Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introduction
Whitford (2009) in her analysis of event policy discusses how the popularity of
events and the positive association attached to them means they are coveted by
Governments around the worldwide. The tourism potential of events is one of the
main economic reasons why Governments are so keen to support them. This is
summed up by Roberts (2004) who discusses how towns, cities and counties bid for
and host events primarily because they attract visitors and their money. In fact,
Roberts (2004) goes as far as to state that the economy of most cities and holiday
resorts would stutter without a stream of major and minor events. However, it would
be naive for a destination to simply jump on the ‘event tourism bandwagon’ and
assume that an event will generate tourism benefits. To maximise the tourism
potential of an event it is essential that tourism impacts are planned properly. In this
chapter the authors will discuss why the host destination must adopt a strategic
approach to event tourism and will use Northern Ireland as a case study.
1
Getz (2008:406) defined event tourism as ‘the development and marketing of events
for tourism and economic development purposes’. Building on this definition Smith
(2012) discusses how events can assist a destination both in the short-term and
long-term. The most obvious short-term impact would be increased visitor numbers
to the host destination. Duffy and Mair (2015) discuss how festivals and events have
strong tourism potential because they can create ‘product’, enliven a destination,
animate static attractions and promise a glimpse into the authentic culture of a place.
Events can also entice people to extend their stay or spend more money at the
destination (Chalip, 2004). To illustrate this, the author will use a number of
examples from Northern Ireland, the country featured in the case study later in the
chapter.
In 2011 Northern Ireland’s capital city, Belfast, hosted the MTV EMA’s which placed
Northern Ireland firmly on the world music stage. To maximise tourism spend and
lengthen visitor stay Belfast leveraged this event by organising Belfast Music Week
alongside the MTV EMA’s. Combined, they created 8,000 bed nights in Belfast
hotels and the total economic impact for the city was £22 million. The following year
the coastal town of Portrush hosted the Irish Open Golf Tournament which provided
another boost for Northern Ireland’s tourism industry. Over 130,000 tickets were sold
for this three-day event generating £9.5 million. The National Tourism Organisation
helped fund this event and their return on investment was £1: £4.29. Building on the
success of the Irish Open, Northern Ireland secured the rights to host the first three
stages of another prestigious international sports event, the Giro d’ Italia 2014. This
‘Grand Depart’ attracted 227,000 national and international spectators. The tourism
2
Long-term Tourism Impacts
The longer-term tourism effects which Smith (2012) referred to relate primarily to
destinations use to rebrand and reimage the area (Dredge and Whitford, 2010). This
point is highlighted by Quinn (2013 p.149) when she states that ‘even the most
cursory analysis of any number of national tourism strategies shows how strongly
festival and events have come to feature in destination marketing initiatives’. Raj et
al. (2013) argue that events have become part of an image–making process playing
discuss how events can be marketed to reach niche as well as mass audiences, not
associations of the destination in the minds of visitors. This links into Hall (1992) and
image.
The idea that a major event can showcase a state or city was first empirically
awareness of Calgary as a result of hosting the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. They
the Games and during the event. However, there was a slight drop off in the year
sustaining an event’s image related benefits. But this was not the case in Webb and
Magnussen’s (2002) study of the 1999 Rugby World Cup hosted by Wales. Their
initial research phase estimated that the short-term impact of the Rugby World Cup
indicted that 44% of the sample had subsequently returned to Wales and 77% had
3
recommended Wales as a place to visit. However, it is just not those who attend that
can be influenced by an event. For instance, Hede (2005) studied the effects of
Australian media telecasts during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games. The
results indicated that 39% of the sample had improved their overall impression of
raise their tourism profile. Grix (2012) for instance discusses how India’s staging of
the Commonwealth Games in 2010 and Brazil’s hosting of both the 2014 FIFA
Football World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games are
examples of emerging economies ready to announce they have finally arrived on the
international stage. More recently, small Gulf states, such as Qatar and Bahrain,
have become interested in staging mega-events with Qatar scheduled to host the
2022 FIFA Football World Cup. But it is not just emerging countries that use events
for reimaging purposes. Foley et al. (2011), for instance, discuss how Germany used
the 2006 FIFA World Cup to alter perceptions of their nation by developing an
outward-facing strategy that had at its heart the slogan ‘A time to Make Friends’. The
campaign had the full backing of the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who
described the 2006 World Cup as ‘a unique opportunity for Germany to present
herself as a hospitable, joyful and modern nation, bursting with ideas’ (Florek et al.,
2008 p.203). The findings from Florek et al.’s (2008) study would suggest this
multicultural place.
4
According to Grix (2012) the systematic and purposeful leveraging of a mega event
to alter a nation’s image is easier for countries which suffer or have suffered from a
poor national image. Lepp and Gibson’s (2011) study of South Africa lends support
to this argument. They discuss how during the apartheid period (1948-1994) the
state was increasingly characterised as a rogue nation and was the subject of
international boycotts, embargos and sanctions. Clearly, at the end of the apartheid
period, a significant challenge to the ‘new’ South Africa and its iconic President
Mandela was reimaging the nation. As a response South Africa placed major
sporting events at the centre of its reimaging strategy. According to Lepp and Gibson
(2011) this strategy has been a success and the image of South Africa as a racist
and corrupt nation has been replaced by the Rainbow nation, a nation recognised as
modern and multicultural as most recently demonstrated by the 2010 FIFA World
Cup.
Following on from this discussion on the short-term and long-term tourism impacts of
events it is no surprise that the competition to host events has intensified in recent
years. According to Foley et al. (2011) however, the tourism potential of events are
often exaggerated and tourism figures are inflated in bid documents. Building on this
argument Smith (2012) discusses how too many destinations simply assume that
events will guarantee them increased tourism receipts and positive exposure. This
point was reiterated by Getz (2012: 339) who states ‘staging an event will not
automatically make the host destination more attractive to tourists’. For instance, the
anticipated rises in tourism demand did not materialise after the 2004 Olympic
Games in Athens (Kissoudi, 2010). If not properly managed an event can, in fact,
5
have a negative impact on the image of the host destination. For example, the
protests in Sao Paulo, Brazil against the hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup
dominated the news in the weeks leading up to this mega event. Such images
coupled with stories of inequality and poverty did not enhance Brazil’s reputation as
a tourist destination.
In order to maximise their return on investment the host destination must adopt a
this in their Practical Guide to Tourism Destinations (2007 cited by Quinn, 2013) in
including: brand builders, generators of business growth, tactical levers and the need
for vehicles for local pride and community building. However, too many countries
still take event tourism for granted and according to Smith (2012) tourism is
sometimes lazily used to justify events. This was highlighted by Bramewell (1993)
when he analysed how the English city of Sheffield promoted the 1991 World
Student Games. Before, during and after the 1991 World Student Games (WSG),
Sheffield City Council stated its desire to use the Games to generate and promote
‘there was no clear view of how the World Student Games facilities could help the
city’s tourism industry’. According to Bramwell (1993) during the planning of the
WSG and in the immediate aftermath of the Games there was no strategic plan at
local or national level that outlined ‘specific objectives and precise mechanisms that
This is in contrast to how the UK strategically leveraged the 2012 Summer Olympic
Games in London. In total 685,000 people attended an official ticketed event. These
visitors generated a spend of £925million with the average spend per visit amounting
6
to £1,350. During the games, London hotels saw an average occupancy of 88.5%
and total revenue per available room increased by 3.8%. Local visitor attractions also
benefited with the Victoria & Albert Museum for example recording a 15% increase in
visitors. With Britain’s image and reputation around the world riding high after the
Games, VisitBritain seized the moment to turn viewers into visitors and rolled out a
post-Games marketing campaign the day after the Games ended called ‘GREAT
Britain’. The campaign showcased the very best of Britain promoting culture,
VisitBritain the London 2012 Games presented a great opportunity which they had
planned to strategically exploit: ‘The long-term benefits of an event do simply not fall
into the lap of the host nation – we started work on our tourism strategy as soon as
London was announced as the host city seven years prior to the event and have
According to Getz (2013) London’s approach to event tourism was not unique and
merely built on what some countries have been doing since the early 1990’s to
facilitate the development of event tourism. For instance, Barcelona is one city that
has pursued strategic tourism initiatives in association with a major event. Alongside
using the 1992 Olympic Games to regenerate urban infrastructure and derelict land,
Barcelona used the event to ‘launch its tourism strategy for the next century’ (Glyptis,
1991: 179). Australia also used the 2000 Olympic Games to enhance its overall
market position, to encourage repeat visits and to build new relationships amongst a
fragmented tourism sector (Faulkner et al., 2001). Malaysia has also tied major
events to the development of its tourism industry (Van der Westhuizen, 2004: 1284).
The successful ‘Visit Malaysia Year’ was timed to coincide with the staging of the
7
1998 Commonwealth games in Kuala Lumpur and increased tourism revenue by 190
The common thread that links these four international examples is strategic planning.
Event tourism is highly competitive and if a country wants to target event tourism
then it must plan accordingly. A strategic approach would involve analysing the
would help identify the type of events it should and could target. However, the
authors have identified five generic issues that a country should also consider when
planning for event tourism: seasonality, strategic fit, industry development, funding
and collaboration.
Seasonality
creating labour force and capacity utilisation issues. A strategic approach to event
should address the issue of seasonality by targeting events that attract visitors
during off-peak periods (Chalip, 2004). This links into Getz (2007) and Jago et al.’s
(2003) argument that a country should aim for a balanced portfolio of event’s -
bidding for and organising events of different types and scale at different times of the
year. According to Higham (2005) a ‘balanced portfolio approach’ is also more likely
to appeal to wider market segments and encourage regional spread. This view is
shared by Zammit (2015) who discussed how the National Tourism Authority in
Malta used local events such as the Hal Kirkop Food Festival to spread the benefits
Strategic Fit
8
In terms of marketing and branding there must be a strategic fit between the host
destination and the type of event to be organised (Masterman, 2009). For instance, if
a country is blessed with beautiful beaches it must prioritise events that would
Chalip (2006) it is simply not enough, however, to match an event with the
destination. The attributes and benefits that marketers seek to transfer from the
communications and this too requires skilful negotiation and strategic planning. For
instance, when the Republic of Ireland hosted the Ryder Cup in 2006 they used the
Industry Development
Event tourism is after all a bi-product of an event and in the long-term event tourism
will only be sustained if the destination develops a reputation for hosting quality
professionalism of local event organisers. This links into what Getz (2013) refers to
as the facilitation role which includes key areas such as training, education and the
Funding
Bidding for and hosting events costs money and a strategic approach to event
9
funded. In an open economy the private sector will often take the led but in some
instances the return on investment for a particular event may not be enough to
attract sufficient private sector interest and public sector intervention is required. This
can take many forms, for example, grants, subsidies and sponsorship. To administer
entity. Whatever approach is taken the funding criteria must align with the objectives
set for event tourism. Spending must also be monitored as this is public monies and
those spending the money must be held accountable for their actions and
performance.
Collaboration
approach is required to ensure that towns and cities within the country are able to bid
support. Local government and public agencies must also be consulted and
represent tourism and events must recognise the mutual benefits to be gained from
important to involve and inform the community so they too are aware of the benefits
of event tourism.
10
Northern Ireland is an example of a country that has adopted a strategic approach to
event tourism. In 2010 the National Tourism Authority, Northern Ireland Tourism,
was given national responsibility for events. In 2014 it published Northern Ireland’s
first National Events Strategy and event tourism was at the core of this strategy.
However, before discussing the content of this strategy the authors will first provide a
brief insight into Northern Ireland’s political history which will help to explain why
Northern Ireland has targeted events and event tourism as a policy tool.
From 1968-1998 Northern Ireland was a war zone with an ongoing cycle of protest
and violence fuelled by sectarian division and hatred. During this period, which is
often referred to as the ‘Troubles’, over 3,600 people were killed and over 30,000
injured. Understandably this had an adverse impact on both tourism and events. The
following quote from Kerr (2003: 105) sums up how difficult it was to market Northern
Ireland as a tourist destination during the troubles: ‘Belfast became more famous for
conflict than tourism; indeed it was once renowned as the Beirut of Western Europe’.
In 1998 the Good Friday Agreement (1998) was signed and this provided a historic
opportunity for the people of Northern Ireland to put aside the divisions and violence
of the past and to move forward and build a stable future together. For those
involved in tourism and events the Good Friday Agreement generated a sense of
relief and optimism, but they were also well aware of the challenges they faced.
Northern Ireland has been forced to play ‘catch-up’ and to recover from what Baum
In the ‘post-troubles’ era events have emerged as a major tourism policy instrument
11
for tourism, ‘events are now part of Northern Ireland’s tourism fabric’. This was
‘The aim is to create the new Northern Ireland experience and get it on
everyone’s destination wish list… Events have a key role to play in driving
this ambition. Event-led short breaks is one of the key market segments.
Events, whether home grown or major one off international events, have
the capability of showcasing the people and place on a global stage.
Northern Ireland Home of Great Events - Events Strategic Vison 2014- 2020
In 2014 the Events Unit within Tourism Northern Ireland published Northern Ireland’s
first National Events Strategy entitled ‘Northern Ireland Home of Great Events -
Events Strategic Vison 2014- 2020’. The vision was to make Northern Ireland known
as the ‘home of great events’ and in doing so attract international visitors and media
coverage. To this end the specific objectives of this strategic vision were to:
3. Bid for and attract high profile, international scale events to Northern
Ireland that have the potential to showcase its landscapes, cities and
characters in a positive light to audiences around the world.
12
5. Create a culture of attending events within the domestic market.
Funding
Tourism Northern Ireland has two funding schemes in place to support its National
Events Strategy:
years. Under this scheme the Events Unit within Tourism Northern Ireland will
also work with event organisers to develop their event to make it more
sustainable.
Event tourism is at the core of both of these schemes. To be considered for either
• Visitor focused
• Increase visitor numbers
• Generate spend
• Drive Northern Ireland brand
Structure:
To help implement its National Events Strategy Tourism Northern Ireland has also
created an events structure (See figure 1). This four-tier structure was introduced to
help Tourism Northern Ireland categorise events applying for funding. However, it
envisaged that the structure will also help ensure geographical coverage, calendar
spread and encourage partnership across industry and stakeholders to deliver the
overall vision for events in Northern Ireland. The following section will discuss each
of the four tiers and what an event in each tier is expected to achieve.
13
Bidding
for
Global
Events
Local Events
The strategic vision was for Tourism Northern Ireland, in conjunction with key
partners, to bid for/host at least one major global scale event each year. Bidding
structures, including a Northern Ireland bidding group have been set up to ensure
this vision is realised. Tourism Northern Ireland’s primary role will be to bring key
partners together who have the strategic expertise and knowledge to identify major
events which could showcase Northern Ireland on a world stage and drive visitor
visit
4. Have capacity to attract out of state visitors specifically for the event
14
5. Generate significant visitor spend
6. Act as a focal point for marketing campaigns and activity in Northern Ireland,
7. Act as a catalyst for wider industry to develop related product and embrace
that attracts out of state visitors (not participants) to Northern Ireland, where the
event has played a key role in attracting them to visit. An event of this nature also
include generating significant out of state media coverage (such as TV and print)
both pre-event and during the event. The coverage would showcase Northern
Ireland’s authentic people and places, highlighting iconic landscapes and attractions.
These events at their very core have the capacity to attract visitors to Northern
Ireland and attract significant out of state media attention whilst helping to change
high profile events. International Tourism Events should cover several streams of
Tourism Northern Ireland’s product portfolio including Culture, Arts and Heritage.
15
3. Enhance Northern Ireland’s opportunities to host further major events
5. Create a lasting legacy for Northern Ireland leaving a footprint of benefits for
years to come
6. Fit with the visitor segments and ‘Experience Pillars’ outlined in the National
Tourism Strategy
National Tourism Events will showcase Northern Ireland’s regions and destinations
events will cover a wide range of themes such as music, culture, food, art, theatre
and sport and appeal to niche markets. National Tourism Events will also allow for
geographical spread and enhance off peak times where there is surplus capacity in
the tourism industry. National Tourism Events highlight the best that the regions of
Northern Ireland
16
7. Aimed Return of Investment of 3:1
Local Events
Responsibility for local events in Northern Ireland rests with the local government.
There are 11 Local Authorities in Northern Ireland and each one has a remit for
tourism and events. Under the current Event Tourism Structure local events are not
eligible for funding from Tourism Northern Ireland. To ensure quality events and
improve the visitor experience local event organisers can, however, avail of the
support and advice provided by the Events Unit within Tourism Northern Ireland.
To help achieve the objectives outlined in its National Events Strategy Tourism
Northern Ireland will support and work with the industry and other key partners
developed to ensure the key stakeholders bring together their expertise, knowledge
and work collectively towards a clear strategic vision for the Industry.
The key aims of these strategic partnerships and groups will be to:
17
7. Support development of International Events
8. Deliver the vision that Northern Ireland will become known as the Home of
Great Events.
Event tourism is not guaranteed and must be planned and managed. This case
study illustrated how Tourism Northern Ireland realised this and having identified
event tourism as a key market in the National Tourism Strategy placed event tourism
at the heart of its National Events Strategy. This strategy recognised the unique
challenges and opportunities Northern Ireland faced in the post ‘troubles’ era plus it
considered the five generic issues the authors identified earlier in this chapter:
forward this strategic approach will ensure a more effective and efficient approach to
event tourism as it will help Northern Ireland prioritise events; events that align with
This chapter has discussed event tourism and why countries must adopt a strategic
it would be a mistake for a country to simply assume that their events will attract
visitors and promote the host destination in a positive light. Event tourism must be
planned around the unique features of a country and take into consideration generic
collaboration This was illustrated through the case study of Northern Ireland, a
country which has identified event tourism as a key driver in both the National
18
Tourism Strategy and National Events Strategy. However, a strategy is only the
strategy will not be without its challenges. Event tourism is a very competitive market
and a strategy will only have positive outcomes if it is properly funded and has the
Reference List
Bramwell, B. (1993) ‘Planning for tourism in an industrial city’. Town and country
planning, 62, (1 /2), pp.17-19.
Chalip, L. (2004) Beyond impact: A general model for event leverage. In Sport
tourism-interrelationships, impacts and issues. Ritchie, B. Adair, D. (eds). Great
Britain: Channel View pp-54-69.
Dredge, D. & Whitford, M. (2010) Policy for sustainable and responsible festivals and
events: institutionalisation of a new paradigm - a response. Journal of Policy
Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 2 (1), 1-13.
Faulkner, B., Chalip, L., Brown, G., Jago, L., March, R. and Woodside, A. (2001)
‘Monitoring the tourism impacts of the Sydney 2000 Olympics’. Event Management,
6, pp.231-246.
Foley, M., McGillivary, D. & McPherson, G. (2012) Event policy – from theory to
strategy. London: Routledge.
Getz, D. (2007) Event studies: theory, research and policy for planned events.
Oxford: Elsevier.
Getz, D. (2008) ‘Event tourism: definition, evolution and research’, Tourism
management, 29 (3), pp403-428.
19
Getz, D. (2012) Event studies - theory, research and policy for planned events.
London:Routledge.
Getz, D. (2013) Event tourism – concepts, international case studies and research.
New York: Cognizant Communication Corporation.
Grix, J. (2012) Image leveraging and sports mega events: Germany and the 2006
FIFA World Cup. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 17 (4), 289-312.
Hall, M. (1992) Hallmark tourist events: impacts, management and planning. London,
Belhaven Press.
Jago, L., Chalip, L., Brown, G., Mules, T. & Shameem, A. (2003) Building events into
destination branding: Insights from experts. Event Management, 8 (1), 3-14.
Kerr, W. (2003) Tourism public policy and the strategic management of failure.
Oxford, Pergamon.
Kissoudi, P. (2010) ‘Athens’ post Olympic aspirations and the extent of their
realisation’. International Journal of the History of Sport, 27, (16-18), pp.2780-2797.
Lepp, A. & Gibson, H. (2011) Reimaging a nation: South Africa and the 2010 FIFA
World Cup. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 16 (3) 211-230.
Raj, R., Walters, P. & Rashid, T. (2013) Events management: principles and
practice. 2nd ed. London: Sage.
Ritchie, J. & Smith, B. (1991) The impact of mega-events on host region awareness:
A longitudinal study. Journal of Travel Research, 30 (1), 3-10.
Ritchie, J. (1984) Assessing the impact of hallmark events: conceptual and research
issues, Journal of Travel Research, 23 (1), 2-11.
20
Roberts, K. (2004). The leisure industries. China, Plagrave MacMillian.
Smith, A. (2012) Events and urban regeneration. The strategic use of events to
revitalise cities. London: Routledge.
21