The Contribution of Event Quality Factors on the Development of Memorable Tourism Experiences: Evidence from the 2018 FIFA World Cup

The aim of this study is to test the applicability of the construct of memorable tourism experience in the context of a mega-sport event, and to investigate the contribution of event quality factors on the development of memorable tourism experiences. For the accomplishment of this aim, thestudy investigated the experiences of a sample of international spectators who attended the 2018 FIFA World Cup matches hosted in St. Petersburg, Russia. Data collection took place on-site during the group stage matches hosted at the stadium and was conducted with a self-completion questionnaire using two scales, one for memorable tourism experience and one for event quality factors. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the psychometric properties of revised versions of the two scales. Multiple regression analysis showed that memorable tourism experiences were significantly predicted by the event quality factors, with the authenticity, entertainment, venue quality, and event competition dimensions having the most significant contributions. Theoretical and management implications are discussed.

Análisis bibliométrico del turismo deportivo y los medios sociales

El turismo deportivo, aunque siendo un tipo de turismo relativamente nuevo, está experimentando un gran crecimiento en todas sus vertientes. Por otro lado, la evolución digital está en auge continuo, igual que el impacto generado por los medios sociales. De la consideración del incremento en ambos sectores surge la necesidad de examinar cómo la investigación científica se ha adaptado a estas nuevas realidades. Como consecuencia, el objetivo del presente estudio es mostrar el estado actual de las investigaciones en el turismo deportivo y los medios de comunicación sociales. Para ello se llevó a cabo una búsqueda en las bases de datos WoS y Scopus. Se aplicaron métodos cuantitativos para el análisis de co-palabras mediante el uso de la herramienta SciMat. Los resultados obtenidos ponen de manifiesto que los principales temas motores de los tres periodos analizados, “sport”, “human” y “sport-event”, se encuentran estrechamente relacionados con “social-media” y “social-network”

Local Sport Event Policies and Sustainability: A Puzzle Approach

As demands for more sustainable ways of living increase, organisers of sport events have come under increasing pressure to adapt. At the same time, more and more national and local event policies increase the demand for events. These two trends raise the question of how policy makers can combine the demand for events with a sustainable way of living; a question that so far has been subject to little research. The present paper analyses the conceptualisation of sustainability in all local policies relating to events in Norwegian municipalities. The paper is based on the analysis of policies covering 22 municipalities and includes both general development plans and more specific policies on events in its analysis. The analysis shows that all the municipalities have adopted a “broad” conceptualisation of sustainability, i.e., pursued a development, which should not limit the possibilities of future generations, in their general development plans. Although the general development plans serve as a basis for every other policy, the paper also shows that the municipalities in the specific policies for events often had “narrow” conceptualisation of sustainability, i.e., focusing on making local events reoccurring and/or increasing the capacity for hosting external events. The findings emphasise the relevance of looking at the local level when conducting future studies on events and sustainability and suggest that the practitioners acknowledge the complexity of reconciling demands for more events and increased sustainability.

Motivations and Future Intentions in Sport Event Volunteering: A Systematic Review

Understanding the future intentions of individuals who are part of a sport organization is a critical step for the success and the accomplishment of the goals of such organizations, particularly for sporting events that highly depend on the work of volunteers. Therefore, it is important to determine which factors motivate an individual to volunteer, as well as the intentions volunteers have to continue volunteering for sporting events or other similar organizations. This study conducted a systematic review of literature on studies that have examined the motivation and future intentions of volunteering in sporting events. The PRISMA methodology was used to develop this review. It included 30 studies from 2007 to 2020, and all the studies examined these two constructs using different types of quantitative methodologies. Moreover, most of these studies were conducted by scholars in the United States and Australia, and the VMS-ISE was the most used instrument for collecting data. Many of the studies did not include a theoretical framework relating motivation and future intentions to other constructs. The results of this systematic review provide new insights regarding the state of studies that have examined future intentions related to volunteering in sporting events, particularly regarding how to plan future investigations of volunteers’ motivation and future intention in the context of sporting events.

Maintaining dual career balance: A scenario perspective on Swedish university student-athletes’ experiences and coping

A dual career (DC) scenario perspective was introduced in the Erasmus+ Sports project “Gold in education and elite sport” (GEES) and is characterized by integration of student-athletes’ athletic and non-athletic demands into difficult situations or periods (i.e., scenarios) requiring coping efforts. In this study we consider balance as the primary challenge for student-athletes and set out to identify DC scenarios that influenced university student-athletes’ optimal DC balance, and the factors involved in coping with such scenarios. We implemented a post-positivist qualitative design through semi-structured interviews with six university student-athletes. Our thematic analysis generated seven DC scenarios (e.g., A sport event coincides with exams, and Finalize degree project and continue to train and compete). The scenarios, their characteristics and student-athletes’ corresponding coping are described. Based on the findings, we suggest an updated definition of DC scenarios and present their taxonomy, with four types of DC scenarios in which student-athletes’ circumstances require (a) several shifts between sport and study in daily life, (b) prioritizing sport while maintaining study, (c) prioritizing study while maintaining sport, and (d) prioritizing personal life while maintaining sport and study. We discuss how these developments can be useful for DC research and practice.