Sustainable Sports Tourism Performance Assessment Using Grey-Based Hybrid Model

Chin-Cheng Yang, Chih-Chien Shen, Yu-Sheng Lin, Huai-Wei Lo and Jia-Zhi Wu
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Chin-Cheng Yang: Department of Leisure Services Management, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung 413310, Taiwan
Chih-Chien Shen: Institute of Physical Education and Health, Yulin Normal University, Yulin 537000, China
Yu-Sheng Lin: Physical Education Office, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung 413310, Taiwan
Huai-Wei Lo: Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung 413310, Taiwan
Jia-Zhi Wu: Department of Leisure Services Management, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung 413310, Taiwan

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-24

Abstract: The development of sports tourism is gaining momentum around the world, with many tourism industries combining sports events and programs to attract more domestic and overseas customers to promote economic and culture. Sustainability awareness has been gaining attention from many international organizations, resulting in the rise of sports tourism that incorporates sustainability. Therefore, the development of a valid and applicable sustainable sports tourism (SST) assessment model is an important task. In this study, a hybrid Multiple Attribute Decision-Making (MADM) model is proposed to measure the development performance of SST. The aims of this study include developing a SST assessment framework, identifying the mutual influential relationships among attributes, generating attribute influence weights, and calculating the performance of the evaluated items. The proposed model is divided into three stages. First, a cause-and-effect diagram is generated using the Grey Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (GDEMATEL) to describe the interactions and feedback among the attributes. Then, the GDEMATEL-based Analytic Network Process (GDANP) is applied to generate the influence weights of the attributes and their rankings. Finally, the expanded Probability-based Grey Relational Analysis (expanded PGRA) was applied to calculate the performance of the evaluated items and to determine the gap between evaluated items and the aspiration level. This study improves the original PGRA technique by introducing the concept of aspiration level into the PGRA calculation process, thereby replacing the traditional concept of “relative satisfaction” with “aspiration level”. In addition, the expanded PGRA can assess a single rated item without being limited to at least two items. We used the Sun Moon Lake Scenic Area in Taiwan as a model demonstration. The results show that the top three attributes that need to be strengthened are disease prevention and treatment, local social welfare and protection, and sports diversity. In the Sun Moon Lake, intersection control should be set up to ensure the health status of visitors and local residents. In addition to epidemic prevention, more measures and behaviors should be developed to deal with tourism diseases. We suggested that subsidies be provided to local residents to rebuild the fences around their homes to avoid disturbances caused by the influx of tourists. Moreover, the local government can create more sports events with special characteristics that can attract tourists to come again and again.

Keywords: sustainability; sustainable sports tourism; MADM; DANP; GRA; grey theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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