Conceptualising Olympic tourism legacy: destination marketing organisations and Vancouver 2010

Abstract

Hosting an Olympic Games is expected to generate tourism legacies for the host city, region, and country well beyond the event. Since a host city's tourism industry plays an important role in delivering wider economic benefits to the city and region, tourism legacies feature prominently in proponents' attempts to legitimise the public expenditure required to bid for and host an Olympic Games. Despite inconsistencies in conceptualisations of the Olympic legacy in both academic literature and industry practice, destination marketers continue to be charged with formulating strategies to leverage an Olympic Games for tourism benefits. A qualitative and interpretive case study approach was used to examine how destination marketers in Vancouver, as well as those at the provincial and federal levels of government, conceptualised the Olympic tourism legacy. Results show that destination marketers' conceptualisations of legacy vary depending on their mandates as well as the needs and aspirations of their destination. The study also highlights the importance of a collaborative approach in developing leveraging strategies for a host city, region, and country.