Table 6.4 Sport tourism destination service acceptability matrix for the active pro-sport tourist
Service criteria Not Meets Doesn’t meet Acceptable Not able
required requirements requirements with to be
modification modified
Lodging
Public area aspects 24-hour reception Privacy aspects Aesthetics Road noise levels Public area noise
levels Security
On-site parking/valet parking
Porter service Information desk Informal food and
beverage outlet On-site facilities Door/room heights Lifts
Goods lift
Accommodation room specifications
Bedding style/
configuration In-room facilities Door/room heights Suite availability Suite availability
for medical team set-up
Lodging floor layout Floor security system Room key security Communications In-room Internet/
phone ports Business centre In-room cable/pay TV Accessibility
Bus access Airport Training facilities Playing venue Medical facilities Business precinct Parks precincts
(Continued)
Table 6.4 (Continued)
Service criteria Not Meets Doesn’t meet Acceptable Not able
required requirements requirements with to be
modification modified Entertainment
precinct Public transport Meeting room facilities Private meeting room Private food and
beverage facilities Management/staff Professionalism Willingness to
customize environment Training facilities Gymnasium Equipment and
layout Ability for
exclusive use Aquatic facilities Layout
Ability for exclusive use
Athletic track facilities Surface condition Ability for exclusive
use
Training ground/
medical facilities Changing room/physio/
medical facilities Ability for exclusive
use
Surface condition Ability for privacy Management/staff Professionalism Willingness to
customize environment
The active amateur sport tourist
At the other end of the continuum are amateur sports, with their tournament appeal to destinations. Sport tourism via amateur tournaments is a growing feature of destination marketing because such tourists can make use of existing
facilities and each participating team often has its own ‘supporters’ club’, which means extensive local spending on accommodation, meals and shopping. However, if destinations are to capitalize on their tournament potential they need to make themselves attractive to the organizers who make the decision to select from a growing number of alternative locations, or the participants that choose whether to participate.
Amateur tournaments require destination features that differ from profes-sional sports organizations. They need facilities, but these do not have to be the best or the most central. Rather they need to be adequate and able to handle several games at the same time. They need to be convenient to a wide range of accommodation and support facilities. In some instances the accommodation is provided free of charge to participants and linked to some form of public institu-tion such as schools. In all instances the sport facilities and accommodainstitu-tion need to be conveniently accessible to motor transport, as most visitors will have driven to the destination. A significant difference from professional sport involves the need for volunteers, and the presence of a pool of goodwill and volunteer labour to assist in the delivery of the tournament.
An example of this type of tournament tourism can be found in the B.C. Games programme in the large western province of British Columbia, Canada. The purpose of the B.C. Games is:
To provide an opportunity for the development of athletes, coaches and officials in preparation for higher levels of competition in a multi-sport event that promotes interest and participation in sport and sporting activities, individual achievement and community development.
(B.C. Games, undated)
Within these broad goals are some specific objectives. Among those that relate specifically to this chapter are the following:
■ To provide each hosting community with a legacy of experienced volunteers and facility improvements
■ To celebrate the community. (B.C. Games, undated)
As indicated by these goals and objectives, there are both political and sport agen-das behind these Games. They are designed to bring these events to as many cities and towns throughout B.C. as possible. If it is necessary to upgrade some of the local sport and recreational facilities, that encourages local authorities to link their capi-tal spending with these events. The Games are designed not only for sport develop-ment purposes but also for general community developdevelop-ment, raising the awareness of the local location’s tourism potential and awakening the community spirit.
A key feature of team culture at tournaments is to have fun, and that is mainly limited to post-game celebrations and recreation opportunities with family and friends who have accompanied the participants to the destination. In short, tour-naments provide a strong motivation for short family vacation breaks. In addition to the increased hotel patronage there will be extensive use of local restaurants, pubs and clubs during the evenings, and more general shopping and sightseeing during the day. Tournaments lasting several days result in considerable revenue
generation for the destination, something that is appreciated particularly if the activity occurs outside of the high tourist season.
In terms of the B.C. Games, several different team cultures have emerged during observation and measurement of several Games in different venues (Carmichael and Murphy, 1996). The younger participants (those under 18 years of age), either as formal teams or individual athletes representing a provincial sport region, essentially made use of the provided free accommodation and meals. This meant most of their time was spent in and around the schools that were acting as dormitories and meal centres, with short trips to the local shops and recreation centres. In contrast, older participants and family groups often chose to decline the free accommodation and sought out nearby commercial accom-modation. In their ‘down time’ they were more likely to frequent local restaur-ants and night spots, and were often more likely to engage in serious sightseeing and shopping.
The more renowned a destination is in terms of its tourism appeal, the more attractive it is to tournament organizers and participants. This is because the fea-tures and facilities that make a town or city a popular tourist destination also appeal to tournament personnel in terms of their sport and their recreation time.
Therefore there is a hierarchy of tournament destinations, with the larger and more tourism-oriented towns and cities being the most desirable locations, and acting like gateway destinations because of their facilities and good transport links.
The B.C. Games tournaments do not follow the above description entirely because of the desirability to distribute the tournaments and their benefits as evenly as possible throughout the province. Even so, the attraction of the two major cities and tourism destinations within the province – Vancouver and Victoria – prove hard to resist. Within a few years the Games are likely to be drawn to these two destinations on a regular basis because of their outstanding and abundant sport facilities, their excellent air or ground transportation links, and their popularity as places to visit. In contrast, the smaller regional destinations often require some form of facility upgrade for the tournament, the transportation of more athletes and officials because most live in the two major coastal cities, and involve increased costs in getting everyone to the host destination. However, what the smaller centres lack in terms of facilities they more than compensate for with the enthusiasm of their volunteers and general welcome. This is epitomized by an experience at the Nelson Winter Games of 1989, where a local resident was observed feeding the overdue parking meters to prevent visitors from incurring parking fines.
Most tournament organizers have a checklist of desirable attributes that need to be considered in selecting destinations. The most obvious is to have sufficient venues to accommodate all teams through preliminary rounds of the competi-tion, with a venue containing adequate spectator facilities for the finals. The next is to be assured of an adequate range of appropriate accommodation to suit all tastes and needs of participants and their supporters. It is easier to meet such needs if the tournament takes place outside the high season, and this will also assist the organizers in negotiating better rates. Another important consideration is transport availability; this again is influenced by seasonality in terms of airline seat or ferry space availability, but is also a constraint for smaller regional centres that may have a limited air passenger schedule. Finally, tournaments are meant to
be fun, so recreation and entertainment facilities for participants and supporters alike are a definite plus.
Within the overall objectives of the B.C. Games all of the above destination selection criteria are considered. In every case the B.C. Games officials pay an early site visit to potential destinations. They do this to ensure the Games can be held safely and effectively, and in some cases it may mean the temporary cessation of certain sports or limits on the number of athletes. The Games organizers check what facility upgrades are needed and manageable within the budget. They work with authorities and businesses to arrange sponsorship and the organization of vol-unteers. To provide a special feel to its tournaments the B.C. Games has attempted to emulate certain features of hallmark sports events. Early on it developed a spon-sorship deal with a natural gas provider which donates a perpetual flame facility at a prominent site over the duration of the Games. An athlete’s village has been cre-ated close to the main venue or accommodation centre, where one of the prime attractions has been the official souvenir shop. More recently it has included a
‘Main Stage’ where local cultural activities can take place and video highlights are shown, and the (lapel) pin-trading centre has become a major feature.
Conclusion
The purpose of this chapter has been to readdress the balance of enquiry into destination attractiveness. It proposes that an often overlooked client group is that of active sport tourists – both participants and sports organizations – whose performances are critical to the success of sport events. The chapter focuses on the specific and growing needs of the modern sports person. It is noted that while sig-nificant differences can be detected between the needs of the professional and amateur active sport tourists there are still common threads in their preferences for sport tourism destinations.
Two contrasting cases illustrate the comparisons between professional and amateur sport tourist needs. One is the professional sport of rugby leading to the site selection of the New Zealand All Blacks in their preparation for the 2003 World Cup of Rugby in Australia. The other is the amateur sports tournaments of the B.C. Summer and Winter Games, where politics has a greater involvement in the selection process than does the individual athletes’ need to win. Despite these different scales and emphases, both groups have some similar requirements. They need easy access to the sport venues, yet a restful and convenient base for the pre-competition preparation. Furthermore, neither the professional nor the ama-teur active sport tourist wants to be completely isolated from the attractions of the local destination, including the opportunity to participate in tourism activities with friends and relatives. As more cities and towns seek to host major sporting events, it is necessary for them to consider and plan for the interests and comfort of the major participants in these events – the athletes, teams and their respective professional sporting bodies.
This chapter recognizes the importance of the active pro-sport tourist as an emerging driver in sport tourist destination development. The destination needs of the active pro-sport tourist have become more specific with the advent of global professional sporting competitions. A matrix has been developed that can be used by professional sporting teams to find a strategic fit with a sport tourist
destination, and can also act as a guide for destination service providers to iden-tify the type of service criteria professional sporting teams seek in a destination.
This matrix is extensive, and suggests how difficult it may be to lure top quality teams to a destination. However, such considerations will need to be analysed and met if a tourist destination is to compete in global competitions where suc-cess is not only measured by victory on the field, but also by the revenue gener-ated by teams and their supporters in the host venues.
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