Overtourism and Medium Scale Sporting Events Organisations—the Perception of Negative Externalities by Host Residents

Joanna Poczta,Ewa Malchrowicz-Mośko,Marek Kazimierczak,François Gravelle,Agata Dąbrowska

doi:10.3390/su12072827

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of non-mega sporting events on the perception of negative externalities of host residents. The detailed aim of the study was to examine whether the inhabitants of the city feel the negative effects of organizing sporting events (communication problems or inappropriate behavior of supporters) and do they believe that these events increase the level of crime in the city or, despite these inconveniences, they are satisfied with the organization of sporting events in their place of residence. The case study is the city of Poznan and two, well-known events in this agglomeration. The first one is the Poznan Half Marathon—medium scale mass event, the second one is Cavaliada—elite international equestrian event. The theoretical part of this article presents the meaning of sporting events organization for tourism industry and indicates the positive and negative effects this kind of tourism brings to host cities. The whole refers to the theoretical foundations of the term of “overtourism”. The second part of the manuscript presents empirical research results, between 774 active and passive participants, which was conducted by the method of diagnostic survey. The results of this research show that both athletes as well as fans of the Half Marathon said that the Poznan Half Marathon event causes bothersome communication problems in the city and some other social problems. The inhabitants only experience minor inconveniences that felt as a result of organizing sporting events in the city. The negative impact of Cavaliada was very low. For checking the differences between the two examined groups of respondents: Half Marathon fans and Cavaliada fans, Chi-square test and U Mann Whitney’s test was used. The participants feel bothersome communication problems that cause the Half Marathon and have an average level of dissatisfaction higher than the average level of dissatisfaction of Cavaliada participants. Moreover, the participants in the Half Marathon have an average level of satisfaction with the organization of sports events in Poznan significantly lower than the average level of satisfaction of Cavaliada participants. Therefore, an elite equestrian sporting event is less burdensome for its residents and gives them more satisfaction.

Highlights

The larger the event, the greater the impact, which is why in the event planning process, consideration should be given to developing contingency solutions for major risks [110]. The purpose of this manuscript is to pay attention to the negative effects of organization medium and small scale sporting events from the perspective of a participating resident, since such events have not yet been studied. What impact do they have on the perception of participating inhabitants? Whether the inhabitants of the city feel the negative effects of organizing sporting events and do they believe that these events increase the level of crime in the city or, despite these inconveniences, are they satisfied with the organization of sporting events in their place of residence? How are these impacts perceived by participants who are residents of the city?
The detailed aim of the study was to examine whether the inhabitants of the city feel the negative effects of organizing sporting events and do they believe that these events increase the level of crime in the city or, despite these inconveniences, they are satisfied with the organization of sporting events in their place of residence
The theoretical part of this article presents the meaning of sporting events for tourism industry and indicates the negative and positive effects this kind of tourism brings to host cities

Summary

Introduction

The growing popularity of transport services, online accommodation and a desire to see the authentic, everyday city life has meant that tourism activities become further intertwined with local life, outside of the main tourist areas in cities [13,14]. Such developments have led to calls from residents to deal with tourism growth and protests have been observed for example in popular destinations like Venice or Barcelona. The dissatisfaction of visitors can reduce the number of visits to the destination, harming its economic sustainability [11]

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