Exploring the motivations for engagement in sport tourism

Abstract

[Abstract]: Sports tourism has become a primary catalyst for tourism activity with a range of researchers noting the growing recognition of the inherent relationship between sport and tourism over the last decade or so. Importantly, sport tourism is a significant and growing global industry with notable economic implications for the specific sport and/or the event as well as there being a variety of flow-on tourism and travel benefits derived by the host destination by its staging. Despite this fact, sport tourism remains an area of economic and social endeavor that has not been well researched. The primary aim of this exploratory study therefore was to identify the underlying motivations for participant in the Australian University Games. Primary data was collected by way of a self-administered questionnaire with the study sample comprising students registered as participants at the Games. In all, over the scheduled two day period of registration, approximately 6,500 participants formally registered for the event. Of this number, just over 1,100 agreed to complete the survey with 1039 returning it to the researchers in a usable form. Study results revealed that the primary reason participants chose to attend the Australian University Games was to socialize and be with their friends. Other motivations for attendance included the desire to compete with other athletics and to have a holiday away from home. The implications of these findings with respect to event planning and event management practices are discussed, as are recommendations for future research.