Sport Tourism Event and Perceived Economic Impacts: The Case of World Bodyboard Championship 2018, Viana do Castelo, Portugal

Abstract

Sport tourism events are important to promote the host region and its tourism facilities, enhancing direct and indirect economic benefits to the community, through spending at local businesses. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it aims at understanding the behavior and satisfaction of visitors to the 2018 World Bodyboard Championship, hosted in Viana do Castelo, Northern Portugal. Secondly, the paper aims at understanding the local economic impact of the event, having in consideration the money spent by visitors, along with the perceptions of residents of that impact. To achieve the abovementioned objectives a logistic regression analysis is implemented. Data was collected through survey questionnaires applied in September, during the event, using a non-probabilistic and convenience sampling process. A total of 180 questionnaires were considered valid for the analysis. The study results revealed that the Body Board event brought worldwide visitors to the host city, some of which for the first time, and who would not visit the city otherwise. International visitors spend a significant number of days, with considerable average consumption levels. In general, visitors are very satisfied with all aspects of the event, and they are likely to return and recommend to others. Also, the study shows that residents’ perception about the event is that it enhances tourism by bringing visitors to the city. This is highly beneficial to the positioning of the region as a destination, and these insights can be of use to sport events tourism planners. Suggestions for further research will be also provided.