Participation in Active Sport Tourism and Life Satisfaction: Comparing Golf, Snowboarding, and Long-Distance Running

Research has shown that participation in sport tourism can enhance wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between wellbeing generated through participation in active sport tourism and overall life satisfaction. Three different types of active sport tourism (i.e., golf, snowboarding, and long-distance running) were compared to explore whether the type of experience impacts the relationship between active sport tourism wellbeing and life satisfaction. Broaden-and-build theory was used as a theoretical foundation. Data were collected via an online self-administered questionnaire. Respondents were recruited via a Qualtrics panel (N = 418). Analysis of variance indicated that snowboarders rated the positive emotions acquired from active sport tourism significantly lower than golfers and runners. Furthermore, hierarchical multiple regression showed a significantly stronger relationship between positive emotions and life satisfaction for golfers and runners compared to snowboarders. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.

Tourism Competitiveness and Sustainability Indicators in the Context of Surf Tourism: The Case of Cape Town

Sport tourism has experienced considerable growth in the last decades, either from the sport events perspective or considering an active sport tourism approach. Therefore, some emergent market niches like surf tourism have been developed in numerous coastal destinations to attract sustainability-sensitive tourists due to the ongoing environmental challenges and the socio-economic crisis. Cape Town is positioned in a prominent place in terms of competitiveness, with a considerable variety of beaches and surf spots facing multiple issues. The aim of this study is to try to identify the most competitive beaches and subdistricts in terms of sustainability and to suggest criteria for surf-tourism-related indicators to obtain an overview about this space, using weighting indicators, and applying geography and political economy lenses. The results reveal that Strand, Table View, and Surfers’ Corner are the most competitive beaches. Additionally, beaches located in some underprivileged areas such as Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha are potentially interesting from a socio-economic development point of view, although they show a lack of accommodation infrastructures. These results seem to indicate that those areas should be closely monitored, and destination managers should focus their attention and finance there to obtain a more sustainable surf tourism development.

Active sport tourism consumption by German private households

Recent studies on the economic dimensions of sports and physical activity in Germany have revealed that sport-related tourism is one of the important contributors to private household consumption. Due to a lack of representative and large-scale data sets, this topic has never been displayed in detail before. By using computer assisted telephone and web interviews, we collected a total data set of n=19,396 persons living in Germany. The expenditures for active sport tourism were isolated, which is understood as travelling to take part in different sporting activities. Data are provided on the overall spending of German households for sport trips, with skiing (€ 3.4 bn) and scuba diving (€ 2.2 bn) being the sports with the highest consumption. We differentiate 71 types of sport and provide data on the most important 20 types. German households undertake 28 million trips each year and spend on average € 460 for each trip. This adds up to € 12.8 bn, which is a significant contribution to the economic dimension of sport. Austria, the Netherlands and Spain are the most important destinations for German households regarding active sport trips. The paper provides useful data to shed further light on the active sport tourism market.

The Covid-19 Crisis and the ‘new’ Normality of Surf Tourism in Cape Town, South Africa

Tourism has been one of the sectors that has suffered the greatest impact by the Covid-19 virus, which has created an unprecedented context with thousands of tourism-related companies closing with an unclear future. International tourism was recovering from the previous financial crisis achieving historical milestones regarding international tourist arrivals. Simultaneously, tourism niches like active sport tourism have experienced significant growth which has been developed to achieve more sustainable tourism as is the case of surf tourism in Cape Town. This article aims to investigate the surf tourism socio-economic competitiveness of Cape Town beaches to provide solutions and alternatives for a return to the ‘new normality’ due to the Covid-19 crisis. Political economy and geography, as well as tourism systems’ approach, are employed for the theoretical background. A mixed-method approach was utilised in this study including a qualitative, narrative method for the literature review, and a quantitative weighted set of indicators. The results suggest that active sports and domestic tourism have potential to help short-term tourism recovery. Three beaches showed the best potential for socio-economic development, while two beaches in underprivileged neighbourhoods were found potentially interesting for boosting surf tourism development. This study could inform government policy to determine the main areas for surf tourism development.

Active Tourism in the Active Economy

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council's (WTTC) most recent reports, one in every ten jobs (an estimated 330 million) is influenced if not directly supported by travel and tourism-related activity, making it one of the world's largest economic sectors. Whilst the boundaries that separate adventure tourism from active/sport tourism are blurred, the subject is certainly not lacking in terms of evidence-based definitions, conceptual frameworks, or typologies. This chapter offers a critical overview of the existing body of knowledge that relates to the emergence of a global active and/or adventure-based tourism economy. The authors complement their review of the literature with a case study looking at the ‘home of adventure', Queenstown, New Zealand.

Running Through Travel Career Progression: Social Worlds and Active Sport Tourism

Using social worlds as a framework, the purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between event travel career progression with travel behavior and related intentions. As such, this study has depicted the evolving behaviors and preferences of active sport tourists in an effort to improve the localized impact of events. Using previous research on social worlds and active sport event travel careers, the authors have hypothesized that differences in social worlds immersion would be present based on event participation, travel party conditions, flow-on tourism activities, and repeat/revisit intentions, as well as differences in flow-on tourism activities based on travel conditions. In partnership with a large running festival in the Midwest United States, data were collected and analyzed to test these hypotheses (N = 2,219). The results indicated support for the hypotheses previously outlined. Theoretical contributions to the study of active sport tourism and practical implications for the management of events and destinations are discussed.