Abstract
Evidence from several studies shows that small-scale sport events may have more positive repercussions for the host community than major ones in terms of both economic and social impacts. This study estimates the economic impacts on a small community derived from athletes’ expenditure at a specific small-scale sport tourism event, the Italo-Swiss mountain endurance trail CollonTrek. Even if this kind of event is considered a minor sport event, generating very limited economic activity, this study supports the hypothesis that the funds invested by the public administration are compensated for by revenue generated during the trail. In fact, according to the three analyzed scenarios (Conservative, Average and Liberal), for each euro invested by the public administration, an economic return between €17.62 and €18.92 has been estimated, and between €5.64 and €6.9 (32%–36.47%) represent the direct economic return for the local community. Furthermore, in addition to the direct economic benefits, in accordance with the feedback from a sample of participants at the event (n = 180), this kind of event has positive implications in terms of future tourism for the host valley, pointing out how this kind of tourist activities has positive repercussions in terms of economic and social sustainability.
Highlights
Mountain races, endurance, and/or Ultratrail have experienced important developments in the last 10 years in terms of both participants and the public, with more than 8300 races posted by the International Trail running Association accredited organizations in 2016, compared to the 1651 in 2015 [1]
The main aim of this study is to evaluate the following hypotheses: (1) The highest percentage of the economic return of the public funds invested by the municipalities of the Unité du Grand Combin for CollonTrek can be considered a direct benefit for the local community; (2) There may be indirect benefits for the host area from the organisation of the trail
This paper discussed the estimation of the economic impact of a particular small-size sport event, a mountain trail
Summary
Endurance, and/or Ultratrail have experienced important developments in the last 10 years in terms of both participants and the public, with more than 8300 races posted by the International Trail running Association accredited organizations in 2016, compared to the 1651 in 2015 [1]. Even if, according to Wilson [2], this kind of sport tourism competition is considered a minor sport event, generating limited economic activity, mountain public administrations (i.e., municipalities or union of municipalities) are becoming increasingly interested in hosting these trails in their mountain valleys. Some specific mountain associations are involved in the organisation of the trail, above all the “Corpo Nazionale del Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico” (National Unit for Mountain and Speleological Rescue; translation provided by the Authors). Another significant peculiarity or this kind of small-scale sport tourism event is the public itself; differently from the great majority of sport competitions, the public does not need a ticket in order access the trail. It is difficult to calculate the direct economic return for the organisation derived from the public because it can be difficult to identify the people who travelled to participate as spectators at the competition
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