Racing Cyclists as Sports Tourists: The Experiences and Behaviours of a Case Study Group of Cyclists in East Kent, England

Bull, Chris

doi:10.1080/14775080701400927

Cited by 52 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Previously, research indicated that travel behavior evolved as a result of progression through an ASETC, that attractive destinations have a comparative advantage (Getz, 2008;Getz & McConnell, 2011), and destination characteristics were relatively unimportant compared to event characteristics (Bull, 2006;Authors, 2015a;Chalip & McGurity, 2004;Kulczycki & Haplenny, 2014;Snelgrove & Wood, 2010). However, the current study found travel preferences are more so an outcome related to the travel conditions surrounding a trip.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 53%

“…Research on active sport tourism has generally suggested the contrary as event criteria have been demonstrated to be paramount while destination criteria are relatively unimportant in influencing event-travel and choosing to participate in a specific event (e.g., Bull, 2006;Authors, 2015a;Chalip & McGurity, 2004;Kulczycki & Haplenny, 2014;Snelgrove & Wood, 2010). However, prior research has tended not to acknowledge that travel behavior may be based on the variability associated with travel conditions that spur individuals to alter their preferences and behavior.…”

Section: The Role Of Travel Conditions In Cycling Tourism: Implicatiomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, events oriented towards individual endurance sports such as running, cycling, and triathlons have grown in popularity as people seek opportunities to engage in physical activity while socializing amongst a group of likeminded individuals (e.g., Bull, 2006;Lamont, Kennelly & Wilson, 2012;Shipway & Jones, 2008). With the growth in the number of events, competition among communities seeking to host these events has intensified as event and destination managers have realized the tourism benefits associated with the out-of-town active sport tourists attracted to these events (Gibson, Kaplanidou, & Kang, 2012).…”

Section: Travel Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The overall lowest rated event, destination, and travel style items were "prize money is awarded" (M=1.34, SD=.825), "event is in a world-class destination" (M=1.86, SD=1.10), and "expensive/luxury accommodations" (M=1.43, SD=.79). To ensure sampling error was not a significant threat to the generalizability of the study the characteristics of the sample were compared to the data from the United States national governing body for cycling (i.e., USA Cycling, Larson, 2013) and other studies on cycling tourism (e.g., Bull, 2006;Getz & McConnell, 2011;Lamont & Jenkins, 2013) revealing similarities between samples.…”

Section: Sample Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moving to a different segment of the cycling tourism market Bull (2006) investigated the travel behavior of road racing cyclists in the UK. He found the majority of the racing cyclists took part in events requiring a day trip and trips requiring an overnight stay, only a fifth of the sample indicated they incorporate vacations into cycling trips and about half reported the destination was not important factor for cycling trips.…”

Section: Destination Event and Travel Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The role of travel conditions in cycling tourism: implications for destination and event management

Buning

Gibson

2016

Journal of Sport & Tourism

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The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of travel conditions on preferred destination, event, and travel characteristics in the context of Active Sport Event Travel Careers among cyclists who travel to take part in events. Travel conditions are circumstances surrounding a trip such as travel with family or the length of travel. A sampling frame of cyclists who participate in competitive events with travel of 50 miles one-way or an overnight stay was generated from cycling associations. A final sample of N=1452 was collected via online survey.Data analysis consisted of a series of repeated measure ANOVAs and paired sample t-tests. The results indicated an individual's event, destination, and travel style preferences are dependent on whether he or she was traveling with a non-cyclist (e.g., family member) and the distance traveled. Prior research has suggested that for active sport tourists event criteria are more important than destination characteristics and travel preferences remain relatively stagnant with career progression. In contrast, the findings here suggest travel preferences vary based on travel conditions and that attractive destinations only become advantageous if event participants are traveling with non-cyclists or on trips involving longer distances. For instance when nonparticipant travel companions are included, the entertainment, attractions, and activities available in the destination become much more important to active event tourists. Communities seeking to attract sport tourists as a form of sustainable tourism development would be advised to organize events incorporating these preferences and to consider the influence of travel conditions. Keywords: active sport tourism, cycling tourism, active sport event travel career, travel conditions; event and destination management. TRAVEL CONDITIONS 3The Role of Travel Conditions in Cycling Tourism: Implications for Destination and Event ManagementThe number of participatory sport events hosted by communities has grown significantly over the past 10 to 15 years (Physical Activity Council, 2015;Running USA, 2015). In particular, events oriented towards individual endurance sports such as running, cycling, and triathlons have grown in popularity as people seek opportunities to engage in physical activity while socializing amongst a group of likeminded individuals (e.g., Bull, 2006;Lamont, Kennelly & Wilson, 2012;Shipway & Jones, 2008). With the growth in the number of events, competition among communities seeking to host these events has intensified as event and destination managers have realized the tourism benefits associated with the out-of-town active sport tourists attracted to these events (Gibson, Kaplanidou, & Kang, 2012). Kaplanidiou and Gibson (2010) categorized this form of sport tourism as event active sport tourism, which they described as traveling to an event as a sports participant, rather than the a priori conceptualization of event sport tourism as spectator based (Gibson, 1998).In conjunction with the grow...

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