Kyriaki Kaplanidou

The Interrelationship between Sport Event and Destination Image and Sport Tourists' Behaviours

Existing literature suggests that event and destination images could interact to influence sport tourism behaviours. Within an attitude-behaviour theoretical framework, this paper proposes and tests a theoretical model examining the interrelationships between sport event image, destination image, satisfaction with the event, past experience with the event and destination, intentions to revisit the destination and subsequent behaviours of sport tourists to revisit. A population of active sport tourists, whose primary trip purpose was to participate in a sport event, was used to test empirically the proposed model. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect panel data in two waves after the events completion. Structural equation modelling results showed a significant impact of event image on destination image but not the opposite. Destination image and past experience with the destination significantly influenced intentions to revisit the destination for sport tourism activities, while intentions were a significant predictor of actual behaviour to revisit a destination for sport tourism activities. Implications for synergistic approaches are discussed for sport events and destinations.

Quality of Life, Event Impacts, and Mega-Event Support among South African Residents before and after the 2010 FIFA World Cup:

The purpose of the study was to explore the role of mega-event impacts on perceived satisfaction with quality of life and support among South African residents before and after the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Limited research has empirically tested whether quality of life (QOL) is perceived as an exchange benefit that facilitates resident support of mega-events. Intercept data were collected from residents in five host cities three months before (March 2010) and eight months after (March 2011) the event (N = 3,789). Results indicate significant differences in perceived impacts before and after the event. Before the event, the influence of political impacts, psychological impacts, and social benefits on perceived QOL was significant, while QOL mediated the relationships between political, psychological, and social benefit impacts and resident support. After the event, economic impacts emerged as a significant predictor of QOL in contrast to the preevent sample.

Destination Personality, Affective Image, and Behavioral Intentions in Domestic Urban Tourism

The collective influence of destination personality and affective image on overall image formation of a domestic urban destination and subsequently its influence on tourists’ behavioral intentions were examined in this study. The sample consisted of 361 urban tourists and included both past visitors and nonvisitors of the urban destination under study. Data analysis confirmed the influential role of destination personality and affective image in the formation of overall destination image in both samples. In turn, overall image was a mediator of the relationships of destination personality and affective image with tourists’ behavioral intentions (i.e., intention to revisit the urban destination and intention to recommend the destination to others). Analysis of the data supported a two-factor solution of the destination personality construct, with the personality traits of sincerity and excitement emerging in the domestic urban context to influence past visitors’ and nonvisitors’ overall destination image perceptions.

Marathons for the Masses: Exploring the Role of Negotiation-Efficacy and Involvement on Running Commitment

Abstract Marathon running is a leisure behavior that has seen tremendous growth during the past decade. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of factors associated with commitment to running for marathon participants. This study was designed to investigate the relationships among negotiation-efficacy, leisure involvement, and psychological commitment for individuals who had participated in a marathon event. A three-facet involvement measure was confirmed and then combined with negotiation-efficacy to predict commitment to running. The results revealed that two involvement dimensions and negotiation-efficacy explained 72% of the variance in commitment. A discussion of findings from the study as well as practical implications and suggestions for future research are presented.

The impact of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on China's destination brand: a U.S.-based examination.

This study investigates the impact of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on China’s destination brand perception—in terms of destination image and personality—held by American leisure travelers. The results show that although American travelers’ collective perception of China as a travel destination did not change substantially before and after the Games, various subgroups within this population appeared to have different levels of susceptibility to perception change during this process. Furthermore, the study confirmed that event media could influence respondents’ destination perceptions. The findings emphasize the importance of media in image development, and market segmentation in international destination marketing. The results also illustrate the challenge of changing a destination’s brand perception, particularly in long-haul source markets.

Athlete brand image: scale development and model test

The purpose of this study was to propose and test a conceptual Model of Athlete Brand Image (MABI) that is based on Kellers Customer-based Brand Equity framework (1993). The MABI consists of three dimensions which are crucial in developing consumer brand equity for athletes: athletic performance, attractive appearance, and marketable lifestyle. Athletic performance consists of four subdimensions: athletic expertise, competition style, sportsmanship, and rivalry. Attractive appearance consists of physical attractiveness, symbol, and body fitness. Marketable lifestyle consists of life story, role model, and relationship effort. To test this model, the Scale of Athlete Brand Image (SABI) was developed. A total of 427 college students were surveyed to test the model. Based on the result from two-step Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Model (SEM) test, MABI and SABI were modified and revised. In the final model, MABI shows a reasonable fit to the data and SABI is psychometrically acceptable.

Effect of Event Service Quality and Satisfaction on Happiness Among Runners of a Recurring Sport Event

The consumption of sport events through direct participation can influence participants’ perception of happiness with that experiential purchase given the time and resources invested in that experience. The purpose of the study was to examine how sport event service quality aspects operationalized through the physical environment, interaction, and outcome factors influence overall satisfaction with the event and experiential happiness. Data were collected from 300 runners who participated in 5k and 10k races. Structural equation modeling analysis revealed the positive effect of outcome and physical environment factors on satisfaction with the event and the positive influence of event satisfaction and outcome quality on experiential happiness. The overall expectations on the quality of the event experience can be a focus for event managers aiming to achieve social marketing goals related to positive psychology from the event participation.

Crisis Planning and Preparedness in the United States Tourism Industry

An empirical exploration of disaster planning and preparedness for the industry finds a reasonably high level of planning, with noteworthy weaknesses. Based on 155 telephone interviews with tourism leaders from three industry segments (namely, lodging, attractions, and promotions), the majority of organizations surveyed had a written crisis preparedness plan which was updated regularly—often annually. Most organizations had direct communication arrangements with local emergency preparedness agencies, but connections with national agencies, notably the Federal Emergency Management Agency, were less frequent. Given that many respondents were in destinations with many visitors (in this case, Florida), perhaps most troublesome finding was the relatively low percentage of written plans addressing procedures for visitors—mentioned by barely half of the respondents—and the relatively low participation in central relocation systems—again, just half of respondents. Overall, resource allocation had a greater impact on whether an organization would engage in crisis planning and communication procedures than did crisis experience.

Event image perceptions among active and passive sports tourists at marathon races

Sports events are tourist attractions and their image components can relate to the destination image concept and structure. This study examined sports event images held by active and passive sports tourists at four marathon races in Germany. Some differences in the perception of event images were found for active and passive sports tourists as well as for different types of destinations. For active sports tourists, emotional, physical and organisational image associations were clustered closer. For passive sports tourists, social and historical image associations were clustered closer. The type of destination elicited different event images among active and passive sports tourists.

Destination Image Components and Word-of-Mouth Intentions in Urban Tourism: A Multigroup Approach:

The purpose of this study was to explore differences among three distinct groups, namely local residents, past tourists, and prospective tourists, in their perceptions of cognitive, affective, and overall image of a city destination and their future behavior. Analysis of data generally confirmed previously established structural relationships of cognitive and affective image, overall destination image, and word-of-mouth intentions. However, differences were identified among the three groups in terms of their destination image perceptions and their behavioral intentions to engage in word-of-mouth communications. Specifically, residents who engaged in word-of-mouth were primarily influenced by the cognitive and affective destination image components, while tourists relied on overall image perceptions.