Sport tourist expectations of a world championship sporting event

Sport tourist satisfaction is critical to the managerial success of any sporting event. Sport tourists have preconceived expectations of the type and quality of services to be offered at a particular event. The extent to which these expectations are met will determine sport tourism satisfaction. For the purpose of this study the definition of a sport tourist was taken as any individual that facilitates or organise a sport event, participates as an athlete or attend a sport event as spectator. This study aims to assess the expectations of international sport tourists by measuring the difference between sport tourist expectations and perceived performance of the event organisers. A questionnaire based on the Expectancy Disconfirmation Theory of Qu and Ping (1999) was administered to a convenience sample (n=123) from the universum of 893 international sport tourists attending the 2002 Tug-of-War World Championships in South Africa. Data was analysed through the Cronbach Alpha Method, factor analysis and a paired sample t-test. Overall results indicate that the sport tourists perceived the particular sport event as a moderate success. Particular dissatisfaction was expressed with the administration of the event, standard of competition venue, standard of refereeing and the closing ceremony. Results suggest that the events organisers have not adequately capitalized on the economic and psychic income potential of the event. Sport event organisers should pursue multiple goals when designing the product and service parameters of a particular event. Keywords: Sport tourist, Expectations, Service experience, Satisfaction South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation Vol.26(2) 2004:67-7