Golf tourists in South Africa: A demand-side study of a niche market in sports tourism

Tassiopoulos, Dimitri; Haydam, Norbert

doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2007.10.005

Cited by 87 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Going beyond that, a theme seems to emerge in sports tourism research that acknowledges participant and spectator roles can shift and merge and that sports tourists can adopt both roles in one and the same context, especially and in particular on an amateur level (Lamont & McKay, 2012). This topic has been touched upon by Chalip (1998) andRyan andLockyer (2002), raised by Higham and Hinch (2009), used as a methodological approach by Tassiopoulos and Haydam (2008), and addressed in greater detail by Lamont and McKay (2012). On a methodological level, in their study on golf tourists in South Africa, Tassiopoulos and Haydam (2008) surveyed golfers on their active golfing behaviour while watching a golf event.…”

Section: The Active-passive Divide Community and The World Gymnaestradamentioning

confidence: 99%

Commitment, expertise and mutual recognition: oscillating sports tourism experiences of performing and watching at the World Gymnaestrada

Wichmann

Jarvis

2014

Journal of Sport & Tourism

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This paper is dedicated to exploring the shifting experiences between being actively involved in and viewing sports tourism and the extent to which the perception of both roles relates to their experience of a participant community.While historically both activities were considered as heterogeneous categories in sports tourism, understood and analysed separately, recent research increasingly acknowledges the separation between both activities is often not as clear-cut as it seems. This paper explores the oscillation of the two roles in the context of the 2011 and 2015 World Gymnaestrada in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Helsinki, Finland. Framed by the conceptual notion of community and drawing on an ethnographic research approach, the findings suggest over and above taking part in a gymnastics display oneself, watching and talking about other groups' performances is central to the event experience. During the event week, the participants adopt two constantly shifting roles of being a performer and being a spectator, with asking for and giving feedback based on one's own expertise being the mediating device between the two. There appears to be an internalised consensus that being involved in a display, which is taken seriously, provides the ability to assess and judge others. The constant interplay between performing and watching, between asking for feedback and showing appreciation, constitutes a significant device of mutual recognition through which the participants' community is confirmed and validated.

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Section: The Active-passive Divide Community and The World Gymnaestradamentioning

confidence: 99%

Commitment, expertise and mutual recognition: oscillating sports tourism experiences of performing and watching at the World Gymnaestrada

Wichmann

Jarvis

2014

Journal of Sport & Tourism

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“…Independently from the perspective adopted, golf tourism is considered as the largest sports-travel market (Tassiopoulos and Haydam, 2008). It was estimated in 2000 that golfers spend almost EUR 14.5 million per year (Markwick, 2000).…”

Section: Golf As a Form Of Tourism Development And Its Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, with almost 60 million golfers and 32,000 golf courses in 140 countries around the globe, golf constitutes a significant tourism activity (Hudson and Hudson, 2010;Readman, 2003). Golf tourists are generally a desirable segment for a destination since they spend more on their vacations in comparison with leisure tourists, are repeat visitors, and generally come from higher-spending groups (Correira et al, 2007;Tassiopoulos and Haydam, 2008). These characteristics make golf tourism an up-market sophisticated tourist product, which emphasizes on quality and can enhance the image of a destination (Markwick, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring perceptions for Cyprus as a sustainable golf destination: motivational and attitudinal orientations of golf tourists

Boukas

Ziakas

2013

IJSMM

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The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of golf tourists in Cyprus about their golf holiday experience and the sustainable character of golf practices through a series of statements that examines their motivation for traveling to Cyprus and the corresponding attributes of the Cypriot golf tourist product that they experienced. A survey was administered in three golf courses on the island (n=103). Results show that the major motives of golf tourists to visit Cyprus include the island's natural characteristics, the friendly environment and the unique experience while accompanying friends. Furthermore, their perceptions concern elements regarding their social interaction, environment, and relaxation. Specifically, respondents who consider golf an important motive for travelling to Cyprus and those who agree that golf in Cyprus offers opportunities with ideal conditions are more satisfied than those who do not. The findings 2 of this study provide insight for the Cypriot tourism policy-makers to understand the perceptions of golf tourists and hence to design accordingly the golf tourism product of Cyprus. Also, an integrative model is proposed for examining the motivation and perceptions of golf tourists in relation to attributes that can shape meaningful experiences and the sustainable development of golf tourism. It is suggested that this line of inquiry in conjunction with qualitative approaches can be a useful perspective in examining comprehensively the meaning and shaping of sport tourist experiences within a sustainability context.

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“…Many countries have embraced the potential for economic growth afforded by the foreign tourism market [3,[9][10] and have been keen in developing various arrays of domestic products and services to meet the demands of the industry [3,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The increased specialization of tourism products and services in response to perceived consumer demand has led to the appearance of numerous niche markets [4,[9][10][11][12], each of which purports to deliver a unique experience distinct from the generic products of mass holiday tourism [13,14]. While there would appear to be some disagreement as to whether or not cultural heritage tourism is a niche in and of itself [4,14], it is nonetheless an important sector of the industry that appeals broadly to travellers interested in learning about "culture, heritage, and ethnicity" [4,15], whether their own or another's [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mirror or Masquerade? On Representational Ethics in Cultural Heritage Museology And Tourism

Campbell

2014

SHS Web of Conferences

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Abstract. Icelandic cultural heritage museology is embedded in a complex of social, political, and economic matters, at both the national and continental levels, that look to tourism as an opportunity for development in rural regions. The present paper draws on master's research that examined the relationships of Westfjords communities with two maritime heritage museums in the region. Two qualitative case studies based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with heritage producers connected to each site were supplemented with additional qualitative data from a focus group comprised of five Westfjords residents. Open and closed coding schemes based on the condensation of transcripts into thematic units were used to analyze the data, thus producing descriptions of the representational ethos of each museum, and findings were subjected to ethical analysis. Both museums were found to reflect contemporary issues that are subject to debates about cultural identity, heritage, and representational style and ideology, while analysis revealed that there is a persistent danger of oversimplifying or distorting cultural representations, particularly where each museum has stakes in tourism. This was judged a potential disservice to the nuanced identities of local communities, and a recommendation was put forth for museums to engage conscientiously with questions of identity and cultural representation.

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Golf tourists in South Africa: A demand-side study of a niche market in sports tourism

Cited by 87 publications

References 4 publications

Commitment, expertise and mutual recognition: oscillating sports tourism experiences of performing and watching at the World Gymnaestrada

Commitment, expertise and mutual recognition: oscillating sports tourism experiences of performing and watching at the World Gymnaestrada

Exploring perceptions for Cyprus as a sustainable golf destination: motivational and attitudinal orientations of golf tourists

Mirror or Masquerade? On Representational Ethics in Cultural Heritage Museology And Tourism

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