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This article seeks to advance theory pertaining to serious sport tourism, through the application of serious leisure and ego-involvement theory and the analysis of a survey of participants in the TransRockies Challenge mountain-bike event. Participants were questioned postevent about their motives, involvement in their sport, event-related travel, and destination and event preferences. Analysis revealed that most respondents were highly involved in competitive mountain biking, and were primarily motivated by self development through meeting a challenge. Many respondents also participated in a portfolio of other competitive sport events that provided similar personal rewards. Results suggest that many serious sport tourists develop travel careers centered on competitive events. A hypothetical framework for assessing six dimensions of event travel career trajectories is developed, leading to consideration of practical management implications and research needs.

The article proposes a conceptual model of quality in event sport tourism wherein perceived quality of sport tourism (Sport Tourism Quality) is said to influence tourist satisfaction which, in turn, influences the tourist’s intention to return to the place of the event and/or the event itself. Sport Tourism Quality is indicated by four primary dimensions each of which is defined by two or more subdimensions. The primary dimensions are (a) access quality (composed of access to destination, sport venue, hotel), (b) accommodation quality (including the environment, interactions, and value), (c) venue quality (comprised of environment, interactions, and value), and (d) contest quality (indicated by process of the contest and the product of the contest). The proposed multidimensional model of sport tourism quality would facilitate research into the dynamics of sport tourism and offer guidelines for practitioners as they constantly strive to provide the very best experience for sport tourists.

This paper employs agency theory and resource dependence theory to explore relationships between Australian national sport governing bodies and commercial tour operators. These relationships produce domestic and international travel packages to major sport events and can provide commercial revenue to sport governing bodies. The research identifies agency challenges inherent in the relationships and how these are managed by sport governing bodies. Findings indicate that while sport governing bodies and tour operators interact to generate revenue, the two parties have divergent attitudes toward risk, particularly risks associated with pursuit of profit. The sport governing bodies manage interaction with tour operators through control of event tickets, a perishable and finite resource. The research contributes insights into the challenges confronting sport governing bodies attempting to diversify revenue into commercial sport tourism, as well as the underexplored role of sport bodies in facilitating major event tourism.

Sport tourism is one of the fastest growing market segments in the tourism industry and is receiving increased attention for its social, environmental, and economic impacts upon destinations. Prior research in tourism impacts has tended to focus exclusively on tourism as a whole and does not differentiate among the different types of tourism that may be present in a destination. The purpose of this study was to examine how residents of Indianapolis, Indiana perceived the impacts sport tourism has upon their city. A total of 347 surveys were returned in a mailed questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a four factor structure of social benefits, environmental benefits, economic benefits, and general negative impacts. Social and economic benefits were strong predictors for support for further sport tourism development revealing a strong identification with the advantages of sport tourism in their city such as an increased cultural identity and social interaction opportunities.

Using the event-travel-career concept, this study examined the trajectory of active-sport-event travel careers through stages of development and the corresponding factors and dimensions perceived to influence career progression in the sport of cycling. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with 12 amateur cyclists engaged in lifestyles geared toward active event travel. A grounded theory approach revealed that active event travel careers evolve through a complex progression of 9 core themes and related subthemes. The core themes included the first event, starting out, motivation, temporal, travel style, destination criteria, event types, spatial, and later in life. On the basis of these findings, a 6-stage active-sport-event travel career model is proposed consisting of initiation, introduction, expansion, peak threshold, maintenance, and maturity. From this model, theoretical contributions, suggestions for future research, and practical implications for sport tourism and event management are discussed.

In this case, a local sport tourism officer has been asked to prepare a recommendation for Evex City Council regarding which types of events the city should bid for, based on their public policy agenda of enhancing tourism for economic development purposes and stimulating sport participation for residents. A questionnaire, a codebook, and a data set from two events, an international figure skating event and a provincial gymnastics event, are provided to assist in making a decision. The data set includes the spectators’ identification with and motives for attending the events, tourism activities in which they participated, and some sociodemographic variables. Analyses of the data and interpretation of the results should assist the sport tourism officer in providing accurate recommendations to policymakers. Theories and frameworks that underpin this case include public policy schemas; identity, motives, and tourism behavior of event attendees; sport participation outcomes from sport events; leveraging; and event portfolios.