WRC 2021 Croatia During the Pandemic: Do Environmental Consciousness and Place of Residence Affect Respondents' Perception of Impacts and Support?

Abstract

Even when held during the COVID-19 pandemic, motorsport events can have a wide range of impacts on host communities. Based on the case of 2021 World Rally Championship race that was hosted in Zagreb, Croatia, this study examines whether respondents' level of environmental consciousness and place of residence influence perception of impact and support for the event and sport tourism. Four-hundred sixty-two valid responses were collected, of which 194 respondents were from Zagreb (host city) and 268 were from Rijeka (nonhost city). An exploratory factor analysis reduced the number of event impacts to seven factors. Social and indirect economic impacts outweighed direct economic impacts. Both environmentally conscious respondents and nonhost city residents perceive most impacts as more intense than less environmentally conscious respondents and host city residents. In particular, environmentally conscious nonhost residents tend to overestimate the impact of the event and give it the most support.