Abstract
PurposeThis study aims to analyze the impact of event experience on event satisfaction and intentions to return and recommend the destination.Design/methodology/approachRelationships among constructs were tested on data gathered from 542 tourists during the America's Cup World Series held in South Italy in April 2013 by using a structural equation modeling approach. Moreover, a multigroup analysis was developed to test the possible moderator factors.FindingsThe results revealed that event experience and event satisfaction had positive impacts on the intentions to recommend and return to the host destination. Moreover, nationality, gender and trip motivation emerged as important moderating factors in the relationships among the latent constructs.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this paper enrich the existing literature and help tourism destination marketers and managers consider the triggering factors of a satisfying mega-sports event for the host destination and the marketing power of the on-site experience.Practical implicationsPractitioners should draw on the insights provided by this study to design destination strategies, particularly by paying attention to how an event experience causes an attendee to return to and recommend the host destination.Originality/valueThis study enriches the existing event literature in several ways. First, it emphasizes the importance of the event experience to the satisfaction level and willingness to return and recommend the host destination for a vacation, supporting the link between an event and its destination. Second, it provides a moderating analysis that offers new insights for marketing the event experience. It offers a multilevel model of mega-event tourism legacy, which opens up new avenues of research. Third, complementing the consumer-based analysis, this research includes the trend of visits (after 2013 to the present) to examine how a mega-sport event has brought about more postevent visits.
Highlights
Tourist destinations host mega-events for various reasons, principally the short-term economic impact of hosting the participants and spectators during the event (Arnegger and Herz, 2016; Knott et al, 2017; Risitano et al, 2017a) and the medium- to long-term benefit of the media exposure (Arnegger and Herz, 2016; Chalip and Fairley, 2019; Mu€ller, 2015)
This paper aims to test the influence of event experience (EE) on intention to recommend (ITREC) and intention to revisit the host destination for future holidays (ITRET), mediated by event satisfaction (ES) during a mega-sports event called the America’s Cup World Series
Demographic profile The sample of 542 respondents consisted of approximately 60% males (n 5 326)
Summary
Tourist destinations host mega-events for various reasons, principally the short-term economic impact of hosting the participants and spectators during the event (Arnegger and Herz, 2016; Knott et al, 2017; Risitano et al, 2017a) and the medium- to long-term benefit of the media exposure (Arnegger and Herz, 2016; Chalip and Fairley, 2019; Mu€ller, 2015). Destinations invest billions of dollars to host mega-sports events in terms of candidacy, media rights and infrastructure construction (Giampiccoli et al, 2015); it is important to monitor whether the event can truly positively impact tourists’ experience and their willingness to recommend or return for a vacation. From this perspective, researchers and practitioners consider the analysis of megaevent tourist behavior critical to evaluating the effects of collective marketing programs by the host destination (Novelli et al, 2006)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
