the venue (even though the venue may change over time) and/ or the commemoration of a historic event. The older the event, the more deeply it is part of the area’s heritage and the stronger its brand in commercial terms. On the other hand, it is far from essential for the event to be large or international. In fact, it is more important for it to suit the place it is staged. For example, the cycle race that is held every Easter Saturday in Belize City attracts only a hundred racers and is unknown outside Central America. However, it was founded in 1928 and is part of this small capital city’s heritage. The All England Lawn Tennis Championships Meeting, better known as the Wimbledon Tournament, is an iconic example of a heritage sporting event. Founded in 1877, it will celebrate its 130th edition in 2017. The tournament is held every July at a specialized venue in Wimbledon, the London suburb where the world’s first tennis club was created (as part of a cricket club). The facility has changed a lot since the event began but the tournament has never moved and Wimbledon has become a legendary place for tennis fans. The site is also home
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to the British tennis federation and a museum. It hosted the Olympic tennis tournaments at the London Games in 1908 and 2012. In 1948, when the British capital hosted its second Olympics, tennis was not included in the program. The only interruption to the championships was during the Second World War. Rather than belonging to a federation, the event is owned by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (Championships) Limited (AELTC), which runs the Championships in conjunction with LTA Operations Limited. AELTC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, whose patron is Queen Elizabeth II. Its circular, green and violet logo is one of the world’s best-known brands and is so powerful that no advertising is allowed on the courts other than that of the official timekeeper (as for the Olympic Games). Wimbledon is undoubtedly the world’s largest and most famous heritage sporting event, but the Swiss Open, in Gstaad, Switzerland (see below) is also a heritage event for its region, although it is less famous than Wimbledon. It is impossible to overstate the importance of the location of heritage sporting events. In order to firmly anchor an event to its “home”, the place name (neighborhood, city or region) is nearly always part of the event’s official title, or has been subsequently added if it was not included when the event was founded. The event’s home has a permanent naming right that is rarely supplemented by the name of a title sponsor, which could compete with the place name for recognition (especially as sponsors change over the years: first sponsored by Ebel, the European Masters golf tournament at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, subsequently became the Canon European Masters, and is now the Omega European Masters). The principality of Monaco has used this strategy since the 1920s to increase its tourism profile, hosting competitions throughout the year, such as the Monte-Carlo Rally, Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament, Monaco (F1) Grand Prix, Herculis athletics meeting, Monaco Marathon, Monaco Regatta, Monte-Carlo Circus Festival, etc. A recent advertising campaign has reinforced this message by presenting together all the events held in the principality, using their fame to increase the profile of this small state. Although it is not old enough to be considered a true heritage event, the Vendée Globe yacht race uses the same idea. The Vendée département (territorial unit of France) took over the event in 2003 in order to ensure the race’s future. In Great Britain, sports history enthusiasts publish a collection of books, called “Played in Britain”, that relate the history of places and the events that are held in them.
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Championships for team sports (such as The FA Cup, held since 1871-72 by the English Football Association), cycling stage races (such as the Tour de France, founded in 1903) or rallies (such as Monte-Carlo, founded in 1911) are not heritage events in the strict sense of the term as defined here, even if their final games or stages are held in the same place every year (London, Paris and MonteCarlo for the three examples given). Nevertheless, they can be considered part of the heritage of their host country (England, France and Monaco). The European Union recognized this heritage quality to a certain extent when it enacted the 1989 “Television without frontiers” directive, which requires all member states to draw up a list of sports events that are “of major importance for society” and which must be broadcast freely (not on a paying channel) to the public (CEE 1989). The men’s and women’s singles finals at the Roland-Garros tennis tournament are the only two heritage events on France’s list. (The finals of the French football and rugby cups do not comply with the strict definition of heritage sporting event: although they are usually held in Paris, they do not always take place in the same stadium.) Some venues can also take on a heritage dimension if they exist for long enough. This was the case for London’s Wembley Stadium before it was demolished and is still the case for Lord’s, the temple of cricket in London. In its October 2011 ruling (paragraphs 100-102) in the famous Murphy case, the European Court of Justice recognized the unique character of sports events, “which can transform them into subject-matter that is worthy of protection comparable to the protection of works” and paved the way for member states to introduce national intellectual property legislation giving sporting events similar protection to other works (Killy 2012). This ruling is particularly important in what are now referred to as “betting rights” to events. Thus, the French Tennis Federation (which owns Roland Garros) won a case against sports betting operators who were taking bets on the tournament without the Federation’s agreement. In 2003, UNESCO adopted the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (UNESCO 2003). By 2012, almost 130 countries had ratified the convention (not to be confused with the conventions for natural and cultural sites), thereby undertaking to draw up an inventory of their country’s heritage. UNESCO defines intangible cultural heritage as “the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage.” Although article 2.2 (c)
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of the convention states that “social practices, rituals and festive events” should be included in the world inventory, it includes very few sports events. However, Bruges city council (Belgium) has requested that the Tour of Flanders cycle race be included, and Chappelet (2009) encouraged the International Olympic Committee to apply for the Olympic Games to be included.
Switzerland’s case Switzerland has long been a popular destination for tourists and hosts an impressive collection of heritage sporting events, the oldest of which was founded at the end of the 19th century. Table 2 lists the most important of these events that are more than 30 years old and that are held every year (with the exception of the biannual Patrouille des Glaciers, organized by the Swiss Army. This event did not take place between 1951 and 1984 following a tragic accident in 1949).
Table 2: Main heritage sporting events in Switzerland Founded
Official name
Sport
City/resort (Canton)
STP member*
1884
CSIO Schweiz
Horse riding
St-Gallen (SG)
yes
1907
White Turf
Horse riding
St-Moritz (GR)
no
1915
Swiss Open
Tennis
Gstaad (BE)
yes
1921
Coupe des Nations
Rink hockey
Montreux (VD)
no
1923
Spengler Cup
Ice hockey
Davos (GR)
yes
1923
European Masters
Golf
Crans-Montana (VS)
yes
1926
CHI-W
Horse riding
Geneva (GE)
yes
1928
Zurich Weltklasse
Athletics
Zurich (ZH)
yes
1930
Lauberhorn-Rennen
Alpine skiing
Wengen (BE)
yes
1933 (1883)
Ruderwelt
Rowing
Luzern (LU)
yes no
1933
Morat-Fribourg
Running
Morat to Fribourg (FR)
1939
Bol d’Or
Sailing
Geneva to Villeneuve (VD) and back
no
1943
Patrouille des Glaciers
Ski mountaineering
Zermatt to Verbier (VS)
no
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HER ITAGE SPORTING EVENTS AND PLACE MAR K ETING
Founded
Official name
Sport
City/resort (Canton)
STP member*
1967 (1955)
FIS Ski World Cup
Alpine skiing
Adelboden (BE)
yes
1969
Engadin Ski Marathon
Cross-country skiing
St-Moritz (GR)
yes
1970
Swiss Indoors
Tennis
Basel (BS)
yes
1971
La Mara
Cross-country skiing
Les Rasses to St-Croix (VD)
no
1974
Davos Nordic
Cross-country skiing
Davos (GR)
yes
1977
Athletissima Lausanne
Athletics
Lausanne (VD)
yes
1977
L’Escalade
Running
Geneva (GE)
no
1978
Kerzerslauf
Running
Kerzers (FR)
no
1979
Int. Hot-Air Balloon Festival
Ballooning
Château d’Oex (VD)
no
* Swiss Top Sport Association Source: Author’s compilation
Table 2 includes sports introduced into Switzerland by English tourists in the 19th century, such as horse-riding and tennis, and the winter sports with which the country is more traditionally associated, such as alpine and cross-country skiing and ice hockey. Unsurprisingly, more than half of these events are held in mountain (notably St-Moritz) or lakeside resorts (Montreux). For many years, the tourist office for the Vaud Canton has published a brochure promoting sports events (such as Athletissima Lausanne) and cultural events (such as the Montreux Jazz Festival) that are held in the area on a regular basis (Lake Geneva Region 2012). Most Swiss heritage sporting events are organized by local clubs or independent not-for-profit associations, many of which are presided or dominated by a local figure, often the long-standing organizer or founder of the event (e.g., Jacky Delapierre for Athletissima Lausanne, Fredy Fuchs for the Lauberhorn ski races, and Jean-Louis Botani for the Escalade in Geneva). As in family-run SMEs, this situation can lead to problems when this person retires or has to step down. The Gstaad Swiss Open, founded in 1915 and now part of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) “500 Series”, is a notable case in point. In the 1960s, the upmarket resort in the Bernese Alps confided the organization of its historic
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clay-court tournament to the director of the city’s tourist office, who turned the event into a family fiefdom. He even owned the ATP license, which had to be bought off him when he was forced to retire. In 1995, around twenty Swiss heritage events, including the Swiss football cup and the Tour of Switzerland cycle race, were brought together into the Swiss Top Sport association (www.swisstopsport.ch) in order to increase recognition of their importance for tourism and the country’s economy. Swiss Top Sport’s partners include Switzerland Tourism, the Federal Office for Sport and Swiss Olympic (Switzerland’s National Olympic Committee). A study commissioned by Swiss Top Sport found that major sports events in Switzerland generate an annual added value of CHF 355 million and have “precious” indirect impacts (Stettler 2008). These events are subsidized by their host cities/cantons. They would also like to obtain subsidies from the Confederation; however, this is not possible according to the current Swiss legislation, which only permits the federal government to subsidize one-time international events (article 17 of the 2011 federal law for the promotion of sport and physical activity). A closer look at the events in table 2 shows that most are elite competitions, with the few exceptions being mass-participation running events, cross-country ski marathons and a sailing race (the Bol d’Or on Lake Geneva). Since 1994, Switzerland’s most famous heritage running events have been organized by the association Swiss Runners (www.swissrunners.ch). Several of these mass events have more than 20,000 participants yearly and have become a real tradition for their region. In line with the 2003 UNESCO Convention, which it has ratified, Switzerland’s cantons have drawn up an inventory of the country’s intangible cultural heritage. The Federal Office for Culture published the official list in 2012 at www.bak.admin. ch/traditionsvivantes . It includes a number of traditional “social practices” linked to sport, most notably the Abbayes Vaudoises (shooting and archery), the Rhine Swim (swimming), the Hauenstein bikers’ meetings (motorcycling), the Uhrencup (football), the Escalade (running), the Unspunnen Festival (stone throwing), the Knabenschiessen and the Tir Fédéral en Campagne (shooting). The Swiss national sports of hornussen and schwingen (Alpine wrestling) are also listed but without mentioning a specific event, although there are (itinerant) federal festivals for these sports.
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CONCLUSION Heritage sporting events provide an escape from regimented and homogenized commercial events that attach little importance to the place in which the competition is held as long as it provides the required conditions. Such events are typified by formulaic major football competitions played in standardized stadiums where the name of the host city has to be spelt out on signs around the pitch in order to be known (for instance, UEFA Champions League). In contrast, heritage events allow the host area to develop media and popular recognition year after year, and to build the expertise needed to ensure the event’s continuing success. As a result, they avoid being dependent on an “event owner” (generally a transnational federation) that dictates conditions, notably financial, while rarely taking an interest in the development of the host territory. They are also a response to the fierce competition to host major one-time events from emerging countries, many of which are prepared to invest considerable resources to obtain the biggest international competitions. Just like professional clubs that bear the name of a city or region, events anchored in local traditions provide excellent marketing opportunities for a territory, with the added advantage that local authorities have greater control over such events than they do over private clubs. Some international federations (athletics, rowing, archery, etc.) are beginning to understand this and have started organizing new competitions based on circuits that return to the same cities year after year. Every heritage sporting event is the result of inventing a tradition (Hobsbawn and Ranger 1983) that symbolizes a form of social cohesion, an identity and local expertise. In other words, it takes many years to “invent” a heritage event. Some newly created events will become heritage events. Others will not be sufficiently innovative in terms of their concept, their management or their promotion, and will disappear. To a large extent, this will depend on the policies for hosting events implemented by the territories concerned, that is, whether they decide to favor recurring events or one-time events. Heritage sporting events have not yet been given the recognition they deserve by public authorities or researchers. As shown above, generally they are not considered part of their country’s intangible cultural heritage. This “oversight” needs to be remedied, perhaps via a specific list. To do this, an international association for these events could be created, perhaps along similar lines to Swiss Top Sport. Such an association would help place this topic on UNESCO’s agenda and facilitate
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the sharing of expertise and experience for organizing heritage events. Since the 1980s researchers have tended to focus on one-time events, especially the biggest international competitions. HSE have been under researched in the literature. It may be that the time has come to pay more attention to heritage events, in order to catalogue them and evaluate their impact on the sustainable development of host territories. Doing so would further highlight the paradox of trying to create something durable from something ephemeral.
References CEE (1989). Council Directive 89/552/CEE of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by Law, Regulation or Administrative Action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities. Official Journal L 298, 17/10/1989, 23–30. Chappelet, J.-L. (2006). Les politiques publiques d’accueil d’événements sportifs. Paris: L’Harmattan. Chappelet, J.-L. (2009). Les Jeux olympiques comme patrimoine culturel immatériel de l’humanité. XIIIe Congrès olympique Copenhague 2009. Lausanne: CIO, pp. 227-228. CNOSF (2011). Rapport d’activités 2011. Paris : Comité National Olympique et Sportif Français : 10. Goldblatt, J. (1997). Special events: Best practices in modern event management. New York: John Wiley and Sons: Chapitre 2. Hall, C. M. (1989). The definition and analysis of hallmark tourist events. Geojournal, 19 (3): 263-268. Henry, I. (1999). Sport and the analysis of symbolic regimes: A case study of the city of Sheffield. Urban Affairs Review, 34(5): 641-666. Hobsbawn, E. & Ranger, T (1983). The invention of Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Jago, L. & Shaw, R. (1998). Special events: A conceptual and differential framework. Festival management and event tourism, 5 (1/2): 21-32. Jones, I. W. (2008). Major events: A strategic framework for event support. Cabinet (0809) 09: 1-6. Killy, R. (2012). Le débat sur le droit au pari est clos par le Conseil d’Etat. Jurisport, 123, September: 36-39. Mantei, C. (2011). Stratégie événementielle des collectivités et des destinations. Guide pour la mise en tourisme des événements. Paris: Atout France Editions.
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Nora, P. (1984). Les Lieux de mémoire. Paris : Gallimard (Bibliothèque illustrée des histoires), volume 1: La République. Pfister, G. (2011). Lieux de mémoire/sites of memories and the Olympic Games: An introduction. Sport in Society, 14(4): 412-429. Ramshaw (2005). Nostalgia, heritage, and imaginative sports geographies: Sport and cultural landscapes. Forum UNESCO University and Heritage 10th International Seminar ‘Cultural Landscapes in the 21st Century’. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, April 11-16. Ramshaw, G. & Gammon, S. (2005). More than just nostalgia? Exploring the heritage / sport tourism nexus. Journal of Sport Tourism, 10 (4): 229-241. Région du Léman (2012). Fun, Festivals, Events 2010. Lausanne: Canton de Vaud Tourist Office. Ritchie, J. R. B. (1984). Assessing the impact of hallmark events: Conceptual and research issues. Journal of Travel Research, 23 (2): 11. Stettler, J. (2008). L'impact économique des (grandes) manifestations sportives en Suisse. Conference: «Les grandes manifestations sportives au service de l'économie et de la société», Zurich, January 24. www.swisstopsport.ch/Conferences-etpublications.43.0.html?&L=3 (consulted on December 12, 2012). UNESCO (2003). Convention pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine culturel immatériel. Paris, 17 octobre. Weber, P.-A. (2010). La stratégie d’accueil d’événements sportifs de la Suisse. Presentation at the ASMS symposium « Evénements sportifs et territoires », Lausanne, November 12. www.asms.ch/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=575&Item id=158 (consulted on December 12, 2012). Ziakas, V. (2014) Planning and Leveraging Event Portfolios: Towards a Holistic Theory, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 23 (3): 327-356, DOI: 10.1080/19368623.2013.796868
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IMPORTANCE OF SEVERAL ASPECTS WITHIN THE DESTINATION CHOICE PROCESS IN WINTER SPORT TOURISM AMONG GERMAN AND POLISH STUDENTS Alexander HODECK
INTRODUCTION The economic importance of sport tourism not only in Germany has risen during the last decades (Dehnavi, Amiri, DehKordi & Heidary, 2012; Aderhold, 2011, p. 90ff.). Because of this, that phenomenon moved into the focus of scientists, too (e.g. Schwark, 2007). As the competition between providers of services within the field of sports tourism has also strengthened not only theorists but also practitioners are interested in new findings in sport tourism. German and Polish sport students, regarding their preferences, when choosing a winter sport holiday, are compared in this study by using a conjoint-measurement. Students are seen as an important target group in tourism (Field, 1999), because among young and well-educated tourists future clients can be won (Won, Bang & Shonk, 2008). In order to develop the field of sport tourism the comparison of sport tourists from different countries seems to be helpful. This study delivers first results in that field of research by comparing students from two central European countries.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Destination choice in sport tourism is influenced by different aspects, whether internal or external. Following Pearce (2005, p. 18 ff.) age, gender and nationality
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could influence the destination choice process as well as the personal situation. Looking at external aspects, a number of studies have already dealt with factors influencing the destination choice process in sport tourism (most recently Slak Valek, Shaw & Bednarek, 2014) and winter sport tourism (e.g. Hodeck & Hovemann, 2013). Morey (1984) showed that skiers prefer destinations, where they can maximize utilities and minimize opportunity costs. Klenosky, Gengler & Mulvey (1993) found that attributes of destination as snow conditions, services, hills and trails, quality of lodging, closeness to home and entertainment opportunities influence the destination choice. The destination choice of Scottish skiers (Riddignton, Sinclair & Milne, 2000) depends on characteristics of the destination (snow, slopes, accommodation) and personal characteristics (travel distance and expenditures per day). While Greek skiing tourists are interested in accessibility of the destination, costs for skiing and food, accommodation and snow quality (Siomkos, Vasiliadis & Lathiras 2006). Won et al. (2008) found that, apart from snow conditions, all factors within the destination choice process among college students depend on the recreation specialization and consumption situation. Hodeck & Hovemann (2013) investigated that there are four factors influencing the destination choice process of active winter sport tourists in a German highland destination. These are offers for alpine skiing, offers for nordic skiing, additional services and general characteristics of the destination. There is a lack on studies comparing sport tourists from different countries although there is a big need for understanding differences among international tourists in a globalised world. Hodeck & Hovemann (2014) could already present first results, which show differences between winter sport tourists from two different countries visiting the same highland destination.
METHOD Polish (n=117) sport students of the Pilsudsky University of Warsawa and German (n=113) sport students of the University of Leipzig were asked to fill out a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of three parts (general travel data regarding winter sport tourism, set cards of the conjoint-measurement, sociodemographic data). Data were collected in 2013 and 2014 by using a standardized questionnaire. Only students of bachelor programmes were interviewed by using
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IMPORTANCE OF SEVER AL ASPECTS WITHIN THE DESTINATION CHOICE PROCESS IN WINTER ...
paper and pencil. The average age of the population was 20.5 years. While there were more female students (59.4 %) among German students, there were more male students among the Polish (53.0%). A classical conjoint analysis was used to determine the preferences of the participants regarding the destination choice process. So called, stimuli had been created, which represent real or theoretically possible sport tourism services. The subjects should sequence these stimuli. By using the conjoint measurement, benefit and relative importance of each characteristic of the chosen factors have been calculated (Backhaus, Erichson, Plinke & Weiber, 2008, p. 452f.). The process of a classical conjoint analysis is shown in table 1. Table 1: Sequential steps of a conjoint analysis (adapted from Backhaus et al., 2008, S. 456) 1.
Definition of factors and characteristics
2.
Creation of the design (orthogonal design)
3.
Evaluation of the stimuli by subjects
4.
Data evaluation with SPSS
Firstly, important factors influencing the destination choice process had to be defined based on an analysis of literature dealing with winter sport tourism. Three factors have been chosen. Two different characterizations were created for each factor. Factors were derived from the given literature (expenses, accessibility of slopes & sport services) and characterizations were discussed by experts from winter sport destinations in order to ensure creating realistic scenarios for winter sport trips. Every characterization was described with a short text within the questionnaire. As a consequence, subjects should have had clear ideas about the eight stimuli to be ranked. Although a high number of stimuli allows to describe services more detailed, the number of stimuli was reduced (Backhaus et al., 2008, p. 457) to eight (2 x 2 x 2 = 23 = 8). In order to this subjects were not confused, which is necessary to gain reliable results (Schubert, 1991, p. 176). Table 2 shows all factors and characteristics in detail. The conjoint analysis procedure was done with SPSS 21.
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Table 2: Factors and characteristics Factors
Characteristics
A: daily expenses
1: 50,00 € (200 PLN) 2: 100,00 € (400 PLN)
B: accessibility
1: close to slopes (within the town) 2: away from slopes (another town)
C: sport services
1: inclusive 2: exklusive
RESULTS In total, 230 students took part in this study: 113 from Germany and 117 from Poland. The number of students from Germany (113) is almost the same as the number of students from Poland (117). As both groups consisted of bachelor students, it is not surprising that the age of both groups is comparable. The German students were 20.9 years in average. The average age of the Polish students was 20.2 years. Looking at the travel experiences in winter sport tourism, there are differences between the two groups. Table 3: Results of the conjoint analysis among German students (n=113) Factors
Characteristics
Benefit
Standard error Relative import-ance
A: daily expenses
1: 50,00 € 2: 100,00 €
0,748 1,496
1,619 3,238
30,60 %
B: accessibility
1: close to slopes (within the town) 2: away from slopes (another town)
0,665 -0,665
0,810 0,810
36,04 %
C: sport services
1: inclusive 2: exklusive
-0,541 0,541
0,810 0,810
33,36 %
3,378
2,560
(Konstante) Pearson-r: 0,500
Kendall-Tau:
0,730*
While 43.8 % of the German students have already visited highland destinations (e.g. Tatra, Black Forest) for winter sport tourism, 90.6 % of the Polish students
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IMPORTANCE OF SEVER AL ASPECTS WITHIN THE DESTINATION CHOICE PROCESS IN WINTER ...
have visited highland destinations. Looking at the high mountains (e.g. Alps), only 19.7 % of Polish students have chosen these destinations, while 57.7 % of Germans have visited high mountains for winter sport tourism. Benefits and relative importance of the investigated factors can be found in tables 3 and 4. There are differences between German and Polish sport students. While daily expense is the most important factor for Polish students (37.66 %), the accessibility of the slopes is most important to Germans (36.04 %). At the same moment accessibility is least important for Polish students (27.56 %) and daily expenses are least important to Germans (30.60 %). It has to be mentioned, that the results of the Polish students are significant, while those of the German students are not. Table 4: Results of the conjoint analysis among Polish students (n=117) Factors
Characteristics
Benefit
Standard error
Relative import-ance
A: daily expenses
1: 200 PLN 2: 400 PLN
-0,902 -1,803
0,394 0,788
37,66 %
1: close to slopes (within the town) 2: away from slopes (another town)
0,019 -0,019
0,197 0,197
27,56 %
1: inclusive 2: exklusive
0,729 -0,729
0,197 0,197
34,78 %
5,853
0,610
B: accessibility C: sport services (Konstante) Pearson-r: 0,912***
Kendall-Tau:
0,837**
DISCUSSION It is obvious that there are differences between students from Germany and Poland regarding previous touristic behaviour and importance of factors influencing the destination choice process. Results of this study can only be seen as first ideas regarding the investigated field of research, as there are a number of limiting factors of the study. For example, only sport students from two universities were asked. So results cannot be generalized. The choice of factors and characteristics has to be reviewed, as there are no significant results for German students. Nevertheless, the
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results of this research show, that there might be differences between tourists from different countries, which seem to be very important to destination management organizations of winter sport destinations. While German students seem to be more interested in high mountains as the Alps, when choosing a winter sport destination, Polish students prefer highlands because of less expensive offers. Highland destinations not only in Poland but also in the Czech Republic or Germany could focus on this target group in future. For destination management organizations in general, it is very important to know about the preferences of different target groups, in order to create suitable marketing strategies. Studies like that one presented here, help to understand sport tourists more in an empirical way. Scientific guidelines, which can also be used in sport tourism marketing, are developed when dealing with this kind of work. Of course, results must be proved in future investigations, before creating new marketing strategies. Conjoint analysis´ can help comparing not only tourists from different countries. Differences between male and female as well as younger and older tourists can be investigated. These are also interesting out of a marketing perspective of destinations. But looking at the current discussion in sport tourism, comparing sport tourists of different countries seems to be most important.
References: Aderhold, P. (2011). Reiseverhalten der Deutschen. Kurzfassung der Deutschen Reiseanalyse 2011. Kiel: FUR. Backhaus, K., Erichson, B., Plinke, W. & Weiber, R. (2008). Multivariate Analysemethoden. Eine anwendungsorientierte Einfßhrung (12. Aufl.). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. Dehnavi, A., Amiri, M., DehKordi, P.H. & Heidary, A. (2012). On the multidimensionality of sport tourism: Challenges and guidelines. International Journal of Intelligent Technologies & Social Sciences, 6, 105-110. Field, A.M. (1999). The college student market segment: a comparative study of travel behaviors of international and domestic students at a southeastern university. Journal of Travel Research, 37, 375-381. Hodeck, A. & Hovemann, G. (2013). Typisierung von Wintersporttouristen in deutschen Mittelgebirgen am Beispiel des Erzgebirges. Sciamus – Sport und Management 4 (4), 1-13.
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Hodeck, A. & Hovemann, G. (2014). Sports Tourism Behaviour in the Erzgebirge / Krusne Hory – a cross-border analysis. In: L. Cechurova (ed.). Opportunities and Threats to Current Business Management in Cross-border Comparison 2014. (p. 49-56). Chemnitz: GUC. Klenosky, D., Gengler,C. & Mulvey, M. (1993). Understanding the Factors Influencing Ski Destination Choice: A Means-End Analytic Approach. Journal of Leisure Resaearch, 25 (4), 362-379. Morey, E.R. (1984). The choice of ski areas: estimation of a generalized CES preference ordering with characteristic. Review of Economics & Statistics, 66 (4), 584-590. Pearce, P. (2005). Tourist behaviour: Themes and conceptual schemes. Clevedon: Channel View. Riddington, G., Sinclair, C. & Milne, N. (2000). Modelling choice and switching behaviour between Scottish ski centers. Applied Economics, 32 (8), 1011-1018. Schubert, B. (1991). Entwicklung von Konzepten fßr Produktinnovationen mittels ConjointAnalyse. Stuttgart: Poeschel. Schwark, J. (2007). Sport tourism: introduction and overview. European Journal of Sport and Society, 4 (2), 117-132. Siomkos, G., Vasiliadis, C. & Lathiras, P. (2006). Measuring customer preferences in the winter sports market: the case of Greece. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, 14 (2), 139-140. Sla Valek, N., Shwa, M. & Bednarik, J. (2014). Socio-demographic characteristics affecting sport tourism choices: A structural model. Acta Gymnica, 44 (1), 57-65. Won, D., Bang, H. & Shonk, D. (2008). Relative Importance of Factors Involved in Choosing a Regional Ski Destination: Influence of Consumption, Situation and Recreation Speciallization. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 13 (4), 249-271.
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Evolution and Impact on the Environment of Trail Running Sporting Events – The Case of France and Romania Sorina CERNAIANU, Claude SOBRY
INTRODUCTION The first trailers were probably the gendarmes and the smugglers. There is moreover a trail named “the smuggler” in the North of France. The trails, Anglicism coming from trail running or running on trails, is a term adopted internationally to describe long-distance running races (or endurance), in a natural environment (mountain, desert, forest, plain ... ) with the minimum of cemented or paved road (which should not exceed 20% of the total distance). The terrain may vary (dirt roads, forest roads, single track trails ....) and the course must be properly marked. The race is ideally, but not necessarily, semi-self-sufficiency or self-sufficiency (International Trail Running Association- ITRA). Like triathlon, trail races, which are already rather long, probably seemed bland to some runners, because the ultra-trails appeared quickly. It is about races of 50 or 100 miles or even 24 hours. Because the world of trail evolved rather quickly, the organizations trying to structure it are quite numerous, especially in the US, and their relationships sometimes less obvious. Thus, the "mountain trails, the trails and ultratrails are three disciplines which fall under the umbrella of the Long Distance Running (LDR)” and are managed by the Mountain Ultratrail Running Council which organize its competitions under the auspices of USATF (USA Track & Field). This organism is working in conjunction with the International
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Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) under the patronage of the IAAF. One of their main objectives is to develop long-distance running worldwide by encouraging activities in each of the IAAF Continental Areas. In the last years trail running grew considerably, either we speak about the number of annual competitions, the number of participants or financial resources at stake by public actors and the private ones. Some of these extreme sport events are not available by everybody because of the price or the distance or simply because of the difficulty. Even if the investment for the organization is not very efficient, these events allow a community to be known, to attract a large number of tourists even for 1-2 days. We add here the pleasure of spectators to look at the competition. For this type of competitions the infrastructure is limited to trails. Even though the trails could be degraded after the races, nature has time to recover, because the events take place once or two times a year on the same tracks. In fact, for some competitions the number of participants is limited to 100 per course in order to protect the nature. By choosing the place for trail running race the organizers are responsible for the environmental sustainability. The associations developing trail running play a very important role in the management and popularization of this sport activity. The 1st International Trail running conference took place in Courmayeur, Italy, on September 2012. As a result of this conference was the foundation of the International Trail-Running Association (ITRA) in July 2013. One of the main objectives of ITRA is “to contribute to a better practice of respect for the environment and to promote sustainable development at the heart of trail-running� (www.i-tra.org). Thanks to the activity of ITRA trail running officially becomes an international athletics discipline (Beijing, in August 2015), as it happened some years ago with triathlon which became an Olympic discipline in 2000 (Sydney). This non-profit association lists 8,000 races around the world and includes 400 competitions organized in 57 countries (www.i-tra.org). The aim of this paper is to present the dynamics of trail running sports events in France and Romania in terms of local sustainable development.
METHODS It’s not a comparison between the two countries, just a study showing the state of development of this sport coming after road races, marathons, semi-marathons,
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EVOLUTION AND IMPACT ON THE EN VIRONMENT OF TR AIL RU N NING SPORTING EVENTS ...
triathlons, extreme marathons through the deserts or in the Antarctic, etc. This research, undertaken at the beginning of 2015, is based especially on a bibliographic documentation (books, articles, Internet sources) and processed data provided by International Association of Trail Running which develop this sport activity. After a short introduction of trail running, we take the example of one of the first country where these sport events were developed, France, to see how many races are organized, how many participants, how the organizers work to introduce the idea of “green races”, everything being done to protect the environment of the races. Then we look to another country, Romania, to see at what point of development in this kind of sport event it is and to observe how the idea of sustainable development is introduced in a country which usually doesn’t take so much care of the environment.
RESULTS The development of trail running in France Running on low breeding grounds is not an innovation. In 1984 was held the first « course des terrils » (spoil tip running) organized near Marchiennes in the former mining region of Northern France. It was shown that vegetated brown fields could become an environment for walking and sports, in order to respect all trail runners and the environment. Contrary to the usual road races, this type of competition was held on trails and forest roads, and if some slopes were quite easy, others required a rope to climb it. Today this race still exists, but the organizers added, in plus to the usual six races, the "Trail of Cafougnette" (57km, with ascension of 6 spoil tips). Today France counts 450,000 trailers and 2500 events. In Europe the trailers are a little over 8 million and the USA count 6 million (4.8 in 2009 – The Outdoor Foundation report, 2014). Called “the race of all the superlatives” Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, is one of the most important races in the world and the most prestigious in France. The first edition was held in 2003. With more than 7500 participants from 77 countries which runs over 4 days crossing Mont-Blanc (passing through France, Switzerland and Italy) and more than 50.000 people who come to claim, this competition "is a great human adventure bringing together the community of passionate trailers in
83
84
Israel
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Netherlands
Italy
Latvia
1
Iceland
Hungary
Ireland
Germany
Greece
Denmark
1
Czech Republic
Finland
Cyprus
France
Bulgaria
Croatia
2003
Austria
2004
Belgium
Country
2005
1
2006
2
1
2007
1
2
1
1
16
2
1
1
3
1
2008
1
4
1
1
1
21
2
1
1
3
1
2009
1
10
1
1
1
1
27
2
1
1
3
1
2010
1
13
1
1
1
1
2
36
2
1
3
1
1
4
1
2011
1
15
1
2
1
2
46
2
1
4
2
1
5
4
2012
1
1
18
1
2
3
1
5
55
2
1
5
1
2
1
5
1
1
27
1
6
3
1
7
62
2
4
6
1
3
2
7
4
2013
Table 1. The number of trail running events in Europe, registered by ITRA (data processed from www.i-tra.org)
5
2014
1
1
2
38
1
8
1
5
1
8
70
5
7
7
1
4
2
7
2015* 1
1
1
1
43
1
8
0
2
1
11
67
2
5
1
1
6
1
6
11
29
Total 1
4
2
10
170
8
26
1
19
9
35
405
21
19
28
4
21
8
43 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
Norway
Poland
2004
85
1
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Total
1
2005 1
2006 3
1
43
5
3
6
2007
* The data for 2015 were registered on 30th March 2015.
Switzerland
Sweden
Turkey
Slovenia
Spain
Serbia
Slovakia
Russia
Portugal
Romania
2003
Country
2008 52
5
3
6
1
2009 74
9
4
10
1
2010 110
17
5
16
1
1
0
1
2011 149
26
1
7
1
23
1
1
1
1
2
1
2012 206
35
2
11
1
32
1
1
1
3
8
2
1
2013 269
43
4
14
2
41
1
2
1
3
11
6
3
2014 350
53
3
3
15
4
59
1
2
2
3
18
11
2
2015* 353
54
0
5
16
5
61
2
4
4
2
4
17
5
5
Total 1612
248
3
15
78
13
254
6
11
9
2
15
58
26
11
EVOLUTION AND IMPACT ON THE EN VIRONMENT OF TR AIL RU N NING SPORTING EVENTS ...
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
a magical environment, is globally a unique event in the field of Trail-Running" (Anne Gery, 2014). According to data obtained from the organizers, in 2013, 80% of runners were accommodated in a touristic establishment. Thanks to this event 60,504 tourist nights were sold in Chamonix and its surroundings (L’Express, 2014). The most traditional racer in the world has been certified by ITRA. In Europe the first competitions recorded by this association took place in France, in 2003. Other Western countries like Spain, United Kingdom and Italy registered their competitions since 2007, counting today more than 150 events annually. Table 1 shows the number of trail running events organized in Europe during the last 13 years. We observe that, in 2015, France ranks first country in Europe with 405 events, followed by Spain (254), United Kingdom (248) and Italy (170).
Some aspects of trail running in Romania Although it appeared a few years ago in Romania, today trail running has become a widespread phenomenon, the number of runners and courses growing from year to year. Taking in consideration the geographic characteristics of the country (37.9% of total country area is represented by the mountains) Romania has a great potential concerning the practice of trail running (see table 2). Table 2. Figures about mountain area in Romania and France Country
Country area (1,000 km2)
Mountain area (1,000 km2)
Mountain area as percentage of total country area
Romania
238.40
90.24
37.9
France (excluding DOM)
549.035
138.465
25.2
Note: From Nordregio Report, 2004.
In Romania the trail running competitions started later than in many European countries. The first competition was organized at Zarnesti, in 2006, with a marathon named Piatra Craiului, attended by only 50 runners. The race Marathon 7500of 15 July2010, organized in Bucegi Mountains, was the first one accredited by ITRA. In 2015 will take place 42 trail running events in Romania, especially localized in the Meridional Carpathians, with some tops over 2500 m (see figure 1).
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EVOLUTION AND IMPACT ON THE EN VIRONMENT OF TR AIL RU N NING SPORTING EVENTS ...
Figure 1. The map of 42 trail running events in Romania – 2015 (source: www. sportsplanner.ro)
Many trail running competitions are organized in the vicinity of important places of interest like Transylvania Trail Traverse, near the Bran castle, known throughout the world as Dracula’s Castle. Thus, the participants have the opportunity to discover sporting and cultural diversity of the place. If for the first edition (2014) were only 71 participants from 7 countries, in 2015 the organizers expect to have a greater number of runners. Foreign organizers like Anne-Marie Lategan, an ultramarathon runner from UK and Fitness Editor at Women`s Running magazine, found that this country posses adequate conditions for the development of such races. In 2014 she organized the first edition of the ultramarathon “Ultrabug”, a 3-day 100km ultra marathon through the Oriental Carpathian Mountains, in Bucovina, which is a historical region of the country known for its monasteries included in UNESCO World Heritage. Although the number of participants was extremely low (13), for the second edition there are already 49 runners on the participants list. In addition, the organizers propose packages including visit of the monasteries.
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Based on data processed from ITRA website, of the 15 recorded events, in Romania there are only 9 routes from 4 competitions certified by this association (see table 3), while in France are 81 routes from 52 competitions. Table 3. Trail running routes certified by ITRA, in Romania (source: www.i-tra.org) No.
Name of the competition
Year
1.
Ciucas X3
2013
2.
Marathon 7500
2014
3.
4.
Ciucas X3
Marathon 7500
2014
2015
Name of the races
Lengh (km)
Ciucas X3 Marathon
39
Ciucas X3 Ultramarathon
97.5
Ciucas X3 Half marathon
22
Marathon 7500 Elita
54.1
Ciucas X3 Marathon
39
Ciucas X3 Ultramarathon
97.5
Ciucas X3 Half marathon
22
Marathon 7500 Elita
103.8
Marathon 7500 Hobby
45.3
Ultra trail running races started in Romania in the last 3 years. The first individual race was held on 14 September 2012, named Ciucas X3.One of the most difficult running races in Europe is 2X2 RACE (46 km long and 4000m D+), being one of the qualifying race for the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. The entire track is above 2000m altitude; the runners reach the two highest peaks of Romanian Carpathians, Moldoveanu (2544m) and Negoiu (2535m). Trail is an adversity of the running which plunges its roots to the runningfootmen which ran steeplechases as horses on racecourses. These races of pedestrian then went out of racecourses and were on long distances. At the end of the 19th century very long distance races were organized: Paris-Belfort, 496 km, BordeauxParis, 600km, etc. Then, later, the federation standardized sports and races were limited in the stadiums, only cross-country was “off”. Much later during the ’70 running left the stadiums again and road races developed, then new endurance sports appeared each developing some “ultra” events, always more difficult. It’s interesting to observe the changes of sport, its history pushed by sociology and it is still more interesting to study where, in which countries and when, in which socioeconomic surrounding, the new sport entered in some country. What happens with
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EVOLUTION AND IMPACT ON THE EN VIRONMENT OF TR AIL RU N NING SPORTING EVENTS ...
triathlon and trail is very interesting from this point of view. The development of trail in France first, then, later in Romania is part of this approach.
Limitations of the study A limitation of the current study was the number of trail running events organized in Europe. Due to the lack of precise data, this ranking comprises only the events registered by ITRA, but the number of this type of events in the world is much higher.
CONCLUSIONS The number of competitions increases from year to year all over the world. Eastern countries such as Romania try to develop this sport activity and the local economy of the mountain regions. Trail running is practiced in Romania since 2006 with sporadic sporting events, unrelated to an association or a federation. Trail running presents at least two qualities: from the very beginning a special attention was paid to the environment. Road races were seen as something of the past, the “red economy”, with too many environmental impacts. Today environment protection is a real target with, for instance, the uses of low carbon impact means of transport, no blisters for the food, no plastic cups, no paper for the communication and registration, cleaning of the course after the race, selective sorting of the waste tanks, etc. The second quality is the use of these races as a way of communication for historic and touristic places. Each participant usually come with accompanists who can be at least as interested by the touristic aspect as by the race itself and it is a good way to show to the participant how interesting is a place or a country to make him to come back with family or relatives. Trail running is one of the new sports wanting to develop another aspect of sport. For the last thirty years, with the road races and a kind of fashion illustrated by the film “Forest Gump”, the hero running out of a football field and never stopping his races for months and hundreds of miles, which symbolized the coming back of sport to the nature and other values, a part of sport, always being in the federations, developing competitions, is nearer and nearer of the nature, taking care of it, far from the idea of the “stadiums, places of clinker and concrete” (de
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Montherlant, 1959). Sport is now part of the economic sphere and trail running too, but on the green side.
References De Montherlant, H. (1959). Les Olympiques. Paris: Gallimard. Gery, A. (2014). L’Ultra-trail du Mont-Blanc, 12eme édition. Presse release, Retrieved from 2. http://www.ultratrailworldtour.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/CP11-UTWT-Fr.pdf. International Trail Running Association (ITRA). Retrieved from www.i-tra.org/ Le succès de l'ultra-trail du Mont-Blanc dope l'économie locale (2014). L’Express. Retrieved from http://lentreprise.lexpress.fr/actualites/1/actualites/le-succes-de-l-ultra-trail-dumont-blanc-dope-l-economie-locale_1571178.html Nordregio (2004). Mountain Areas in Europe: Analysis of mountain areas in EU member states, acceding and other European countries. Nordregio Report 2004:1, Stockholm. Retrieved from http://www.nordregio.se/en/Publications/Publications2004/ Mountain-areas-in-Europe/ Romanian Sports events calendar. Retrieved from www.sportsplanner.ro The Outdoor Foundation (2014). A special report of trail running. The Outdoor Foundation report, Washington. Retrieved from http://www.outdoorfoundation.org/research. trailrunning.html.
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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SPORTS INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CREATION OF A TOURIST PRODUCT Marcel VUČETIĆ, Romana LEKIĆ, Dubravko KRAUS
INTRODUCTION Development of world’s mass tourism as it is today was intensified, after the Second World War and in the Republic of Croatia some twenty years later, in its original form-staying in the sun by the sea. This type of tourism known as 3S (sun, sea and sand) dominates the world tourist destinations, but since the last decade of the last century the process of so-called diversification of the tourism product and the development of new types of tourism has begun due to increasingly demanding tourism market, which was also reflected on the tourist offer. Therefore, next to leisure tourism other kinds appear in recognizable extent such as nautical, rural, sports, health, transit and cultural tourism. Due to the new demand, tourism industry has responded with new development forms of special forms of tourism which go beyond the mass forms. We are particularly interested in sports infrastructure which, with its various elements, significantly participates in quality of the tourism offer. Management and maintenance of sports infrastructure is of particular importance for the improvement, development and expansion of tourism product. Tourism industry in the Republic of Croatia, due to the high value of the required start up capital for the construction of sports infrastructure, must look for various solutions that are provided in synergy with different owners of such facilities. Ownership of sports facilities (infrastructure), in the different segments, is from the state, county, local to private. Because of that the Law of Sports (NN No. 60/92; 25/93; 11/94;
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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
77/95; 71/06) has legally defined rationality of construction and usage of sports facilities in the Republic of Croatia. For the concept of sports facilities many different definitions are used, but the professor Bartoluci’s is considered the best (2013): ports facility is a space or a surface created by human activity and makes economic and technological whole of primary, auxiliary, supporting and spatial content that provide secure and comfortable sport and sport and recreational activity. According to the same author, we can see what kind of sports infrastructure segments are used in tourism: Table number 1 Types of sports facilities in tourism sports hall
The hall has adequate space for storage of equipment and devices as well as locker rooms for users with adequate sanitary facilities.
swimming pool
Hall with locker rooms, adequate sanitary facilities of different size and shape.
football, hockey, rugby field
The court size is according to the rules of each sport at least with two locker rooms adequate sanitary and other facilities.
courts for futsal, handball, basketball, volleyball
The court size is according to the rules of each sport. Each court has nearby locker rooms with adequate sanitary and other facilities.
tennis court
Tennis court with locker rooms and sanitary facilities.
bocce court
Bocce court with locker rooms and sanitary facilities.
skate rink
Covered ice rink with artificial ice and at least two locker rooms with sanitary facilities.
ski resort
Ski area with trails, ski lift system and other services and infrastructure
other indoor or outdoor facilities Source: Bartoluci (2013)
Halls and facilities used by many people at the same time with adequate locker rooms and sanitary facilities and other services.
A great opportunity in the range of these facilities is offered to entrepreneurship that can and must find its interest in smaller infrastructural resources such as tennis court, mini golf course, bowling alley, bocce court, fitness gym etc.. Observing the trends among tourists as consumers of sport and recreational offerings, comfort and safety aspects are going to be of great importance in the choice of a holiday destination. More often than in some other aspects of our lives we identify ourselves with idols in sports knowing all the details in relation to their clothes or facilities where they practice and compete. 92
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SPORTS INFR ASTRUCTUR E IN THE CR EATION OF A TOUR IST PRODUCT
Sports infrastructure is the one that will attract potential tourists with its aesthetics, functionality, attraction, trend and specificity. Therefore, its design, construction and maintenance must be of great importance. In the Republic of Croatia there are many indoor and outdoor sport facilities which can’t be used because of inadequate design and difficulties in maintaining. Nowadays sport facilities need to be adjusted to tourists and people with disabilities and therefore it must be the major task of tourism product. Considering sports infrastructure management, Šurbatović’s (2014) statements are of significant importance which must be carried out as a continuous process in stages: –– Predicting the needs of community and users in terms of building a sports facility or defining new forms of offers. –– Construction planning and design of a sports facility and/or to create offers based on analysis of sport demand and community’s objectives. –– Organization of existing services and the optimization of capacity in the process of defining the program content in order to achieve efficient management and rational response to wishes and needs of users and community. –– Managing of sports facility like business system which realizes its goals on the market. –– Control and determine standards in the functioning of the sports facility. It is necessary to create maps of sports infrastructure at the local level with all the resources we have, in the first place trails for biking or Nordic walking, orienteering running and water sport areas for various water sports, everything what nature gives and is a part of the tourism product. The proof of the new approach towards understanding connection between sports infrastructure and tourism product is the article published in the Business Daily (Poslovni dnevnik, No.2757 13./14.2.2015.) Along the route of the former narrow-gauge railway where popular train called Ćiro was driving and which linked two regions Hercegovina with Dubrovnik and Konavle, will soon be the bike trail. The project provides bike trail long 200 km, form Mostar to Konavle. The project worth 643 000 euros will be financed by Cross-border cooperation program funds and 539 000 euros are already approved from IPA funds (Pre Accession Assistance). Creating a tourism product represents the last phase for sports infrastructure because it implies that we have previously mastered all economic factors in the
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construction, maintenance and use of facilities as Batroluci (2009) draws attention to: –– Polyvalence and multi-purpose function of sports facilities –– Location –– Solution to the problem of infrastructure –– Conditions and methods of construction and equipping of sports facilities –– Conditions and manner of use of sports facilities Nowadays in modern tourism all sports facilities must be multi-purpose used according to a planner accurately made long before the start of the season. Location is also very important because guests-users will often give up on the facilities to which they can’t get, which do not have enough water and electricity in the season and of course if they are not well equipped. Monitoring of modern technologies in sports concerning construction and equipping of facilities might mean a competitive advantage. After holidays guests should not have any negative experiences concerning available sports infrastructure, because it can pose a serious problem of not coming back again. Olympic Games in London in 2012. showed new trends in the construction and use of sports infrastructure. Bartoluci (2009) points out that it is not possible to give a universal model for creating sport and recreation offer, but that the model of entrepreneurship in this component must contain: –– Identification of market needs –– Programs of activities –– Resources and conditions for the implementation of the model –– Estimation of sales volume –– Business projection model In the Republic of Croatia sports activities and facilities are not given enough importance in tourism industry which is shown by bad financial results concerning out board spending. We are ignoring the fact which gives the importance to the creation of the tourism product, a busy and stressful lifestyle, when the need and importance for sport and tourist recreation daily rise. Sports infrastructure in geographical and tourism regions of the Republic of Croatia –– Littoral region –– Mountainous region –– Lowland region is looking for a selective approach which will become part of the strategy of the
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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SPORTS INFR ASTRUCTUR E IN THE CR EATION OF A TOUR IST PRODUCT
national tourism product. Croatian tourism and sports are the most competitive and branded factor of recognition in the world. Developed and well used sports infrastructure contributes to extension of the tourist season, better economic and social results and in particular the importance of the new meaning of holidays which is called experience.
CONCLUSION Knowledge and skills of the professionals working in tourism are of the greatest importance for sports infrastructure creating tourism product. Primarily it means the management and maintenance of all the facilities which can be used in sport and recreation tourism. The importance of active holidays has long been understood through tourism demand and therefore from season to season we note many changes which are quite demanding for the tourism industry. Not being prompt in creating tourism product by using sports infrastructure, represents a loss of competitiveness on the market. When attracting guests we have to be aware of the fact that speaking of sport and recreation tourism, often, the guests are with large purchasing power. Up to 50% of all the tourists are the tourists from sport tourism. Today it represents the potential of 700 million tourists. Sport and adrenalin are inseparable and nowadays frequently various facilities are offered not being exactly sport but demand is entitled to it and we have to respect that. The fact is that we should have had destinations which are recognizable by biking trails, tennis courts, golf courses and other attractive facilities. There is also a deficit of centers for the preparations of athletes and no strategy, when we can just witness leaving our athletes and national teams outside of our state, where having exceptional conditions at far lower prices. Sport is a great business, but also a matter of style as in winter sport tourism. Creation of tourism product through sports infrastructure will give many positive economic effect of large foreign exchange inflow, new employment, prolonging the tourist season. As for the social effects certainly the most important is the impact on health, education, socialization and advertising that the country will get, having the better tourism product. The Republic of Croatia is not climate or geographical handicapped but a significant problem is the impact of human resources on the usage and potentiality of all the indoor and outdoor facilities in the sport tourism. With far more attention
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it must treat the landscapes and appreciate all their potentials, environmental and aesthetic standards and on their basis create a tourism product.
References Bartoluci, M., Čavlek, N.(2007). Turizam i sport- razvojni aspekti, Zagreb, Školska knjiga Bartoluci, M. (2003). Ekonomika i menedžment sporta, Zagreb, Informator Bartoluci, M., Škorić, S. (2009). Menadžment u sportu, Zagreb, Udžbenici društvenog veleučilišta u Zagrebu Masterman, G.(2008). Strateški menadžment sportskih događanja,Beograd, Clio, Šurbatović, J.(2014). Menadžment u sportu, Beograd, JP Zavod za udžbenike Tomić, M. (2007). Sportski menadžment, Beograd, Data status
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PARAGLIDING IN TERMS OF SAFETY IN THE UPPER SOČA REGION Janez MEKINC, Katarina MUŠIČ, Špela ŠTERK
INTRODUCTION Among cultural, spa and business tourism, sport tourism is one of the fastest growing segments of tourism. Throughout the last few years, sports, especially adventure sports, are becoming more and more interesting. For the active tourist, sport has become an integral part of life also when on holiday. Some find in it relaxation, entertainment, socializing, and for some it has become the meaning of life. On the other hand, there are also some who make a living out of it, and others that have upgraded it into pure competition. Paragliding is very popular and opens up a whole new world of wonderful experiences for the people who practice it. It can range from simple rides from the top of a hill, or a trek to the top of a mountain from which one can glide down the valley. For the daring that seek something more, paragliding also offers aerobatic manoeuvres, cross country flights and official competitions. Its appeal to all thrill seekers throughout the world lies in its ease of use and the affordable price and it is now promoted in almost all countries around the globe. Among the most popular ones is the Soca Valley. It offers excellent conditions for the implementation of this sport, where paragliders can see natural and historical places from the air. So it is of no surprise that paragliding has a significant impact on the development of tourism in this region. In this paper we will discuss paragliding through the perspective of safety. We will explore it from its early beginnings, and into what has evolved, and where the risks are. Of course
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we will also review the related laws that regulate the sport, what kind of impact on tourism it brings, and present the opportunities and improvements. As said before, the Upper Soča is with its natural resources and weather conditions very interesting for paragliders. We have to emphasize that although the season takes place only in the warmer months of the year, and that a large proportion of the region lies in the Triglav national park, it is popular with tourists. So the area is under the law’s regulations and protection: Triglav National Park (TNP) law, airspace rules and regulations in the field of paragliding. The development of sports’ tourism in the municipalities of Tolmin, Kobarid and Bovec are still restricted due to the poor transportation links to central Slovenia and to the north, the underdeveloped public transport and the tourist signs. A milestone for Slovenian paragliding was set in 1984 when Dare Svetina flew from Dobrča hill. Only three years later Svetina organized the first Slovenian championship in paragliding. That was also the year when Sandi Marinčič, Vlasta Kunaver and Igor Krevelj flew from Triglav, the highest Slovenian mountain. The next year we had more than 120 pilots, and paragliding became officially recognized (Kunaver, Marinčič and Vrhovec, 1988). Now, 26 years further on, we have 1,326 registered paragliders (Humphrey 2014). Kaniamos (2008) says that paragliding is flying where the pilot hangs below the wing, on lines in a custom-made seat. The basic equipment consists of a glider, a parachute, seat, a spare reserve parachute and a helmet. Accessories vary from a variometer, navigational instruments, a radio station, gloves, appropriate footwear and clothing. A radio station is also defined in the third paragraph of Article 21 of the hang gliding and paragliding regulation, but it is only mandatory when training a novice pilot (Regulation of hang gliding and paragliding, 1999). “This kind of sport offer contributes to linking tourism products within the region and outside of it, as it improves service quality, increases occupancy and consumption which affects the number of jobs and improves the quality of life for the local people. The tourism industry requires highly qualified and trained staff with the general knowledge of the sport and the specifics related to this tourist product. (Pintar, 2004). Such a definition of tourism in the Upper Soča means that all the providers, tourist centres, and local paragliders should connect and operate as a whole. The good practice of this is visible in the paragliding shuttle service that is being provided to the top of some mountains in the area. Local developers of tourism policies - if they want to maintain the level of the paragliding tourism
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segment, which plays quite a significant role - should look into cooperating with the paragliders and adopt their knowledge. This would bring better and faster solutions. But that would not count if they are not integrated with a tourist product which offers everything and more to satisfy his / her needs. Because that is the recipe, so that he or she will return. For Slovenia tourism the Upper Soča (Municipality of Tolmin, Kobarid and Bovec) represents an important area. It spreads from the river Soča’s source, along it and its tributaries all the way from Bovec, passing Kobarid and Tolmin, ending at Most na Soči. The main feature of this area is in transition from the Alpine mountains in the subalpine, which is also seen in the surface, climate, landscape and economic image. A large proportion of the northern area falls within the Triglav National park. When researching tourism in the Upper Soča is worth taking into account that this was an area that was in three countries (Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Italy and after 1945 Yugoslavia), marked with two world wars, and as such has received multiple border changes. Focusing first on the monarchy, it is true that every territory had its main (umbrella) tourism organization. Its focus was advocating for better communication channels and for partial business interests of elites. In the 18th and 19th century the former Tolmin region (combined current municipality of Tolmin, Kobarid and Bovec) was interesting to aristocrats inclined to exploring, and later there came the bourgeois romantic adventurers. Dvorsky and Franty in their book Slovinske Alpy from the year 1910 wrote that the first tourists at the end of the 19th century were mountaineers. In it they noted the impact that they had on the economy and the way of life. A turning point for the development of tourism came in 1906 with the opening of the Bohinj-Trieste railway. But all efforts for the further development of tourism were interrupted in 1914 with the First World War, and then the second one. Nonetheless, in the time between both wars the idea of a ski resort at Livek was born (the winter of 1921/22). It was not until after the Second World War that policy-makers realized that tourism could be a major economic backbone of a state. The mass trade union and the ski centre Kanin (completed in 1974) strengthened the role of winter tourism and wrapped up an all-year-round offer of the Upper Soča valley. So it is not surprising that the Soča valley began to use the slogan Tourism, Sport, Recreation (1982). In the next three years they also started with the promotion of agri-tourism, cultural heritage and fishery - which saved the marble trout from extinction. The awareness of pure nature came in the frontline, all under the motto of a healthy and active holiday in
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pure nature and the harmonious coexistence of all those that participated. At the turn of the last decade of the previous century paragliders started to offer the first tourist tandem flights. The year 1989 is considered the beginning of institutional tourism in Upper Soča as the first consultant in the field of tourism was hired for all three municipalities. His task was to connect all the stakeholders in a single tourist offer. In the tourist brochure from the year 1994 we find together climbers, water sports, bikers, paragliders and cultural, historical and rural images from the entire Upper Soča region. With the creation of individual municipalities this same year, the uniform appearance and work of the three municipalities Tolmin, Kobarid and Bovec collapsed, but all of them were seeking a future in tourism. (Kozorog, 2009, pp. 69-123).
Paragliding in the Upper Soča In the municipalities of Kobarid and Tolmin they sell permits that are obligatory for foreign pilots. They are used as the right for takeoff and landing in this valley. Slovenians are not required to buy them, because as members of the paragliding clubs they are automatically members of the Association of Free Flying Association. The alliance also offers benefits such as insurance for the liability for damages against a third party, receiving the journal Icarus, which is designed for paragliders and hang gliders. Through the alliance all the necessary procedures of registering the takeoffs and landing sites are managed. They also assist in obtaining the mandatory opinion from the Slovenian nature conservation committee (Association of Free Flight, 2015). In the region, we have three paragliding clubs, which maintain the take-off and landing sites (Association Adrenalin, 2014). The Association of Free Flying Soča was founded in 1981, because the first hang gliders were already flying from Kobala hill in the year 1975. The first paraglider took off from the same hill in year 1985. (Kobala, 2014). The take-off and landing points are marked with information boards and other information. As mentioned before, one needs a permit, that is sold for a day (€4.00), three days (.€11.00), ten days (€20.00) and seasonal (€35.00), to takeoff and landing. (Association Adrenaline, 2015). According to table 1 with the number of sold permits and numbers of arrivals we can estimate a percentage of foreign paragliders that visit the area. From the analysis we need to eliminate domestic arrivals, then the ones from municipalities
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of Bovec, since the permits are not sold there and the vast majority of paragliders are stationed in Tolmin and Kobarid, and competitors. From 2008 to 2012, the proportion of paragliders ranged around stable 25.6%. Table 1: Number of permits sold / foreign arrivals, 2008-2012 no. of permits sold
foreign arrivals
Permits sold / arrivals (%)
2008
7,181
27,088
26.5
2009
6,289
25,622
24.5
2010
6,219
24,770
25.1
2011
7,748
30,446
25.4
2012
8,454
31,887
26.5
Source: adapted from the Adrenalin Soča Association and SURS, 2015
The exact number of arrivals and overnight stays of paragliders is hard to determine, because not everyone buys permits (Slovenian nationals and competitors – they pay €1.00 a day (the normal price is €4.00)), or the weather conditions are not appropriate for flying. So all we can give is an estimation derived from the given numbers, the real numbers are even higher. The government’s regulations on hang gliding and paragliding (1999) state that "the take-off and landing points have to meet the safety criteria" (1.point, Article 18). In the next section of the same article sets "records of organized takeoff and landing places are kept by the administration". Organized flying from the official spots will be permitted upon registration. For registration the following is required: consent of the land owner, the expert opinion of the Management Board of Slovenian Nature Conservation body in which it is found that the take-off point, the landing site and the flight area are not in conflict with environmental restrictions. Also, if the new takeoff or landing area needs construction work or change of land use, then the municipality needs to give its opinion. If the proposed new flying or landing area is in the zone of a sport airfield the airport management also needs to give its approval. The safety of paragliding is always foremost. An experienced pilot is able to assess to what extent an environment is safe or unsafe to fly – regarding his or her skills, experience, or equipment. Beginners should fly under the supervision of their instructor, who will complement their lack of experience. It should be noted
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that almost all accidents occur due to human factors, and not due to the nature of the sport. There are also test pilots who are constantly exploring the limits of the equipment to test the security restrictions. But there are also pilots who do not respect even the most basic safety principles (Kaniamos, 2008). The decree on hang gliding and paragliding (1999) sets out the conditions for the construction, operation and maintenance of hang-gliders and paragliders, the conditions associated with the determination of their ability to fly. Moreover the owner or operator of a paraglider is required (every two years) to carry out a technical examination of the materials used and the construction which must be conducted by an authorized person or the manufacturer. In accordance with the mentioned decree, accidents will be investigated by a permanent commission appointed by the administration and carried out in accordance with the standards of the investigation of aircraft accidents, serious incidents and incidents relating to aircraft. The Association of Free Flying Slovenia has also made a statutory height of flight in the Upper Soča Valley, where it is permissible to fly 2,895 meters above sea level. The newly endorsed rule by the ministry of infrastructure (adopted in 2014) on compulsory labelling of nationality, registration and other markings on civil aircraft, has raised a lot of questions. Even before the rule entered into force, the Association of Free Flying pointed out that it would cause economic damage to tourism, because we would be the only country in the EU demanding such a rule. The association also argued that it doesn’t solve or bring any additional safety features, which was the main objective when the ministry adopted the new rule. On all of these facts the Ministry of Infrastructure RS was also warned by the EHPU- European Hang Gliding and Paragliding Union (2014). The Association of free flying also added that the ministry with moves like this just complicate the position of Slovenian providers in the paragliding sphere.
Security and safety procedures Risk assessment is the foundation and core virtue in paragliding and is the main point of safe practice. It depends on human qualities, and covers the acceptance of one’s limits, the care for their own safety and excessive risk when demonstrating their skills (Revenko, 2006). That excessive risk while demonstrating skills against other pilots is one of the potential hazards that affect the pilot's attention, which
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was also highlighted by Mole (2015). He noted that in this way the likelihood of an accident increases. An assessment of where the limit is and what constitutes danger differs from pilot to pilot. As said by Jacobs (in Revenko, 2006, p. 64) it is more likely to be an experienced pilot who embarks on dangerous adventures, as an experienced pilot’s perception of danger varies throughout the experience, which is associated with a greater degree of confidence in his/her own skills. But that does not mean that even the best pilots do not make mistakes. Measures to reduce these risks of an accident are: a realistic self assessment of one’s physical and mental condition, taking advice from senior pilots, analyzing the weather, mastering all phases of the flight. The hazard assessment depends on the pilot's experience. Antonio da Paixão and Tucher (2012) in his study stated that paragliders highlight the importance of the procedures and actions that can minimize and predict imminent danger. This is also confirmed with Mole (2015), who emphasizes the development of a safe routine which must be followed each time one flies. Furthermore António da Paixão and Tucher (2012, p. 8) came to the conclusion that all paragliders place great emphasis on the management of all phases of their flight, as well on high-quality equipment and its maintenance. At the same time they give priority to established procedures over practice. The result of their research came to the conclusion that the biggest challenge paragliders face is the realization that their activity can harm or seriously injure them. Roti (2015) in his safety issue broke it down to these conclusions: the most important elements of a safe flight is to plan your flight first in your head and try to realize every possible scenario what could go wrong and your reactions to them, train your body and mind, and gradually upgrade your skills, know your equipment and keep in mind that most accidents in paragliding can be predicted and prevented. Mole (2015) adds to the security features, focus your attention on the pre-takeoff phase, go through a safety check, during any phase of the flight don’t exceed boundaries, constantly analyze the situation, allow yourself an adequate margin of risk, do not exaggerate with excess equipment, analyze your own accident or emergency procedures and those of the others, consider and follow the warning signs and only fly using equipment adapted to your knowledge and level of experience.
Review and analysis of accidents In the Upper Soča Valley there operates two Mountain Rescue Services (hereinafter MRS) Tolmin and Bovec. The MRS Bovec station was founded in
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1947 and the Tolmin Mountaineering Club with the MRS station were founded in 1948 (MRAS, 2015). Information regarding paragliding accident statistics was obtained from the archives of MRS Tolmin. Data from MRS Bovec was negligible, as they had had only three in the last five years (Cuder, personal communication, December 15, 2014). Table 2 presents the statistics on MRS Tolmin rescues in their area, which runs from the Italian border on the south side of Kobariški Stol, through Srpenica, Polovnik, Krasji top, Vršiči, Krnčica, Krn, the summits of Sand, Prehodci and Bogatin, over the entire ridge from Tolminsko-Bohinj to Lajnar, Porezna-Gradiške and then down to Sežana. All paragliding rescue operations that were not done in Upper Soča valley were excluded from the analysis. Table 2: Number of interventions MRAS Tolmin, 2010-2014 No. of rescue operations involving paragliders
Slovenian paragliders
Foreign paragliders
Cancelled missions
2010
28
0
26
2
2011
44
4
35
5
2012
44
5
35
4
2013
20
3
15
2
2014
23
1
19
3
Source: Mountain Rescue Service Tolmin, 2015
In 2010, rescue workers were involved in 28 cases, among which were eight cases that needed help from a helicopter. In two cases, the intervention was cancelled; because the paraglider reported he was fine and safe. All the actions had involved foreign citizen, most of whom were injured, and one died. The next year the emergency team had 44 calls for help (five times it was a false alarm) and only four of them came from Slovenian paragliders. That year the helicopter was engaged 12 times. In 2012, they rushed to give help 44 times as well. The difference was that they had to rescue 5 Slovenians, cancel 4 missions and save 35 foreigners. The year 2013 brought a huge decline in rescue missions, “only” 20 (3 Slovenians, 15 foreigners), 2 of the missions were abandoned, because the paragliders were already safe. But still the helicopter had to fly 6 times. In the year 2014, members of the Tolmin rescue squad helped 23 paragliders. One Slovenian and 19 foreign nationals, and three times the rescue process was stopped as the person being
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searched for had already reported that he or she didn’t need help. The helicopter intervened in eleven cases. After calculating all the information the result is as follows; 90.91% of all mountain rescue missions were due to foreign nationals.
METHODS The main method of research was a qualitative research in the form of semistructured interviews, which gave us an insight into the safety through the eyes of the paragliding pilots. The purpose of this study was to obtain a snapshot of the current state of paragliding and security in the Upper Soča area. With the interviews we were trying to figure out the problems that might affect the security factor and tourism in valley. In the study we included 5 paragliders who have experience flying in the Upper Soča area and are also key players in the paragliding community. The first is paragliding teacher, a competitor, as well as someone that offers accommodation and transport for tourists, so he knows all the aspects of paragliding safety and tourism issues. We also included two female representatives of the paragliding community who attended formal schooling and one of them has just started to compete. The last two interviewees have lots of experience flying as well as offering tandem flights to tourists.
RESULTS All the interviewees went through a formal education and passed the paragliding exam which gave them the right to gain the license. Their knowledge was also upgraded with a number of theoretical lectures on the topic of security, meteorology and first aid, manoeuvring and controlling parachutes at different speeds and difficult situations. All of this lead them to master the parachute on the ground and in the air, and gave them what they needed for independent flying. The interviewees shared the opinion that paragliding was as safe sport if you followed the correct steps and the right approach. They also stressed that every paraglider should be able to assess his or her own abilities, know the weather conditions and patterns, as well to know the equipment, so the risks are minimal. As the development progressed so the safety features of parachute increased. But on the other hand, the top-end competition parachutes have evolved into something very specific and
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cannot be mastered by a pilot that only flies here and there. When asked about the inherent dangers associated with flying in the Alps they all agree, knowing the local meteorology and techniques of flying, is the main focus of them all. And that is something that too many of the foreign paragliders ignore or are just not aware of. Many times they arrive to the valley from the plains, where the flight mode is completely different. It is also important that the pilot is able to correctly react when a critical situation occurs (wind closing the parachute, a strong swing ...). The opinion that paragliding plays a very important role in the Upper Soča area is shared by all interviewees. The main problem when it comes to safety is in the badly organized and inexperienced foreigners that do not know and respect the local characteristics of the weather and the air currents. Prior to buying a paragliding ticket – permit – every pilot should show a certificate of insurance in the event of an accident, which could provide cover for the cost of the rescue. Special attention should also be paid to the foreign instructors and their students, because at the moment there is no proper supervision. The interviewees agreed that there should be more effort invested in informing foreign pilots about the conditions of flying here and draw their attention to their greater precaution measures. That can be solved with more pamphlets and websites dedicated to informing them about these questions. One of the possible measures to increase safety is enabling a local paragliding club to ban any pilots who ignore or disrespect the weather conditions when they fly. Paragliding, according to the interviewees, had developed in parallel with the other sports in the Upper Soča. Given the fact that the Upper Soča area is among the five best paragliding destinations in the European Union (Rakušček, interview, 26 February 2015) gives a pathway for further development. Just on its own the segment of foreign paragliding tourism in Tolmin and Kobarid represents around 25% of all foreigners that visit the two municipalities. This could accelerate with the number of new take-off sites, better road communications, and the organization of paragliding events and additional activities on non-flying days. The statistics in this paper should also be born in mind with the Bovec officials, where paragliding is not developed. With the increased number of tourists and paragliders among them, we also notice more providers who offer their shuttle or sleepover services to paragliders, but lack in any knowledge about safety questions. Most of them have no other connection with paragliding. That is why they should be informed and educated, so they could provide extra information to their guests regarding flying in this area.
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The interviewees take accidents in paragliding as an integral part of the risk of sport, but emphasize that clubs offer enough information to foreign pilots, but they do not take their warnings into account. This is also confirmed by the fact that among those who were injured, 90% of cases come from outside Slovenia. The basic reason for getting themselves into trouble was ignoring the meteorology and the techniques of flying in the Alpine world. All of the interviewees pointed out that paragliding was safe as much as the pilot was.
CONCLUSION Paragliding is a recreational and competitive sport. In recent years, the development of equipment, availability of the weather conditions, and the web terrain analysis had transformed the sport in a way that the performance and safety had increased as well the number of pilots that practiced this sport. We have learned that many factors contribute to a safe takeoff and landing. Every individual must primarily examine the conditions in which he or she flies and be aware of their abilities and limits. These are the fundamental conditions for reducing the risk. But no matter how good the preparation is, it cannot overrule all the variables that can occur to the pilot during take-off, the landing phase or in the flight. So the main cause of many accidents is a sudden gust of wind or human error. The Upper SoÄ?a Valley is one of the best destinations to fly in Europe. The study confirmed that there is a lack or inadequate expertise among those who offer accommodation to paragliders or the given information is very poor. The opportunity to improve this situation is to provide free training for these accommodation providers. Help from the local and government authority to empower the local clubs, so that they could work hand in hand with the municipality and strictly implement the control over permits and paragliders, could be a second contributing factor that would make a difference with respect to safety. The analysis of the legislation showed that the required conditions for independent flying and those of pupils are properly defined with a licence and an instructor that has to be with his student during his initial flights. Also the air space of Slovenia has prescribed corridors in which flying is allowed. It was also shown that regulations endorsed by the government doesn’t necessarily have an impact on safety. The last such rule was made at end of 2014 when the government
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wanted to indorse mandatory registration of hang-gliders and paragliders, which would represent something unique in Europe, but it was not implemented after the Association for Free Flying Slovenia had presented its arguments. They argued that such a rule would mean a loss of foreign and domestic tourists and not contribute to safety. (Srecko Jost, personal communication, March 11, 2015). Paragliding tourism in the Upper Soča Valley is becoming increasingly important. An analysis of paragliding accidents has shown that this is the area where most of them happen. In the last five years the mountain rescue services in Tolmin concluded 143 actions where a paraglider was in need of assistance, and only in 13 cases were Slovenians in need of help. The most common cause of accidents was the lack of knowledge of meteorology and flying techniques. As shown, the rescuers also had problems locating the injured paragliders. So, one of the other aspects to look at when addressing safety is, that all paragliders should use one official frequency, so that rescuers could reach them easily. This is important because the pilots are flying over and in between mountainous terrain, where there is no complete coverage of the mobile signal. Currently, foreigners use other frequencies, making communication difficult. Another measure to increase security would also be the introduction of a mandatory commercial insurance as it’s known all over Europe.
References Adrenalin Gornje Posočje. (2014). Downloaded on 12. 10. 2014 from http://www.drustvoadrenalin.si/?url=domov Antônio da Paixão, J., Tucher, G. (2012). Risk Perception for Paragliding Practitioners. International Journal of Sports Science 2012, 2(2): 6-10. Društvo za prosto letenje Posočje. (2014). Downloaded on 12. 10. 2014 from http://www. kobala.si/sl/o-nas European Hang gliding and paragliding union. (2014). Downloaded on 10. 03. 2015 from http://www.ehpu.org/content/ehpu.htm Gorska reševalna zveza Slovenije. (2015). Downloaded on 16. 01. 2015 from http://www. grzs.si/drustva.php Humprey, D. (14. December 2014). Numbers of paragliding pilots worldwide. Paraglider Manufacturers Association. Downloaded on 10. 5. 2014 from http://p-m-a.info/news/ article/pma-research-numbers-of-paraglider-pilots-worldwide.html
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Kaniamos, P. (2008). Paragliding: priročnik in vodič za letenje z jadralnim padalom. Jastrebarsko: Pintardesign. Kozorog, M. (2009). Antropologija turistične destinacije v nastajanju: prostor, festivali in lokalna identiteta na Tolminskem. Ljubljana: Filozofska fakulteta. Kunaver, V., Marinčič, S. in Vrhovec, T. (1988). Priročnik za letenje z jadralnimi padali. Mole, J. (19. januar 2015). Accidents... and how to avoid them. The paraglider. Downloaded on 19. 01. 2015 from http://www.theparaglider.com/ accidents%E2%80%A6-and-how-to-avoid-them-95 Pintar, D. (2004). Trženje športne ponudbe v slovenskem turizmu. V H. Berčič (ur.), Zbornik 5. slovenskega kongresa športne rekreacije (pp. 61-68). Ljubljana: Olimpijski komite Slovenije. Revenko, I. (2006). Risk management in paragliding. Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine, 63-64. Roti, S. (2015). The Three P's: Preparation, Practice, Prevention. Safety annual. Downloaded on 19. 01. 2015 from http://www.ushpa.aero/safety/2009SafetyAnnual.pdf Uredba o jadralnem zmajarstvu in jadralnem padalstvu. (1999). Uradni list Republike Slovenije, (13/1999), 1153.
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TESTING A BRAND OF DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS Hessa ALQEMZI
INTRODUCTION Sports events have become more popular in the recent years; the World cup and Olympic games are an example of these types of events. Hosting such events will help on tourism development in the host country (Rogerson, 2009). Hosting a sport event will surely affect the host city, country and even the region. Moreover they are going to benefit from this type of events, even the tourism and economic industries will benefit from it too (Getz, 1998; Hall, 1992). United Arab Emirates is one of those countries that has been affected and has benefitted from hosting different sport events, some of them was only on one occasion and other are yearly events. Sport events that have been hosted once, Asian cup in 1996, FIFA world cup for clubs 2009 and 2010, FIFA world cup u-21 in 2003 and 2013. Sport events that are hosted yearly are, Dubai Duty Free Championships, Mubadala World Tennis Championship, Formula 1 Grand prix, Dubai world cup for horse racing and Volvo ocean race. Hosting such events, changed the image of UAE when it comes to sport. A lot of sport clubs, national teams and other games players come to the country for their winter camps. This research is about the effectiveness of sport events on the destination brand or we can say destination image. Crompton (1979) defines the destination image as “the sum of beliefs, ideas and impressions that a person has of destination�. A lot of studies had been done to show the impact of sport events on the destinations
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image; Dembek & Wloch (2014) studied the impact of sport events on the image of the hosted country, when Poland hosted the UEFA Euro in 2012. We can conclude from this study that Poland has achieved their goal, more than a billion viewers via 55 thousand hours in 220 countries saw the tournament, and Poland has been mentioned in all different broadcasts, and people start to search and read about Poland as a country to visit. The same study was done when South Africa hosted the World cup 2010, before hosting this event few people would have thought of traveling to South Africa, but after this event that attracted more than 600,000 tourist (Plessis & Maennig 2011), a lot of people nowadays have started to travel to this country. The main purpose of this research is to find out the effectiveness of sport events on the destination image and brand, especially a sport that is not a popular not only in the UAE but also in several countries like tennis. Therefore I’ve chosen the Dubai Duty free Tennis Championship to examine the brand among different nationalities. Dubai Duty Free Championship starts in 1993 just for men’s and in 2001 the women’s championship starts besides the men’s championships. In 2009, Dubai Duty free tennis men’s championships become the first to be given ATP 500 point, and the WTP tournaments become primer 5 events for the first time. This championship is the only one in the Middle East region that’s under ATP world tour 500 point. (Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship official website) We need to do this research to find out how effective is the brand of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship is among locals, expats who live in the UAE and international tourists and to examine their recognition for such a sport event that is not popular.
METHODOLOGY Data was collected among 3 groups in Abu Dhabi, local Emirati people, expats living in the UAE and international tourists. Two ways were used to collect the data, hard copy survey and online survey using EnKlikAnketa website. The survey contains 15 questions, 4 open questions, 1 scale question and 10 multiple choice question. In the 22nd of February I sent the first link of the survey via twitter, 16 people filled the survey. In the 23rd of February I sent the first reminder, 297 participated in the survey and in the 1st of March I sent the second reminder and
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got 195 participants. As mentioned, data was collected in-both ways, hard copy survey and online survey. The hard copy survey was distributed in two places between tourist and expats in Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque on the 24th of February, and was distributed among tourists, expats and locals in Al Ain Zoo on the 25th of February. Then the data in the hard copy was transferred to the online survey so that the calculations became easier. The online survey was distributed among two social media applications, Twitter and What’s app in the 22nd of February. The final database results were calculated online. Survey is one of the difficult ways to collect data, either online or hard copy. The main problem that I faced while collecting the data was that most people saw that the survey was too long and they didn’t have time to fill it. Other problem was the language of the survey; some of the tourist can’t speak, write or even read English so they refused to fill in the survey.
Sample The final total of participants in the survey is 193 and the completed surveys are 56. By groups, 77% (148) are local Emirati, 12% (24) expats living in UAE and 11% (21) International tourists in UAE as shown in Graph 1.
N=193
International tourists in UAE
11%
Expat living in UAE
12%
Local Emirati living in UAE
77% 0%
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Graph 1: Participant by 3 groups
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Looking to the demographic data in table 1, we will find that the participant are divided equally by gender 50% females and 50% males. Moreover 51% of the participant are between the age 20-30, and 38% between the age 31-50, Only 9% are under 20 years old and 2% more than 50 years old. Table 1: Demographic data N
Percent %
Male
28
50%
Female
28
50%
Less than 20
5
9%
20-30
28
51%
31-50
21
38%
Gender
Age
More than 50
1
2%
TOTAL
56
100%
N=56
Hypothesis Before starting this research, I assumed that local people would know more about the events then the expats who are living in the UAE. Moreover, I expected that females are more aware of the event than the males.
RESULTS WITH IMPLICATIONS The analysis of the surveys that have been distributed between UAE locals, expats living in the UAE and international tourists are shown in the figures below: As we can see in figure 1, the numbers of participants in the recognition question (question 5) are 51, and in the recall question (question 4) are 70. 76% (39) recognize the brand when showing them a picture, but the brand is at the top of 2.8% peoples mind, and that means 97.2% of the other sport events mentioned are the competitors of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The main competitor is football with different events. Since people in my sample mentioned football, Table 2 shows the number of people and the sports that comes to their minds when mentioning
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TESTING A BR AND OF DUBAI DUTY FR EE TEN NIS CHA MPIONSHIPS
76%
N=51
2.8%
Recognize
N=70
Recall
Figure 1: Logo recognition vs recall
Table 2: Sport in UAE Sport Name
Participants
Percentage
Football
31
44.2%
Formula 1
10
14.2%
Camel Racing
8
11.4%
Horce Racing
7
10%
Cricket
2
2.8%
Tennis
2
2.8%
Dubai Duty Free Tennis
2
2.8%
Zayed Marathon
2
2.8%
Golf
1
1.4%
Jiu-jitsu
1
1.4%
Horse Endurance
1
1.4%
Others
3
4.2%
TOTAL
70
100%
a sport in the UAE 31 participants mentioned football, which is 44.2% and 10 applicants, mentioned the formula 1 race that is 14.2%. Moreover, 8 mentioned the camel racing and 7 mentioned the horse racing.
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Graph 2: Participants feel about the event
Inspection of graph 2, shows how the participants feel about the event, the number of participants are 54, they said that this event is more to business than a culture, also they said that the tickets are almost affordable and that it’s a popular event. Furthermore, they think those international tourists are attending the event more than local people.
70% 60%
59%
50% 40% 30%
23%
20% 10%
5%
5%
0%
Graph 3: Event should be promoted
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5%
2%
TESTING A BR AND OF VIZIJA DUBAI INDUTY STR ATEŠK FR EEI TEN CILJI NIS CHA MPIONSHIPS
As shown in graph 3, 56 participated in the question. 59% of people participated in the survey said that this event should be promoted more as an entertainment event than others, 23% were saying it should be promoted as a socializing event. Moreover, 5% said that this event should be promoted more as Aesthetics event, an event to feel adrenalin and self-esteem, only 2% prefer other options such as advertisements. Looking back to the survey results by the main three groups (Locals, expats living in the UAE and international tourists) we will find the some difference between them in knowing and recognizing the brand. Brand Recognition 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
90% 80%
Brazil World Cup 2014
71%
HSBC Golf Championship Mubadala Championship 20% 11% 0%
9%
9%
10% 0% 0%
0%
0% 0%
0%
Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Other
Local Emirati living in Expat living in UAE International tourists UAE in UAE
Graph 4: Brand recognition by 3 groups
In graph 4, 51 participated in the question was recognize the brand, we would find that 90% of expat people living in the UAE recognize the brand more than International tourist then local Emiratis; only 80% of tourists and 71% of local said that they recognize the brand. In graph 5, 61 participated in this question, we asked the participants if they had seen this logo recently, we found out that 30% of local people and 31% of expats living in the UAE have seen the logo often recently, and only 10% of the tourist said the same. On the other hand, 50% of the tourist said that they have never seen the logo but only 23% of expats and 22% of locals said the same thing. 10% of the tourist, 23% of expats and 27% of locals said that they couldn’t remember when they last saw the logo. Furthermore, 30% of tourists said that they saw the logo but it’s been a while since the last time, 23% of expats and 22% of locals said the 117
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SPORTS TOUR ISM
Seeing the logo 30% 22% 27% 22%
International tourists in UAE
10%
Local Emirati living in UAE
I can not remember No, never
30%
10% 0%
Yes, but it's been a while from the last time
31%
23% 23% 23%
Expat living in UAE
Yes, often recenly
50%
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Graph 5: Seeing the logo by 3 groups
same. As mentioned, 41 participants recognized the logo, 65.8% are locals, 55.5% are females, 33.3% are male and 11,1% didn’t mention their gender. 21.9% of the participants are expats who live in the UAE, 66.6% are males, 22.2% are females and 11.1% didn’t mention their gender. The last 12.1% participants are Tourists 40% of them are males, 40% didn’t mentioned their gender and 20% are female. (see graph 6). 30 25
N=41
3 (11.1%)
20 15 10 5
Unknown
15 (55.5%)
9 (33.3%)
0 Local 27 (65.8%)
Female 1 (11.1%) 2 (22.2%) 6 (66.6%)
Expats 9 (21.9%)
Graph 6: Gender by 3 groups who recognize the logo
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Male 2 (40.0%) 2 (40.0%)
Tourists 5 (12.1%)
1 (20.0%)
TESTING A BR AND OF DUBAI DUTY FR EE TEN NIS CHA MPIONSHIPS
DISCUSSION This study demonstrates the significance of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships brand. As we found out, participants recognized the brand once they saw the picture and that might have happened because the survey was distributed at the same period that the championship was played in Dubai, which was in February, that helped them to recognize it by seeing their advertisements in the city street, newspapers or even on TV. Moreover, tennis is not a famous and popular game in the UAE, especially among local people. Furthermore, football is the most famous game besides formula 1, camel racing and horse racing. I think that if we distributed the survey before the championship starts or after it ends, the numbers of people knowing the brand would decrease. After looking at the results, we can now reject or confirm our hypotheses, We thought that local people know more than the expats about the event, what we found out is that 90% of expats know about the brand, and only 71% of locals know it. On the other hand, we assumed that females would recognize the brand more than males, which was right. 90% of females recognize the brand, and 76% males recognize it. As I suggest that Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships change their brand and make more attractive to people and to let it come first to their mind once they are asked about sport events in the UAE. Even though a good number of people recognize it, I think that they need to have a strong Identity and brand.
References Crompton, J. (1979). An Assessment Of The Image Of Mexico As A Vacation Destination And The Influence Of Geographical Location Upon That Image. Journal Of Travel Research, 17 (4), 18-23. Dembek, A., & WĹ‚och, R. (2014). The Impact Of A Sports Mega-Event On The International Image Of A Country: The Case Of Poland Hosting UEFA Euro 2012. Perspectives: Central European Review Of International Affairs, 22(1), 33-47. du Plessis, S., & Maennig, W. (2011). The 2010 FIFA World Cup high-frequency data economics: Effects on international tourism and awareness for South Africa. Development Southern Africa, 28 (3), 349-365.
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Getz, D. (1998). Trends, Strategies, And Issues In Sport-Event Tourism. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 7 (2), 8-13. Hall, C. M. (1992). Hallmark Tourist Events: Impacts, Management, Andplanning. London, England: Belhaven Press. Rogerson, C. M. (2009). Mega-events and small enterprise development: the 2010 FIFA World Cup opportunities and challenges. Development Southern Africa, 26 (3), 337-352.
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Is sports tourism AN opportunity for hotels on the Slovenian coast? Patricij OMAR, Gordana IVANKOVIČ
INTRODUCTION Sports tourism is a major tourist contemporary trend, as identified by some Slovenian regions several years ago, on the Slovenian coast, this trend is still developing and hoteliers are treated as a new modern trend that under certain guidelines complements and extends the tourist product as well as the tourist season in the area. For the successful development of sports tourism in this area key changes are necessary. Such attempt may occur at the destination on the basis of knowledge of sports tourism theoretical principles establishing the state of sports infrastructure and sports tourism products as well as a clear strategy or developed guidelines for all converters of tourism on the Slovenian coast, by adding their own contribution to the development. The research question for directing new markets of sports tourism is whether there are any sport tourism opportunities for hotels on the Slovenian coast? On the basis of basic theoretical principles in our research, we established what the actual development of sports tourism is and how is the opportunity of hoteliers perceived on the Slovenian coast. The current situation of sports tourism on the Slovenian coast was studied using qualitative methodology, namely the performance evaluation of the state of sports infrastructure and a semistructured interview. A comparison was made between the situation of sports tourism in Slovenian Coast and Croatian Istria. These regions have similar climatic conditions and the movement of tourist arrivals on the annual level.
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Sports tourism Tourism and Sport are characterised as an interconnected phenomenon’s both occur when an individual has free time and is directed towards quality time spending. Concerning the relationship between sport and tourism we should focus back to the ancient Romans and Greeks, whose first tours were aiming to attend sports games or just watch them. Later eras of sports tourism broaden its role. In today's developed world, people on vacation involve in sports activities in order to meet the health, cultural and other needs. Sports and Recreation present a departure from everyday life where people gain new strength and relax (Bartoluci and Čavlek, 1998). In order to facilitate the theoretical definition of sports tourism in practice we can focus on the 5 definitions provided by Weed and Bull (2009): –– Tourism with passive sports content; it is a passive sport tourism, where the choice of holiday destinations does not depend on the sport but on other activities (congress, business travel, wellness, etc.); –– Tourism with active sports content; is an active sports participation, where the choice of the place exclusively depends on the sport, e.g. skiing, surfing, tennis, etc.; –– Sports events; it comes to sports tourism, which is the reason for traveling and watching sports events in local or global dimension (Olympics, World Cup, European Championship in Basketball etc.); –– Luxury sports tourism; it is a kind of sport tourism, which includes members of the upper class, who actively participate in sport events (golf, sailing boat competition, etc.) or passively, through visits and tours of elite sport events (Monaco Grand Prix Formula 1); –– Sports training; concerns specified amateur and professional athletes who just have to do sport, e.g. sports camp, where young and old learn skills of each sport (basketball, golf, tennis, etc.). This category also includes sport preparation. These 5 definitions by Weed and Bull (2009) will help us to reach one of the definition, which is important for region Slovenian coast. We can talk about different kind of Sports tourism on this place, but in reality we can see, that there are only 3 definitons, which are cooperate in tourism in Slovenian Coast: Tourism with passive sports content, Tourism with active sports content and Sports trainings.
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is SPORTS TOUR ISM AN OPPORTU NITY FOR HOTELS ON THE SLOVENIAN COAST?
Many people in today's society are considered to be increasingly involved in sport. Doing sport represents the most enthusiastic group of individuals of central importance as well as their lifestyle (Wheaton, 2004). This definition is upgrade to our research in connection with Tourism with active or passive sports content. Among the authors defining such individuals very often arise the question why people increasingly choose to travel in association with sport (Gibson, 1998; Robinson and Gammon, 2004). In recent literature Weed (2006) estimates that sport makes sport tourism so special and different from other types of tourism. We wanted to show this on real case, so we made interviews with two directors of two hotel companies in Slovenian coast and Croatian Istria. They work also with sports tourists and have full acces to informations about sports tourism in the companies. Today sport is a social and cultural phenomenon of planetary dimensions, entering people’s lives at all ages, including men, women, children, working people and seniors (Coakley, 2008). From 2010 up until- 2014 there was a sharp increase in sport holidays among European tourists even overtaking cruises, which were previously in the first place. Basyrova (2011) notes that sports holidays in Europe are a growing trend that will continue to evolve and develop. Sports tourism in Slovenian coast is at the beginning of the success. If we are talking about Sports tourism in Slovenia we come to conclusion, that Sports tourism in this area is big potential. Slak (2008) indicates the potential of sports tourism in Slovenia, as Slovenia is known around the globe as an untouched green country. Slovenian sports active tourists are willing to spend less for accommodation and they are ready to spend more money for physical activity. Tuppen (2000) provides an insight especially in the most influencing factors of regional sports tourism -the core of the regional sport tourism and resort tourist destination. This works together with other factors such as: local tourist organization, tourism professionals, local authorities, municipalities, local communities, hotels, trainers, owners and managers of sports facilities etc. Outside the core area are many factors that have a direct and indirect effect and are also involved in the development of regional sports tourism, e.g.: governmental institutions, organizations in the public-private ownership such as national parks, as well as hotels and travel agencies. The last and very important group are environmental organizations. In accordance with the above, we found out that the area of the Slovenian coast does not represent a clear-cut strategy, bringing together the interests of the
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actors of the tourist offer stated by Tuppen. We found out why a semi-structured interview with the Sales Director of the largest tourism company in the given area of Hoteli Bernardin d.d., was conducted. With the help of manufactured scales was determined the current state of sports infrastructure and potential for development. All was compared with the existing range of sports tourism in Novigrad (Croatia) – providing the same climatic conditions and the existing strategy of sports tourism success story leading sports preparation for several years. There were two interviews and with them it were figured out facts about sports tourism in both regions and in both companies. Interviews were made in February 2014.
Sports infrastructure on the Slovenian Coast Under the sports infrastructure are included all surfaces enabling social and sport activities and representing the principal means of participation in sport (Hren, 2006). This is the material basis that enables the implementation of sport activities. The qualitative method and production scale was used to determine the adequacy of sports facilities on the Slovenian coast for cooperation in the field of sports preparation. On the website of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, we obtained data on sports facilities and then based on the evaluation sheet they were screened. Were handled 89 facilities, 8 of them were for various sports fields satisfying, a level suitable for the implementation of sports tourism. The Picture 1 shows the major objects that are relevant for the research question and by means of which we can recognize the untapped potential in the field of sports tourism. The most suitable playground covers the area of football. Football fields were found in the sports field of Piran, the football stadium in Izola, Bonifika football field and stadium in Koper and playgrounds in Dekani. In all fields artificial grass is used. A field with natural turf ground can be found only in Bonifika stadium in Koper and football fields in Dekani. More information concerning the size of courts are shown in Table 1, where all courts are described by ground and size. Concerning the number of fields in the Slovenian coast tennis courts prevail. Tennis courts and stadium Marina Portoroz have 13 clay courts, 5 tennis courts with hard surface and a tennis hall. The facility itself is also a tennis stadium with 1,600 seats. Tennis courts with a sandy substrate can also be found in the vicinity of Hoteli Bernardin. At Bonifika
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is SPORTS TOUR ISM AN OPPORTU NITY FOR HOTELS ON THE SLOVENIAN COAST?
Picture 1: Sport facilities on the Slovenian coast region
football fields in Koper are also 4 tennis courts with hard surface. Suitable sports facilities are provided also for handball and basketball. In Piran stadium are located an outdoor playground for handball and basketball courts, a multipurpose playground with asphalt surface is located in the Sports Park of the Elementary School Lucia. In the park is located also a hall for indoor sports and assembly facility with a basketball court. Sports halls can also be found in Izola and Koper. Izola hall has 600 seats, while Arena Bonifika in Koper welcomes 3,000 visitors and has parquet surface of 3.330 m2. Arena Bonifika Hall hosted the European Basketball Championship - Eurobasket 2013. Concerning other sports we see the main opportunity in athletics, due to the fact that in the context of ŠRC Bonifika in Koper there are also athletic surfaces with 6 running lanes, jumping lane etc.
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Table 1: Suitable sports infrastructure for the integration of sports tourism on the Coast Name of sports facilities
Sports grounds Piran
Sport
Sport facilities
Football
Football fiels wirh artificial turf, size 100 X 64 m
Indoor sports (basketball, badminton, handball, etc.).
Gym Piran
Outdoor Sports
Handball court Basketball court Tennis stadium with 1,600 seats 13 clay courts
Tennis
5 tennis courts with har surface
Tennis courts and stadium Marina PortoroĹž
Sports Park OĹ Lucija (Elementary School Lucia)
Gym and football stadium Izola
Tennis hall Mini golf
Playground with 19 tracks for Mini golf
Table tennis
2 concrete table tennis tables
Indoor sports (Bsketball, Handball Voleyball, etc.)
1350 m2 flooring surfaces, the possibility of the barrier into 3 parts
Basketball
Assembly facility plastic surface og 650 m2
Futsal
Playground with artificial grass, size 40X20 m
Outdoor sports
Asphalt playground area of 1200 m2
Football stadium
Football field with artificial grass surface area of 8.000 m2
Sports hall
parquet surface of 45 X 25 m and stands with 600 seats
Sports hall Arena Bonifika Sports Hall Arena Bonifika Sports Hall Elementary School Koer
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Parquet surface size of 3330 m2 and stands with 3000 seats Climbing wall with approax. 110 m2 Parquet surface size of 1632 m2
is SPORTS TOUR ISM AN OPPORTU NITY FOR HOTELS ON THE SLOVENIAN COAST?
Natural grass surface 105 X 68 m and stands with 4010 seats Fotball fields and Football stadium Bonifika Koper
Stadium Bonifika
Large and small football field with artificial turf and lighting 4 tennis courts with hard surface 2 outdoor volleyball courts 2 basketball courts
Athletic surfaces ŠRC Bonifika Koper
Football field Dekani
6 running athletic tracks, jumping to jump and height, throwing the discus and javelin and trim trail
Athletics
Playground withartificial grass 102 X 65 m
Football
Playground with natural grass 101 X 68 m
Sports facilities on the Slovenian coast are less developed than in Novigrad. Tennis and soccer was chosen for comparison, because of the greatest potential for the preparation of athletes in the given areas. On the coast there are more tennis courts than in Novigrad, just near the hotel complexes Hoteli Bernardin the are 26, most of them are in Portoroz and Izola. In Novigrad 17 are owned by Hotel Mistral, which means that are located directly next to the hotel and the hotel offers the practical part. As far as football grounds are concerned, hotel Maestral possesses the majority of football grounds of the entire area of the Slovenian coast. It has 5 football fields, 3 of them have natural grass and therefore suitable for the preparation of professional sports teams. The Slovenian Coast has 4 football fields. The only one with natural grass will be partly covered with artificial grass after the renovation. The main problem of these courts is a great distance between the hotels and the courts. To determine the current status of sports tourism destinations on the Slovenian coast and in Novigrad i nterviews were made with two companies. The survey results show that Laguna Novigrad in the field of sports tourism has a large advantage over Hoteli Bernardin. In the past treatment companies met with sports tourists on a different level. Both hotel companies cooperate with the domestic national football team. Laguna Novigrad has a segment of well-known footballers and professional
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football teams, while Hoteli Bernardin is so far mainly involved in amateur football teams. This trend is mainly attributed to an inadequate infrastructure of the place, because professional football clubs require training fields with natural grass surface, which are available on the Slovenian coast in Bonifika Stadium in Koper,.where the most important football matches are played. as well as run-up athletes are present. Both companies are successfully cooperating with tennis clubs, Laguna Novigrad has a successful cooperation in other fields of sport, such as handball, kayaking, etc. The advantage of the product Laguna Novigrad is mainly in the quality and quantity of sports facilities and adequate facilities of Wellness. The latter is also available at Bernardin and adapted in line with the athlet’s needs and sport clubs. Assistance for athletes is provided also in the organization of friendly matches. The main difference in development is also reflected in the strategy for the marketing of sports preparation in both companies. Laguna Novigrad has made a clear strategy on the basis of which there is a reasonable cooperation between Novigrad and Umag. Hoteli Bernardin have created a business model that was launched in 2012. Based on this business model in 2014 were acquired 15 new sports teams coming mainly from Switzerland and Austria, in 2015 this number increased. Currently, the revenue of professional sports teams in Hotels Bernardin is not even 1% of the total revenues, but it is recognized as an important source of revenue in February, when this segment represents approx. 15% of all nights. On the other hand, Laguna Novigrad had 7-10% of total revenues from professional sports teams. Hoteli Bernardin are not satisfied with the existing sports infrastructure in the area, as the lack of adequate sports facilities or the objects themselves are far too away. The existing sports infrastructure is suitable for amateur athletes and guests of an existing segment, which is the destination and sport has a secondary importance for them. Laguna Novigrad is satisfied with the state of sports infrastructure, but would like to have a further development in the future. At the expense of good sports infrastructure, sporting events taking place over several days and creating additional nights and revenue, may also be implemented. Hoteli Bernardin are missing such events. They do not create such events because destinations events are too small, so each founder of tourism mentioned by Tuppen (2000) is unable to agree on a common strategy, how to market sports tourism destination.
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is SPORTS TOUR ISM AN OPPORTU NITY FOR HOTELS ON THE SLOVENIAN COAST?
Active guests in hotels on the Slovenian coast represent almost 75% of all guests. This number includes also those guests whose sport activities during the holiday are of primary importance, but in practice they fill their free time, experience something new and try sports infrastructure. Based on the survey, we found out that sports tourism in the area of the Slovenian coast is not on the level as hoteliers would want it to be. The biggest problem is the lack of sports infrastructure, which is owned by municipalities, sports clubs and also some hotels. By improving sports fields, installation of new playground for various sports, signposts for cyclists and resting places for different individual sports, the destination could also develop to a higher level. The main opportunity is seen in the preparation of athletes. Hoteliers should establish a clear short-term and long-term strategy with regard to sporting preparation. The short-term strategy with a range of up to 3 years must include the achievement of the objectives of the amateur sports teams. This should reveal the owners and managers of sports facilities attractiveness of the destination and the inadequacy of sports facilities. In a long-term strategy sports facilities should be renovated and brought to a higher level. Improving sports infrastructure is necessary and cheaper than setting up accommodation facilities in areas where there are suitable courts (e.g. Dekani). Trend Sports preparation of football player’s already rising. It is necessary to connect all factors present in tourism and joint the market. Foreign markets with the well-known winter break invest more and more in single devices. Through agencies hoteliers should connect with football clubs and provide for them sports preparations throughout the Mediterranean. Amateur athletes create more extra-board revenue. Hoteliers in this segment of guests do not need special renovation of rooms and facilities, in a different way are approached the preparations of handball and basketball. Sports infrastructure is appropriate for this segment, but hoteliers need to make a major input for the renovation of rooms with longer beds and other supplements. The sports destination preparations will gain reputation and it will become more competitive in major sporting names. In view of that all tourism stakeholders organized several events with daily sports tournaments, competitions and the like. With a clear strategy amateur sports should focus on - recreational events lasting at least two days and creating new hoteliers nights, destination, however acquired in revenue and visibility. At the beginning of this research we had main research question, If sports tourism is an opportunity for hotels on the Slovenian coast? During this research
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we get the answer, that sports tourism is an opportunity for all participants in the coastal tourism industry. The trend is the destination which has been recognized and has been gradually implemented. To raise sports tourism to an upper level and achieve better economic objectives, it is necessary to cooperate and focus on various sports tourism products for foreign markets - primarily Austrian, Swiss and German, followed by the Italian and others. After this research we have also the answer on question, if is whether there are any sport tourism opportunities for hotels on the Slovenian coast? Sports tourism is big opportunity for hotels in this region. Hotels had recognized this opportunity, now it’s time, that other factors in tourism recognize it. When the main factors in tourism recognize this trend a further step will be done in view of the development of sports infrastructure, creation of high-quality products and market sports tourism destination on new markets. Adapting to the needs and supply and becoming competitive for foreign suppliers, who are already on the market of sports tourism, is our aim.
References Bartoluci, M. in Čavlek, N. (1998). Turizam i sport. Zagreb: Fakultet za fizičku kulturu, Ekonomski fakultet, Zagrebački velesajam. Basyrova, N. (2011). Sporting Hlidays are Gaining Ground in Europe. Pridobljeno 10. 04. 2014 iz http://www.rustourismnews.com/?p=12985. Coakley, J. (2008). Sport in society: Issues and controversies. New York: McGraw-Hill. Gammon, S. in Robinson, T. (1997). Sport and tourism: a conceptual framework. Journal of Sport Tourism, 4(3), 21-26. Gibson, J. H. (1998). Sport Tourism: A Critical Analysis of Research. Sport Management Review, 1(1), 45-76. Perić, M. (2010). Sports Tourism and System of Experiences. Tourism and Hospitality management, 16(2), 197-206. Slak, N. (2008). Primernost turistične ponudbe destinacije za povpraševanje športnoaktivnega turista – primer Slovenije (doktorska disertacija). Ljubljana: Univerza v Ljubljani, Ekonomska fakulteta. Tuppen, J. (2000). The restructuring of winter sports resorts in the French Alps: problems, processes and policies. International Journal of Tourism Research, 2(5), 327-344.
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Weed, M. (2006). Sports Tourism Research 2000–2004: A Systematic Reviews of Knowledge and a Meta-Evaluation of Method. Journal of Sport & Tourism. 11(1), 5-30. Weed, M. in Bull, C. (2009). Sport tourism: Participants, policy and providers. Oxford: Burlington Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann. Wheaton, B. (2004). Lifestyle sport: consumption, identity and difference. London: Routledge.
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CAN THE BARCELONA EFFECT BE NOTICED IN POLAND? EX-POST ANALYSIS OF LEGACY ON TOURISM TWO YEARS AFTER UEFA EURO2012 Jagoda KOMUSIŃSKA
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Although the overall economic impact of mega sport-events for the host country is often questioned in academic literature (Preuss, 2007), it cannot be missed that their each next edition attracts more and more viewers and attention. One of their most important advantages is that they offer a platform for the promotion of a given country (also a region or a city) which hosts them, providing cheap advertisement and much buzz in the foreign media (Chalip, 2005). This is seen as an easy way of improving country awareness worldwide and enhancing its image as a tourism destination. In the same time, more and more attention is being paid to the importance of changes in international country brand for the development of incoming tourism (Anholt,2007). A mega sport event’s legacy to tourism is understood as all the additional value generated due to the organisation of the event, provided especially through (1) country brand index improvement which attracts new influxes of visitors and (2) commercial tourism use of the sites created for the event (Grix, 2012). The perspective of leveraging the event for the local economy by tourism legacy is held credible mostly because of the undeniable sustained surge in tourism experienced in Barcelona, Spain, ever since its organisation of Olympic Games in 1992. The case of the city’s rebranding and economic transformation coined the term Barcelona effect (Brunet, 2005).
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Ever since 1992 politicians believe that this result can be repeated and fiercely compete in their bids to host mega events’ next editions (Chalip and McGuirty, 2004). The problem is that they often forget how multifaceted the organisation in Barcelona 1992 was. Investment connected directly to the Games was incorporated into a wider plan of urban revitalisation and the sustained effect is possible thanks to constant improvements (Brunet 2005). Although traditionally sport mega events were held only in developed countries, in the last two decades bids were made more often by developing countries which had a vague or bad international reputation and strived to rebrand (Lepp and Gibson, Grix 2013). Also transition economies, like Poland were active in bidding. In theses cases meeting the standard requirements of event-managing bodies involves incurring heavy public spending, mostly connected to the acceleration of investments in transport infrastructure, but also to building sport facilities that often generate losses (Humphreys and Prokopowicz, 2007). The governments usually commission ex-ante expertise based on simple costbenefit analysis. Little attention is paid either to preparing a strategic development plan in which the event would be embedded (Jago et al., 2003) or to post-factum assessment of real legacy effect. The research of such type is often limited to the period during or immediately following the event and long-time effect is assessed through proxies like respondents’ declared willingness to visit a country (Preuss, 2007). Only lately has the Olympic Committee imposed obligation on hosts to include a post-factum (3 years after) report (OGI-UBC, 2013).
Research question In June 2012 Poland (together with Ukraine) hosted Union of European Football Associations football championship EURO2012, which is considered to be third largest sport mega-event in the world (Columbus, 2012). According to an expertise commissioned by Polish Ministry of Sport and Tourism the country was supposed to benefit from what was dubbed the Polish effect: additional PLN 7 billion from tourism over 2013-2020. In 2014 additional 592 000 tourists were expected (which would make roughly about 17% of all tourists coming in recreational purposes) (Impact Report, 2012). The research was set to establish the actual tourism legacy of the event.
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METHODOLOGY AND LIMITATIONS The method of research was a paper-and-pencil questionnaire composed of 15 questions, including 4 demographic. All questions were closed except for (1) information on country of residence and (2)destinations visited for sport-related purposes. All surveys were distributed by the Author during coach journeys from respondents’ accommodation venues in Krakow to two most popular destinations in the region: Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum (50%) and Wieliczka Salt Mine (50%) and questionnaires were submitted upon arrival. Research was executed on 40 random days between May and September 2014. The respondents were all lodged at hospitality venues in Krakow and at least once during their stay they used the service of a local company for an organised heritage-related visit in the region. The type of accommodation chosen and the fact that they used a relatively expensive option of a one-day excursion allows to consider them high-profile tourists. Before distributing the questionnaire the Author always explained the purpose of the research and asked persons of polish origin/with polish relatives not to participate. Therefore the group was limited to persons whose decision of visiting Poland was more likely to have been affected by information about EURO2012. Signalling the purpose of the research aided respondents in remembering about the potential influence of EURO2012 on their visit. Therefore, the probability of tracing all persons influenced by the event was increased compared to a situation in which awareness would be raised by the questions alone. All respondents came to Poland as individual tourists. In cases of groups, a maximum of 4 persons were asked to answer the survey. The questionnaires were available in the same languages as offered for the guided visits at destinations. 744 questionnaires were filled correctly, 52% by women and 48% by men. 21% of the respondents were younger than 26, 22% were between 26-40, 38% were between 40 and 60 and 19% were over 60. 32% stayed at 3-star hotels, 32% at 4-star hotels, 9% at 5-star hotels, 12% at 3- and 4-star apartments and 15% in youth hostels. The main limitation of the study is that it intended to establish the legacy effect of a sport mega-event in a city that was not a host. The results of event awareness among tourists in Krakow can be only treated as a proxy for results for Poland as Krakow has always been the most popular tourist destination and it was included in the country’s advertising campaign and was prominent in foreign media during championships (Majewski, 2013). Moreover, the study is only representative for
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this part of population of tourists in Krakow who: (1)were individual tourists from the so called „western countries” (2)came to Krakow on a plane,(3)spent at least one night in the city. Especially, the country-of-residence composition of the respondents does not reflect the quotas in the whole population of tourists. The underrepresentation of neighbouring countries and overrepresentation of nordic countries is particularly conspicuous. It can be explained by the profile of the respondents: tourists who rely on the service of an organised one-day excursions are those who are most unfamiliar with the visited country, have no own means of transport, probably no friends who could guide them and could be characterised as having highest income and in the same time highest propensity to pay for various tourism-related products that reduce stress and risk. The study’s goal was not to measure the influence of EURO2012 on residents of particular countries, but generally in European and non-European countries. Table 1: Composition of tourists by country of residence Country
UK
USA
ES
NO
IT
BE
SE
NE
FI
DK
Respondents [%]
18,1
9,4
9
6,5
6
5,7
5,6
5,5
4,7
4,5
All tourists [%]
17,1
4,3
10,8
0,6
10,2
2
1,6
2,9
0,6
0,7
AU
FR
IR
DE
other EU*
Other non-EU**
all non-EU
EU
4
3,5
3,3
3
2,2
7,9
21,3
78,7
1,3
7,1
3,9
16,5
2,2
4,4
13
87
Country Respondents [%] All tourists [%]
Source: own calculation, based on Borkowski et al. 2014, p.47-48 *CR, MT, PT, CH ** CA, BR,NZ,IL, UAE, RSA, JP, CN, MX, MY, IN, CO, AR
KEY FINDINGS
The reach and influence of EURO2012 in and out of Europe Although 37% of respondents given the alternative of „yes/no” said that they were generally not interested in sport, 15% of them still watched at least one match during EURO2012. According to official numbers, the cumulated TV audience of
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CAN THE BARCELONA EFFECT BE NOTICED IN POLAND?
the games reached 1,9 billion viewers. The largest extra-european audience was USA with average number of viewers of about 1.3 mln (Columbus ,2012). On one hand side, given the fact that only european national teams play, regional european market could be considered event’s main audience. On the other hand side, since Europe is the home of some of the best football teams in the world, championship raises global attention among all football fans. It is therefore interesting to compare the results of the broadcast exposure and the imprint it left on european and noneuropean residents. Among non-european respondents (a group composed to a large extent of USA residents) 18% admitted having watched at least one match. This means that such a high number of non-european residents who later visited Poland were certainly exposed to some kind of information or even advertising spot of the country. In Europe the overall result of persons who definitely watched at least one match was much higher and reached almost 40%. Persons who stated that „they did not recall watching any match” are counted together with persons who stated that „they did not watch any match”, because both answers imply that the event, even if seen, did not impress them or leave any imprint. As for the level of engagement in EURO2012, definitely higher scores are seen for Europe, with every 5th tourist having watched numerous matches, not only their country’s teams and not only finals. The strength of the message about the country received during the games can be considered high as 26% of respondents still remembered something about it after 2 years. Another result supporting the view of successful country branding campaign accompanying the event is that 14% of visitors-to-be who watched the matches felt intrigued by its tourism potential, not only viewed it as a „safe” and „civilised”, but also „interesting”. Out of 744 answers there was only 1 negative opinion (by a european who watched many matches and considered the country to be backward and badly organised) which can be neglected. The fact that there was virtually no negative image can be treated as a definite success of the organisation. It justifies the opinion that a negative event-destination mismatch, as described by Florek and Insch (2011)1 did not occur and that polish reputation was definitely not damaged because of the championship, even though news about racism and stadium violence were widespread in media during the 1
A negative mismatch occurs when the media coverage of a positively-associated sport event escalate negative opinion on the host country by exposing its failures
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championship (especially in England and France) (Majewski, 2013)2. The image of Poland perceived during championships depended to a large extent on whether the respondent was an emotionally-engaged football fan or not. Explicitly positive associations were shared by 60% of national teams’ supporters (twice the average) and 50% of fans who watched many matches, and by only 21% audience who followed only the finals. Table 3: Do you think organisation of EURO2012 was of any significance to your decision of visiting Poland? (results rounded) Country of residence Tourists who watched at least 1 match
Including:
Impression about Poland
European
nonEuropean
overall
45%
18%
39%
- all or almost all matches
26%
5%
21%
- only matches by my country/ country I support
13%
3%
11%
- only finals/semifinals
6%
10%
7%
- do not remember
18%
15%
17%
- no
37%
67%
43%
- modern, well-organised (good host)
15%
2%
12%
- undiscovered pearl for tourism
15%
10%
14%
overall explicitly positive impression
30%
12%
26%
- neutral, nothing special
18%
0%
14%
- do not remember anything
51%
88%
59%
Source: own calculations
How did that positively remembered image translate into decision of visiting Poland? 35 persons declared that they were inspired by the fact that Poland hosted EURO2012 and additional 5 persons claimed that was it not for the championships, they would not even consider Poland as a holiday destination. Therefore the tourism legacy effect for championship can be estimated at the level of 5.4%, well below the level predicted by the government.
2
Of course, to fully establish if the negative mismatch did not occur the results obtained from tourists would have to be confronted against all persons who did not wish to visit Poland.
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CAN THE BARCELONA EFFECT BE NOTICED IN POLAND?
Table 3: Do you think organisation of EURO2012 was of any significance to your decision of visiting Poland? (results rounded) „I wanted to visit it before, but the information I heard about it during EURO2012 helped me make the decision”
5%
"I think I never thought of Poland before. The information I got during EURO2012 was of crucial importance”
1%
"I remember EURO2012 was covered in the media, but I wouldn’t say that this influenced my decision of visiting”
34%
„I don’t think I heard anything about Poland regarding EURO2012 that would make me want to visit it” Source: own calculations
60%
The Level of sport events induced tourism The survey also investigated if the respondents were generally susceptible to branding destinations through organisation of sport mega-events and if yes, what kinds of events had made them willing to visit the host city/region/country. In this way their answers regarding influence of EURO2012 on visiting Poland would be placed in broader frame of their travelling habits. The first question dedicated to this issue: have you ever visited a region/a city because you knew a major sport event was held there? met with negative answers of 71% of respondents. Another 11% stated that they did not remember if they had ever travelled to a destination specifically because of an event organised there, but 6% of respondents had practiced active sport tourism in such locations, making use of infrastructure built for the event and another 8% have travelled abroad in order to watch a football match. Out of 12% who admitted that at least one of their travels was influenced by a sport event organised previously in the destination, 40% travelled within their country. When only international journeys are considered, the answers are not cohesive - some persons would write the name of the event, some name of the city and some just visited country. However, what is beyond doubt is the prominent position of Spain (mentioned by 17 persons, of which 16 pointed Barcelona). Second notable destination was France (9 persons, with 7 indicating Tour de France) and England and Germany were mentioned by 6 and 5 persons respectively. Krakow and Gdansk appeared once, as one of 13 other destinations mentioned by 1-3 persons.
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Other countries: CA(4), BE(4), BR(4), NL(3), CL(2), IR(2), CH(2), NZ(2), MC(2), AR(1), CZ(1), TH(1), TR(1), RSA(1), BG(1). Source: own calculations*ES - Spain; EN-England; D - Germany; IT - Italy; CN - China; PT - Portugal; US - USA; AU - Australia; PL - Poland; CA - Canada; BE - Belgium; BR - Brasil; NL - Netherlands; CL - Chile; IR - Ireland; CH - Switzerland; NZ - New Zealand; MC - Monaco; AR - Argentina; CZ - Czech Republic; TH - Thailand; TR - Turkey; RSA Republic of South Africa; BG - Bulgaria
Chart 1: Number of answers indicating a visit to a sport facility in a certain country*
Second question used to assess the level of engagement in sport tourism was: have you ever made a tour around a football stadium or any other sports facility, only to visit it? 46% of respondents gave a positive answer (and a few pointed more than one destination). A visit to a sport facility took place abroad in 63% of the cases and in this group the unrivalled leader was again Barcelona (99/744 persons which equals 26% of all visited venues and 41% of venues visited abroad). The Camp Nou stadium name was written down in 70 cases whereas Barcelona Olympic Stadium in 2 cases. Second most popular destination in the category was England which raised a cumulative number of 43 answers (including 4 football stadiums - Wembley, Old Trafford, Anfield and Newcastle - and Wimbledon courts). Other strong venue brands included: Beijing Olympic Stadium (10), Bayern Munich stadium (8) and Berlin Olympic Stadium (6). A polish accent appeared as well - 4 persons visited a sport facility in Warsaw (probably the National Stadium) and these were not the persons who stated that EURO2012 influenced their decision of visiting.
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CONCLUSIONS The results prove that sport-related attractions are powerful magnet for tourism. The respondents were highly active in sport-related tourism, however, the results obtained for mega sport event-related international tourism were much lower than the results for sport-related activities like stadium visits (7% of event-inspired visitors to 29% of sport venue-related visitors with only part of the latter than can be attributed to hosting an event). The outstanding outcome of Barcelona’s Camp Nou probably can be attributed to a larger extent to the popularity of the FC Barcelona football team rather than to the events that were hosted there. The composition of visited sites suggests that superstar economics (Rosen, 19813) can be noticed among destinations associated with sport. This would indicate that the probability of succeeding in a regional branding policy based on professional sport is extremely low and would have to involve much more than just hosting a mega event. In comparison with the respondents’ overall experiences in sport event-inspired tourism, the impact of organisation of EURO2012 on tourism in Poland seems relatively high: 5% of EURO2012-inspired visitors to Poland compared to 7% of all travellers who declared to have been inspired by any sport event ever. Of course the results’ disproportion can be partially attributed to the differences between questions relating to polish and previous experiences4, however it indicates that the image of Poland as the host of EURO2012 made a strong impression even on those visitors who did not pay much attention to sport events. The level of positive recognition of Poland’s EURO2012 image can be considered a success of the organisation of the event and the accompanying advertising campaign. However, this does not guarantee meeting the expected tourism legacy results.
3 4
Only few destinations with very strong identity garner extraordinary attention, whereas all others have virtually no importance E.g. the results would have been different if the same respondents had been asked the same questions in any destination other than Poland
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References Aktualizacja Raportu na temat wpływu przygotowań i organizacji Mistrzostw Europy w Piłce Nożnej UEFA EURO2012 na gospodarkę Polski (Impact Report) (2012). Borowski J., Boratyński J., Czerniak A., Plich M., Polish Ministry of Sport and Tourism, Retrieved from: http://www.pte.pl/pliki/2/12/eurogospodarka.pdf Anholt, S. (2007). Competitive Identity: A new model for the brand management of nations, cities and regions, Policy & Practice: A Development Education Review 4(1): 3-13 Brunet, F. (2005). The economic impact of the Barcelona Olympic Games, 1986-2004: Barcelona: the legacy of the Games, 1992-2002. Centre d’Estudis Olimpics, Retrieved from: http://olympicstudies.uab.es/pdf/wp084_eng.pdf Chalip, L.(2005). Marketing, media and place promotion In J. Higham (Ed.), Sport tourism destinations: issues,opportunities and analysis (pp.162–176). Oxford: Elsevier Chalip, L. and McGuirty, J (2004). Bundling sport events with the host destination, Journal of Sport Tourism, 9(3): 267–282. Columbus Media International (Columbus) (2012). UEFA Euro 2012 Monitoring, TV Audience results in 14 countries, Retrieved from: http://www.advexpress.it/ FilePub/492445684Columbus%20Media%20International%20Uefa%20Euro%20 2012%20June%202012.pdf Florek, M. and Insch, A. (2011). When Fit Matters: Leveraging Destination and Event Image Congruence, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 20(3-4): 265-286. Grix, J. (2012), The politics of sports mega-events, Political Insight 3(1): 4-7. Grix, J. (2013). „Image” leveraging and sports mega-events: Germany and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Journal of Sport and Tourism, 17(4): 289-312. Humphreys B., Prokopowicz S. (2007). Assessing the impact of sports mega-events in transition economies: EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2(5-6): 496-509. Jago, L., Chalip, L., Brown, G., Mules, T. and Ali, S. (2003). Building events into destination branding: insights from experts. Event Management, 8(1): 3–14. Lepp, A., and Gibson, H., (2011). Reimaging a nation: South Africa and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Journal of Sport & Tourism, 16(3): 211-230. Majewski, P. (2013). Stadion-Miasto-Kultura. Euro 2012 i przemiany kultury polskiej. Po święcie, Instytut Badań Przestrzennych: 31-103 Warsaw 2013, Retrieved from: http:// www.ibpp.pl/i/file/po_swiecie_-_rok_2013.pdf Olympic Games Impact Study for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, PostGames Report, University of British Columbia (OGI-UBC). (2013).van Wynsberghe R. (Ed). Retrieved from: https://circle.ubc.ca/bitstream/handle/2429/45295/OGI-UBC%20 Post-Games%20Report%202013-10-23.pdf?sequence=4po
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Preuss, H. (2007). The Conceptualisation and Measurement of Mega Sport Event Legacies, Journal of Sport & Tourism, 12(3-4): 207-228. Preuss, H. (2009). Opportunity costs and efficiency of investments in mega sport events, Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 1(2): 131-140. Rosen, S. (1981). The economics of superstars, The American Economic Review, 71(5): 845-858. Ruch Turystyczny w Krakowie (2014). Borkowski, K., Grabiński,T., Seweryn, R., Wilkońska, A., Mazanek, L., Grabińska, E., Krakow City Council, Krakow 2014.
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THE CONTRIBUTION OF SPORTS EVENTS TO LOCAL ECONOMIES: THE CASE OF MALLORCA312 Maria Antonia GARCIA SASTRE, Margarita ALEMANY HORMAECHE, Angela AGUILO LEMOINE
INTRODUCTION Cycling tourism is one of the firmest commitments of Spanish tourism destinations. According to a study commissioned by the European Parliament in 2012, an estimated 80 million cycling trips were made in Spain alone, contributing 1.6 billion euros to the national economy. However, these figures are still far from the European leaders in the tourism market: Germany with 607 million bicycle trips worth over 11,300 million euros, followed by France with 373 million cyclists and 7,500 million euros. In comparison with these figures, cycling tourism is Spain is still underdeveloped. Cycling tourism has great potential, and if enough is invested in making Spain an attractive destination for both domestic and foreign cyclists, this tourism product may be important in the coming years. The Balearics have more than 1,400 km of roads with standardised signage, which has allowed the Islands to become the destination for many European cycling teams, which, attracted by the climate, have found in the Islands the ideal place for training and competing. Sporting events generate many positive effects for the host locality, for example, an increase in revenue from visitors to the area, and the necessity to build facilities, with the subsequent improvement to the locality’s image.
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METHODOLOGY Statistical techniques were used for the processing and analysis of data obtained through surveys, which provided both qualitative and quantitative information. The number of cyclists participating in the latest Mallorca312 (April 2014), was 1,949, from which a sample of 932 questionnaires was obtained in order to carry out this research. An online questionnaire developed to gather information was delivered in two stages: one pre-event and the other post event. The aim was to evaluate in a comprehensive manner and with systematic criteria, not only the participants in the sporting event, but also the activities and processes carried out by the organisation of the M312 at two different moments for those registered for the race: before their participation in the event to discover their motivations, perceptions and expectations; and once the event had finished, to ascertain global satisfaction with their experience in the M312. The processing and contrast of the information gathered in the two stages has been an enlightening exercise which has led to the identification of the critical areas which affect the event itself, and the determination of the relevant changes and adjustments to be made for the continued improvement of the satisfaction of the participants in future events.
FINDINGS The Mallorca312 Iberostar Playa de Muro is a one-day road race. However, the majority of participants choose to arrive a few days beforehand for training and route reconnaissance. The study indicates that the cycle tourist participating in the event is predominantly from the United Kingdom (33%), Spain (24%), Germany (16%), Switzerland (3.5%), Ireland (3.5%), Denmark (3.4%); male aged between 40 and 50 (46%); with tertiary education (59%); and who both does sport and travels outside their locality for sports purposes regularly. With regard to the items which motivated cyclists to choose Mallorca as a destination for cycling, the main reasons were: the charm of the coast (with a score of 3.33 out of 4); road conditions (3.18); transport links to Mallorca (3.05); meteorology (3.05); and travel costs (2.76). On the other hand, the least valued aspects were: having friends and family in Mallorca (1.86); leisure (1.74) or advice from the media (1.97). (Figure 1)
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THE CONTR IBUTION OF SPORTS EVENTS TO LOCAL ECONOMIES ...
Figure1. Motivations for choosing Mallorca as a destination for cycling
One of the interesting questions raised for managers of the tourism product is how the respondents learned about Mallorca as a cycling tourism destination: 59% learned about it from friends; 16% from their club; 11% from magazines; 10% through the internet and a very small number through travel agencies and trade fairs. With regard to their experience in Mallorca , 67% of the participants stated that their experience had been better than elsewhere and 33% valued it equally. The participants’ high level of satisfaction with the destination and the sporting event encourages further research in this direction. Proof of this is the evaluation of the attractiveness of the coastline (3.73 out of 4); meteorology (3.6); hospitality of local residents (3.6); good transport links with Mallorca (3.5); road conditions (3.4); and hotels catering specifically to the needs of cycling tourists (3.4). One of the main contributions of this study is the quantification of the economic impact of this event. From the pre-event survey, it can be deduced that the respondents planned to spend 1,104 euros per person. However, the survey carried out at the end of the trip revealed that the real expenditure per person amounted to 1,206 euros during an average stay of 6.28 days.
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Figure 2. Level of satisfaction with their experience of Mallorca312
Figure 3. Distribution of expenditure
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THE CONTR IBUTION OF SPORTS EVENTS TO LOCAL ECONOMIES ...
The total expenditure was distributed among various concepts; almost half was spent on travel and transfer, 15% on restaurants and food, and 10% on sports equipment and shopping. Participants in the Mallorca312 Iberostar Playa de Muro event also had additional expenses related to car hire (7%), cultural activities (2%), nightlife (2%), and other extras (7%) such as massages, physiotherapy and so on. Those participating in the sporting event make the trip accompanied by others who not participate in the race. With an average of 2 tourists per registered participant, the economic impact for the Mallorca is greater. According to the data provided, the economic impact of this sporting event amounts to 3,104,244 euros, distributed among transport, restaurants, shopping and sports equipment as the main items of expenditure. It is important to point out that the repercussions of Mallorca312 Iberostar Playa de Muro, provide an economic boost of more than 3 million euros to the small host locality of Muro during the month of April, a time of low tourism activity.
DISCUSSION In tourism literature, both small and medium sporting events have traditionally received little attention. Most international studies (such as Baade, Baumann, & Matheson (2008), Fernรกndez and Martinez, (2003), Pillay and Bass (2008), Banjo, (2011), Sturgess and Brady (2006), or Waitt, (2003)) and national studies (such as Barajas, Salgado and Sรกnchez, (2012); Hurtado, Ordaz and Rueda, (2007); or Sanz, Moreno and Camacho, (2012)) analyse the economic impact of major sporting events such as the Summer and Winter Olympics, and the Football World Cup, or other widely popular sports. In recent years, sporting events are increasingly considered to be a major economic driving force, especially in medium-sized communities which face increasing competition from larger communities bidding to host sporting events (Veltri, Miller and Harris, 2009). The event under study is of a small size, taking place in the context of a small local economy, but our interest in this type of event is that, despite being economically less significant than larger events, even small events may have an important effect on the local economies that host them. Studies show that sports events provide both social and economic benefits such as increased sense of community, and host community pride and spirit (Crompton
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and McKay, (1994); Thrane, (2002); and the distribution of expenditure among various sectors such as restaurants, transportation, lodging, entertainment and other support services (Crompton and McKay, 1994). This study suggests that this type of event can help increase the number of tourists outside of high season, although this will not imply a change in the sun and beach tendency which is predominant on the Islands. These sports activities are growing and although current numbers may not serve to win the battle against seasonality, they may help mitigate the harsh low season in the Baleares. The major challenge for the tourism industry and the Balearic government, is the reorientation of its tourism offer towards more creative and active products, whereby sports become the leitmotiv in response to the new consumer demands.
CONCLUSIONS Events sports tourism is growing slowly, and although current figures do not show that the battle of seasonality has been won, there is evidence which allows us to confirm that these activities could help improve the numbers of off-season tourists, with greater opening up of the markets and product diversification. The strengths of the destination with regard to cycling tourism have been identified, as well as the profile of the cyclist tourist, socio-demographic variables, motivation, trip planning, and levels of satisfaction experienced throughout their stay in the Balearic Islands. Additionally, the economic impact of the M312 road race generated in 2014 in the host municipality of Muro, has been quantified as 3,104,244 euros. Muro is a small community which is starting to specialise in hosting this type of sports events, due to the economic and social benefits generated for the local community. The major challenge for the tourism industry and the Balearic government, is the reorientation of its tourism offer towards more creative and active products, whereby sports become the leitmotiv in response to the new consumer demands.
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THE CONTR IBUTION OF SPORTS EVENTS TO LOCAL ECONOMIES ...
References Baade, R. A., Baumann, R. W., & Matheson, V. A. (2008). Assessing the economic impact of college football games on local economies. Journal of Sports Economics. Banjo, A. (2011). Hosting mega-sport events, expectations and perceptions: a review: sport and tourism. African Journal for Physical Health Education, Recreation and Dance, 17(3), 416-428. Barajas, Á., Salgado, J., & Sánchez, P. (2012). Problemática de los estudios de impacto económico de eventos deportivos. Estudios de Economía Aplicada, 30(2), 441-461. Crompton, J. L., & McKay, S. L. (1994). Measuring the economic impact of festivals and events: Some myths, misapplications and ethical dilemmas. Festival Management and Event Tourism, 2(1), 33-43. Fernández, I., & Martinez, A. (2003). El impacto económico de la Copa del América. Valencia: Instituto de Economía Internacional. Universidad de Valencia. Hurtado, J. M. R., Sanz, J. A. O., & Cantuche, J. M. R. (2007). Evaluación del impacto económico y social de la celebración de grandes eventos deportivos a nivel local: el caso del Campeonato de Tenis femenino de la ITF en Sevilla en 2006. Revista de Métodos Cuantitativos para la Economía y la Empresa, (3), 20-39. Pillay, U., & Bass, O. (2008, September). Mega-events as a response to poverty reduction: The 2010 FIFA World Cup and its urban development implications. In Urban Forum (Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 329-346). Springer Netherlands. Sanz, V. ; Moreno, F. & Camacho, D.(2012). Impacto social de un gran evento deportivo: el Gran Premio de Europa de Fórmula 1. Cultura, Ciencia y Deporte, 7 (19), 53-65 Sturgess, B., & Brady, C. (2006). Hosting the FIFA World Cup. World Economics, 7(4), 145-164. Thrane, C. (2002). Jazz festival visitors and their expenditures: Linking spending patterns to musical interest. Journal of Travel Research, 40, 281–286 Veltri, F. R., Miller, J., & Harris, A. (2009). Club sport national tournament: Economic impact of a small event on a mid-size community. Recreational Sports Journal, 33 (2), 119-128. Waitt, G. (2003). Social impacts of Sydney Olympics. Annals of Tourism Research, 30 (1),194-215.
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EXPLORING THE PROFILE OF INTERNATIONAL HIKERS IN THE BALEARIC ISLANDS Maria Antonia GARCIA SASTRE, Margarita ALEMANY HORMAECHE, Angela AGUILO LEMOINE, Juan Josﾃｩ MONTAﾃ前 MORENO
INTRODUCTION The Balearic Islands are one of the principle receptor destinations of international tourism, receiving over 11 million tourists annually. More than 1% of world tourism is concentrated within its limited territory of 5,014km2, and it is recognised internationally for its hegemony of the sun and beach segment. However, new tourist demands and intense competition are forcing the destination to diversify its offer, to propose new experiences for its visitors and to counteract the seasonality of the destination. La Sierra de Tramuntana mountain range occupies the western slopes of the island of Mallorca, and runs parallel to the coast. With rugged mountains, gorges, valleys, reservoirs and a long-distance walking route (Gran Recorrido) of 150km (GR 221), it is becoming one of the main hiking destinations for European source markets. Blanco (2006) claims that nature tourism is that which has the principal objective of engaging in recreational and relaxation activities, the interpretation and/or knowledge of nature. According to Ceballos (2010), in 2006, around 120,000 tourists participated in mountain tourism in La Sierra de Tramuntana. The Balearic government, through its Integral Tourism Plan, and the Council of Mallorca, through the consortium Sierra de Tramuntana World Heritage Site, are concentrating great efforts and resources on promoting these sports and leisure activities outside of the high season.
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The aim of this study is to learn precisely what the profile of the hiking tourist is, by identifying the demographic variables, the pattern of behaviour when choosing a destination, as well as the motivation and level of satisfaction experienced throughout their stay in Mallorca. As a result, valuable information can be transferred to both public authorities and private enterprise, enabling them both to improve the measures taken to adapt to the emerging demand for these new trends in tourism focused on the development of sporting and physical skills and abilities.
METHODOLGY The type of research methodology used in this study is that of surveys or selective cross-section based on the application of questionnaires designed ad hoc by our team. A non- probabilistic quota sampling was used. The size of the sample –289– was established using a maximum margin of error of 5% and a level of reliability of 95% in the estimation of the corresponding population parameters. The data was gathered between the months of April and June 2013. A panel of experts in the discipline, and consultants from the Balearic Federation of Mountain Sports and Climbing were involved in the design of the questionnaire for the visitors. With their help, the variables and items which would allow for the collection of information about the relevant factors to explain the behaviour of the active tourist were determined: socio-demographics, knowledge, expectations, satisfaction and loyalty.
FINDINGS The study of the sample provides us with information about the characteristics of the hikers that take part in this form of active tourism in Mallorca. Our hiker tourist is principally female (52%), German (52%) English (14%), Swiss (9%) or Dutch (9%). The suitable age range for this kind of sport is very wide, since hiking is accessible for all members of the public who are able to adapt to the time and geographical space available. The sample reflects this wide age range, where there is a noticeable trend in the age segment of 60-70 year-olds. (Figure 1)
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Figure 1. Age distribution of respondents
In line with this, the report from the Directorate General for Agriculture of the European Union (2001) points out that the number of hikers and walkers or ramblers above the age of 50 is representative of the whole of Europe and the ageing population means that this figure is increasing. Almost 53% of the respondents disclosed their occupations. Around 29% declared themselves to be retired or pensioners and only 1.43% stated that they were unemployed. With regard to professional careers, it was revealed that 77% were employees or were employed by others and that 23% were self-employed. 28% of those in employment were senior management and 36% middle management. These tourists are well qualified, since 43% have a university education, 51% a secondary education and just 6% have only primary education. In order to guarantee the sustainability of mountain tourism, the managers of natural resources are endeavouring to raise awareness about the peculiarities of their territories, which are classified according to the assets they wish to protect. As a result of this territorial classification, there are the following categories in Spanish orography: national park, nature park, areas of natural beauty, nature reserve, natural monument, protected landscape, place of scientific interest and micro reserve. Despite efforts to raise awareness among the target population, the level of knowledge of the natural areas of the Baleares is very low. More than half of those questioned (63%) were unaware of the rules governing these areas and of the conceptual differences between them. This aspect is in need of special attention from the public authorities responsible for these areas, in order to raise
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awareness and promote the value of this natural heritage, as well as the standards of behaviour for walkers. Belonging to an associations and practical knowledge of the sport is especially important in the case of mountain sports. Therefore, it is of vital importance to ascertain the level of knowledge of the basic rules of the sport under study; the expertise of the hikers?; their membership of an association or federation; and the conformity of their equipment with standards required to carry out the sport with maximum guarantees and the prevention of possible risks. Around 41% of the respondents revealed that they belonged to an association in their country of origin, and 34% were even affiliated, complying with the regulations and requirements of their respective countries. One question of interest, especially for the management of the infrastructures and equipment in natural areas, is the perception the tourist has of the level of signposting on the routes and trails. In this aspect, it is worth mentioning that 20% are of the opinion that the signposting is by no means sufficient; 58.57% think there is little signposting; and 21.42% state that there is good signposting. With regard to previous experience, it has been detected that only 4.2% of the respondents were beginners, and the remaining 95.8% had previous experience of the activity, which implies some expertise in hiking. Of the latter, more than 45% stated they hike on a regular basis, and 10% very frequently on routes and trails. However, these results are not the same for all mountain categories (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Frequency of mountain activities
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On further examination of the number of times hikers have travelled outside of their region to engage in this sport, it was found that approximately 50% have made five or more trips in the last five years. Of those respondents with previous experience, Spain is their most popular choice, followed by France, Holland, Germany and Switzerland in Europe and Canada and Argentina in America. Within Spain, the most popular destination are: the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and the Basque country, in that order. Any time of the year is good for following the paths and trails that run through the archipelago, but given the choice, spring with 77%, and autumn with 48%, are the preferred seasons of the hikers in the study, while summer (21%), and winter (4%), are the least appealing. In questions related to their equipment, the items most often carried in the hikers’ kit are: clothes and footwear (95%); a mobile phone (86%); sun creams (71%); and maps (62%). Continuing onto the subject of safety, it is of concern that 62% of the respondents declare that they have no alternative route planned in the case of inclement weather or tiredness, and only 38% have an alternative itineraries to those originally planned. However, more than half of those consulted confirmed that they would employ a guide in order to have more information about the route and to have a safer and more pleasant experience, appreciating the possibility of walking in an area chosen by a professional mountain guide. With regard to planning the trip, the results show that 61% of the respondents are of the opinion that the travel agency is the best system to arrange and book the trip. Of the remainder, only 20% believe that booking online is the best way, and 17% booking directly without intermediaries. In order to ascertain the levels of motivation, questions were asked on various items using the Likert 5-point scale, about the level of importance when choosing the Balearic Islands, rating 1 as ‘indifferent’ and 5 as a ‘priority’. Of the main reasons influencing the decision to choose Mallorca for hiking, the weather (4.16), the attractiveness of the coast (4.14), and the transport links between the destination and the source markets (3.93), stand out. (Figure 3) A fundamental objective of any study of tourism products is to ascertain the level of satisfaction of the tourist with their stay, and of different aspects of the same. The attractiveness of the coast (4.34), the weather (4.32), and transport connections (3.92) were the highest scoring aspects. The worst marks were given
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Figure 3. Motivations for travelling to Mallorca
to signposting and the topographical guides of the routes and trails (2.7), and the price of the services (3.0) (Figure 4). Finally, the respondents were asked whether their experience in the Balearic Islands was better, the same or worse than elsewhere. More than half of the sample (52%) equated it to their satisfaction with their experience in other countries; 42% declared it to be superior and 6% said it was inferior.
DISCUSSION Upon review of the findings of this research and the literature on mountain tourism, many similarities have been found as well as some differences. Turespaùa (2008) has already pointed out that the Sierra de Tramuntana is very well known, especially on the German market, in line with the sample in this research in which the German segment represents 52%. It is of note that Freyer and Sven’s study
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Figure 4. Satisfaction with their experience
(2002) into the profile of the sports tourist carried out in Germany, confirmed that 60% of Germans have the purpose of engaging in some kind of sport during their holidays, and of these, 36% go hiking, and 29% do moderate sporting activities. Guilbert (2003) claims that hiking and walking in France is undertaken basically by middle and high social classes, be it from the economic point of view or level of education, which is in line with the findings of this research. However, whereas only 6.3% of the tourists in the Balearic Islands are older than 64, (IET, 2013), in this study, the percentage rises to 24%. One of the most meaningful findings is that around 80% of respondents emphasise that signposting is insufficient for clear orientation while hiking. This situation contrasts with the opinion of experts (Turespa単a, 2008) who confirm that in Mallorca the majority of trails are easy to follow and are usually marked by stone markers or cairns. Another clear difference is that while official figures released by IET (2013) show that 65% of tourists use the internet to organize their trips, the figures in
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this study differ significantly, as only 20% are of the opinion that booking online is the best system to arrange their trip. The predominant role of the traditional travel agency over online booking may be attributed to the fact that 55% of the respondents are over 50 years-old. The analysis of levels of satisfaction represents a useful tool for management of tourism destinations, as it allows for control over the measures taken and the gathering of feedback in order to establish future lines of action. The analysis of levels of satisfaction of the hikers reveals critical aspects in signposting, topographical route and trail guides; the cost of services and access to information about standardised routes and leisure activities. The latter is explained by the seasonality of tourism on Mallorca, which means that local businesses remain closed for more than half the year. Signposting and topographical route and trail guides, and access to information about standardised routes are the aspects in need of immediate improvement; improvements which must unavoidably be contextualised in the area of new technologies and mobile devices which would allow tourists to find and access in real time the necessary information required to carry out their hiking activity in a pleasant and safe way in the Sierra de la Tramuntana.
CONCLUSIONS A link between tourism and sport would seem to be the answer to the emerging demands of today’s citizen. The absence of statistics and both qualitative and quantitative information, means that it is vital to encourage research into this field, with the aim of providing information for the improvement of the new tourism products to which the Baleares are firmly committed. From the present research into hiking in the Baleares, the main strengths can be seen as: the attractiveness of the coastline, the meteorology, good flight connections and the price of the trip. Aspects in need of improvement are: signposting, the topographical route guides, the price of services, and the accessibility of information about standardised routes.
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References Guilbert, B. (2003). La practique de la randonnée pedestre en sejour turistque. Etude de clientèle. Panorama de l’offre. Blanco Portillo, R. (2006). El turismo de naturaleza en España y su plan de impulso. Estudios turísticos, (169), 7-38. Ceballos G. (2010). Estudio sobre el Turismo de Montaña en España. Madrid: Turespaña Dirección General de Agricultura de la Unión Europea (2001): Innovación en el medio rural: la valoración del turismo de senderismo en los territorios rurales, Cuaderno de la Innovación nº12 Observatorio Europeo Leader Freyer, W., & Sven, G. (2002). Tourism and sport events. Forschugsinsstitut für Tourismus, Dresden. IET(2013). Instituto de Estudios Turísticos. Retrieved from: http://www.iet.tourspain.es/ es-ES/turismobase/Paginas/default.aspx Turespaña. Instituto de Turismo de España (2008). Turismo de Montaña. Madrid : Turespaña
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SPORTS TOURISM IN THE BALEARIC ISLANDS: A FIRM COMMITMENT OR A NECESSITY? Margarita ALEMANY HORMAECHE, Maria Antonia GARCIA SASTRE, Angela AGUILO LEMOINE
INTRODUCTION The economic model of the Balearic Islands is based on the tourism industry. The latest figures from Exceltur (2013) state that tourism accounted for 45% of the total GDP of the Balearic Islands. With regard to the labour market, 34.8% of total employment in the Balearic Islands was attributed to employment in the tourism industry, and tourism activity accounted for 39.2% of the tax revenue levied in the Balearic Islands in 2013. However, before reaching these figures, the tourism activity has passed through various stages, bearing witness to the theory of the development and evolution of a tourist destination (Butler, 1980). This theory, known as the Theory of Tourist Area Life Cycle (TALC) perceives the tourist destination as a product which passes through six phases: exploration, involvement, development, consolidation, stagnation and decline. It is the most commonly used model, but one which has not been exempt from criticism, adaptation and revision since its publication. However, the contributions made by Agarwal (1994, 2002, 2006) have provoked deeper reflexion. Agarwal (1994) observes that there is no evidence of the irreversible state of decline that the model suggests, and confirms that measures have been taken by both private and public local initiative in order to strengthen the competitiveness of the destination; that is, to rejuvenate the destination in order to adapt it to market changes, and therefore proposes an intermediate phase of “reorientation�. In the
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Balearic Islands, one of the most important features of this reorientation face has been the link between tourism and sports to achieve deseasonalisation and extend the tourist season. The objective of this study is twofold; on the one hand to review the current situation of sports tourism products which the governments have boosted in order to extend the tourist season, and on the other hand to measure seasonality from the point of view of demand. The research findings suggest that the measures taken by the governments have failed to counteract seasonality.
METHODS To achieve the objectives, qualitative methods were used to address the first objective - knowledge of the sports tourism products; quantitative methods were used to analyse the behaviour of demand against supply offered from the Balearic Islands. For the first objective, a review of secondary sources of information gathered from the varius private and public institutions with links to national and regional tourism was carried out, with the aim of a gaining a deeper knowledge of the product policies which were implemented. The study of the various marketing plans between 1991 and 2015, the deseasonalisation plans, the programmes and campaigns provide the necessary information to study further the product policy championed by the public administration. The second objective is to analyse the evolution of seasonality from 1992-2014. In order to measure seasonality from the point of view of demand, the number of tourist arrivals in the Balearic Islands is used as a variable taken on a monthly basis. The indicator used to carry out this measurement is the Gini-coefficient, possibly the most commonly used indicator for this type of research (Lundtrop, 2001, Fernandez, 2003). The Gini-coefficient is defined as:
where y1≼y2 ≼yn corresponds to each monthly observation. It is a method used to measure the inequality of a distribution, where 0 expresses total equality and 1 expresses maximum inequality.
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RESULTS Among all the strategies developed from the 1980s until the present day, those activities geared towards the deseasonalisation of tourism activity through strategies of product diversification and differentiation have acquired special importance. According to the proposals in the latest Integral Plan for Tourism in the Balearic Islands (IPTBI) (Consejeria de Turismo, 2012), there is a commitment for the years 2012-2015 to the design of new tourism products offering a wider range of products in order to lessen dependence on the well-known monoculture of sun and beach. Tourism proposals which do not depend on the weather; products targeted to very specific market segments related to sport, golf and cycling tourism; products related to recreational, nautical, and cruise tourism; segments involved with nature and local values, such as rural tourism, farmhouse tourism, inland tourism; and products related to professional activities such as congresses, meetings and incentive tourism. Special mention must be made here of sports tourism products: golf, nautical tourism and cycling tourism, as their contribution to the most recent tourist seasons has been extremely positive for the Balearic economy and the image of the destination, as will be seen below. Golf as a tourism product is already strong and is becoming stronger. At present, the Balearic Islands have a total of 26 top class clubs, 49 hotels catering specifically for golfers, and international tournaments throughout the year. As an established product, golf generates an annual income in excess of 160 million euros in the Balearic Islands. Nevertheless, it continues to be promoted widely (as in the Reheingolf fair in Düsseldorf, one of the most important fairs specialising in golf in the German and Dutch markets). This kind of tourism has two underlying characteristics of interest: an above average daily expenditure of 171.14 euros per tourist (Aguirre, 2011), above the average of 105 euros (Instituto de Estudios Turísticos, 2011) and that 74.5% of golfers prefer to play outside of the summer season (Garau, 2008). Nautical tourism in the Balearic Islands is another example of an established product which is highly valued by tourists. The archipelago boasts excellent conditions and infrastructures for sailing: more than 1,400 km of coast, 69 marinas, 20,000 berths/moorings and 6 naval stations, as well as playing host to international events and competitions such as The Princess Sofía Trophy and la Copa de Su Majestad el Rey in Mallorca, la Ruta de la Sal and the International Sailing Week
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in Ibiza, to name but a few. The high purchasing power of nautical tourists and the high level of satisfaction of the nautical tourist in the Balearic Islands indicate that it is a very attractive type of tourism for improving competitiveness due to its average daily expenditure. For example, a yacht charter tourist spends an average of 170 euros, which is well above the average of 105 euros for tourists in the Balearic Islands (Alcover et al., 2011). In the Balearic Islands, the sport of cycling, be it as an amateur or a professional, is becoming very popular with many British and Germans. With more than 1,400 kilometres of routes with standardised road signage, 1 velodrome and 60 hotels catering specifically for cyclists, the Balearic Islands are becoming an ideal place for the preseasons of both amateur and professional teams. This is accompanied by both amateur and professional competitions (Challenge Mallorca, Challenge Menorca, Vuelta Tour BTT Formentera, Marcha Cicloturista Mallorca 312 Iberostar Playa de Muro). The evidence suggests that given the economic impact that 150,000 cycling tourists generate in destination, with one million overnight stays and almost 150 million euros per annum for the economy of the Balearic Islands, it is a product with great potential for deseasonalisation, since its activity is concentrated essentially during the months of January to March and October to November, the low and mid-seasons in the Balearic Islands. Another of the pillars upon which the new tourism policy of the Balearic Islands is supported is nature tourism. Citizens of medium and large metropolitan areas are increasingly demanding the opportunity to enjoy contact with the natural environment. The Balearic Islands offer a multitude of natural resources: trails, mountains, mountain torrents, cliffs and coastline suitable for all ages and permitting activity all year round, along with 432 hotels catering specifically to around 120,000 hikers (Ceballos, 2010). The Balearic Islands boast four international awards (Menorca Biosphere Reserve, Posidonia Seagrass Meadows, Formentera like World Heritage Site, Serra de Tramuntana like World Heritage Site), 1 Maritime-terrestrial National Park Cabrera, 6 natural parks, and 2 nature reserves. In 2013, more than 2 million tourists (Consejeria de Turismo, 2014) arrived in the archipelago with the purpose of doing sport, representing around 15% of the total tourism. In low and mid-season, sports activity could reach more than 80% of tourists visiting the Islands, while in high season this is reduced to only 10% due to the high temperatures.
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In addition to the analysis of sports tourism products, the second objective of this study is to measure the seasonality of tourist demand in the Balearic Islands between the years 1992 and 2014. To do so, the Gini-coefficient of the monthly number of tourists in the Balearic Islands were calculated. The key years were 1999, 2003 y 2007 (Figure 1). During these years, changes in the cycles of seasonality took place. The analysis begins in 1992, at a value of 0.414, which decreased steadily during the decade of the 90s. At the beginning of the century there was a recovery, with another decrease between 2003 and 2007. From 2008 to 2014, the end of the series, there was an upward trend (an increase in seasonality). The Gini index of both national and international tourist demand shows the same trend, an analysis of which leads to the belief that national and international tourist demand follow a similar cyclical behaviour (the upward and downward periods generally coincide). According to the Gini index, international tourist demand is more seasonal (mean value of 0.423) than national tourist demand (mean value of 0.258). The Balearic Islands are comprised of four islands, Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. However, each one of them is often classified as a differentiated tourist destination, and political decisions on matters of tourism are designed for and adapted to each of the islands separately. Therefore, the analysis of seasonality is explored by island in order to see if this issue is present to the same extent in all of the islands of the archipelago, or to a different extent in each of them. For the largest of the islands, Mallorca, with an annual number of tourists of 9,672,315 in 2014, the Gini index shows values of around 0,40. International tourism, with 8,581,905 tourists, is much more seasonal (Gini index value of 0.437) than the 1,090,372 national tourists (Gini index value of 0.276) (Figure 2). The 1,144,163 tourists visiting the island of Menorca also choose the summer months to do so. The values found by the Gini index for 2014 amounted to 0.524 for Menorcan tourism coming from Spain, compared with a Gini index value of 0.59 for international tourism. These figures reveal that seasonality is greater than that in Mallorca. It is significant that in Menorca, the levels of seasonality between the national and international markets have become similar to each other over the last decade, unlike in the 1990s when the national tourist market was less seasonal (Figure 3).
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Figure 2. Evolution of the Gini index of tourism demand (Mallorca)
Figure 1. Evolution of the Gini index of tourism demand
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Figure 4. Evolution of the Gini index of tourism demand (Ibiza & Formentera)
Figure 3. Evolution of the Gini index of tourism demand (Menorca)
SPORTS TOUR ISM IN THE BALEAR IC ISLANDS: A FIR M COMMITMENT OR A NECESSITY?
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The smaller islands (Ibiza and Formentera) show levels of seasonality (Gini index of 0.39 for the domestic market, and of 0.556 for the international market) above that of Mallorcan tourism. However, unlike the tourist market of Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera present differentiated seasonal behaviour, which is greater for international tourism than for local tourism (Figure 4).
DISCUSSION Upon presentation of the findings of this research and having reviewed the various studies on seasonality in tourism, important similarities and differences have been found. Although seasonality is a phenomenon that affects the majority of Meditterranean tourism destinations, (Fernández, 2003; López & López, 2006; Martín, Jimenez, & Molina, 2014) the Balearics seem to suffer the effects of seasonality more severely (Martín, Jiménez & Molina, 2014; Murray, Rullán & Salom, 2005). Additionally, this study demonstrates that seasonality is a phenomenon which has affected the tourism model of the Balearics for many years. In the tourism literature, studies carried out on sports products and events consider them to be essentially tools for tourism promotion, (Fernández & Martínez, 2003; Sanchez, Barajas & Alén, 2013; Sanz, Moreno & Camacho, 2012). In contrast to this approach, the present study seeks to highlight how sports tourism products could be converted into a measure for deseasonalisation which could achieve the modification of the behaviour of demand, and not merely to be used as a promotional tool. Sports tourism products have shown very positive development in recent years. However, the analysis of seasonality using the Gini index suggests that the results are not the desired ones. Seasonality has increased considerably in the Balearic Islands as a whole, and in each of the islands individually. One of the main deficiencies detected in the monitoring of tourism policies implanted in recent years, has been the lack of a system of control and the availability of data related to the measures taken and their results. An important proposal of this study would be the need for ongoing data collection in order to assist future tourism policy planning and obtain feedback on the same At present, with a view to increasing the income from sports tourism, public institutions and private industry are committed to working together, creating and
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adapting facilities in order to meet the demands of sports tourism, and developing applications which enable the promotion of high quality tourism products. To this end the first meeting of the Advisory Committee of the European Union for the development of tourism in mid- and low seasons took place in Brussels recently. In February 2015, the Balearic Islands participated in a committee of 20 experts selected by the European Commission, who have begun to work together to draw up initiatives to help facilitate mechanisms of cooperation on a European level for better mobility of European citizens, especially in low and mid-season. This would facilitate the creation of employment and stimulate economic growth and would potentially be of benefit to the Balearic Islands
CONCLUSIONS Despite the efforts made by a mature destination such as the Balearic Islands to redirect itself by offering alternative products to sun and beach, and by increasing the quality of those on offer, measures adopted in the Balearic Islands have failed to produce the desired results. Although public institutions emphasise that in recent years the tourist season has been extended by two months, the analysis of seasonality reveals that this problem is worsening each year. It is possible that the policies and practices adopted have been insufficient or have not been implemented correctly. Therefore, in our opinion, a key element on which further work is required is the image of the tourist destination, since, despite the qualitative changes that have occurred across all dimensions of the tourism product, a true picture of the current reality has not been conveyed to the source markets with sufficient clarity. An essential aspect of policies and instruments that are directly linked to fighting seasonality is the portfolio of products. In this sense, it is necessary to structure, communicate and market products for the non-summer season, in which the climatic conditions are not a key element. Positioning policies should be specifically designed to change the image of the Balearic Islands as a destination for only sun and beach tourism.
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References Alcover, A., Alemany, M., Jacob, M., Payeras, M., García, A., & Martínez-Ribes, L. (2011). The economic impact of yacht charter tourism on the Balearic economy. Tourism Economics, 17 (3), 625-638. Agarwal, S. (1994). The resort cycle revisited: implications for resorts. In Cooper, C.P. & Lockwood, A. (Eds.), Progress in Tourism, Recreation and Hospitality Management, 5, (pp.194-208). Chichester: Wiley. Agarwal, S. (2002). Restructuring seaside tourism: the resort lifecyle. Annals of tourism research, 29 (1), 25-55. Agarwal, S. (2006). Coastal resort restructuring and the TALC. In Butler, R. (ed.), The tourism Life Cycle: Conceptual and theoretical issues, 2 (pp. 201-208). Clevendon: Channel View. Aguirre Newman. (2011). Estudio de Mercado de los Campos de golf en España. (Departamento de análisis e investigación de mercados). Madrid: Aguirre Newman. The world of property Butler, R. (1980). The concept of a tourist area, cycle of evolution: implications for management of resources. The Canadian Geographer , 24(1), 5-12. Ceballos, G. (2010). Estudio sobre el Turismo de montaña en España. Retrieved from http://www.evalia.biz/austrianworkshop/images/ponencias/ Turespana_Gonzalo_Ceballos_Turismo_Montana_ES.pdf Exceltur. (2013). Estudio del impacto económico del turismo sobre la economía y el empleo de las Illes Balears. Palma: Govern de les Illes Balears. Fernández, A. (2003). Decomposing seasonal concentration. Annals of Tourism Research, 30(4), 942-956. Fernández, I., & Martínez, A. (2003). El impacto económico de la Copa del América. Valencia: Instituto de Economía Internacional. Universidad de Valencia. Garau, J. (2008). El turismo de golf en las Islas Baleares. Palma: Govern de les Illes Balears. Consejeria de Turismo. (2012). Plan Integral de Turismo de las Islas Baleares (PITIB). Palma, Govern de les Illes Balears. Retrieved from www.caib.es/govern/rest/arxiu/1201270 Consejeria de Turismo. (2014). Nota de coyuntura turística en las Islas Baleares. Agencia de Turismo Balear. Palma: Govern de les Illes Balears. Harrison, D. (1995). Development of tourism in Swaziland. Annals of Tourism Research, 22(1), 135-156. Instituto de Estudios Turísticos. (2011). Egatur. Retrieved from: http://www.iet.tourspain. es/es-ES/turismobase/Paginas/default.aspx.
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López, J.M., & López, L.M. (2006). Concentración estacional en las regiones españolas desde una perspectiva de la oferta turística. Revista de Estudios Regionales, 77, 77-104. Lundtorp, S. (2001). Measuring tourism seasonality. In A. Baum, & S. Lundtorp (Eds.), Seasonality in tourism. (pp. 23-50). Oxford: Pergamon. Martín, J.M., Jimenez. J., & Molina, V. (2014). Impacts of seasonality on environmental sustainability in the tourism sector based on destination type: An application to Spain's Andalusia region. Tourism Economics, 20 (1), 123-142. Murray, I., Rullan, O., & Salom, M. B. (2005). Las huellas territoriales de deterioro ecológico. El trasfondo oculto de la explosión turística en Baleares. Scripta Nova: revista electrónica de geografía y ciencias sociales, 9 (199). Retrieved from http://www.ub.edu/geocrit/ sn/sn-199.htm Sánchez, P., Barajas, A. & Alén, E. (2013). Los eventos deportivos como herramienta de promoción turística: propuestas para el rally de Ourense y su entorno, Revista de Análisis Turístico, 16, 59-69. Sanz, V., Moreno, F. & Camacho, D. (2012). Impacto social de un gran evento deportivo: el Gran Premio de Europa de Fórmula 1. Cultura, Ciencia y Deporte, 7 (19), 53-65.
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THE ROLE OF SPORT EVENTS IN DESTINATION BRANDING: THE DUBAI WORLD CUP “THE WORLD’S RICHEST HORSE RACE” Aisha Saleh Al Ghubbi AL SUWAIDI, Russell Blair WILLIAMS
INTRODUCTION The Dubai World Cup, which is the richest prize-money day in horse racing, is an annual sporting event that has been running in Dubai, United Arab Emirates for the past 20 years. It is a high point on the international racing calendar and a spotlight event for Dubai and the UAE It is the most internationally renowned sporting event staged in Dubai (Sulayem et al, 2013). The event has grown annually following generous financial investment from the UAE. Sporting events such as this are being used by destinations to enhance their image and reinforce their brand. Sports events have increasingly been employed by cities as an imaging tool as they can draw large audiences from home and abroad and generate world-wide media exposure (Dongfeng & Gratton, 2010). The event is the world’s most financially lucrative horseracing festival in the world and that is understood by those inside the horse racing industry and the public (Sulayem et al, 2013). The World Cup race has carried a purse of USD ten million since 2010, making it the world's single richest horse race on the world’s richest horse racing card. The Dubai World Cup attracts a global television audience of over one million people (Dubai Racing Club, 2015). Over 50,000 spectators attended the event in both 2010 and 2011. The Dubai Racing Club has gone to great lengths to ensure an international level of interest
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and a showcase of the world’s best equine talent. In the tradition of the Royal Ascot meeting in England and other top tier horse racing festivals, people at the meeting can enter the Dubai World Cup Style Stakes, a fashion competition with prizes for Best Hat, Best Dressed Lady, and Best Dressed Couple (Emirates Racing Authority, 2015).
Literature Review Destination marketers have focused on hosting sporting events as a strategy to enhance the destination image and differentiate its tourism products (Chalip et al. 2003). Sport can range from mega events, such as the Olympic Games, to medium-size events, such as national or regional championships, to small-size events, such as cycling, walking and running races. The sport tourism sector is at the heart of international tourism growth and is the fastest growing sector in the global travel and tourism industry (Kaplanidou et al., 2012). Destinations organize, promote, and run sports events for a variety of reasons. Events can be products that add to the attractiveness of a destination. Visitors interested in a sport event may visit a destination for the first time because of the event. Regular visitors could be encouraged to extend their stay in a destination in order to attend an event (Dimanche, 2003). The sporting event image and destination image influence future visits to both the destination and the sporting event (Hallmann & Breuer, 2010). Destination brand is a distinguishing name or symbol intended to identify the destination and to differentiate it from its competitors. Branding is increasingly recognized as an important marketing activity in tourism. A tourism destination’s brand equity is created by loyalty to the destination, destination name awareness, a destination’s perceived quality, a destination’s brand associations, and other assets such as competitive advantage (Dimanche, 2002). According to the city marketing strategy proposed by (Kotler et al. 1993), cities can hold sporting events to increase city attraction, change an original negative image, and create a new image. Co-branding a destination with a significant sport event is one way to improve the brand equity of the destination (Simonin & Ruth, 1998). The objective in destination co-branding is to transfer the desired portion of the event brand to the understanding of the destination brand. This requires the two brands to be jointly advertised and promoted. Events help create awareness
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about the destination brand highlighting the added features, image building and associating brand personality to the target market. Since hosting an event causes the host destination’s brand to be paired with the event brand, it is reasonable to expect characteristics of the event’s brand to transfer to the destination’s brand, and vice versa (Brown et al., 2004 ; Smith, 2004). The paired brands should share a common schema or a common schema element (Brown et al., 2004). The shared schema enables consumers to link the two brands, and thus facilitates the strengthening of the shared brand attributes in memory. A shared schema may also provide a pathway for attributes that are not shared to be transferred from one brand to another. The pairing of an event with a destination will benefit the destination to the degree that a desirable aspect of the event’s brand transfers to the destination. The purpose of this study is to examine if a single annual sports event can contribute to a city's or a country's brand awareness and brand image.
METHODOLOGY
Statement of Problem Communities believe that the use of sporting events as marketing tools will contribute to the future success of the destination by creating awareness, enhancing image, and generating future inbound travel (Dimanche, 2003). The sport tourism event utilized in this research is an annual horse racing event in the UAE called “The Dubai World Cup”. To explore the brand image, three target groups were surveyed, UAE national residents, UAE expatriate residents and tourists visiting the UAE.
Nature of the method In this study we are using a quantitative research method to measure the characteristics of brand association. The attitudes, opinions and attributes about a sport tourism event amongst the target groups was explored through an online and a paper-based questionnaire. The total number of participants was 36, 14 local Emiratis, 10 expats living in Abu Dhabi, and 12 tourists visiting Abu Dhabi.
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Data collection and stages of the research: The study tool was an online questionnaire composed of 15 questions divided into ten sections uploaded on 20 February 2015 at free survey tool (http:// english.1ka.si/). In addition, printed copies of the questionnaire (N=5) were distributed among tourists in Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi on 24 February 2015, as well as (N=5) questionnaires in Al Ain Zoo on 1st March 2015. The questionnaire design was mostly structured, using closed-ended questions and Likert scale items, although open-ended questions were also used to test perceptions of the brand. Demographic questions were limited to nationality, age, and gender.
Profile of respondents The study sample consists of 36 respondents of both genders from UAE citizens, residents and tourists in the UAE. The sample was selected in a randomly within those sub-groups of the population. Among the 36 respondents 39% were Emirati citizens, 28% were expats living in Abu Dhabi, and 33% were international tourists visiting Abu Dhabi. Just over one half were female, 52%, and 48% were male. Over 60% of the respondents were aged between 31 and 50 years old, 29% were between 21-30 years old, with the remainder 9% aged under 20 or above 51 years old. According to the respondents nationalities more than one fourth (26%) were UAE citizens and the other three fourths were from other nationalities.
Hypothesis: This study has the following three hypotheses: H1: 40% of respondents will be able to recall the brand of Dubai World’s Cup. H2: 60% of respondents will be able to recognize the brand of Dubai World’s Cup. H3: 30% of respondents believe that Dubai World’s Cup is successful in attracting tourists.
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RESULTS & IMPLICATIONS Dubai World’s Cup – Logo Awareness Descriptive statistics were calculated for the recalled sport events brands. The second question in the questionnaire queried the sports events brands that were recalled by respondents. Among those events recalled, the FIFA football world cup is the most recalled (24%), followed by the Olympic Games (9%) and Formula 1 (9%). No one freely recalled The Dubai World Cup. However, when respondents were asked in question 3 about what the picture represented, the majority of the respondents, 82%, had a high level of logo recognition. While the remaining 18% didn’t recognize the DWC brand image correctly.
Dubai World’s Cup – Slogan Awareness In question #4 the respondents were asked to recall the slogan of DWC, however, only 9% were able to recall the slogan “The World’s Richest Horse Race”. While, the majority of answers varied from “I don’t know” to “no, I cannot.” In question 5, respondents were asked to choose from several options for the slogan, over half (63%) of respondents were able to recognize the DWC slogan while 22% chose the option none-of these. Meanwhile, 13% chose “Definitely Dubai,” the official Dubai tourism slogan and 3% chose the option “Travelers Welcome,” the official Abu Dhabi tourism slogan.
Brand Positioning The respondents (n=32) were asked about their feelings towards DWC as a sporting event. The results indicate that no differentiation was found for the DWC based on the image attributes of culture, business, affordability or expensive. However, respondents indicated that DWC was more popular than unknown and more safe than risky.
Sport event image In questions 7 and 8 in the questionnaire the respondents were asked about their opinion towards DWC and 41% of respondents indicated they would visit the event
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for entertainment. Twenty-two percent of respondents said they would attend for betting on the winner horses while 16% of respondents would visit the event for cultural image. The irony of this choice is that wagering is illegal within the UAE. Looking at the positioning of the Dubai brand as a whole, 44% of the respondents suggested that Dubai should do more to promote Cultural & Heritage tourism. Twenty-two percent claimed that Dubai should do more to promote both business tourism and sport tourism, six percent opted for more promotion of shopping tourism, and three percent for architectural tourism.
Perceptions of the brand Perceptions of the DWC brand among all respondents were measured using facial images to indicate respondents’ feelings. Asked how do you feel about the DWC brand, local Emirati respondents had positive and neutral feelings (50%) equally. Ninety percent of expats living in Abu Dhabi had a positive feeling toward the Dubai brand and 83% of international tourists visiting Abu Dhabi felt positive. Also, not one of the tested sample had negative feelings about the Dubai World Cup brand.
Sport events attract more tourists: In order to determine if Dubai World’s Cup is attracting tourists, respondents were asked questions with a 5-point Likert-scale for response. Thirty-four percent of respondents believe that DWC is very successful way to bring more tourists to Dubai and the UAE. Twenty-Eight percent see it as successful enough, 31% find it moderately successful, and 6% feel it is not really successful.
DISCUSSION Based on the results, brand identification and brand internalization had major differences. The Dubai World Cup has been relatively successful in building awareness. The fact that 82% of the respondents were able to recognize the brand logo correctly demonstrated a high awareness level. But recall was much lower than awareness among this sample. There are at least two possible reasons for this inconsistency. First, the high awareness of the Dubai World Cup may be
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a consequence of the sample. Most of the respondents in this study are actual residents in Abu Dhabi and they would have relatively high knowledge about Dubai and have exposure to the proliferation of media messages connected with the event. Secondly, most of the other sporting events recalled by the respondents are events that are held on a regular basis, last for about a month and are very popular, such as the Football World Cup and Olympic Games. The DWC has been happening for 20 years but it is a single evening near the end of March. It does not stay in the public’s mind for an extended period of time. This is consistent with what Chalip and Costa (2005) suggest, that a single event has only a passing effect on the destination brand. From the perspective of brand positioning, the DWC is neither culture or business or affordable or expensive, but it is seen to be somewhat popular and relatively safe. None of these say a great deal about the distinctiveness of the DWC brand nor its ability to contribute to the Dubai brand. Regarding the perception of the DWC, it is interesting to note that respondents had positive feelings towards the Dubai World Cup. The findings suggested that sport events like DWC may promote certain aspects of the national brand with positive associations connected to “culture”, “socializing”, and “entertainment.” These are all important facets of the Dubai and UAE tourism brands. It appears that the number of tourists may increase as result of hosting a this sporting event because of its relationship to destination brand of its host. Respondents indicated that sporting events are an effective imaging tool to reach more tourists. City marketers should consider this possibility in the development of their destination marketing strategies. Our results reject the first hypothesis that 40% of respondents will be able to recall the brand logo and slogan. However, the results support the second hypothesis that 60% will be able to recognize the DWC brand. The results also support the third hypothesis that 30% of respondents believe that Dubai World Cup is successful in attracting tourists.
CONCLUSION Event image indirectly influences intentions to return to the destination that hosted that event (Kaplanidou, 2006). Destination and event marketers can utilize the results from questionnaires related to promotional images for re-hosting the
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event and to better leverage and develop the brand. The information can also be used to attract sponsoring companies that carry similar brand images and aim for congruency enhancements of their company’s image.
Limitations and future research: Participants and their families coming to the sport event are guaranteed visitors in the destination that hosts the sport tourism event. Understanding the active sport tourist (participant) can help event’s marketers better target participants’ needs. Target marketing approaches can be customized to fit the needs and perceptions of each segment of participants. Since this was a preliminary study, future research should develop and test a set of scale items with a sample of active sport tourists. In addition, the questionnaire was in English only and local Emiratis respondents prefer answering in their own language. Future research should explore the perceptions of sport event image held by sport tourists, for comparison with general tourists and residents, to improve our understanding of the differences between these two market segments in relation to brand awareness. Future research efforts should also take into consideration other variables that can influence sport tourists’ behavior such as satisfaction levels with the event and destination.
References Brown, G., & Chalip, L., & Jago, L., & Mules, T. (2004). Developing brand Australia: Examining the role of events. Destination branding: Creating the unique destination proposition. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Chalip, L., Costa, C. A. (2005). Sport Event Tourism and the Destination Brand: Towards a General Theory. Sport in Society, 8(2), 218–237. Chalip, L., & Green, B., & Hill, B. (2003). Effects of sport event media on destination image and intention to visit. Journal of Sport Management, 17, 214-234. Dimanche, F. & Sodja, M. (2007). Destination image and positioning: The role of sports. Management: Destination Marketing, March 2007. Dimanche, F. (2003). The role of sport events in destination marketing. In P. Keller and T. Bieger (Eds.) Sport and Tourism. Proceedings of the 53rd. AIEST congress, St Gallen, Switzerland: AIEST.
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Dimanche, F. (2002). The contribution of special events to destination brand equity. City Tourism: Proceedings of European cities Tourism’s International Conference. Vienna: Springer. Dongfeng, L. & Gratton, C. (2010). The impact of mega sporting events on live spectators’ images of a host city: a case study of the Shanghai F1 Grand Prix. Tourism Economics, 16 (3), 629-645. Dubai Racing Club. (2015). Dubai World’s Cup - Horse Race. URL: http://www. dubairacingclub.com/race/dubai-world-cup. Accessed: February 23, 2015 Emirates Racing Authority. (2015). Dubai Racing Club Announces 2015 Dubai World Cup. URL: http://www.emiratesracing.com/news/dubai-racing-club-announces-2015dubai-world-cup-carnival-programme. Accessed: February 23, 2015 Hallmann, K., & Breuer, C. (2010). Image fit between sport events and their hosting destinations from an active sport tourist perspective and its impact on future behavior. J. Sport Tour, 15(3), 215-237. Kaplanidou, K., & Jordan, J., & Funk, D., & Ridinger, L. (2012). Recurring sport events and destination image perceptions: Impact on active sport tourist behavioral intentions and place attachment. Journal of Sport Management, 26, 237-248. Kaplanidou, K. (2006). The impact of sport tourism event image on destination image and intentions to travel: A structural equation modeling analysis. Michigan: East Lansing. Kotler, P., & Haider, D., & Rein, I. (1993). Marketing places: Attracting investment, industry and tourism to cities, states and nation. New York: The Free Press. Simonin, B., & Ruth, J. (1998). Is a company known by the company it keeps? Assessing the spillover effects of brand alliances on consumer brand attitudes. Journal of Marketing Research, 35, 30-42. Smith, G. (2004). Brand image transfer through sponsorship: A consumer learning perspective. Journal of Marketing Management, 20, 457-474. Sulayem, M., & O'Connor, S., & Hassan. D. (2013). Sport Management in the Middle East: A Case Study Analysis. New York: Routledge.
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PROFILING PARTICIPANTS OF SPORTING EVENTS IN THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT: TRAILS RUNNING RACES Estela Inés FARÍAS TORBIDONI, Jordi SEGUÍ URBANEJA, Eduard INGLÉS YUBA
INTRODUCTION Nowadays the rise of sporting and physical activities in the natural environment is widely known (Dienot & Theiller 1999; Martos, 2002). For instance, according to studies conducted by Garcia Ferrando (2006) and Garcia Ferrando & Llopis (2010), it is estimated that more than 40% of the Spanish population between 15-75 years old practices sport or physical activity; of which 45% usually does it in open space places such as parks, mountain, sea, river, etc. Moreover, it is clear that the environment has evolved from being an area restricted to large sports specialists and people physically well prepared, to become a "sports facility installation" boundless space (Inglés, 2013). Numerous autohrs assesses that we have reached the point of transforming natural environments created by the desire to achieve escape rhythm that marks the urban lifestyle (Ewert & others, 2006; Granero & Baena, 2010). According to data collected in the latest study of sports habits in Spain (García Ferrando, 2010), 6.2% of the Spanish population between 15 and 65 years practices running; which ranks fifth in the practice situation, after maintenance gymnastics, soccer, swimming and recreational cycling. Regarding this evolution,, it is estimated that the practice of this activity, including trail running, has experienced an increase of 4.5% in the last five years (Llopis & Vilanova, 2015).
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In this sense, despite not having specific data regarding the number of participation in Trail Running races, it is estimated that 9.6% of the population in the case of Spain, and 6.2% in the case of Catalonia, usually participate in a sporting event, considered as sport for all (Catalan Sports Observatory, 2013). Although there are no reliable data on its evolution, it is clear that their emergence and growth does not seem to be a temporary issue. Consequently, it is of great interest to initiate research on the analysis not only on supply (growth, typology, main features, organizing body, etc.), but also on demand (profile, training, experience, motivations, etc.). It is for this reason that this paper attempts to identify the main characteristics of the participants’ of trail running races profile.
METHODOLOGY The design of the survey has taken into consideration the inclusion of three dimensions: 1) socioeconomic profile, 2) sportive profile and previous experience races (sporting habits, experience, etc.) and 3) motivations and satisfaction of participation (Farias, Segui, Fuster, Gil, 2014). In table 1 a detail of the main dimensions and variables considered in the questionnaire is shown. Moreover, it is necessary to take into consideration that although most of the questions in the survey were closed with multiple answer, in the motivation question the respondents had to give a score of each option from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest). A total of 18 questions were included in the questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered to the participants of the Ultra Trail Barcelona: 21km, 42km, and 69km. In total 140 surveys, with 95.5% confidence level and error margin of 8%. The data collection was carried out during the day of the event. The surveys were conducted in the finish area just after the participants finished the race. The selection criterion used was stratified random, stratified system being considered the number of participants per category (Table 2).
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Table 1: Dimensions and variables questionnaire Dimensions
Variables
Socioecomic profile
Gender Age group Current place of residence Level of education Kind of job Incomes Club affiliation Sport equipment
Sporting profile and previous experience on races
Experiences in this activity Experience in endurance sport events Participation in races (last three years) Level of training (hours per week) Level of training (number of sessions per week) Invisible training Level of training in order to face the event
Motivation
Motivation to practice trail running Motivation to the participate on the race
Table 2: Questionnaire distribution Distance
Number of participants
Percent
Numbers of questionnaires
21km
691
50%
70
42km
471
34%
48
69km
214
16%
22
Total
1376
100%
140
RESULTS
The socioeconomic profile The results obtained in the current study revealed that the most frequent type of participants was male (84%) , with an average age of 37 years ( 39.2% between 30 and 39 years old), a wage-earner (64%), who had finished university (48%) and currently lived in the same province where the event was hold (80% - Barcelona). The income level detected was from18.000 to 30.000â‚Ź. (35.2%) and it was also
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detected that they wore an especially sport equipment to participate in this event as: GPS watch (56.8%), technical clothes (44.8%) and systems of hydration (70.4%) (Table 3). Table 3: Variables that best define the sociological characteristics Variables
%
Variables
Gender Man
%
Kind of job 84.0
Wage-earner
64.0
Government employer
12.8
20 a 29 years
21.6
Incomes
30 a 39 years
39.2
From 10.000 to 18.000â‚Ź
32.8
From 18.001 to 30.000â‚Ź
35.2
80.0
Club affiliation
Age group
Current place of residence Barcelona Girona
5.6
Yes
Others countries
5.6
Sport equipments
Level of education
GPS
43.2 56.8
University
48.0
System of hydration
70.4
Vocational training
20.0
Technical clothes
44.8
Sporting profile and previous experience on races In specific terms and with regards to sporting profile and previous experiences on races, the results establish a high level of experience on this practice and on other endurance sports events. Although the 20% had started to run only one year before, almost the 60% used to run since more than 4 years ago. Furthermore, more than 80% had participated in an endurance sport event such as triathlon, running or cycling races. In this case, the experiences in endurance sport events is specially related to running races (68.8%). Regarding previous participation in running events, results show some interesting differences depending on the distance (Table 4).
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Table 4: Sporting profile and previous experience races * Taking into consideration the last three years Variables
%
Experience in this activity
Variables
%
Participation in races (from 21 to 40km)*
1 years
20.0
1 twice
16.0
2 years
16.0
2 twice
12.8
3 years
15.2
3 twice
4.8
4 years
12.4
More than 3 twice
41.6
5 years
18.4
Participation in races (from 41 to 69km)*
More than 5 years
28.4
1 twice
16.0
Experience in endurance sport events
2 twice
4.8
Yes
3 twice
8.0
More than 3 twice
10.4
80.0
Type of event Running races
68.8
Participation in races (more than 70km)*
Triathlon
4.8
1 twice
6.4
Cycling
2 twice
2.4
Others
3 twice
1.6
Participation in races (less than 20km)*
More than 3 twice
4.0
1 twice
11.2
Satisfaction level training to face the event
2 twice
12.8
Very good
34.4
3 twice
5.6
Reasonable
60.8
More than 3 twice
39.2
Unsatisfactory
4.8
Other important characteristic of the participants interviewed were the results obtained on training issues (Table 5 - total sample). More or less, they usually train more than 6 hours and more than 4 sessions per week. Sleeping and recovering are the more important aspects that they take care of about their training. With regards to the level of training in order to face the event; average score indicated that participants considered their previous preparation to the race in 6.8 point in a range of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest). As follows, table 5 shows the results obtained when analysing the sample by distance groups. We can see that the higher is the distance overcome, the more hours and sessions of training per week. On the contrary, invisible training shows foreseeable results.
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Table 5: Average sporting profile and previous experience races. Average scores having two range scores Variables
Total sample
SD
21km
42km
69km
Training: hours per week
6.67
3,722
5.92
7,02
11,00
Training: number of sessions
4.48
1,629
4.39
4,39
5,78
Sleeping
4.33
,869
4.31
4,36
4,33
Recovering
4.09
,951
4.14
4,02
4,00
Invisible training*
Multiple training
3.55
1,434
3.67
3,59
2,44
Nutrition
3.85
1,164
3.86
3,89
3,56
Others
2.68
1,423
2.5
2,91
3,00
Level of training in order to face the event**
6.8
1,796
6.65
6.86
7.69
* From 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest). ** From 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).
Motivations and satisfaction participation On the other hand, with regards to the results obtained about the motivations why participants practice the trail running activity, average score indicated the following motivation as the most important motivation: to enjoy, to do sport in the natural environment, to relax and disconnect, to test me and to maintain or improve physical fitness. Three of which have a the lowest standard deviations (table 6 – see bold numbers -). However, regarding the scores obtained by different participant distances, results show the presence of small but interesting differences between groups. For instance: to enjoy, in the case of 21km participants distances; to practice this activity with others, in the case of 42km participants distance, or to run a trail in the case of 69km participants distances (see bold numbers in each column). Finally, the response obtained about the motivation to participate in this race: to live an experience, to live a challenger or to enjoy or disconnect, were the most important motivation selected by participants. Table 7.
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Table 6: Motivations to practice trail running. Average scores obtained in a range of 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) Motivation
Average score
To Enjoy
4.49
To relax and disconnect
4.04
To practice this activity with others
2.85
To maintain and/or improve physical fitness
4.00
To do sports in the natural environment
4.15
Because it is accessible (easy to do and little equipment)
3.64
Because it is a reference sport / fashion
1.78
Because it gives me the feeling of freedom
3.81
To live new experiences
3.44
To test me (personal challenge)
4.02
Because it is a good way to sightsee or meet new places
3.02
Because I understand the trail running as a lifestyle
2.65
Because I can practice alone
3.27
To run a trail
2.99
In order to spread in social network
1.60
Table 7: Motivations to participating in the event. Average scores obtained in a range of 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest). Motivation
Average score
To live an experience
3.77
To live a challenge
2.09
To enjoy or disconnect
2.00
To improve the mark o train to other event
1.88
Others motivations
2.05
CONCLUSIONS In general, results obtained in the current study sustain the presence of an homogeneous socioeconmic profile of participants: young man, who live in a big city, with a high educational level and a good degree of incomes. On the contrary,
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results obtained in relation to sporting profile, previous experiences on races and motivations to practice trail running, were not such homogeneous as the profile patterns. Although a deeper future analysis is necessary to corroborate the data obtained in this study, the results found in this work are a good starting point for the analysis of this current phenomenon and detect possible problems in relation to its increase. In terms of applicability and future implications, our results have not only allowed to increase the knowledge about the socioeconomic and sporting profile of the participants, but also to help the organisations of this type of events in their aim of increasing the running opportunities. For instance, in the case of 21km participants group, opportunities to enjoy more the experience; or, in the case of 42km participants group, opportunities to increase socials interactions during the event.
References Dienot, J. Theiller, D. (1999). Les Nouveaux Loisirs Sportifs en Montagne. Les Aventuriers du Quotidien. Bordeaux: Maison des Sciences de l’Homme d’Aquitaine. European Commission (2010). Special Eurobarometer. Sport and Physical Activity. Ewert, A., Attarian, A., Hollenhorst, S.,Russell, K., Voight, A. (2006). Evolving adventure pursuits on public lands: emerging challenges form management and public policy. Journal of park and recreation administration, 24 (2): 125-140. Farías, EI., Seguí, J., Fuster, J., Gil, G. (2014). El deporte para todos en la organización de eventos deportivas. Las motivaciones de motivación, el grado de satisfacción como posibles indicadores de control. El caso de la Trekoorientación Bosque de Poblet. Retos. Nuevas Tendencias en Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación 25, 45-49. García Ferrando, M. (2006). Veinticinco años de análisis del comportamiento deportivo de la población Española (1980-2005). Revista Internacional de Sociología LXIV (44): 15-38. García Ferrando, M., Llopis, G. R. (2010). Encuesta sobre los hábitos deportivos en España 2010. Ideal democrático y bienestar personal. Consejo Superior de Deportes. Recuperado de: http://books.google.es/books?hl=es&lr=&id=rAlQap7-24wC&oi=f nd&pg=PA11&dq=garc%C3%ADa+ferrando+2010&ots=GNSY8uVULo&sig=eZU ALHnl4DHA07rGxeR3ay67YTA#v=onepage&q=garc%C3%ADa%20ferrando%20 2010&f=false. Granero, A., Baena, A. (2010). The Search for Nature as a Way of Compensation of the New Urban Lifestyle. Journal of Sport and Health Research, 2(1), 17-25.
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Inglés, E. (2013). Estratègies de gestió de la pràctica esportiva al medi natural per al desenvolupament sostenible: Un estudi de casos sobre governança i stakeholders. Tesi doctoral, Universitat de Barcelona. Llopis, R., Vilanova, A. (2014): Sport Participation and Cultural Trends. Running as a reflection of individualisation and post-materialism processes in Spanish society. ISSN: 1613-8171. European Journal for Sport and Society, 11 (2), 151-169. Llopis, R., Vilanova, A. (2015). Spain: a Sociological Analysis of the Evolution and Characteristics of Running. In J. Scheerder, K. Breedveld, & J. Borgers (Eds.), Running across Europe. The Rise and Size of one of the Largest Sport Markets (pp. 225-238). London: Palgrave Macmillan. Martos, P. (2002). El Medio Natural como Punto de Encuentro de Turismo y Deporte. Crecimiento y Diversificación. In S. Rebollo M; Simoes, E (Eds.), Nuevas Tendencias de Práctica Físico-Deportiva en el Medio Natural (pp. 3-14). Granada: Universidad de Granada. Observatorio Català de l’Esport (2014). L’Esport a Catalunya. Un informe de tendencias 2006 -2013. Recuperado de: http://www.observatoridelesport.cat/dimension.asp?dms=1 Puig, N., Vilanova, A., Ingles, E. y Mayo, D. (2009). Habits esportius a Catalunya. Generalitat de Catalunya. Secretaría General de l'Esport. Scheerder, J., Breedveld, K. (2015). Running across europe. The rise and size of the one of the largest sport market. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 265.
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DEVELOPMENT OF A SPORT EVENT UNDER THE COMMUNISM AND DEMOCRATIC REGIMES Mart REIMANN, Kaarel TILMER, Erkki ERKKI
INTRODUCTION There has been little research about sport history and participation in mass sport events in Eastern Europe (Riordan 1999 Biddle et al 2009). Despite the fact that at the moment many Eastern European countries are in the European Union (EU), historical communist background is still discussed in those places. The influence of a communist regime on sport policy making and people’s participation behavior is to some extent evident today. That said, Eurobarometer indicators from 2013 show higher rates in sports participation for Baltic States compared to other EU countries (Eurobarometer, 2014). Sport played an important role in communist ideology and in the nation building (Riordan, 2007; Carter, 2008; Massiera et al. 2013). Often happened that mass sports events had to be approved by communist party and had to be politically sound surrounded by correct propaganda carrying messages such as Ready for work and Protection (Viru, 1999). Planned economy, centralized strategies and norms created top-down events, which generated silent protest and opposition in local people. This was one of the reasons why many mass sport events stopped after the collapse of the communism regime and countries like Romania still struggle to break this antipathy (Massiera et al 2013). However, some events have retained their iconic status. The aim of the current paper is to analyse Estonian winter sport events and in particular the phenomenon of Tartu Skiing Marathon, which is the only marathon in Estonia that has successfully survived the transition period from
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the Soviet time till today. It is also one of the oldest and largest skiing marathons in Eastern Europe and recognized globally. The authors of the paper examine several studies carried out in the field throughout 6 decades (Kivistik & Teppan 1996, Paal 2010, Leiman 2013, Zilmer 2013, Vasiljeva 2014). Authors themselves have contributed to the events as researchers, organisers as well as participants.
Sport and communism In order to understand the context it is necessary to review some of the characteristics of sports in socialist countries. Although Eastern Europe countries have exited from former system then so called top-down socialist approach to sport on the national level is evident still in countries such as Cuba (Carter, 2008), China (Hwang, 2006) and North-Korea (Lee & Bairner, 2009). In communist regime sport was used as a tool to promote health, hygiene, defense and productivity. Because of the mainly rural, multiethnic population of the Soviet Union, sport was easily understandable serving as a construct that unified people from diverse backgrounds (Riordan, 2007). In addition to integration aspect, nation’s defense was another topic related closely to sports. Nationwide fitness programs including mass sport events were very often biased towards military training, propaganda and politics (Riordan, 2007; Lee and Bairner, 2009). From the positive side the Soviet sports system, although it was isolated and centrally managed, offered small nations and ethnic minorities possibilities to compete on the highest competitive level (Viru, 1999). Even though elite athletes did not represent any political ideology on the playing field they were often involved in educational, social and economic welfare propaganda (Antons, 2007). Estonians on the other hand saw sport as keeping their national identity alive by producing vital examples to the population (Viru, 1999). In communist context sport served as a medium to communicate its people superiority over the capitalism being a winner by all means (Riordan, 2012).
Beginning of the skiing marathons in Estonia Cross-country skiing has been a popular sports in Estonia throughout times. Smaller local skiing competitions were very usual in all parts of Estonia. Skiing as
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sport in Estonia started to develop around 1920-s when also the first competitions were held (Leiman, 2013). Before that skiing was just used as a mean of everyday commuting during the winter period (L채채ne, 2007). The influence of the Soviet occupation had negative implications to Estonian skiing because options for international competitions were eliminated. Despite being part of the Soviet Union, Estonia is culturally connected to Nordic countries and Estonians got information about Vaasa Loppet Skiing Marathon in Sweden in 1959, which had 700 participants. The sport event of this scale impressed Estonians and they wanted to create something similar. The idea and initiative came from Tartu, the second biggest city in Estonia. The core group was formed from professors and students from Physical Education and Natural Sciences faculties of Tartu University. The first marathon took place in 1960 with 234 participants. As by that time Soviet occupation had lasted just 14 years, the authorities were very paranoid of any kind of mass events, which did not have political label. In order to get permission and resources for the organization, the event was scheduled to the weekend next to the 23rd of February, the anniversary of the Soviet Army. Despite the timing and formal slogans, the atmosphere was very academic and free of any kind of politics and soviet propaganda. In the same year a similar event was organised in the Estonian capital Tallinn to the neighbouring city Keila and back. This event did not have only red political label on it, but also red content and on the way the participants had to put flowers to commemorate the fallen Red Army soldiers and there were speeches held in their memory. Traditional rivalry between Estonian capital and economic centre Tallinn and educational values Tartu started to shape also rivalry between two biggest skiing marathons.
The rise of the Tartu marathon Since 1960 Tartu marathon and Tallinn-Keila marathon were organized at the same time when Northern Estonian media sources were promoting Tallinn-Keila marathon and Southern Estonia Tartu marathon. These two marathons were two biggest skiing events in Estonian through the Soviet era, but Tallinn-Keila marathon never had participation rates that Tartu marathon had despite most of the Estonian population lives around Tallinn and together with the collapse of the Soviet Union also the arrangement of Tallinn-Keila marathon stopped. But
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Tartu marathon grew to become the largest skiing marathon in the Baltic States. Until 1979 the growth of the Tartu marathons participants’ number was slow. The rapid change came in 1980 while economic situation of the Soviet Union was at its best. Until 1980-s the organisation of the marathon was only the responsibility of enthusiasts’ volunteers, but together with Olympic Games in Moscow also finances for sport in general improved and the organising team had more resources and promotion which brought participants also from the other parts of the Soviet Union. Enrolments of participants occurred in very weird manner as it could have only happened in the country with dictatorship and planned economy. Many bigger companies and organisations needed to have a certain number of representatives in the marathon, thus some people were forced to participate. 0
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1960 1963 1965 1967 1969 1971 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1993 1995 1997 1999 2002 2005 2007 2010 2012 2015
Figure 1. Participation of the Tartu marathon.
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The Soviet system had also other interesting motivation and stimulation schemes, for example trade unions had a lot of influence. In case key persons in trade unions signed someone to the marathon they could not refuse, because maybe they would not get benefits from trade unions in the future, like a permission to buy a car for example (as in the case of the planned economy all the resources were limited, also cars were on sale in limited amounts). In 1986 Tartu marathon was awarded as the best sports event of the year in the Soviet Union. The marathon reached its peak with 12000 participants in the same year. Also the marathon was the first one from Eastern Europe to be included to Wordloppet series from Eastern-Europe. The headquarters of Worldloppet was also moved to Tartu being the first international organization based in Estonia.
2013
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Figure 2. Foreign finishers in Tartu marathon between 1982-2013 (adapted from Vasiljeva, 2014).
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Political and climatic crisis Economic boom in the Soviet Union was followed by the collapse of the world biggest country and most of the country was close to the war situation. In crises often the recreational activities are the first ones to be neglected, but usually there is a group of enthusiasts who follow their physical activities routine in any situation. It would have been interesting to follow the participation trends during the hardest years in Estonia, but unfortunately marathon needed to be cancelled because of the snowless winters. One reason was also the fight between classical and freestyle technique. In some years organisers even tried to hold the marathon in freestyle, but with such amount of people it was a real disaster and ruining of equipment because freestyle needs much more space than classical skiing, hence the marathon was held classical style. Due to the poor winters and political crises most of the winter events in Estonia stopped and restarted again in independent Estonia. But as Tartu marathon had extremely enthusiastic organisers the marathon took place again in 1994 in independent Estonia after the six years break. Despite the hardest time was over in Estonia, the participation was still low because the equipment, participation fee and travel cost were still too expensive for many Estonians. In the new market economy situation many people committed to work and did not have free time and active and healthy lifestyle were not valued. There were no more participants from former Soviet Union republics and new participants from the west had not found their way yet to the marathon.
The new growth of the marathon participation In the conditions of economic improvement and higher valuation of the healthy lifestyles (because many Estonians had ruined their health with a hard work), also the numbers of participation in winter sport activities started to rise. Tartu marathon was included in the Worldloppet worlds skiing marathons series. This label started to bring more and more foreigners to the Tartu marathon. In the new market economy situation, skills to lobby the sponsors took also some time. Good winters encouraged more Estonians to refresh their skiing skills and to train for the marathon. During the last years Tartu marathon has reached the participation level which used to be in the best years during the Soviet time.
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CONCLUSION Tartu marathon’s case is a good evidence that not all the sport events which started under the communist regime did not mean to die after the collapse of the regime. As most of the top-down started events stopped after the collapse of the communist regime bottom-up started events like Tartu marathon survived and it is today one of the main sport events in the Baltic States. The fact that sport could be a good tool to develop nationalistic values under the communism label needs to be studied further.
References Antons, K. Sportlased külmas sõjas. Rmt: Pärnakivi, A, toim. Legendaarne Hubert Pärnakivi. Tartu [Athletes in Cold War]: Eesti Spordimuuseum ja Eesti Spordiajaloo Selts; 2007, 113-20. Biddle, S. J. H., Soos, I., Hamar, P., Sandor, I., Simonek, J., Karsai, I. (2009) Physical activity and sedentary behaviours in youth: Data from three Central-Eastern European countries, European Journal of Sport Science, 9:5, 295-301. Carter, T. (2008). New Rules To the Old Game: Cuban Sport and State Legitimacy in the Post-Soviet Era. Identities, 15(2), 194–215. Eurobarometer, (2014) Report: Special Eurobarometer 412 Sport and Physical Activity. Hwang, Dong-Jhy and Grant Jarvie 2004. Sport, Postcolonialism and Modern China: Some Preliminary Thoughts. In Sport and Postcolonialism. John Bale and Mike Cronin, eds. Oxford: Berg. Pp. 73–90. Kivistik, A., Teppan, J. (1996). Suusamaratoni raamat. [The book of the skiing marathon]. Koolibri. Tallinn 95pp. Lee, J. W., & Bairner, a. (2009). The Difficult Dialogue: Communism, Nationalism, and Political Propaganda in North Korean Sport. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 33(4), 390–410. Leiman, K (2013) Summary Development Of Skiing In Estonia And Estonian Top Female Skiers In Years 1958-1968, BA Thesis, University of Tartu. Lääne, T. Suusaspordi kujunemine ja areng Eestis. Suusatamine – Eesti rahvussport. Tallinn [Formulation and Development of Estionian Skiing - Estonian National Sports]: AS Ajakirjade Kirjastus; 2007: 46-50, 108-9. Massiera, B., Petracovschi, S., & Jessica, C. (2013). Ideological challenges to developing leisure sport in Romania: A cultural and historical analysis of the impact of elite sport on popular sport practice. Loisir et Societe, 36(1), 111–126.
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Paal, E. (2010). Pool sajandit Tartu maratoni 1960-2010 [Half a century of Tartu marathon]. Tartu 247pp. Riordan, J. (1999) The impact of communism on sport In The International. In Riordan, J., A Krüger (ed). Politics of Sport in the Twentieth Century. 48-66. Riordan, James (2007) The impact of Communism on sport. Historical Social Research 32 , 1, pp. 110-115. Riordan, J. (2012). Totalitarianism and sport in Russia. International Review on Sport and Violence, 6, 54–69. Zilmer, K. (2013). Liikumisharrastust mõjutavad tegurid suusatamises [Factors influencing participation in skiing sports] Liikumine ja sport. 7, 16-19. Vasiljeva, K (2014) "The Correlation between the Visitation Distance and Finishing Scores on Tartu Ski Marathon Participants" BA Thesis, University of Tartu. Viru, A.-M. Sport, teadus ja vaimsus 1945-1991 [Sport, science and spirituality]. Rmt: Vaiksaar, A, toim. Eesti Spordimuuseumi ja Eesti Spordiajaloo Seltsi Toimetised 3. Tartu: Eesti Spordimuuseum ja Eesti Spordiajaloo Selts 1999; 73-6.
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ATHLETIC PREPARATIONS AS A TOURIST PRODUCT THAT CAN BOOST SPORT TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE REGION Iztok RETAR, Primož SULIČ
INTRODUCTION Several authors (Gibson,1998; Pigassou, 2004; Gammon and Robinson 2003; Retar, 2006 Slak, Valek 2010) are trying to find out definitions of sport tourism. Pigeassou (2004) suggested that sport tourism is an economic and social activity at the crossroads of sport and tourism. Sport tourism is a segment of the tourism market and its economic contribution has grown strongly during recent decades. Gammon and Robinson (2003) defined sport tourism as Hard Sport Tourism and Soft Sport Tourism. Gibson (1998) suggested that there are three types of sport tourism - Sport Event Tourism, Celebrity and Nostalgia Sport Tourism and Active Sport Tourism. Gibson (1998) also describes that the sport tourism is leisure-based travel that takes an individual temporarily outside of their home communities to play, watch physical activities or venerate attractions associated with these activities. Retar defines sport tourism in a very similar way (2006), by separating it into three main categories: one is the active practice of sport on holidays which involves an active tourist, second is the travel to see a sporting event and, third, a travel to visit special sporting site or attraction – the second and third category involve a passive tourist. Slak Valek (2010) claims that sport tourism also applies to professional sport since it requires athletes and their escorts to travel.
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The Slovenian legislation on sports defines sports facilities as adequately equipped and organized areas and premises designed for sporting activities. Makovec Brenčič (2008) defines sport infrastructure as a term which is used to describe all venues, areas and equipment that serve as the basic material precondition for practicing various sports. The author further divides sport infrastructure in two categories: natural environment and built environment, composed of indoor or outdoor sport areas and special sport facilities. Natural environment for sports include land areas, water areas, skiing slopes and ice-covered areas. Built environment, on the other hand, encompasses covered sporting venues such as halls, complexes of swimming pools for recreational purposes or sports practicing. The above-mentioned covered facilities provide well furnished, indoor space for different sports, they are suitable for either sport events, competitions, training or recreation. Jurak, Kolar, Kovač, Bednarik (2012) state that sport facilities include equipped and organized training areas with ancillary facilities and public spaces. Indoor sports facility is usually restrained to a building (e.g. sports hall, swimming pool), whereas outdoor sports facility is a group of sports areas (e.g. a sport park with multiple outdoor courts). Jenšterle (2014) says that sports facilities can be divided into public, school, tourist and other infrastructure. Public infrastructure consists of sports halls, stadiums and swimming pools. School infrastructure comprises sports halls, running tracks, outdoor courts for ball sports and some smaller swimming pools. Tourist infrastructure is composed of trim trails, cycling tracks, outdoor fitness areas, sailing centres, ski resorts, fitness centres. The group of other sports facilities extends to all other venues for different activities and purposes. With regard to athletic preparations, Mežnar (2010) says that different sport disciplines have differently timed competition cycles. These cycles impose the athletic preparations to be carried out in the centres that can meet the requirements of quality accommodation, provide adequate training conditions (technical equipment) in addition to physiotherapeutic and health services. Marketing of sports teams' seasonal preparations is also interesting because of the ample media coverage. Journalists regularly follow the seasonal preparations of the teams and their reports and news can serve as a free promotion of the training location. Babič (2000) reveals the historical aspect of athletes' training in Ancient Greece. The actual preparations of the athletes started weeks before the Olympic Games. The athletes were required to come to a special training camp with equal diet and accommodation conditions for each of them 30 days before the Games onset at
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latest. Besides athletic preparations and training, the camp gave the competitors insight into what it meant to participate in the Olympic Games. All participants were given clear explanations on rules of behaviour during the competition. PolajĹžer (2013) states that sports teams opt for athletic preparations outside of their home location during the pre-competitive phase of the season choosing those places that offer the optimal conditions for their advancement. Preparations can only be hosted by sports centres that are capable of providing quality accommodation, adequate sports infrastructure and competent managers. In 2014 there were 5584 professionally ranked athletes registered by the Olympic Committee of Slovenia - Association of Sports Federation. Within the competition systems of the 61 national sports federations a total of 51083 athletes took part, all registered according to the Registration and Ranking Regulation of the Olympic Committee of Slovenia. This number is an indication of the number of potential users of athletic preparation programmes. It emerges with all clarity that there is a demand among athletes for seasonal preparations that may also be included in the sport tourism offer. Such offer must provide quality accommodation facilities and boarding, along with special sporting infrastructure. We decided to conduct a pilot survey to assess the current state of such offer in sport centres and to come up with a basis for further in-depth research of this topic.
METHODS The sample group was composed of 8 Slovenian sports centres which comply with the criteria as set out above – disposal of sport and accommodation infrastructure, programmes of athletic preparation already included in the offer. In March 2015, the selected sport organisations received the questionnaire to their e-mail addresses. Among the returned questionnaires, 6 were filled out correctly. The sample of variables was presented in 7 questions included in the copyright questionnaire. The collected data was processed with a statistical programme SPSS.
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RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION Table 1 shows that the key element of the sport centre is a sports hall that allows training to be carried out regardless of the weather conditions. Four centres also dispose of a football stadium, while three centres have an indoor swimming pool. Table 1: Sport infrastructure data Name of the organisation
Sport infrastructure
Ajdovščina Sports Institute
Sports halls, multi-purpose area, indoor swimming pool, indoor and outdoor fitness, football field with artificial grass, football stadium, multi-purpose playground.
UNIOR d. d.- Tourism
Sports halls, multi-purpose area, indoor and outdoor swimming pool, fitness, running track, football field with artificial grass, football stadium, multi-purpose playground, tennis court, golf course, trim trail, skiing resort.
Slovenian Red Cross, Debeli Rtič Youth Health and Summer Resort
Indoor and outdoor swimming pool, fitness, football field with artificial grass, football stadium, trim trail, volleyball sand court, recycled tyres playground.
Center Pokljuka d. o. o. (Sports Centre Triglav)
Sports halls, running track, football stadium, multi-purpose playground, tennis court
Sežana Sport, Tourism and Leisure Institute Public institute
Sports halls, running track, football stadium, multi-purpose playground, tennis court
Centre for School and Outdoor Education
Sports halls, indoor swimming pool, fitness, multi-purpose playground,
The Table 2 shows some significant status data of the organisations included in the survey, their accommodation capacities, overall occupancy and occupancy generated by users of athletic preparations programmes in 2014.
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Table 2: Data of surveyed organisations and their occupancy indicators in 2014 Name and status of athletic preparations provider Ajdovščina Sports Institute Public institute
Accommodation capacities 50
Number of overnight stays - athletes
Number of overnight stays -others
973
2.436
3409
29%
Percentage of Overnight overnight stays stays in total by athletes
Slovenian Red Cross, Debeli Rtič Youth Health and Summer Resort Association
725
500
76.000
76.500
1%
Center Pokljuka d. o. o. Limited liability company
66
4.856
7.208
12.064
40%
Sežana Sport, Tourism and Leisure Institute Public institute
35
200
2.900
3.100
6%
Centre for School and Outdoor Education Public institute
1.700
10.305
221.530
231.835
4%
The data from the table above reveal that companies (whether limited liability or joint-stock companies) have better occupancy results than public institutes or associations. We presume the main reason for this situation to be in the mission of the public sports institutes which primarily cater to the needs of local providers of sport programmes and activities. Jenšterle (2010) indicates that Slovenia disposes of around 5000 units of various sporting facilities and areas for leisure activities and sports. However, in order to define more precisely and classify such facilities and areas, a set of standards and norms should be developed for sport and leisure infrastructure. Based on the type of sport infrastructure we presume we could classify regions according to the type of most appropriate sport tourism and methods of developing it. According to the SPIRIT Slovenija Public Agency there were 110,672 bed places in Slovenia in 2014 and a total of 9.343.574 registered overnight stays. Considering
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the sample of respondents, only 3% of these bed places offer sports infrastructure besides accommodation to the guests. Number of overnight stays generated by competing athletes amounts to 0,45 % of all the overnight stays in 2014. Taking into account the number of athletes competing in the system of national sports federations and the number of professionally ranked athletes on one hand, and the occupancy indicators of the accommodation capacities on the other hand, brings us to the conclusion there is ample potential in Slovenia for developing sport tourism, especially in the segment of competitive sport. The research findings offer a starting point for subsequent detailed analysis of further development in this market segment. In our pilot study we have focused on Slovenian athletes only and have not contemplated the potential demands from athletes of the neighbouring countries which might also be an important generator of sport tourism development in Slovenia.
CONCLUSION The objective of this study was to examine the role and impact that the organisation of seasonal preparations of athletes as a specific sport tourism product offered by Slovenian sports centres has in the overall sport tourism offer in the region. The analysis was conducted on 6 Slovenian sport centres which dispose of appropriate sport and accommodation infrastructure, in addition to marketing programmes of athletic preparations. We established that the surveyed sport centres register greater numbers of other guests rather than athletes coming for seasonal preparations. This leads us to conclude there are still no specialized sport centres on the Slovenian market which would engage solely in providing athletic preparations programmes. In view of the number of registered and professionally ranked athletes who represent the potential customers, we may presume that establishing sports centres specialized in offering quality athletic preparations as a special tourist product is a viable business opportunity. This research may be of use to the Olympic Committee of Slovenia in creating a network of sport centres and classifying them according to sport disciplines. Based on the results of the pilot study it may be presumed that modern sport centres with competent (Retar, 2013) managers can make a considerable contribution to the sport tourism offer in the
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region. Our findings can constitute guidance in creating and marketing this kind of specialised sport tourism offer.
References AJPES. (2014). Letna poročila društev za leto 2012. Ljubljana: Agencija za javnopravne evidence in storitve. Babič, M. (2000). Olimpijske igre v antični Grčiji. Pridobljeno 20.4.2015 s http://www. dijaski.net/gradivo/zgo_ref_olimpijske_igre_v_anticni_grciji_01?r=1 Berčič, H., Sila, B. ,Slak Valek, N.,Pintar, D.(2010). Šport v turizmu: Ljubljana: Fakulteta za šport. Gammon, S., Robinson, T. (2003). Sport and Tourism: A Conceptual Framework. Journal of Sport Tourism 8 (1): 21–26. Gibson, H.,J. (1998). Active Sport Tourism: Who Participates?" Routledge, Leisure Studies 17 (2): 155–170. Jenšterle J. (2014) Nova izhodišča Evropske komisije za rast športne industrije in ustvarjanje novih delovnih mest. Strokovni priročnik: Inovacije za posodobitev programov in prenovo objektov, april 2014, (35) 8-15. Jenšterle J. (2010) Turistična ponudba športnih centrov Slovenije. Strokovni priročnik: Šport in turizem, december 2010, (17) 3-15. Jurak, G., Kolar, E., Kovač, M., Bednarik, J., (2012): Management športnih objektov: Ljubljana: Univerza v Ljubljani, Fakulteta za šport. Makovec, Brenčič, M. (2008). Šport. Ljubljana: Sokolska zveza Slovenije. Mežnar, M. (2010). Osnove menedžmenta v športu. Pridobljeno 20.4.2015, s http://translate. google.si/translate?hl=en&sl=sl&u=http://www.pef.um.si/content/Studij/1stopnja/E_ studijska_gradiva/2014/osnove-menedzmenta-v-sportu-gradivo.doc&prev=search Pigeassou, C. (2004). Contribution to the definition of sport tourism. Journal of Sport & Tourism. Taylor & Francis, Volumne 9, Issue 3, 287-289. Polajžer, P. (2013). Trženje športnih zmogljivosti izbranega podjetja na primeru rokometnega kluba. Magistrsko delo, Koper: Univerza na primorskem, Fakulteta za management. Retar, I. (2006). Uspešno upravljanje športnih organizacij. Koper: Univerza na Primorskem, Znanstveno-raziskovalno središče, Inštitut za kineziološke raziskave, Univerzitetna založba Annales. Retar, I., Plevnik, M. & Kolar, E. (2013). Key competences of Slovenian sport managers. Annales kinesiologiae. Koper: Univerza na Primorskem, Znanstveno-raziskovalno
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središče, Inštitut za kineziološke raziskave: Univerzitetna založba Annales, 4 (2), 81–94. Thomas, J.R., & Reeve, T.G. (2006). A review and evaluation of doctoral programs 2000-2004 by the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education. Quest, 58, 176–196. Turizem v Sloveniji. (2014).Ljubljana: Sektor za turizem, Oddelek za raziskave in razvoj, SPIRIT Slovenija: Pridobljeno 20.4.2015 s http://www.slovenia. info/pictures/TB_board/atachments_1/2015/Turizem_v_Sloveniji_ brezKONKUREN%C3%84%C5%9ANOST_V_TURIZMU,_SLO_za_2014_19644.pdf Zakon o športu (1998). Ljubljana: Uradni list Republike Slovenije. Št. 22/1998.
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SLOVENIAN SPORTS TOURISTIC BRANDS: A MYTH OR REALITY? Darko RAVNIKAR, Ana BARDORFER, Iztok RETAR
INTRODUCTION In the literature several definitions of sport tourism can be found (Bartoluci, 1997; Gibson, 1998; Pigeassou, 2004; Retar, 2006). Generally sport tourism refers to traveling that involves either observing or participating in a sports event while away from their usual environment or home. Bartoluci (1997) for example defines the transformation of sport as a part of touristic traveling and not the main motive for traveling to touristic destinations and names that as recreational sports tourism. Gibson (1998) describes sports tourism as leisure based traveling that takes an individual temporarily outside of their home community with the intention to play or watch physical activities and venerate the attractions associated with these activities. Pigeassou (2004) suggested that sports tourism is an economic and social activity at the crossroads of sport and tourism. It represents a segment of the tourism market and its economic contribution has grown strongly during recent decades. Retar (2006) distinguishes three main categories of sports tourism: active participation in sports on holidays, traveling with the purpose of visiting specific sports events and traveling with the purpose of visiting sports sites and attractions with passive participation. Numerous studies (de Chernatony & Dall'Olmo Rilley, 1997; de Chernatony, 2001; Kapferer, 1997; Keller 1993; Morgan & Pritchard, 1999) confirmed that a brand acts as an important element for improving recognition and reputation on the market and as such enhances the competitiveness of a brand. A brand is an
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impression of a product or a service as perceived by consumers. It is the sum of all tangible and intangible elements which makes the selection unique (Kapferer, 1997). Keller (1993) offers a suitable framework for exploring the dimensionality of the image of sports tourism events: sports tourism events consist of certain attributes, have benefits and costs for the sport tourists (participant and spectator) and can be the object of attitudes, especially from those participating in such an event. Considering that a brand is a complex entity that creates a link between its creators and consumers (de Chernatony and Dall'Olmo Rilley, 1997; de Chernatony, 2001), we can conclude that the creation and consolidation of the brand represents a dynamic relationship between product/service provider and consumer which is upgraded with the creation of events where all participants are cooperating, either actively or passively. Besides the above mentioned characteristics, a brand also represents an identity the consumer buys into when choosing a specific brand. It represents status, inclusion, safety, consistency and everything else that enables a human being to define him or herself. Thus participation in sports events can also be defined as an expression of the individual relationship toward sport in general, specific sports disciplines and toward sports event organisers. We can therefore assume that sports events are a complex activity containing all typical brand elements: mission, identity, vision, goals, segmentation and competitive positioning. These are also the basic elements of planning strategic development of brands in sport. The value of sports events as a brand is reflected in the number and quality of active participants (athletes) and the size of the audience. These affect not only media decisions on broadcasting sports events depending on the expected interest from companies for purchasing media space but also companies’ decisions about direct (co)financing of sports events. In this case sponsorship can be defined as a contract between the sponsor and the sponsored where the sponsor provides funds for the realisation of the event and the sponsored provides promotion. Retar (2006) defines sponsorship in sport as an overall (celovita izmenjava) exchange between the sponsor and the sponsored where in return for sponsorship, the sponsor receives adequate and appropriate reimbursement while the sponsored receives financial remuneration or other assistance needed for the realisation of their mission. Similarly Meenaghan (1991) understands sponsorship as an investment in an activity in the form of money or other goods which in return offers them the opportunity to use market potentials connected with this activity. For companies, sponsorship is one of the main methods of advertising on TV, radio or in printed
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media. In this context it is of crucial importance that companies invest in activities that are socially well accepted. Investing in sport is therefore not a result of »love of sports« but a strategic move based on the commercial ambitions of companies (Hong, 1997). Major sports events offer potentials that are of interest to sponsors. Through advertising in sport and sports events sponsors can reach their target groups more directly and effectively compared to traditional forms of advertising (Meenaghan, 1991). In this study we expected to show that most successful Slovenian companies are aware of the importance of sponsoring major sports events which are also the most recognisable brands in the field of sports tourism and that they have a well-developed policy of sponsorship as a part of their general marketing strategy. Sccessful marketing of sports events proves such an event possesses the attributes of a brand.
METHOD A descriptive quantitative method was used in the present study. The focus of the research was sports tourism events that were organised at least 5 times in the last 15 years, have more than 10,000 visitors and are members of appropriate international sport associations. On the basis of these criteria, the selected events were Planica (ski jumps), Golden Fox (ski world cup), Franja Marathon (cycling) and Ljubljana's marathon (running).
Sample The sample comprised of 17 respondents (76% female, 18% male, 6% no answer), aged 21 to 60 years (47% aged 21–40 years; 47% aged 41–60 years, 6% no answer) that are actively participating in the decision–making process regarding sponsorship of events. Respondents are employed as head of PR (35%), marketing manager (29%), director (12%) or other (12%) (specialist for sponsorship, head of business development) (6% no answer). 12% of respondents have less than 5 years of work experience, 18% from 5 to 9 years, 12% between 10 and 14 years, 18% between 15 and 19 years and 35% over 20 years of experience; 6% of participants did not provide a reply. Sample is non-representative – only respondents who wanted participated in our study.
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Instruments and procedures A short online questionnaire with 11 closed and open ended questions was used. An invitation to cooperate in the research with the link to the questionnaire was sent to 131 Slovenian companies that were ranked as one of the top 300 Slovenian companies in 2010. Data collection was conducted in March and April 2015.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Figure 1 shows that Slovenian companies participating in the study largely sponsored Marathon Franja and Golden Fox of the four selected sports events in the past five years. 88% of them decided to sponsor other and smaller sports events: running events, Eurobasket, ski sports events, sport festivals and other (see Table 1). Surprisingly, larger sports events with international recognition (and participation) seem to be less attractive for Slovenian companies than smaller events of local character. The lack of interest could be a result of an inappropriate and vague marketing strategy and brand management policy. 100%
88%
90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30%
24%
20%
18%
24% 12%
12%
Planica
Ljubljana's marathon
10% 0%
Franja Marathon
Golden Fox
No
Other
Figure 1: Percentage of companies sponsoring various sporting events in the last five years1. 1
Note: Sum of percentages is bigger than 100% since respondents could give multiple answers. Total number of answers N = 30.
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Table 1: Percentage of companies sponsoring other sports events in the past five years. Sports event
n
%
Running sports events (Drava run, Olympic runs, Marathon of Istria)
4
24%
Eurobasket Ski sports events (Vitranc, WC biathlon Pokljuka, cross country skiing Pokljuka) Sports festivals (Sports spring, SoÄ?a outdoor festival)
3
18%
3
18%
2
12%
Tennis sports events (Tennis tournament ŽTK MB)
1
6%
Climbing sports events (WC climbing Kranj)
1
6%
Local sports events
1
6%
Total
15
88%
Figure 1 also shows that in the last five years, 24% of companies did not sponsor any sports events and do not intend to do that this or next year because they are either inclined to sponsor other events more connected to their branch (e.g. IT conferences), or prefer to sponsor specific sport clubs. Some of them choose not to sponsor anything at all. If a general sponsorship was offered to them half would choose to sponsor Ljubljana's running Marathon, a quarter ski jumping in Planica and a quarter of these companies would not sponsor any of four larger international sports events in Slovenia as shown in Figure 2. Ljubljana's running marathon would 60% 50%
50% 40% 30%
25%
25%
20% 10% 0%
Planica
Ljubljana's marathon
I wouldn't decide for sponsorship
Figure 2: Chosen sports events if general sponsorship were offered2. 2
Note: This question was answered by companies that did not sponsor any of sports events in the last five years (N=4).
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be chosen either because respondents believe this would be in accordance with their strategy of sponsoring or because the event has a wider social significance and brings together larger groups of people. Participants did not provide reasons for choosing only two sports events. One of the aims of the study was also to identify the reasons for sponsorship of sports events. The results are shown in Figure 3. 100%
92%
92%
90% 80%
77% 69%
70% 60% 50% 40% 30%
23%
20%
15%
10% 0%
sponsorship sponsorship sponsorship increases recognition positively affects the communicates to the of our company image of our publicwe are socially company responsable company
through sponsorship direct sales of our we communicate to products/services at the sports event public we are supporting slovenian professional athletes
Other
Figure 3: Reasons for sponsoring sports events in Slovenia3.
Figure 3 shows that of companies that were sponsoring sports events in the past five years, most frequently decided on this because sponsorship either increases recognition of the company and positively affects the image of the company or because it communicates to the public they are a socially responsible company supporting Slovenian professional athletes. For approximately a quarter of respondents, an important reason for sponsorship represents direct sales of their products/services at the sports event. 15% of respondents listed other reasons: they are of the opinion that through sponsoring they support and promote a healthy lifestyle and give something back to the environment in which they exist and operate. 3
Note: This question was answered by respondents which companies sponsored sports events (N = 13). Sum of the percentages is greater than 100% because participants could give multiple answers. Total number of answers N = 48.
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CONCLUSIONS The present findings suggest that despite the pervasiveness, visibility and reputation of the largest international sports events in Slovenia these still do not have the attributes of a brand. From the fact that bigger and more successful companies prefer to sponsor other and mainly smaller local sports events, it can be concluded that while managing and conceptualising these events the marketing part is left to coincidence and chance and not strategically managed by organisers. On the other hand this also means that opportunities to improve business performance with the help of business sponsors who are willing to sponsor established sports events is untapped in Slovenian sport organisations. Results of the present study can provide guidance for the development of new strategies for successful sponsorship. Due to constraints arising from the small and non-representative sample used in the present study, the results cannot be generalised to the general population of Slovenian companies. Further research should therefore aim for a larger and more representative sample. We are aware this could represent a serious barrier since we have noticed companies are reluctant to give this sort of information probably due to business reasons. Despite the limitations our study contributes to a more comprehensive view of the Slovenian sports tourism brands and offers some directions for development of new strategies of sports tourism events sponsorship.
References Bartoluci, M. (1997). Ekonomika i menedžment sporta. Zagreb: HAZU. de Chernatony, L., & Dall’Olmo Riley, F. (1997). The chasm between managers’ and consumers’ view of brands: The experts’ perspective. Journal of Strategic Marketing 5(2), 89–104. de Chernatony, L. (2001). From brand vision to brand evaluation. Oxford: Butterworth–Heinemann. Hong, F. (1997). Commercialism and Sport in China: Present Situation and Future Expectations. Journal of Sport Management, 11(4), 343–354. Gibson, H. J. (1998). Active Sport Tourism: Who Participates? Routledge, Leisure Studies 17(2), 155–170. Kapferer, J. (1997). Strategic brand management. London: Kogan–Page Ltd.
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Keller , K. L. (1993). Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer–based Brand Equity. Journal of Marketing, 57, 1–22. Meenaghan, T. (1991). Sponsorship–Legitimizing the medium. European Journal of Advertising, 25 (11), 5–10. Morgan, N. & Pritchard, A. (2000). Advertising in Tourism and Leisure. Oxford: Butterworth– Heinemann. Olins, W. (2004). On Brand. London: Thames & Hudson. Pigeassou, C. (2004). Contribution to the definition of sport tourism. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 9(3), 287–289. Retar, I. (2006). Uspešno upravljanje športnih organizacij. Koper: UP, Znanstveno– raziskovalno središče, Inštitut za kineziološke raziskave, Založba Annales. Retar, I., Plevnik, M., Kolar, E. (2013). Key competences of Slovenian sport managers. Annales kinesiologiae, 4(2), 81–94. Thomas, J. R., Reeve, T. G. (2006). A review and evaluation of doctoral programs 2000–2004 by the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education. Quest, 58, 176–196.
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TRAVEL AND HEAT RELATED ILLNESSES
Dorjana ZERBO Ĺ PORIN
INTRODUCTION
Termoregulation basis in hot environments Outdoor activities tourists engage in hot environments may expose them to more heat than is compatible with a normal functioning of physiological processes. Especially sunbathing or exercising during hot weather can lead to significant heat illness. Several mechanisms play an integral part in cooling the body and maintaining normothermia. The direct transfer of heat from a warmer to a cooler region is accomplished by conduction (Howe & Boden, 2010). The degree of conduction is depending on the temperature gradient, the conductive properties of the surrounding media and on the exposed surfaces of the body (Armstrong et.al. 2007). In high ambient temperatures, heat loss is almost based on evaporation mechanism that is dependent on sweat production and relative air humidity. As humidity increases, evaporation becomes more ineffective (Howe & Boden, 2010; Armstrong et.al. 2007). So, the risk of overheating is therefore greater among tourists who are travelling in hot environments with high humidity. The body gains heat also during radiation process without direct contact with the sun. Radiant energy could be absorbed or reflected so light coloured clothing help to prevent heat-related illness by absorbing less heat (Howe & Boden, 2010). The heat could be exchanged with the surrounding air by way of convection that increases with
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increasing air speed and larger gradient between air and skin temperature. Cooling using convection will be effective in the case of wind and wearing loosing clothes (Bouchama & Knochel, 2002). Peripheral vasodilatation occurs to increase dermal blood flow, which allows convective heat loss into the surrounding air (Howe & Boden, 2010). When a core temperature is 40°C or greater, cellular damage occurs. This destruction of homeostasis initiates a cascade of events that include tissue hypoxia, metabolic acidosis, and severe organ dysfunction (Glazer, 2005). Children are particularly sensible to heat-related illness because of their greater surface area to body mass ratio compared with adults. They also have slower sweat rates with a higher temperature threshold for the initiation of sweating (Hoffman, 2001).
METHODS We reviewed the results from “heat” and “illness” with full text access inside major journals and associations of the area: Emergency hyperthermia. As most distinguished are: American Journal of Emergency Medicine, American Family Physician, Medicine & Science in Sport & Exercise, New England Journal of Medicine, and World Health Organisation. Special attention was paid on articles related to tourists and travelling. Only those relevant for the conference: Sustainable development of sports tourism were selected and presented in the article.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Physical conditions related to hot environments Hyperthermia is an overheating state of the human body. There are three levels of heat-related illnesses: the mildest form is manifested as headache with possible fainting or dizziness. Heat exhaustion occurs when the core body temperature is above 38˚C. The patients additionally present decreased coordination, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps, they are red, hot and sweating. Heat stroke occurs at core body temperatures of 39–41˚C and leads to hallucinations, irritability and eventually coma. The body’s temperature control measures break down, patients may not be sweating at all. Particularly at risk of heat-related illness are children
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and the elderly and all tourists who engage in sports such as running, hiking or cycling in a hot and/or humid climate but also in desert area and in the mountains. Tourists often may suffer from dehydration due to travellers’ diarrhoea or increased alcohol intake (Bauer, 2001).
Dehydration as the most common issue in hot environments Water is the main component of the human body: about 60% of body weight in adult males, 50 to 55% in females, and up to 75% in new-borns. Sweat production is low at moderate ambient temperature and a sedentary state, but it intensively increase with strenuous physical activity, extreme heat and/or humidity and can result in serious water and electrolyte losses (EFSA, 2010) The loss of bodily water adversely affects both physical (Cheuvront, Carter, & Sawka, 2003) and psychological performance, it impairs thermoregulation and results in headaches, irritability and sleepiness, particularly in ill and older individuals. It appears that a body water loss of 2% induced by being physically active in the heat is sufficient to impair functions and performances (IoM, 2004). More serious consequences for health occur, when body weight losses become greater than 4%. Body water balance is determined by the difference between the all water intake and endogenous water production and the loss of water. Normal hydration status is the presumed condition of healthy individuals who maintain water balance. Recommendations for water intakes aim for water balance: water intake is equal to water losses (EFSA, 2010).
Hyponatremia is not only exercise associated Exercise-associated hyponatremia is known to be a possible complication of endurance athletic activities. But hypervolemic hyponatremia has also been reported among persons participating in lower intensity activities such as hiking (Backer, Shopes, Collins & Barkan, 1999). Acute hyponatremia is now recognized to be a risk during various wilderness activities across a range of physical activity levels when hypotonic fluid overconsumption is involved. Three cases of severe hyponatremia were reported on a commercially guided river rafting trip on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. All 3 women have been overhydrating because of concern about dehydration. Symptoms included fatigue and progressing to disorientation. Each was initially transferred to the nearest hospital and
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ultimately required intensive care. Unlike the well-documented exercise associated hyponatremia cases commonly occurring in prolonged endurance athletic events, these 3 cases of acute hyponatremia were not associated with significant exercise (Pearce, Myers, Martin & Hoffman, 2015).
Prevention of heat related conditions Heat acclimatization Heat acclimatization is a process of physiologic adaptation to a hot environment. The result of acclimatization is an increase in sweating with less salt content, and decreased energy for a given workload (Howard, Backer & Shlim, 2013). Physical conditioning and acclimatization Higher levels of physical fitness improve tolerance and capacity in heat, but not as much as acclimatization. If possible, travellers should acclimatize before leaving by exercising ≼1 hour daily in the heat. If this is not possible before departing, exercise during the first week of travel in a hot climate should be limited in intensity and duration (Howard, Backer & Shlim, 2013). Clothing Clothing should be lightweight, loose, and light-colored to allow maximum air circulation for evaporation yet give protection from the sun (Howard, Backer & Shlim, 2013). Adequate water intake Recommendation for water intake of sedentary adult men and women under average conditions are 2.9 and 2.2 L water/day. For physically active men, women and children especially at high temperatures the amount of water required increased (WHO, 2005).
CONCLUSIONS Many of the most popular travel destinations are tropical or desert areas. Travelers who lie on the beach and do only short walking tours have a low risk of heat illness. Those who do hiking, biking or running in the heat are at risk, especially
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travellers coming from cooler or temperate climates and are not acclimatized to the heat (Howard, Backer & Shlim, 2013). Travel and sports institutions should be aware of the possible heat related conditions and may promote the proper behaviour among tourists in hot environments based on: graduate acclimatisation, proper hydration to maintain water balance, light-weight and light-coloured clothing and stay in the shadow and no exercise during the hottest parts of the day are the most important factors in prevention of heat-related conditions (Becker & Stewart, 2011).
References Armstrong, L.E., Casa, D.J., Millard-Stafford, M., Moran, D.S., Pyne, S.W. & Roberts, W.O. (2007). American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Exertional heat illness during training and competition. Medicine & Science in Sport & Exercise, 39(3), 556–572. Backer, H.D., Shopes, E., Collins, S.L. & Barkan, H. (1999). Exertional heat illness and hyponatremia in hikers. American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 17, 532–539. Bauer, I.L. (2001). Tourism and the environment, the other side of the coin Environmental impact on tourists’ health. Tourists studies, 1(3), 297 – 314. Becker, J.A., Stewart, L.K. (2011). Heat-related illness. American Family Physician, 83(11), 1325-1330. Beeley, J.M., Smith, D.J. & Oakley, E.H. (1993). Environmental hazards and health. British Medical Bulletin, 49(2), 305-325. Bouchama, A. & Knochel, J.P. (2002). Heat stroke. New England Journal of Medicine, 346(25), 1978–1988. Cheuvront, S., Carter, R. & Sawka, M.N. (2003). Fluid balance and endurance exercise performance. Current Sports Medicine Reports, 2, 202–208. EFSA (2010). Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for water. EFSA Journal, 8(3), 1459. Glazer, J.L. (2005) Management of heatstroke and heat exhaustion. American Family Physician, 71(11), 2133–2140. Hoffman, J.L. (2001). Heat-related illness in children. Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine, 2(3), 203-210. Howe, A.S. & Boden, B.P. (2007). Heat-related illness in athletes. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 35(8), 1384–1395. IoM (Institute of Medicine) (2004). Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate. National Academies Press, Washington DC.
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Pearce, E.A., Myers, T.M., Martin D., Hoffman, M.D. (2015). Three Cases of Severe Hyponatremia During a River Run in Grand Canyon National Park. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. Article in Press. WHO (2005). Nutrients in drinking water. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/ dwq/nutrientsindw.pdf WHO (2010). International travel and health. http://www.who.int/ith/en/
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THE CASE OF A NEW MASS SPORT EVENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF TOURIST DESTINATIONS Saša PIŠOT
INTRODUCTION We are facing the fact that running is becoming one of today’s most popular sports. New evidence shows that in Europe, 50 million people are estimated to run on a regular basis and spend an estimated 9.6 billion € annually for costs connected with running (sport equipment, fees…), (Scheerder & Breedveld, 2015). This confirms the fact that running is one of the largest and fastest growing sport markets in the world. Slovenia is also experiencing running fever and the constant growth of the running subculture still rise. One of the issues of this paper was to analyse the runners’ participation characteristics in a new mass sport event held at the Slovenian coast – Istrian marathon. In addition, the growing a new running subculture is another issue in the aspect of gathering useful information for further promotion activities for new tourist destinations. Participation in recreational sports is growing dramatically worldwide and attracts millions of athletes (Scheerder & Breedveld, 2015). Sport participation nowadays is becoming an important lifestyle choice which positively contributes to quality of life. Not only the positive effects of physical activity on health, but also its wider impact as the psychosocial dimension of an individual’s life becomes accepted more and more (Rautar and Doupona Topić, 2014). Sport participation mostly refers to personal leisure time activities so many of the runners devote all
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their leisure time to run. In this special frame of “doing the activity”, runners can develop a specific running subculture. Subcultures can be defined as segments of society embracing certain distinctive cultural elements of their own (Donnelly in Green, 2001). Subculture elements typically include a shared set of identifiable beliefs, values, and means of symbolic expression. Sport provides a highly visible, easily accessible and particularly salient setting for the formation of subcultures and the resulting expression of subcultural values. Each sport incorporates distinctive values and beliefs and their subcultures are accessible through both direct (physical) participation and indirect (viewing, reading, discussing and purchasing) participation (Donnelly &Young, 1985; Hughson, 1998; Humphries, 1997; Wheaton, 2000). That’s why participation in sport subculture is rarely limited to just a single type of participation, because each interaction with the subculture provides a slightly different venue for the expression of shared values and beliefs (Green, 2001). According to Green (2001), subcultural values and beliefs are learned and that happens with the particular sport subculture people are immersed in. Newcomers, tend to hold stereotypical images of ways in which subcultural participants express their values through appearance and behaviour. Normally the subcultural learning that occurs through interaction with others is not limited to the personal interactions. Here, the media can also play a part in transmitting values associated with specifics sport cultures. Participation in the culture is socially enabled, because social processes teach and reinforce the values and believes. Thus, in-continued participation these social advancements become one of the pivotal attractions of participation (Green and Chalip, 1998). With adaptation of the values and beliefs of a subculture, one’s identity becomes more closely associated with the subculture. Once the runner becomes to commit to the running subculture, he or she develops a sense of identification with the activity, and may incorporate the activity into their self-concept. Shamir (1992) defines identity in two elements: commonly labelled self-identity and commonly labelled social identity. Self–identity represents the degree to which the participant (runner) has incorporated the activity (running) into his or her self-concept and social identity represents the degree to which the participant (runner) perceives that others identify him or her with the activity (as a runner). This suggests that identity plays a central role in consumption (Kleine et al, 1993), because people use products to enact one or more of their social identities. In the case of not only sport mass events, the earlier studies suggested (Varley and Crowther, 1998) that events are attractive when potential participants are 226
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persuaded that the event is consistent with who they see themselves to be. The event can be even more attractive when it can provide opportunities to perform activities publicly that are consistent with a social identity that participant values. For sports events, it is therefore vital that they identify core elements of self-identity and the ways in which social identity is enacted. The elements of self-identity and the means of social identity enactment are learned and reinforced via sport subcultures.
METHODS The 1st Istrian marathon as a new mass sport event was created in 2014 with its main goal: to promote Slovenian Istria, healthy lifestyle and active leisure and to become a sustainable sport event in the beginning of summer tourist season. For the purpose of collecting the main characteristic of runners participating in the 1st Istrian marathon, an online quantitative survey questionnaire “A profile of 1st Istrian marathon runner “was sent to all registered participants by e-mail. The research was conducted from 21st of January till 30th of April 2014 and consisted of 53 questions about socio-demographics characteristics, motive and running related habits (physical engagement and nutrition) with a part on sport injuries at the end. The sample of participants in the 1st Istrian marathon consisted of those who fully completed the online questionnaire with expected response rate (16.5%), 337 participants, (176 males (52.2%) and 161 females (47.8%). Following the research question “The reason to register to run the 1st Istrian marathon”, we divided participants into three different groups according to the distance they intended to run: a full marathon (42.195 km); a half-marathon (21.097 km) and recreational run (8.5 km). The sample was also divided by gender. The sample of runners who responded to the questionnaire was not completely consistent with the sample of all participants, so some results cannot be generalised. Additionally we have also analysed the socio-economic characteristics and consumer habits to create a marketing message for organisers.
RESULTS In the frame of the question “I register for the 1st Istrian marathon because of...” runners predominantly chose “the reason of recreation and social event”, 227
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with the gender split amongst the respondents being male (86%) and female (59%) recreational runners. We found some interesting data in the answers of “being my first participation in a sport event or my first run over such a distance”. Apparently, the 1st Istrian marathon was the first running challenge for 40% of male marathon runners and 30% of male recreational runners and 26% and 28.6% for female recreational and female marathon runners respectively. Amongst half-marathon runners, one fifth of them were running that distance for the first time. For most of them the main reason to participate in the run or to change the running distance was also the attractiveness” of the first such mass sport event in the Coastal region”; especially for marathon runners (66.70% of male; 57.10% of female) and half-marathon runners (49.50% male, 48.20% female) (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Data of reasons to register to run on 1st Istrian marathon (Source: Rameša & Pišot, 2014)
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Further data analyses of the socio-demographics characteristics showed us that most runners are married (or in a partnership), with children, employed with high education, college or faculty diploma. That is also comparable with the sample of the Ljubljana marathon 2010 and other marathon studies where at least half of the participants at running events were male, married and have families (Rautar & Doupona Topić 2014; McGehee et al., 2003). From the point of their consumption habits, female marathon runners spend for the purpose of running an estimated 900 euros annually, which is more than male marathon and half-marathon runners and female recreational runners (up to 600 euros). Male recreational runners are most thrifty among all which is probably related to their frequency of participation in mass sport events. The Ljubljana marathon is undoubtedly the largest and the best–known running mass event in Slovenia with 19 years’ tradition. According to the media responses, we can say that Istrian marathon is becoming the most attractive new mass sports event (RTV SLO, Istrian marathon Forum). Because of its littoral position and the fact the event happens in the early spring (2nd weekend in April), it has potential to develop and promote the littoral region and its main cities Koper, Izola and Piran in the low tourist season. The 1st Istrian marathon attracted an estimated 10,000 people, over 500 volunteers, 1000 local runners, all together(1979; 1117males and 862 females) and the media wrote about the positive “climate” of runners, volunteers and audience. The 2nd Istrian marathon attracted more runners (2980; 1826 males and 1365 females) which represents a significant increase in participation, by 50.6% (in Figure 2). High turnout evidenced in the category of female and male recreational runners ( 69.6% and 64%) and female marathon runner ( 57%). The rise of participation of foreign runners was evidenced, too. While in the 1st Istrian marathon, 8% of runners came from 12 foreign countries, most of them from Italy and Croatia, the percentage rose to 10% and 20 countries in the 2nd Istrian marathon.
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Figure 2: Participation in 1st and 2nd Istrian marathon in figures (Source: Data of the participants starting list and results of 1st and 2nd Istrian marathon)
CONCLUSION In the case of Istrian marathon with increasing participation of runners and supporters, a new mass sport event with tourist destination clearly offers a new sport tourist attraction. As market research can demonstrate its value from the marketing of products and services, ethnographic research, (runners profile and running subculture) can also prove its usefulness in the design and promotion of mass sport events. Sport event managers are consistently working to employ techniques that attract participants and increase economic impact, so there is a need to get useful information about the runners profile and running subculture to meet their needs with services and products. Despite the fact that men still dominate, especially in long distance running; trends show us that females have started to take up running. Today, in Denmark and Germany (Scheerder & Breedveld, 2015), more women than men are engaged
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in running; a rise of women’s participation is also evident in Slovenia. Females are willing to spend more money for running. Other characteristics of the target population are; running is especially popular among middle-aged groups (3049), meanwhile younger and older people are underrepresented in running. Higher educated and married people (or in partnership) with children run mostly (Scheerder & Breedveld, 2015), as is also typical for runners in the Istrian marathon. Over 80% of runners aren’t members of a sport club and they have no organised physical training, so that is an opportunity for sports clubs to be transformed from athletic clubs into local running centres. The rise in running Slovenia can for the most part be attributed to running events and commercial initiatives (social media, sport industry). In last decade, we evidence the rise from 41 running sport events in 2004 to over 100 events in 2013 (Olympic committee, 2013). Although the rise of participation in the Istrian marathon is a promising fact, it also brings the challenge for the organiser to attract not only more runners but more tourists and to promote the three coastal cities Koper, Izola and Piran as a new different sport targeted tourist destination. From the point of a motive and other characteristics of runners, the majority of participants are recreational runners (10km and half-marathon) so the organiser should build the environment to help more people become and remain runners, and thereby receive the life-enhancing value that sport offers. In addition, the marathon runners and their high-performance aspect of sport should not be neglected because the event needs them as promotors and idols. With that in mind constant work is needed alongside local policy, tourist organisations, educational and research institutions, athletics clubs, race promoters, media, volunteers and others to ensure that mass sport events such as the Istrian marathon remains attractive, safe and well-organised.
References Green, B. C. (2001). Leveraging Subculture and Identity to promote sport events. Sport Management review, 4, 1-19. Green, B.C.,& Chalip, L. (1998). Sport tourism as the celebration of subculture: Parading identity at a women’s football tournament. Annals of tourism Research, 25, 275-291. Donnelly, P. & Young, K. (1985). Reproduction and transformation of cultural forms in sport: A contextual analyses of rugby. International review for the Sociology of sport, 20. 19-38.
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Hugson, J. (1998). Among the thugs: The “new ethnographies” of football supporting subcultures. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 33. 43-57. Humphries, D. (1997). “Shredheads go mainstream”? Snowboarding and alternative youth. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 32, 147-160. Istrian marathon forum Retrieved on https://sl-si.facebook.com/IstrskiMaraton on 17th of april 2015. Kleine, R.e., Kleine, S.S.,& Kernan, J.B. (1993). Mundane consumption and the self: A social-identity perspective. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2, 209-235. McGehee, N., Yoon, Y., Cardenas, & D. (2003). Involvment and trevel for recreational runners in NorthCarolina (Vol. 17, pp. 305-324): Journal of Sport Management Olympic Committee of Slovenia (2013). Slovenija teče 2013. Retrieved form: http://www. olympic.si/sport-za-vse/slovenija-tece/predstavitev/ on 22nd of April 2015 Rautar, S. & Doupona Topič, M. (2014). Ardent male runners and occasional female runners in the Ljubljana marathon. Šport, (62),3-4. 207-212. Rameša M, & Pišot, S. Podatki Spletne ankete (2014): Profil tekačice in tekača 1. Istrskega maratona (Data analyses of on-line questionnaire: The profile of runners of the 1st Istrian marathon) Rutar, K. (2014). Banka Koper 1. Istrski maraton v številkah: v nedeljo obtekli ekvator! (retrieved from http://www.istrski-maraton.si/sl/statistika-2.html) (on 1st of February 2015) RTV SLO (2015). Istrski maraton kot iz pravljice. Retrived from http://www.rtvslo.si/ mmc-priporoca/foto-istrski-maraton-kot-iz-pravljice/362677 Scheerder,J. & Breedveld, K. (2015). Running across Europe. The Rise and Size of one of the Largest Sport Markets. Palgrave MacMillan. Retrieved from http://www.palgraveconnect.com/pc/doifinder/10.1057/9781137446374. 0001 Shamir, B. (1992). Some correlates of leisure identity salience: three exploratory studies. Journal of Leisure research, 24, 301-323. Varley, P., & Crowther, G. (1998). Performance and the service encounter: An exploration of narrative expectations and relationship management in the outdoor leisure market. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 16, 311-317. Zanimivosti iz startne liste (Interesting data from starting list- 1st Istrian marathon). Retrieved from http://www.istrskimaraton.si/sl/component/content/article/81-2015/ novice-in-obvestila/411-zanimivosti-s-startne-liste.html (on 17.4.2015).
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BRANDING IN SPORTS TOURISM: ON THE CASE OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF KOPER AND THE WIDER AREA OF SLOVENIAN ISTRIA Marko VIDNJEVIČ
INTRODUCTION There is a lack of published research relating to tourism destination branding. This is in spite of general agreement in academia and industry that the concept of branding can be applied to destinations (Pritchard & Morgan, 1998). For those nations that are candidates for a sports branding transformation, there are three issues that they must address: the brand concept, infrastructure, and distribution (Rein & Shields, 2006: 9). In this context we can also find the consideration of this case where Municipality of Koper looking forward in developing sports tourism branding. Brand Definition: The first branding paper to appear in the literature was Gardner & Levys (1955) discussion on the stereotypes that had emerged in advertising, which failed to differentiate competitive products. They espoused the importance of considering a brand as representing a personality (35): »… a brand name is more than the label employed to differentiate among the manufacturers of a product. It is a complex symbol that represents a variaty of ideas and attributes. It tells the consumers many things, not only by the way it sounds (and its literal meaning if it has one) but, more important, via the body of associations it has built up and acquired as a public object over a period of time… The net result is a public image, a character or personality that may be more important for the over-all
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status (and sales) of the brand than many technical facts about the product.« The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines the brand as a “name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitor” (Keller, Apéria & Georgson, 2008: 2). Gad (2001: 21) emphasizes that the main idea of branding is to add value to the customer no matter if it is a product, service, company, person, event, art and so forth. Brands themselves are valuable intangible assets that need to be managed with care as they offer benefits to customers, employees and owners. The key importance of branding is that consumers perceive differences between brands in a product or service category (Keller et al., 2008: 39). »A brand association is anything »linked« in memory to a brand« (Aaker, 1991: 109). What is most critical is that brand associations are strong, favourable and unique, in that order (Keller, 2003). One industry after another has discovered that brand awareness, perceived quality, customer loyalty, and strong brand associations and personality are necessary to compete in the marketplace (Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000: ix). The Brand Code: The Brand Code invented by Thomas Gad is a tool for defining the brand and to encapsulate the future positioning. It answers the question: What should the company really be about? The Brand Code should be precise and welldefined in order to make the brand understood by stakeholders. The secret of success of the biggest brands is that they take the branding approach to everything in an everyday basis. The actual Brand Code is a statement of a few words or a phrase describing what the brand really stands for, it is the story of the company, the business idea, the mission, vision and values all in one package (Gad, 2001: 101102). The brand code can be a few different words (SAS brand code is simplicity, wellbeing and freedom of choice) or a phrase (like Nokia’s “Connecting People”) and it can be used internally, externally or in both. This brand definition process helps also to identify the brands identity (Gad, 2001: 106). Brand Identity: Importantly, a brand is more than simple symbols presented to the public. A brand must stand for something, a promise to the consumer, and it is therefore more than a logo. A brand also involves an »image or type of association that comes to mind when consumers think about the brand« (Belch & Belch 2004: 14). Aaker (1996) distinguished these separate components of a brand as the brand identity (internal organisation orientation), representing self-image and aspired market image, and the brand image (external market orientation) of the actual image
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held by consumers. Brand identity is a unique set of brand associations that the brand aspires to create and maintain. In other words, it indicates what the brand stands for and gives the consumer a promise by the organization. Even though the brand identity is the company’s own brand identity, it should provide value also for the customer’s benefit and through that create a relationship among them. A brand’s identity should consist of core identity and extended identity. Core identity is the essence of the brand and that aspect of the identity that remains intact even over time. Extended identity in turn reflects those aspects of a brand’s identity that may change over time and between different markets (Aaker, 1996: 68-69). Following the Gad’s 4D model: Thomas Gad’s (2001: 94) four-dimensional model suggests that building a brand in the consumers mind always seems to fall into four different categories/dimensions: spiritual, functional, social and mental. The results of these dimensions, the brand mind space, provide a basis for understanding the true nature and future potential of the brand. This model is very thorough but as can be seen from the name, it focuses on the brand identity. To achieve this goal it is very important to divide the core features into two basic groups: "points-of-parity" (Istria as a typical Mediterranean region) and "points-ofdifference" (4-D model for Istria developing a unique set of core characteristics that are impossible to copy). Product/benefit describes the offer the company presents to its customers and the benefits the customer experiences in whatever the company delivers (product, service, knowledge, expertise and so on). The positioning aspect defines why the company is better or different from its competitors. It is important to identify the capabilities that make the difference, which are most likely the competitive advantages of the company. The benefit and positioning aspects are related to the functional dimension in Gad’s 4D branding model (Gad 2001: 102-103). Styling describes the character or personality of the brand. It is the image, attitude, personal appearance and behaviour of the brand, no matter whether the brand is company, product or service. Styling is related to the social dimension in Gad’s 4-D branding model (Gad 2001: 103). The four dimensions and the brand code together create a framework for branding, that Gad (2001: 141) calls the Brand Envelope. It consists of the Brand Activity Generator (Brand code core message plus the four dimensions) with the six Brand Code inputs or aspects, as they are called in the Brand Code process. For example, when creating a new service business, the brand code is first created from the six aspects and from that basis the four dimensions are created. When adding something new to
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a business or to the service package, the brand is being changed too, so this can be tried first by stretching the brand code according to the new ideas. However, pushing the brand code too far and not keeping in the original brand mind space may not work and may destroy the brand (Gad, 2001: 141). Following Keller’s brand equity model: Keller et al (2008: 56) presents a brand equity pyramid that also shows stages of brand development and branding objectives at each stage. According to Keller et al’s (2008: 80) customer based brand equity model, building a strong brand involves 4 stages of brand development, each stage involves its own building blogs and each stage having their own brand objective. The first stage is the brand identity. The goal of the first stage is to create deep, broad brand awareness (in customers’ minds). This is done by identifying the brand with customers and associating the brand in customer’s minds with a specific product class or customer need (56). The second stage is the brand meaning. It is done by establishing a brand meaning in the minds of customers by strategically linking a host of tangible and intangible brand associations with certain properties (56). The third stage, the brand responses, identifies what consumers think or feel about a brand. The objective is to provoke proper customer responses to its brand identification and brand meaning. Those customer responses should be positive, accessible reactions built with judgements and feelings (67-69). The fourth stage is the brand relationships where the brand response will be used to create an intense active loyalty relationship between customers and the brand (70-72).
METHODS The paper includes »ad hoc« case study of the Municipality of Koper and a survey carried out in five great slovenian sports associations. Research strategy was Delphi method which uses expert opinion in order to answer specific research questions. Literature research was carried out reading a scientific literature on branding in sports tourism by domestic and foreign authors. A questionnaire for representatives of sports federations (Slovenian Football Association, Slovenian Golf Association, Slovenian Teniss Association, Slovenian Swimming Association and Slovenian Basketball Association) was drawn up with the participation of the Municipality of Koper. Survey took place between February and May 2015. Open format and closed—that is, forced choice—format was used. Closed (forced choice) format
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was used in the first part of the questionnaire and in the second (central) part of the questionnaire. Open format was used in the third part of the questionnaire. In the first part we used Likert style scale and we asked an opinion question on a 1-to-5 bipolar scale. For example, “Is Koper in your opinion a sports destination?”; Strongly disagree, Disagree, Cannot decide, Agree, Strongly agree. We set up three such questions. In the second part we used multiple schoice questions and the respondents had several options from which to choose. For example, “Is Koper capable of developing its own brand?”; Yes, No, I don't know. Again we set up three such a questions. In the third part of the questionnaire we used completely unstructured questions. For example, “What's your opinion about the existing/ non-existing facilities in Koper?” and again we set up three such questions, the last question was “Other” and representatives of sports federations could write anything that they miss, recommend, positively value etc. in Koper.
RESULTS Results of the survey, carried out in five major slovenian sports associations (football, basketball, tennis, golf and swimming), represent the opinion of (indirectly) nearly 15,000 athletes - contestants. A1. 60% of top athletes agree that Koper is a sports destination and 40% completely agree with that question. A2. 60% of athletes fully agree that Koper has the potential to develop sports tourism, while 40% of the contestants agree. A3. With the last question in the first part of the questionnaire, whether Koper is recognizable outside of Slovenia, 60% of respondents agree completely and 40% of them agree that Koper is externally recognisable. Additionally, A4. 60% of respondents consider that Koper is capable of developing its own brand, while 40% were undecided. A5. 60% of members of sports federations agree that today Koper is recognized as part of Istria, whereas 40% of the respondents disagree. A6. On the last question of the central part of the questionnaire, whether the respondents can equate the Istria brand with others such as Dolomiti and Toscana etc. in the future, 60% of them answered positively, while 40% responded negatively. A7. On the first question about the existing/non-existing facilities in Koper, the following three answers were most frequent: the Bonifika Sports and recreation
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center was seen in a positive light by most (Head of Executive Office- Slovenian Football Association and Secretary- Slovenian Tennis Association); attention was drawn by the respondents to complete the construction of a hotel and an Olympic swimming pool in the area (Deputy Secretary General and Senior National Teams and Marketing Director- Slovenian Basketball Association); athletes from the Golf Association of Slovenia recommended constructing a sports training center which would also include a short par 3 golf course for all beginners and those who want to upgrade their skills, furthermore they want a golf course (18+ holes), which would be open through the whole season (Secretary- Slovenian Golf Association) atletes need closed Olympic pool (Secretary- Slovenian Swimming Association). A8. On the second question about the existing/non-existing accommodations in the capital, the following three answers were presented most frequently: respondents want the construction of a suitable hotel with at least a 4-star accommodation for top-level athletes (Deputy Secretary General and Senior National Teams and Marketing Director- Slovenian Basketball Association); they propose organizing a dispersed hotel, because they believe it is a better solution, from a large hotel or resort, for example, because consequently guests have greater freedom (Secretary- Slovenian Golf Association); it is interesting that close (20 km away) St. Bernardin resort of PortoroŞ was identified as adequate accommodation by the respondents and hotel Žusterna in Koper is suitable (Secretary- Slovenian Swimming Association). A9. On the third question, which relates to the topic of sports nutrition/prevention/ curative in Koper, the following three answers were most frequent: competitors proposed that it would be necessary to increase the number of small restaurants with healthy Mediterranean diet, which would not be part of any hotel complex (Secretary- Slovenian Golf Association); respondents recommended constructing a rehabilitation center, which would be based on local traditional knowledge; athletes suggested manufacturing Slovenian sports nutrition products (Deputy Secretary General and Senior National Teams and Marketing Director- Slovenian Basketball Association); athletes are proponents of healthy eco food production (Secretary- Slovenian Tennis Association). A10. The fourth theme was left entirely to the representatives of sports federations and they could write anything that they miss, recommend, positively value etc. in Koper. The three most frequent answers were the following: athletes recommend eco vehicles (Secretary- Slovenian Golf Association); they recommend constructing protected parking areas (garages) outside the city or at least outside the center of Koper(Secretary- Slovenian Golf
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Association); they consider that it would be beneficial if the classic traffic would be redirected to the outskirts of the Municipality of Koper (Secretary- Slovenian Golf Association); Koper should have better affordability according to it's location (Secretary- Slovenian Tennis Association).
DISSCUSSION Sport has often been an integral part of a nation’s identity. The Olympics are one of the defining attributes of Ancient Greece, and the Coliseum in Rome still stands as a symbol of the sports and entertainment culture of the Roman civilisation (Rein & Shields, 2006: 2, 3). The last decades of sport have received widespread free media coverage, generating valuable visibility that can attract tourists, residents, and investors at a low cost. Sports also stimulate an emotional heat between the participants and the audiences that can symbolise the energy, vigour, and strength of an emerging nation in ways that eco-branding, museums, and other cultural attractions cannot. Another benefit is that sports provide the local residents, companies and institutions considering relocation with an environment of variety and competition that promises an engaging place to live. Moreover, sports competition fosters common bonding, which includes places for residents to share their experiences and the accompanying healthy tensions and uncertain outcomes that encourage identity building (Rein & Shields, 2006: 2). What has happened in sport is also that technology and globalisation have given places access that they have never had before. The configuration of the worldwide television networks, internet, and wireless networks has exploded, and in the process, sport has been one of the greatest benefactors (Retar, 1992). Day or night, fans can see or hear their favourite team no matter where they are in the world. Further more, many sports have established universal appeal as they move from their traditional home countries to places all over the world (Rein & Shields, 2006: 4). The use of multiple new media platforms in sport sponsorship communications, a fundamental dimension of sports marketing communications, enables brands to communicate effectively with consumers, develop brand awareness rapidly in new markets and provide new content opportunities (Roberts, 2006/2007). Brand management has reduced its dependency on advertising and is now using multiple
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channels, such as product placement, sponsorship and events marketing, in order to engage consumers and sustain experience around the brand (Arvidsson, 2006). A brand in sport tourism is based on the region branding. One such of the brand is natural park Suedschwarzwald where they are offering the sports tourist's diverse terrain to realize their desire. Since 2002, Germany has updated law on nature protection, applies sport in the nature officially is a vacation, so far, as the activity going into not damage the natural environment and living beings in it (Roth & Tuerk, 2002, 46 – 49). After branding to optimize the creation of a sports tourism destination it is very important to do a development vision that will motivate active sports tourists to visit the region. Higham (2005, 78-79) proposes to carry out deliberate strategies of how to achieve the vision to build the appropriate infrastructure and accommodation conditions, devoted to understanding the culture of athletes and their specific needs, and create a quality offer.
CONCLUSIONS Science and especially kinesiology as a science of human movement has much merit that physical sports activity is increased and thus appropriate health level today for the modern man (Piťot, 2012). If the slovenian Istria will be present as a successful sport tourism brand, the end results would be much better. This would have beneficial impacts on the economic and social development of the region as well. It ought to be emphasised that this process should never and in no way threaten the intrinsic regional values such as natural, cultural-historical, anthropological, socio-cultural or any other genuine values. Slovenian Istria sport region could be an "umbrella brand" model. In general, brand modelling can be used in order to define a sport tourism brand in Municipality of Koper and to create a brand message for its use. In our case brand code may be consisted with the names involving the geographical position and social service or entertainment. Some examples are: Sport Istria, Sport (Capo) di Istria, Capo (sport) di Istria‌
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References Aaker, D. A. (1991). Managing brand equity. New York: Free Press. Aaker, D. A. (1996). Building strong brands. New York: Free Press. Aaker, D. A. & Joachimsthaler E. (2000). Brand leadership. New york: Free Press. Arvidsson, A. (2006). Brand value. Journal of Brand. Management 13 (22), 188-192. Belch, E. G. & Belch, M. A. (2004). Advertising and promotion (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Esterby Smith, M., Thorpe, R. & Lowe, A. (2002). Management Research: An Introduction. London: Sage. Gad, T. (2001). 4-D Branding. Sweden: Bookhouse Publishing AB. Gardner, B. B. & Levy, S. J. (1955). The product and the brand. Harward Business Review (March-April), 33-39. Higham, J. (2005). Sport tourism destinations: issues, opportunities and analyses. Amsterdam: Burlington Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann. Keller, K., Apéria, T. & Georgson, M. (2008). Strategic Brand Management, An European Perspective. Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited. Keller, K. L. (2003). Strategic brand management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Pišot, R. (2012). Lifelong competency model of motor development. Koper: Kinesiologia Slovenica. Pritchard, A. & Morgan, N. (1998). Mood marketing- The new destination branding strategy: A case of Wales the brand. Journal of vacation Marketing, 4 (3), 215-229. Rein, I. & Shields, B. (2006). Place branding sports: Strategies for differentiating emerging, transitional, negatively viewed and newly industrialised nations, 1-13. Retried 6 May 2015 from: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/pb/journal/v3/n1/pdf/6000049a.pdf Retar, I. (1992). Športni marketing ali … kako tržiti šport. Koper: Polo libris. Roberts, K. (2006). Sport has key role in mobile ad boom. Sport Business International, October. Retrieved 6 May 2015 from: http://www.sbrnet.com Roth, R. & Tuerk, S. (2002). Wohin geht die Reise? Aktuelle Trends in den Natursportarten/ Sport und Turismus – Dokumentation des 10. Syimposiums zur nachhaltigen Entwicklung des Sports. Deutscher Sportbund.
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DIMENSIONS OF KINESIOLOGY AS THE STARTING POINT OF SPORT TOURISM DESTINATIONS AND PRODUCTS Rado PIŠOT, Iztok RETAR
INTRODUCTION Physical activity strongly contributes to the compensation of impacts of inappropriate, stressful lifestyle and excessive as well as unhealthy food of humans in today’s modern sedentary society. It is true that the quantity of motor activities in everyday lives of the average man who achieves the appropriate level of energy consumption and compensation, is decreasing. It is important to engage systemic measures which will guarantee each individual from child to an elderly in time, space and with required means sufficient possibilities for a more active spending of work and free time (Pišot, 2012). Based on the latest research it is urgent that we further examine the quality of offered physical/sports contents and incentives in order to achieve sustainable impacts and consequences also in the field of sport tourism.
Definitions on sport tourism In the literature are several definitions on sport tourism. Pigeassou, (2004) suggested that sport tourism is an economic and social activity at the crossroads of sport and tourism. Sports tourism is a segment of the tourism market and its economic contribution has grown strongly during recent decades. Gammon and
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Robinson (2003) are defined sports tourism as Hard Sports Tourism and Soft Sports Tourism. Hard definition of sport tourism refers to the quantity of people participating at competitive sport events. Normally these kinds of events are the motivation that attracts visitors visits the events. Summer and winter Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, FORMULA 1 and others world known sports events could be described as hard sports tourism. Soft definition is when the tourist travels to participate in recreational sporting, or signing up for leisure interests. Skiing, mountain bicycling, mountaineering, sailing … could be described as soft sports tourism. Gibson (1998) suggested that there are three types of sports tourism included Sports Event Tourism, Celebrity and Nostalgia Sport Tourism and Active Sport Tourism. Sport event tourism refers to the visitors who visit a city or a country to watch events. Celebrity and nostalgia sport tourism involves visits to the sports halls of fame and venue and meeting sports personalities in a vacation basis. Active sport tourism refers to those who participate in the sports or events and passive those who are only watching the sport event on the spot or on TV etc. Gibson (1998) also describes that sport tourism is leisure based travel that takes place individually temporarily outside of their home communities to play, watch physical activities or venerate attractions associated with these activities. We can similarly determine sport tourism by dividing it in three main categories: active engagement in sports on holidays, where the holder of activity is active in sport; travelling that is necessary to visit a sport event or visit sport sights, where the holder of activit is passive (Retar, 2006). Bartoluci (1997) describes the transformation of sport as merely the content of tourist travel to the main motive for travelling tourist destinations, which is named sport-recreational tourism. In general, sport tourism refers to travel which involves either observing or participating in a sporting event staying apart from their usual environment or home.
Definition of kinesiology Thomas and Reeve (2006) in their article about the definition of kinesiology emphasize that the kinesiology is the multifaceted nature of the discipline in which movement or physical activity is the intellectual focus and includes the sciences and professional areas associated with the study of movement. Kinesiology (Latin: κίνησις or movement, motion, and λόγος or morphological features, motor and functional abilities, cognitive abilities, social space, emotions, personality and health (Figure 1).
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Figure 1: Psychosomatic status of a person
In the wider meaning of the word, kinesiology is a science that studies the laws of managing the process of human movement and the consequences of the impacts of these processes on human organism in dependence and connection to their (living) environment. Kinesiology is an expressively applied science. Its foundations can be found in the life and work of every man and in their specific environment, activities or tools that a person uses. Physically, the implementation of any simplified movement/movement task is a specific method of overcoming gravitation in space and time dimension, where an individual is able to implement movement at simultaneous impact of the environment and equipment (Pišot et al., 2010). Another dimension is a sport that grows from movement and when it achieves clear and recognisable criteria in its nature and orientation as well as goals. Sport is physical activity, implemented within the scope of publicly determined rules; a structured and programmed activity focused in achieving the result, thus it is closely connected to and depends on the social situation and the environment, where it emerges and is realised. Different motives for sport activity and the wish for achieving good results are the main characteristics of sport. Sport is connected to various areas of human activity. It is often (inappropriately) used instead of general sport activity, since it represents the part that includes structured activity focused in achieving sport results. With the desire to improve the level of physical/
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sport active population and to contribute to the quality of life and to improve the health status, general wellbeing and the condition of an individual and the society, it is important to include and consider all ways and forms of physical activity (including movement during work, at home or during leisure time) as well as sport. In the context of content, physical/sport activity is probably the most appropriate term (Pišot, adapted according to Mutrie, 2004). With the aim of sustainable development of a widely formed offer of tourist products that are adapted and friendly to an individual and groups of users, we will set the starting points of kinesiology science with the fundamental tool of physical/sport activity, in the widest possible context and the role of studying the movement of man in interaction with the environment. Figure 2 shows an outline of 7 fundamental areas of functioning and the impact of kinesiology contents in the modern society (Hoffman, 2009; Pišot, 2013; Pišot, EDUCATION Motor skills learning
HEALTH prevention, rehabilitation, exercise
work Ergonomy, efficiency
KINESIOLOGY
communication, EXPRESSION - art, universal language
leisure time Compensation, recreation
INDEPENDENCE Development
SPORT Competition, result
Figure 2: Septagram of Kinesiology - areas of functioning and impact of kinesiology contents in the modern society
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2013 a). The seven-pointed star or the ''septagram of kinesiology'' is designed based on the Byzantine symbol of synthesis and integration and determines the value and role of kinesiology in the life of man in the most important areas of their activity. These integrate an individual into a complete whole and determine their life and work in a week and the entire life. The areas of functioning and the impact of kinesiology contents in the modern society: –– Development, independence and autonomy of a person through different life periods (developmental – evolution kinesiology), –– Communication and expression of movement as the universal language (expressive kinesiology), –– Support to health – prevention, curative and rehabilitation (balance – homeostatic kinesiology), –– Education and learning the world – motor learning (educational kinesiology), –– Work (ergo-kinesiology), –– Relaxation (kinesiology of relaxation – compensation and leisure time), and –– Sport (kinesiology of maximum – identification). In phylogenetic and ontogenetic aspects of man as well as in the emergence of man's fundamental tasks, the role and meaning of physical/sport activity for man as an individual can be presented through seven areas that shape, fulfil and integrate him in the life and space of the modern society. Kinesiology is a young integrative science and science-research discipline, which with its anthropological, systemic and cybernetic approach within its area of consideration represents specific integration of several nature and social sciences. The area of kinesiology – man in movement – is due to the nature of man as the evolutional system, the nature of physical or physical/sport activity and the characteristics of the environment, so diverse and complex, that no individual science can completely master and explain it without the cooperation and collaboration with other similar disciplines. But kinesiology should not only be understood as science that is the sum of acknowledgments of certain scientific disciplines. With its approaches, tools, contents and methods, it represents a new, higher quality of consideration of the subject of its study. The framework of the areas of life and work of man as individual and not as part of the modern society, which kinesiology considers and where it tries to contribute to the analysis of the situation and to improve quality, it rounds up the dimension of impact of its fundamental tools, the content and means, i.e. physical or sport
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activity. This was more present in human evolution and in the formation of human functional abilities in the past than today, which does not diminish its important impact on the health and effective functioning of man today.
DISCUSSION The acknowledgments and achievements of kinesiology can be important starting points that based on evidence and the tools for effective planning, organisation, implementation and control of sport and tourist products. Quality and interconnected sport and tourist products can contribute to the construction and strengthening of the tourist destination marked with motor and sport activities, which can present a competitive advantage in the tourist market due to increasingly sedentary way of life. The dimensions of kinesiology are evident in Figure 2. Table 1 shows the dimensions and contents that support sustainable sport and tourist products. We hereby establish that four out of seven presented dimensions of kinesiology with their contents belong to the structure of a sport and tourist product while the remaining three represent important support in the formation of the levers of integration, raising awareness and the motivation of an individual for inclusion in the field of sport tourism. Table 1: Dimensions of kinesiology and contents that comprise sustainable sport and tourist products. Area content LEISURE TIME SPORT
Sport vacation. Sport and recreational competitions. Sport competitions. Sport preparation.
WORK
Sport excursions organised by the union. Sport vacation organised by the union. Sport games and competitions organised by the union. Team building programmes with sport contents.
HEALTH
Rehabilitation activities with motor contents? Motor/sport prevention activities. Motor/sport curative activities.
EDUCATION
Motor skills learning programmes: swimming and ski schools, etc.
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Neglecting and underestimating the findings of kinesiology as a relatively young and not well established science can lead to the lack of competitiveness of sport and tourist products. Such products can be cheaper and can represent a short-term interesting low-price offer, which will get demand, but from a long-term aspect, such business model is inappropriate, ineffective and harmful. It modifies the market and disables sustainable development of a comprehensive sport and tourist offer, which is understood as organising physical, sport and recreational activity outside the place of residence with the aim of developing, using or preserving motor competence of the user.
CONCLUSION The results of researches and examinations of kinesiology can more than so far contribute to designing quality and sustainable sport and tourist products. We believe that sustainable development of sport and tourist offer that bases on kinesiology and considers the law of interaction of man with the environment, especially from the aspect of movement. Therefore, we aim to achieve the integration of various findings of kinesiology in sustainable sport and tourist products that will contribute to designing and preserving sport and tourist destinations, thus contributing to enhancing a healthy lifestyle. We should also think about how to integrate these views and starting points of sport tourism in a wider context – the entire area of kinesiology which would consider, delimit and classify the products included in the sport and tourist offer.
REFERENCES Bartoluci, M. (1997). Ekonomika in menedžment sporta. Zagreb: Fakultet za fizičku kulturu sveučilišta u Zagrebu. Gammon, S., Robinson, T. (2003). Sport and Tourism: A Conceptual Framework. Journal of Sport Tourism 8 (1): 21–26. Gibson, H.,J. (1998). Active Sport Tourism: Who Participates?" Routledge, Leisure Studies 17 (2): 155–170. Hoffman, S. J. (2009). Introduction to kinesiology: studying physical activity. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
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Pigeassou, C. (2004). Contribution to the definition of sport tourism. Journal of Sport & Tourism. Taylor & Francis, Volumne 9, Issue 3, 287-289. Pišot, R. (2012). Lifelong Competency Model of Motor Development. Kinesiologia Slovenica, 18, 3, 35–46. Pišot, R. (2013). Editorial. Annales Kinesiologiae, 2(1), 1-2. Pišot, R. (2013 a). Izhodišča in potrebe ter usmeritve sodobnih programov in storitev v kineziološko vsebino. Neobjavljeno delo. Retar, I. (2006). Uspešno upravljanje športnih organizacij. Koper: Univerza na Primorskem, Znanstveno-raziskovalno središče, Inštitut za kineziološke raziskave, Univerzitetna založba Annales. Thomas, J.R., & Reeve, T.G. (2006). A review and evaluation of doctoral programs 2000-2004 by the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education. Quest, 58, 176–196.
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SOME POSSIBLE “MEANINGS” OF “SPORT” IN ITS HISTORICAL AND LINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE Tonči KUZMANIĆ
I. When speaking of “sport” today we usually have in mind football, cricket, athletics, swimming, etc., but also “adrenalin sports” and similar “concrete” kinds of today “sports”. Besides, when dealing with “sport” we likewise associate it with “body”, “movement” and similar “physical activities”. At the same time, we are rarely confronted with the different approaches, for example with trying to develop the very thinking about the meaning “sport” at a more historical, philosophical and even political level. Understandably, it is not at all an easy task. It is much easier to move among “concreteness” and “appearances” of “bodies & movements” than to embark towards the dark side of the same coin. The main point here is that different understandings of “sport” should not perceive it as something about physics (movement, bodies...), but rather as something radically different. Sport is deeper and wider in its meanings and influences as it appears. Primarily it is about society, communication, language... but also about history and politics. Last but not least, “sport” is also about our self-understanding in today’s post-modern knowledge society. To put it differently and concisely: “sport” is not at all about nature & physics, but rather about society and even politics.
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II. This paper is radically minimalistic1. It is an attempt dedicated to another kind of thematisation in the sense of posing a different kind of questioning (understanding included) of “sport”. It is not questioning from the perspective of some species, type, form (gr. έidos) of “sport” (basketball, rugby, climbing...) nor from the perspective of physics (body, movement...), but rather from a much more “general” and – in the author’s opinion – a simultaneously more concrete perspective of “kind” or genus (gr. gέnos)2. The paper underlies only some aspects of the historical usages of the word “sport”. The “content” of the paper is, consequently, somehow “formal”, although not normative as it could appear at first sight. The task I chose is a radically simple one: to show (“showing” here is meant in Wittgensteinian perspective3) the “another”, historical – above all hidden - side of the word “sport” as it is largely (miss)used today. The main target of the paper is therefore to open a different perspective on something which is hidden and even forgotten about “sport”. During our history “sport” – even at the level of designation which is my main target – has gone through extremely important changes which ought to be brought up for contemplation. In almost all of its present uses (“misuses” included, of course) the very word "sport" – and that is the main aim of the paper - is of English origin. The first use of the term "sport" is recorded in English around the year 14004. Outstanding at the level of very »content« of the sign, of the term and word "sport" – of course in a dictionary sense - is that "sport" actually is not at all one of so many everyday words as it could appear for somebody not being able or ready to think “sport”. Among the most interesting aspects of “sport” I would like to emphasise an empirically (historically...) verifiable fact that although “sport” appears to be and, of course, looks like substantive, it is actually not. It is rather at least two different 1
Due to the kind and line of argumentation the paper is also »robbed« of footnotes and extensive citations (bibliography included) which is easily possible to add. The point of the paper is not an »entire argument«, but rather a very short discussion of sport as a problem in the sense of an attempt towards redirection of our usual thinking and understanding. 2 The difference here is meant in an Aristotelian sense. In very simple form the distinction could be found in Peters (1967) and Urmson (1990), otherwise in his “Topic”, “Analytic” and “Metaphysics”. 3 “Language games” parlance is the central methodological idea of this paper revolving around Ludwig Wittgenstein’s kind of argumentation which here could only be mentioned. 4 All historical references with regard to the years of appearance of the word »sport« are from Chambers Etymological Dictionary.
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“things”. Firstly, as a matter of fact “sport” is an abbreviation. Secondly, it is possible to show that “sport” has verbal aspects and is not substantive as perceived, “understood” and usually (miss)used. Of course, not only in our everyday and informal, but also – and that is the problem I’ m trying to tackle - specialised and even “scientific” communication! In the next few short paragraphs I will try to develop the two above mentioned emphases in some more, albeit still limited detail.
iIi. An important “element” and outstanding quality – mainly »unknown« and even suppressed throughout our history – of »sport« is the fact that at the very point of its historical appearance (for the first time it was in 1303) it “sounded” at the level of the written language as »dysport/e" (“disport”). In connection with this it is possible to say - and even strongly emphasise - that English »dysport/e" is, so to speak, a sort of an ancestor of today's "sport" at the level of its very designation (written language). »Dysport/e« in English was itself – as many of the substantives of that language5 - of course, borrowed from Old French "disport", but this part of the story will be left out of the short story presented here. At the ‘meaning’ level the word “dysport/e” - in radical difference to subsequent (and modern) English usage of the word "sport" (this is the key point!) – somehow “pretends” to-be-the-noun (substantive/substance). That is possible quite clearly to reconstruct from the perspective of Old French "disport’s". The emphasis is simple: the very "home" and birth place (gr. topos) of today’s sport is actually somewhere among the verbs and not substantives! And in that Old French disport/e, the verbal form and dimensions "meant" two big “things” (uses).
IV. Firstly, its meaning was something as “enjoyment and entertainment”. A special emphasis in that connection is entertainment in the sense of enjoying in this or that “game” that is dedicated to a class of physical events (“moving”, “movement”, “bodies”, “running”, “physical”, “body exercise” in the largest possible senses...). 5
The history of English is closely connected with Latin and later on with various forms of the French (Old French, mainly) language. See The natural history of Latin language.
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But this was – at the level of the Old French usages – "only" what was, so to speak, “technically before hand” (Heidegger) and visible and not the entire (possible) “story” about its meaning(s). Important for us in the context of historical opening of the question of meaning is that it was the only one side of the coin which simultaneously hides the another (“the dark side of”). That is of outstanding importance especially in our circumstances of the present knowledge society. Our task is somehow to (re)open another, dark side of the coin, other meanings. The kind of one-sidedness of “sport” is the one which is used today either in our ordinary social communication or among specialists. The problem with such onesidedness” is that it is somehow a castrated “coin” which successfully hides a very large portion (quantitative and qualitative) of “things” and meaning connected with “sport”. In that way – if we grasp it solely in this one-sided dimension – it somehow redirects the wholeness (gr. to holon) of sport into something literally “unthinkable” and totally ungraspable. For if the mentioned word dysport/e in English looks only like “sport” (that is the case of today) it explicitly “screams” only something about first possible meanings and simultaneously “hides” the other, much more interesting and important one.
V. This hidden “levels” of the meaning one can (re)open and understand in a quite simple way. For example, if he or she writes down the very word “sport” in a somewhat more transparent, visible – above everything historical - way as “dysport-e” (di-sport/e). Let us ask ourselves now what this “dis-port/e” could possibly say and mean to someone who speaks and thinks about “sport” today? At this “abstract” level dealing only with the parts of history and etymology of the word and language context, an important difference is visible – especially at the level of writing. Disport meant literally to put something/someone out of his/its own place (gr. topos). That is the case even in the literal meaning of “to de-porte”, of “to displace”, of “trans-port/e” in the sense of “to expel”, “to drive out”.... At that level we are somehow forced to (re)think “sport” in a strange direction in the sense of an (human, of course and not natural, let alone physical) activity
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pushing – through “disport/e” somewhere towards a non-location (gr. atopos) or at least out of location (dislocation & displacement).
VI. Let's now go to the second “sense and meaning” by focusing our attention somehow to the “pure language”, related speech acts and language games. The question one should ask oneself in at least whom to expel, to de-porte, to displace, to trans-port/e into something endless and borderless (atopos)? The answer is rather simple and even transparent: that “what or who” is "dysporte/d" somehow directs the “attention” (our own and that of Others in the sense of social beings within their communication) when we “do sport” in the sense of trans-porting, de-locating our (or that of others) attention from something which is "uncomfortable", probably "ugly", and "demanding" ... to something that is more “fun”, “entertaining”, “amusing” and at the same time more “natural” (in the meaning gr. physis = nature).
VII. In the last analysis it seems as if the “story” of “sport” is actually not at all about “bodies and movements” but rather about “disporting”, “displacing” our entire attention (concentration, focus...) from something which is here and real (unpleasant, ugly, traumatic...) directly towards something which is its “transcendence” being quite the opposite of the mentioned (pleasant, beautiful, joyful...). The consequences of this short re-opening and re-thinking at the very level of the history of the meaning of the word “sport” could be enormous, but not possible to develop and explain in this short and opening paper. That is the task of another, possible and future research.
References: Barnhart, R. K. (2003). Chambers Dictionary of Etymology. Chambers, New York. Janson, T. (2007). A Natural History of Latin. London: Oxford University Press
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Malpas, J. (2008). Heidegger's Topology. London: MIT Press:Cambridge Massachusetts. Peters, F. E. (1967). Greek Philosophical Terms. New York: New York University Press. Urmson, J. O. (1990). The Greek Philosophical Vocabulary. London: Duckworth. Wittgenstein, L. (1969). Filozofska istra탑ivanja. Beograd: Nolit. Wittgenstein, L. (2007). Zettel, University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles.
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ABU DHABI SPORT TOURISM: FROM ZERO TO HERO Nataša SLAK VALEK 43 years ago Sheikh Zayed formally united 7 Emirates into a country nowadays known as United Arab Emirates. Although the country is still young all the systems for an effective modern state are well established. Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s capital city and the largest Emirate, has, over the past decade, been seeking to diversify its economy in order to reduce its dependence on oil. Most recently, attention has been focused on developing tourism. In fact data shows a significant development in tourism: in 2013 number of guests increased by 17.5%, the number of rooms by 18.2% and the occupancy rate by 8.6%, comparing to the data from 2012. In addition, Abu Dhabi is a host city for many globally recognized sport events, such as Formula 1, golf championship and world tennis championship. Thus, this paper’s purpose is to analyze the supply of sport tourism in Abu Dhabi and discuss it’s potential for the region. Keywords: United Arab Emirates, sport events, tourism, culture, tradition, elite sports.
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ANALYSIS OF THE COMPETITIVENESS OF SLOVENIAN SPORT TOURISM DESTINATIONS Maja URAN MARAVIĆ, Jakob BEDNARIK, Miha LESJAK The main goal of this paper is to assess the competitiveness of Slovenian tourist destinations and to compare their competitiveness with domestic destinations and those abroad. The paper focuses on the competitiveness of different destinations, assessed by managers of local and regional tourism organisations. The study is part of a larger analysis of sport tourism in Slovenia. The approach and methodology are based on different destination competitiveness models. An integrated instrument of destination competitiveness was developed and tested for validity of content and used to assess the competitiveness of these micro destinations and their sport tourism supply. The research results confirm the main hypothesis, that Slovenian destinations are more competitive domestically than abroad. Keywords: tourism, destination competitiveness, sport tourism, Slovenia.
GROWTH OF SPORT INDUSTRY AND CREATION OF NEW JOBS Jože JENŠTERLE Sport industry represents an important sector in the European Union economy. As a whole, the sports sector is a dynamic and fast-growing industry and significantly contributes to growth and jobs. Its share in the national economies is comparable to agriculture, forestry and fisheries combined. We anticipate that its share and influence to the growth of European economy and creation of new jobs will rise in the future. The supply chain in sport represents an economic process that stimulates development and innovations in the sport industry and related industries. It includes all upstream and downstream industries. Upstream industries produce goods, services and works needed for sport. Downstream industries, as media, tourism, advertising, etc., use sport as a significant input. Sport tourism encompasses: (1) travelling outside of one’s usual environment, (2) passive or active involvement in competitive sport, where sport is the prime motivational reason for travelling and (3) the touristic or leisure overall experience. Overall the sports sector accounts for 2% of the EU global GDP, 3% of the total EU gross value added and
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3.5% of the total EU employment. Despite these impressive figures, the economic impact of the sport-related industries is still underestimated. European Commission Initiative on sport industry includes proposals for concrete actions to foster sport and sport-related industries: (1) Maximising efficiency of investment in sport and leisure infrastructure. (2) Fostering the competitiveness of sports-related industries. (3) Enabling demand for sports and recreational activities and related goods and maximizing the spillover effects of sports on growth and employment. Keywords: Sport industry, Supply chain in sport, Upstream industries, Downstream industries, Sport tourism, Sport and leisure infrastructure, Innovations, Growth and jobs.
HERITAGE SPORTING EVENTS AND PLACE MARKETING Jean-Loup CHAPPELET This paper introduces the concept of “heritage sporting event� (HSE) as a mean to market places for tourism and economic development. It gives examples of well-known HSEs around the world and then focuses on the case of Swiss HSEs which have played and continue to play an important role in the place marketing of Switzerland. Lessons are drawn for sporting event public hosting policies and strategies. Keywords: Place marketing, heritage, sports events, hosting strategies, recurring events.
IMPORTANCE OF SEVERAL ASPECTS WITHIN THE DESTINATION CHOICE PROCESS IN WINTER SPORT TOURISM AMONG GERMAN AND POLISH STUDENTS Alexander HODECK The destination choice process is an important field when dealing with marketing in winter sport tourism. Students represent an interesting target group in tourism, because they indicate future trends. This study compares the importance of several factors within
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the destination choice process in winter sport tourism of German and Polish students by using a classical conjoint measurement. Following the results of the conjoint measurement of this study, there seem to differences between the importance of expenses per day and the accessibility of slopes. Results of the conjoint measurement are statistically proved for Polish students. In addition, there are also differences on chosen destinations. While Polish students prefer highland destinations, Germans more often choose destinations in high mountains. Keywords: winter sport tourism, destination choice, conjoint measurement.
EVOLUTION AND IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT OF TRAIL RUNNING SPORTING EVENTS – THE CASE OF FRANCE AND ROMANIA Sorina CERNAIANU, Claude SOBRY Trail running is a rather new kind of long distance running which develops quickly and gains new countries every year. If France was one of the first countries developing this sport and counts 405 events in 2015, Romania is a new comer with only around 30 races but a quickly growing number. The purpose of this paper is mostly to show how trail running develops in France and in Romania, not to compare, just to see how this "green" approach of long distant running can be used in two countries presenting obvious geographical qualities for trails to combine environmental sensibilization, nature and culture discovery, enhance local economy. This paper is the first of a series concerning the recent changes in sport with more nature and less stadiums, more positive economic impact on the welcoming community, more personal research during always longer and harder sport events opened to everyone. Key words: sports tourism; event tourism; trail running; local sustainable development; responsibility.
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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SPORTS INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CREATION OF A TOURIST PRODUCT Marcel VUČETIĆ, Romana LEKIĆ, Dubravko KRAUS Nowadays, tourism demand is characterized by rapid and significant changes such as wide range of information, great purchasing power, searching for new tourism products based on experience. Therefore, recreational sport in tourism has an increasing role and thereby should be noted, that it is about consumers who for their hobby during repeated holidays are willing to pay significant amounts. Frequently, the final decision about the destination would depend on the recreational sport offers. The quality of accommodation is as much important as the sports infrastructure; for indoors and outdoors sports. The quality of tennis courts, golf courses, fitness gyms, swimming pools, hiking or bike trails or athletic tracks enables us a strategic advantage over the competition when deciding about the holidays. Highly sophisticated technology has imposed on sports infrastructure and become an inevitable standard; fields with artificial turf, artificial rock climbing structures, various surface on tennis courts, sand courts, pools with strong currents, rafting simulator and synthetic ice rink. Unfortunately, the Republic of Croatia does not invest in sports infrastructure and therefore the researches by The Institute for Tourism in Zagreb show minimal consumption in the use of sports infrastructure and facilities. Capacity planning of sports infrastructure must be entrusted to experienced professionals who will design a multi purpose indoor and outdoor facilities. Various facilities which will be multi purpose facilities due to new technologies, such as sports hall for playing handball, indoor soccer, basketball, tennis or table tennis, would replace specialized sports halls which are expensive and not sufficiently exploited. Each and every tourist destination should have a very precise map of all available indoor and outdoor facilities which can be evaluated in the tourism product. Synergy of such capacities allows us to far better competitiveness. Management and maintenance of sports infrastructure should not be ad hoc and must be entrusted to experts who will cooperate with professionals in tourism because tourism market reacts very fast. Unfortunately, some achievements in terms of the development of sports infrastructure for the preparation of athletes have been stopped, which could have been an important segment of tourism with great economic and social benefits. Preparation for top athletes at certain tourist destinations involves a number of new logistical possibilities. Construction of indoor and outdoor facilities requires large initial funding as well as high maintenance costs. Key words: indoor and outdoor facilities, new technologies in sport industry, sport recreation as a part of the tourism product, guests with high purchasing power, management and maintenance of facilities for sport in tourism.
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PARAGLIDING IN TERMS OF SAFETY IN THE UPPER SOČA REGION Janez MEKINC, Katarina MUŠIČ, Špela ŠTERK The Upper Soča region has perfect natural conditions for paragliders. Paragliding is an opportunity for tourism development, depending how the sport takes place and the local community, the restrictions for paragliders and the safety components of the region. The paper will explore the phenomenon of paragliding and the Upper Soča region. The purpose of the research is to analyze the safety, development and risk of paragliding. The analysis includes interviews with key stakeholders, a case study of paragliding accidents and the impact of paragliding on tourism in the Upper Soča region. The goals of the research are to propose solutions to improve the safety conditions for paragliding and make suggestions on the further development of paragliding within tourism in the Upper Soča region. Keywords: paragliding, safety, security, tourism, Upper Soča.
TESTING A BRAND OF DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS Hessa ALQEMZI This research examines the brand effectiveness of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships events on the destination image; same study was done for Poland while hosting the European cup. This study has been done to demonstrate the awareness of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships brand. I’m expecting that local people will know more about this event more then the expats who are living in the UAE; moreover, I’m predicting that females are more aware of the event than males. Two methods have been used in this research is survey in two ways, hard copy and soft copy survey. The most important result from this research is that expats who live in the UAE recognize the event more than locals. Tennis is not a popular game like football, and that makes it difficult to bring this sport to people’s minds, and this was the main purpose behind doing the research. Keywords: tennis, brand, event, local environment, gender.
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IS SPORTS TOURISM AN OPPORTUNITY FOR HOTELS ON THE SLOVENIAN COAST? Patricij OMAR, Gordana IVANKOVIČ
Sports tourism is a major tourist contemporary trend, as identified by some Slovenian regions several years ago, on the Slovenian coast, this trend is still developing and hoteliers are treated as a new modern trend that under certain guidelines complements and extends the tourist product as well as the tourist season in the area. For the successful development of sports tourism in this area key changes are necessary. A comparison was made between the situation of sports tourism in Slovenian Coast and Croatian Istria. Keywords: Slovenia, coast, hotel, development, opportunity.
CAN THE BARCELONA EFFECT BE NOTICED IN POLAND? EX-POST ANALYSIS OF LEGACY ON TOURISM TWO YEARS AFTER UEFA EURO2012 Jagoda KOMUSIŃSKA The article is an example of an ex-post analysis of the legacy effect of a sport mega event on the flow of incoming tourists. The aim of the research was to benchmark event-induced sport tourism in Krakow against other sport-tourism destinations in order to check if investing in sport events could be an effective branding policy for Krakow. The paper draws on the theoretical framework of city branding through mega events. It addresses the problem of cities’ expectations for repeating the global tourism image success of Barcelona through organisation of a costly sport event. The research part is based on a survey conducted by the Author two years after UEFA EURO2012 championship was hosted by Poland. All 744 respondents came to Krakow for recreation purposes, had no polish relatives and used commercial accommodation. The results of the survey show that although tourists in Krakow were well aware of EURO2012 and the image of Poland associated with the event was positive, it influenced the decision to visit it in 5,4% of cases. Other findings confirm
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the unrivalled position of Barcelona in global sport-tourism and suggest that sport facilities with a strong brand exert a strongly bigger influence on tourism than sport mega events. Keywords: sport event, destination, brand, Euro 2012, sport facilities.
THE CONTRIBUTION OF SPORTS EVENTS TO LOCAL ECONOMIES: THE CASE OF MALLORCA312 Maria Antonia GARCIA SASTRE, Margarita ALEMANY HORMAECHE, Angela AGUILO LEMOINE The Balearic Islands, as is the case of many other mature destinations, need to reposition themselves on the market and offer new tourism products adapted to the new consumer demands of the 21st century. In recent years, organized sports events have become increasingly important, both as cultural events and entertainment. Sporting events are considered to be a major economic driving force, especially in medium-sized communities facing increasing competition from larger communities bidding to host sporting events. The aim of this paper is to analyse one such sporting event: the Mallorca312 Iberostar Playa de Muro, a one-day road race. Its objectives will be to identify the strengths of the destination with regard to cycling tourism, and the profile of the cyclists as well as to explore socio-demographic variables, motivation, trip planning, and levels of satisfaction experienced throughout their stay in the Balearic Islands, while also providing an estimate of the economic impact that this sporting event has had on the local economy. Keywords: Sport events, cycling, profile cyclists, economic impact.
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EXPLORING THE PROFILE OF INTERNATIONAL HIKERS IN THE BALEARIC ISLANDS Maria Antonia GARCIA SASTRE, Margarita ALEMANY HORMAECHE, Angela AGUILO LEMOINE, Juan José MONTAÑO MORENO Emerging demand, changes in tourist behaviour and intense competition are forcing the Balearic Islands to diversify their tourism products, to propose new experiences for visitors and counteract the seasonality of the destination. Hiking, as a non-competitive activity carried out on marked trails located in the natural environment, is one of the firm commitments of the public authorities, to promote tourism in and around the Sierra de Tramuntana World Heritage Site. Sport and tourism are forming an alliance to provide new tourism opportunities for visitors which complement sun and beach. The aim of the study here presented is to learn more about the profile of the hiking tourist, by identifying their demographic variables, their patterns of behaviour when choosing a destination, as well as the level of satisfaction experienced throughout their stay in Mallorca. Keywords: Tourism, nature, hiking, hiker’s profile.
SPORTS TOURISM IN THE BALEARIC ISLANDS: A FIRM COMMITMENT OR A NECESSITY? Margarita ALEMANY HORMAECHE, Maria Antonia GARCIA SASTRE, Angela AGUILO LEMOINE The economic model of the Balearic Islands, based on the tourism industry, passed through various stages between 1955 and 2014. The Balearic Islands is a mature tourism destination, and therefore, both private and public local initiatives have been implanted in order to strengthen competitiveness, rejuvenate the destination, and counteract seasonality. The contribution of this paper lies in the analysis of the current supply of sports tourism products on offer in the Balearic Islands, such as golf, nautical tourism, cycling tourism and nature tourism and their contribution to the Balearic economy. Another contribution of this paper is the analysis of the evolution of seasonality and tourism demand, for the
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Balearics as a whole, and for the four islands individually. The findings suggest that the tourism policies adopted during the last 20 years, many of which are related to sports tourism, have not achieved the desired results for the tourism destination; that is, to decelerate seasonality and extend the tourist season. Keywords: Mature destination, seasonality, sport products.
THE ROLE OF SPORT EVENTS IN DESTINATION BRANDING: THE DUBAI WORLD CUP “THE WORLD’S RICHEST HORSE RACE” Aisha Saleh Al Ghubbi AL SUWAIDI, Russell Blair WILLIAMS The role of major sporting events has been evolving over time. These events are increasingly being used as marketing tools to help promote, position, and brand destinations. The purpose of this paper is to show how sporting events contribute to a city’s or a country’s branding strategies. More specifically, the paper examines and tests knowledge of the Dubai World Cup among residents and visitors to the United Arab Emirates to determine its value to the nation in terms of positioning strategies and brand equity. A targeted online survey was used to gather data. The total sample was 36 respondents, 14 Emiratis, 10 expats living in Abu Dhabi, and 12 international tourists visiting Abu Dhabi. The study shows that the Dubai World Cup, as a major sporting event, can be useful in attracting more tourists. However, the brand awareness of this event is not that strong. Practical implications and future research are suggested. Keywords: Sporting events – Horse Racing – City branding – Brand awareness – Brand image – Co-branding.
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PROFILING PARTICIPANTS OF SPORTING EVENTS IN THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT: TRAILS RUNNING RACES Estela Inés FARÍAS TORBIDONI, Jordi SEGUÍ URBANEJA, Eduard INGLÉS YUBA Currently no one discusses the increase of mountain races (Scheerder & Breedveld, 2015). There are two main reasons for this success: a) the increasing supply of sporting events (official and unofficial); b) the increasing demand of runners. Although there are no reliable data on this evolution, it is clear that their emergence and growth does not seem to be a punctual issue. As a result, it is necessary to develop research on the analysis, not only on the supply (growth, typology, main features, organizing bodies, etc.), but also on the demand (profile of runners, training, experience, motivations, etc.).The present work deals with the study of the profile and motivations, of the participants of sporting events in the natural environment, focusing on trail running races.. he survey has been designed, taking into consideration the inclusion of three dimensions: 1) socioeconomic profile, 2) sporting profile (sporting habits, experience, etc.), including different aspects considered in the corresponding studies of sports habit at the European level (European Commission, 2010) Spanish level (García Ferrando & Llopis, 2010) and Catalan level (Puig, Vilanova, Inglés & Mayo, 2009) and 3) motivations of participation (Farias, Segui, Fuster & Gil, 2014). The study was carried out in the trail race Ultra Trail Barcelona (Catalonia). The data used in the present study is based on a total of 140 on-site structured interviews distributed proportionally according to different distances categories: 21km, 42km and 69km. The main contribution of this work remains linked to the opening of a line of work on events in the natural environment, especially trail running races. The results are discussed in terms of their applicability and implications in the organization of this type of events. Keywords: profiling participants, sporting events, trail running races, Catalonia.
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DEVELOPMENT OF A SPORT EVENT UNDER THE COMMUNISM AND DEMOCRATIC REGIMES Mart REIMANN, Kaarel TILMER, Erkki ERKKI Influenced by Soviet ideology many citizens were forced or strongly motivated to go to participate in sports events due to collective initiatives or work obligations during the communism time. Sport events initiated top-down with strong political flavor created a lot of protest among the people behind the iron curtain and events stopped together with a collapse of the regime. In the current paper winter sport in Estonia and the phenomenon of the Tartu Skiing Marathon is discussed based on the previous studies and authors’ observations. Bottom-up started events like Tartu marathon managed to cover themselves with communistic label but fulfilled opposite goals and survived after the communism era. Keywords: sport event, communism regime, skiing marathon.
ATHLETIC PREPARATIONS AS A TOURIST PRODUCT THAT CAN BOOST SPORT TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE REGION Iztok RETAR, Primož SULIČ The objective of this study was to examine the role that the organisation of seasonal preparations of athletes as a specific sport tourism product offered by Slovenian sport centres has in the overall sport tourism offer in the region. In our pilot study we used a copyright questionnaire to conduct a survey on 6 Slovenian sport centres. The sport centres were included in the sample group based on the following criteria: disposal of appropriate sport and accommodation infrastructure, programmes of athletic preparations already marketed by the centre. The survey was extended to public sports organisations, sport clubs and business companies. We have established that the surveyed sport centres generate more overnight stays from other tourist offer products rather than athletic preparations programmes. The analysis results furthermore show that public sport organisations register less overnight stays linked to athletic preparations as compared to companies. Due to the survey limitations arising from the sample, the analysis results cannot be applied generally
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to the entire Slovenian territory. Nonetheless, the findings can constitute a basis for further, in-depth study of this issue. The results of this study may be used to help develop sport tourism in local communities and plan such development with the aim of gaining new users of athletic preparation programmes from both national and foreign competitive sport segment. Keywords: sport tourism, sport centres, athletes seasonal training.
SLOVENIAN SPORTS TOURISTIC BRANDS: A MYTH OR REALITY? Darko RAVNIKAR, Ana BARDORFER, Iztok RETAR The objectives of the present study were to determine which of the Slovenian sports tourism events can be defined as brands suitable for sponsors to invest in, and what are their reasons for sponsorship. The focus of the research was sports tourism events that were organised at least 5 times in the last 15 years, have more than 10,000 visitors and are members of appropriate international sport associations. On the basis of these criteria, the selected events were Planica (ski jumps), Golden Fox (ski world cup), Franja Marathon (cycling) and Ljubljana's marathon (running). The results showed experts involved in the decision making process regarding sponsorship in their company most frequently decide on sponsorships because they believe it increases the recognition of their company and positively influences the image of their company, as well as sending a message to the public that they act as a socially responsible company and support top Slovenian athletes. In the last five years the most frequently sponsored sports tourism events in Slovenia were the Franja Cycling Marathon and Golden Fox skiing world cup. Companies previously not sponsoring such events would sponsor Ljubljana's running Marathon if they would be offered general sponsorship, since such action would be consistent with their strategies of sponsorships or because the event has a wider social significance and brings together larger groups of people. Surprisingly, in the last five years 88% of companies decided to sponsor smaller sport events with a local character and not bigger established sport tourism events. Because of the limitations arising from the selective and small sample, results cannot be generalised. Nevertheless they can contribute to understanding which sport tourism brands and from what reasons sponsors are willing to invest in and through this strengthen sports tourism and support the development of sports associations. Results can be used as orientation for
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further research about sponsorship of sports tourism events that represent an important building block of traditional touristic offers. Key words: sport tourism events, brand, sponsorship.
TRAVEL AND HEAT RELATED ILLNESSES Dorjana ZERBO Ĺ PORIN Tourists can on their journeys suffer from unfamiliar destination climate that have harmful effects on their health and well-being. Significant health hazards to the travellers usually arise from high altitude, heat, cold and humidity (Beeley, Smith and Oakley, 1993). Travel may also involve exposure to microbes, animals and insects. All who plan travelling should focus on the potential health hazards in their chosen destinations and understand how to protect and minimize the risk of acquiring health issues (WHO, 2010). Exposure to high environmental temperature results in loss of water and electrolytes presenting as heat exhaustion or even heat stroke derived from increased core temperature and physiological responses to heat stress. Preventive measures include acclimatization, adequate hydration, and matching dress and exercise to the environment (Beeley, Smith and Oakley, 1993). Traveller should drink enough fluid to be able to maintain usual urine production, in particular older travellers as the thirst reflex diminishes with age. Special attention should be paid to ensure enough fluids for infants and young children to avoid dehydration. Consumption of salt-containing food and drinks helps to replace the electrolytes in case of heath exhaustion and after excessive sweeting (WHO, 2010). Travel and sports institutions should be aware of the possible heat related conditions and may promote the proper behaviour among tourists in hot environments. Keywords: heat, illness, travel, tourists.
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THE CASE OF A NEW MASS SPORT EVENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF TOURIST DESTINATIONS Saša PIŠOT There is no doubt that the Istrian marathon is a new attractive mass sport event in the Coastal region. Despite the common Slovenian running fever and flood of different running mass sports events, the 2nd Istrian marathon 2015 rewarded the organisers with greater participation which confirms that runners as well as visitors and locals get behind the event. The main challenge of this article is to analyse the impact a new mass sport events for the promotion of tourist destinations from the point of view of the growing subculture of runners. For one-third (30%) of runners the motive to participate in the 1st Istrian marathon in 2014 was due to it being their first run in this kind of event or the first run at the designated destination. For the other 40% of runners, the motive to participate was also because it was the first mass sport event of this type in the coastal area. We can conclude that analysing the growing running subculture and runners profile could be useful information for tourist managers’ further actions and that attraction of a new mass sport event is an important factor for promoting of tourist destinations. Keywords: running subculture, runners profile, mass sports event, tourist destination promotion.
BRANDING IN SPORTS TOURISM: ON THE CASE OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF KOPER AND THE WIDER AREA OF SLOVENIAN ISTRIA Marko VIDNJEVIČ Introduction: The paper considers the importance of branding sports tourism destinations on case of the Municipality of Koper and the weider area of Slovenian Istria and according to Rein & Shields (2006) »in this changing environment, the sports branding proposition is another important component to serve either as a centrepiece or a valuable supplement to a place’s overall branding position«. Methods: The paper includes »ad hoc« case study of the Municipality of Koper and a survey carried out in five great slovenian sports associations (football, basketball, tennis, golf and swimming) which also represents
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thinking (indirectly through representatives) nearly 15,000 athletes – contestants, whereby there is a risk of »imposing their own frame of reference« (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe in Lowe, 2007, 120-121). Research strategy was Delphi method which uses expert opinion in order to answer specific research questions. Presentation of the results and critical interpretation of findings relates to the existing literature. Conclusion: The author gives ideas for potentials for the development of sports tourism in the region and guidelines for the systematic development of branding in the Municipality of Koper and Slovenian Istria. Keywords: branding, brand identity, branding models, branding sportstourism destinations.
DIMENSIONS OF KINESIOLOGY AS THE STARTING POINT OF SPORT TOURISM DESTINATIONS AND PRODUCTS Rado PIŠOT, Iztok RETAR The paper examines the dimensions and the role of kinesiology, the science and research achievements of which can contribute to designing quality and sustainability-oriented sport and tourist products. Sport as the area of contents that can be designed as offer product in sport tourism, is often an inappropriate or too narrow term. We establish that sustainable development of the widely designed sport-tourist offer is possible especially when it is based on kinesiology and when it entirely considers the laws of interaction between man and the environment from the aspect of movement. The lack of consideration of the starting points of kinesiology can lead to non-quality sport and tourist products, and consequently to the lack of competitiveness of the sport tourism sector. Therefore, we strive to implement kinesiological and scientific acknowledgments, search for new possibilities, study and create user friendly and adapted tourist offer. Only in this way, we will ensure quality sport and tourist offer that will contribute to designing appropriate sport and tourist destinations and to enhancing a healthy lifestyle. Keywords: kinesiology, sport tourism, sustainable development dimensions.
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SOME POSSIBLE “MEANINGS” OF “SPORT” IN ITS HISTORICAL AND LINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE Tonči KUZMANIĆ “Sport” is not a simple, let alone “natural”, physical and body activity: sport is a much more “complex” and – above all – plural phenomenon of human lives. It is undoubtedly a social and political problem of our knowledge society. The main scope of the paper is to open the complex levels of the possible “historical meanings” of sport. The target of the paper is the “idea” and “concept” of “sport” in the sense of understanding the usages of this notion. The result of this short opening paper is the distinction between “sport” (of today) and “disport/e” as the “real ancestor” of the various meanings of this term in the present time. Emphasis is on the difference and the consequences of the hidden element of “dys” which somehow evaporated in the past and is absent from today’s usage. With this evaporation we lost something very important which should be brought back to our perception and understanding of “sport”. Keywords: sport, dysport/e, displacement, history, meaning.
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Authors (in alphabethical order)
Angela AGUILO LEMOINE University of the Balearic Islands Margarita ALEMANY HORMAECHE University of the Balearic Islands Aisha Saleh Al Ghubbi AL SUWAIDI Zayed University, United Arab Emirates Hessa ALQEMZI Zayed University, United Arab Emirates Ana BARDORFER University of Primorska, Koper, SLovenia Jakob BEDNARIK University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Sport, Slovenia Sorina CERNAIANU University of Craiova, Romania, URePSSS (EA 4110), IRNIST
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Jean-Loup CHAPPELET University of Lausanne, Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration (IDHEAP), Switzerland Erkki ERKKI Tallinn University, Institute of Heakth Sciences and Sports, Estonia Estela Inés FARÍAS TORBIDONI INEFC (Institut Nacional d’Educació Física de Catalunya) – Centre de Lleida GISEAFE (Grup d’Investigació Social i Educativa en l’Activitat Física i l’Esport) Maria Antonia GARCIA SASTRE University of the Balearic Islands Alexander HODECK University of Leipzig, Germany Eduard INGLÉS YUBA INEFC (Institut Nacional d’Educació Física de Catalunya) – Centre de Barcelona GISEAFE (Grup d’Investigació Social i Educativa en l’Activitat Física i l’Esport) Gordana IVANKOVIČ University of Primorska, Faculty of Tourism studies – Turistica Jože JENŠTERLE International Association of Sport and Leisure Infrastructure Management Jagoda KOMUSIŃSKA Cracow University of Economics UNESCO Chair in Heritage and Urban Studies
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Dubravko KRAUS Veleučilište Vern, Croatia Tonči KUZMANIĆ University of Primorska, Faculty of Management, Koper, Slovenia Romana LEKIĆ Veleučilište Vern, Croatia Miha LESJAK University of Primorska, Faculty of Tourism Studies Turistica, Slovenia Juan José MONTAÑO MORENO University of the Balearic Islands Patricij OMAR University of Primorska, Faculty of Tourism studies – Turistica Rado PIŠOT University of Primorska, Science and Research Centre, Slovenia Saša PIŠOT University of Primorska, Science and research centre, Slovenia Darko RAVNIKAR s.p. tourism and marketing consultant, Koper, SLovenia Mart REIMANN Institute of Heakth Sciences and Sports, Tallinn University, Estonia Iztok RETAR University of Primorska, Science and Research Centre, Slovenia
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Jordi SEGUÍ URBANEJA INEFC (Institut Nacional d’Educació Física de Catalunya) – Centre de Lleida GISEAFE (Grup d’Investigació Social i Educativa en l’Activitat Física i l’Esport) Nataša SLAK VALEK Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, UAE Claude SOBRY University of Lille, France, URePSSS (EA 4110), IRNIST Primož SULIČ The Ajdovščina Sports Institute, Ajdovščina, Slovenia Maja URAN MARAVIĆ University of Primorska, Faculty of Tourism Studies Turistica, Slovenia Marko VIDNJEVIC University of Primorska, Science and Researc Centre, Koper, Slovenia Marcel VUČETIĆ Veleučilište Vern, Croatia Kaarel TILMER Tallinn University, Institute of Heakth Sciences and Sports, Estonia Russell Blair WILLIAMS Zayed University, United Arab Emirates Dorjana ZERBO ŠPORIN University of Primorska, Science and Research Centre, Koper, Slovenia
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