Destination development by sport event tourism (SET): a case study of Thailand

Abstract

Thailand is a canvas of opportunity upon which to design the quintessential pleasure dome of tourism through sports events if the socio-economic and political obstacles can be circumnavigated. Thailand’s economy is expected to reach average GDP growth of 3.2% between 2019 and 2023. However, few studies have examined how Thai sport and sport event tourism (SET) are efficiently or effectively promoted. In particular, it is encouraged to establish a model for a destination’s economic leverage, empirically underscored by industry thinktanks that propose how to utilize events to engender short and long-term benefits for a host destination. Such an approach can help countries such as Thailand to improve their destination development in the long-term. The current study reviewed the existing policy and systems of sport event tourism in Thailand and provided the better way to promote Thai sports and tourism. The results of this study show that the economic impact is significant for a destination by sport event tourism in Thailand. Some critical factors (e.g. government and local community involvement) should be discussed in future study.