Sports Tourism Activities as a Driver of Destination Development doc. Ing. Alžběta KiráFová, Ph.D Ing. Iveta Hamameh, Ph.D. • XX. MEZINÁRODNÍ KOLOKVIUM O REGIONÁLNÍCH VĚDÁCH 14.-16. června 2017 Kurdějov, hotel Kurdějov This paper is based on research project "Attitude of Generation Y and Z to Sporting Activities and Sports Tourism" GA22_2/2016. Agenda » Introduction » The Aim of the Study » Methodology » Results and Discussion » Conclusion vso VYSOKÁ ŠKOLA OBCHODNÍ Mám V PRAZE Introduction » Sports tourism is acknowledged as one of the fastest growing sectors in the global tourism industry equating up to $600 billion a year. » UNWTO states that revenues from sports tourism represent 25% of total income from tourism and attendance at sporting events is the main reason for 76% of journeys. » Sports tourism helps to retain sustainability of the destinations, has a positive effect on the well-being and health of the residents, and it can also enhance the destination's competitiveness and positive image. » Current scientific issues studied with the focus on sports tourism include a growing interest in the profile of sports tourists. » Youth travel represents not just an important market segment, but also a vital resource for innovation and change. » Multi-generational marketing is appealing to the particular needs of individuals within more than one specific generational group. » Destinations' marketers need to respond to this trend by adjusting their marketing mixes and strategies accordingly. vso VYSOKA SKOLA OBCHODNl Who Are Sport-related Travelers and What They Are Interested in? » Spectators or active sportsmen and women of various kinds of outdoor and indoor, summer and winter sports competitions, races, or mass sports actions. » Sports-related travelers • want active participation in a sport or sporting event; • look for self-development or enhanced training for sport; • want to watch sport as a spectator or supporter of a team; • wish to visit sites and places associated with the history, heritage, culture of a sport or a sporting legend; • want to improve their health and well-being through a sporting activity; • spend high, stay for a long duration, and they often motivate other tourism domains; • directly benefit a destination in cash, and their indirect benefit can be years of return arrivals. The Aim of the Study » This pilot study aims to provide a view of the sports activities and sports tourism as a driving force of tourism development in the tourism destinations with focus on Generation Y and Z. » The implication for tourism destination can be found regarding information about the behavior of Generation Y and Z when deciding on the holiday destination. » The demand of sports tourists of new experiences creates challenges and opportunities for destinations so that the recommendations can help destinations formulating strategies for their sustainable sports tourism development. vso _ ■ The Research Questions and the Hypothesis » After revealing the gaps of the current state of scientific knowledge, the following research questions were formulated: • Do sports activities influence the selection of tourism destination? • What recommendations can be derived for the destination regarding sustainable development of sports tourism? » Based on the characteristics of the Generation Y and Generation Z the following hypothesis was formulated: • HI: The decision on destination selection in Generation Y is stronger influenced by sports offer than the one of the Generation Z. OLA OBCHODNÍ PRAZE Methodology » First, the Generation Y and Z were identified. » According to the objective of the study, the primary quantitative research has been chosen. » Data were collected by using the Internet during the period December 2016 - March 2017. » The differences in proportions test were applied (Spiegel, 1992, p. 210) by utilizing the Z-Score Calculator for 2 Population Proportions (www.socscistatistics.com) to identify the influence of the sports offer on the destination selection decision in Generation Y and Z. vso VYSOKÁ ŠKOLA OBCHODNÍ Mám V PRAZE Youth Travel » The global youth travel industry is now estimated to represent almost 190 million international trips a year. » The youth travel industry has grown faster than global travel overall. » By 2020 there will be almost 300 million international youth trips per year, according to UN WTO forecasts. » WYSE Travel Confederation research shows that: • Young travellers often spend more than other tourists • Young travellers are likely to return and give more value to the destination over their lifetime • Young travellers are a growth market globally, while the spending power of older generations in Western economies may decline in the long term • Young people are less likely to be deterred from travelling by terrorism, political and civil unrest, disease or natural disasters • Young travellers are the pioneers who discover new destinations • Young travellers are at the cutting edge of using new technology • Young travellers gain cultural benefits from their travel, and contribute, to the places they visit. Generation Y » Generation Y is born between the years 1981 and 2000 (Howe & Strauss, 2000). » This generation is not afraid to express its opinion and was the first who grew up with computers and the Internet as an important part of life. » They are connected 24 hours a day, seven days a week via smartphones, laptops, and mobile phones. » As children, members of Generation Y participated in team sports, playing in the group and so appreciate teamwork. » Generation Y wants attention in the form of feedback and guidance. Generation Z » Generation Z is born in the years 1991 to 2012. » It is always connected to the Internet, and cannot imagine that it ever could have been otherwise. » It uses Skype, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, reads and writes blogs. » The online community is its second home and if it wants something to solve, uses the Internet. » This generation often uses the Internet for the passive-active (virtual) sports activities (e. g. Wii, digital marathon). » This way of spending leisure time often results in a lack of involvement of this generation to sports activities. Results and Discussion » The pilot study included 167 respondents • 36 males and 131 females. » Seventy-five percent of respondents belong to Generation Y • 97 women and 29 males. » Twenty-five percent of respondents belong to Generation Z • 34 women and 7 men. 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 generation Y generation Z women men Attitude to Sports Activities during Holidays_ Significant number of respondents (48%) does sports activities during their holidays more often or at the same level than during the rest of the year. • Gen Y 47% • Gen Z 51% ■ generation Y ■ generation Z Active Search for Sports Activities » Seventy-five percent of respondents reported that they do not look for sports activities actively. • Gen Y 72% • Gen Z 80% 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% generation Y generation Z Selection of Sports Activities in the Destination » The most of respondents accept the offers of sports facilities in the destination (41%). • Gen Y 40% • Gen Z 46% » Twenty-two percent of respondents gather information from animators in the destination. • Gen Y 23% • Gen Z 20% » Twenty-nine percent of respondents are not interested in sports activities in destinations. • Gen Y 30% • Gen Z 24% 50% from the travel from travel from animators from sport I am not agency which I agenties/tour in the facilities in the interesed in am travelling operators in the destination destination sport activities with destination ■ generation Y ■ generation Z Adrenalin Sports > Eighty-one percent of respondents do not prefer adrenalin sports. • Gen Y 83% • Gen Z 76% vso VYSOKÁ ŠKOLA OBCHODNÍ jH V PRAZE Differences in Sports Activities during Holidays and in Everyday Life » Want to try new sports. • Gen Y 22% • Gen Z 17% » Inappropriate conditions in destination for the favorite sport. • Gen Y 14% • Gen Z 12% » Want to adapt to the fellow travelers. • Gen Y 14% • Gen Z 12% Do Sports Activities Influence the Selection of Tourism Destination? At significance level 0.05 sports activities have higher impact on the decision of the Generation Y (0.595) than on the decision of the Generation Z (0.39) when selecting the destination. strong Impact partial im pact no inn pact vso VYSOKÁ ŠKOLA OBCHODNÍ Mám V PRAZE Recommendations to Destinations' Marketers - Generation Y » Generation Y feels comfortable in teams - focus on team sports facilities is desirable. » The offer should consists of the wide variety of sports activities as Gen Y is up for a challenge and change; boring is bad. » Gen Y' computer, cell phone, and electronic literacy are high - the use of these tools to communicate with them is a must - instant messaging, texting, and interacting on social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter » Motivation of Gen Y to generate content about sports activities in a destination will enhance interest of new visitors. » GenY actively avoids adds. » Destantions can capitalize on the millennial's affinity for networking - by preparing conditions for sports activities in connection with culture, creativity as Gen Y wants to share its activities with its network. » Gen Y is looking for fun, and flexible sports offer. » Gen Y is looking for the „green" visitor-centered destination. vso VYSOKÁ ŠKOLA OBCHODNÍ Mám V PRAZE Recommendations to Destinations' Marketers - Generation Z » For Gen Z everything about the destination's offer must be mobile friendly. » Generation Z travelers prefer to stay in hotels - the internet connections should be fast and efficient. » Gen Z wants to be able to ask questions online and get immediate answers -chat on destination website is a must. » Gen Z wants phones to serve as a tour guide; they expect to find more authentic, local experiences. » Gen Z watches videos on YouTube, Vine, Periscope, Meerkat - a short video about sports activities and facilities will help them in decision about the destination. » Gen Z wants to share their sporting activities on Instagram and Snapchat. » Gen Z's attention span is 8 second. » Gen Z likes storytelling and visual displays - destinations should develop unique product videos to motivate visitation. » Involvement of Gen Z into promotion of destination is a cost-effective way how to promote the destination; creativity is important for them. vso VYSOKÁ ŠKOLA OBCHODNÍ Mám V PRAZE Conclusion » The WYSE Travel Confederation research indicates that around 60% of youth travel budgets are spent in the destination. » Young travelers often try and avoid international chains and spend their money directly with local suppliers; this tends to increase the local impact of their expenditure, as leakages are reduced and more money ends up with local businesses. » Sports tourism diversifies the tourism offer in the destination and has a positive impact on the profitability of the infrastructure if communicated well to chosen segments. » The results of the pilot study show that the Generation Y' decision on destination selection is stronger influenced by the sports offer in the destination than the decision of the Generation Z. » Innovation is the best preparation to cope with young travellers' expectations and can help to ensure the competitiveness of the destinations. » Although the presented study is not expected to be exhaustive, the results along with the review of the selected literature allowed evaluating the sports tourism and sports activities as viable factors of tourism development. » Opportunities for future research can be seen in spreading the research on the other segments. vso VYSOKÁ ŠKOLA OBCHODNÍ Mám V PRAZE Thank You for Attention! kiralova(g)vso-praha.eu hamarneh(g)vso-praha.eu