Motivation, segmentation and the mega-tournament experience: a study of English Football Tourists at World Cup 2014

Philip Turbutt ()
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Philip Turbutt: Department of Management, Birkbeck University of London

No 11, Birkbeck Sports Business Centre Working Papers from Birkbeck College, Department of Management

Abstract: Sports tourists make a significant financial and emotional contribution to the success of international sports events yet relatively little is known about their motivations for attending. This study focuses on English Football Tourists travelling to FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil, using survey data gathered from 122 respondents in three host cities to undertake an investigation into the factors influencing attendance and identify typologies of attendees. Overall, results support the hypotheses that English Football Tourists are driven by a combination of fan and leisure motivations, event and destination appeal and behavioural and sociodemographic traits, although the interrelationships between these variables are only partially reconciled. Results also reveal a hitherto unexplored phenomenon that local sports culture forms a measurable component of the tournament’s appeal. Cluster analysis identifies four typologies of English Football Tourists, each exhibiting specific motivational characteristics and ticket purchasing behaviours. The ramifications of these findings for future World Cup attendance and international sports event spectatorship are discussed, along with the potential logistical and marketing implications for event organisers and National Governing Bodies (NGBs).

Pages: 104 pages
Date: 2015-02
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