ABSTRACT
While the largest proportion of sports tourism literature has focused on its economic, social and environmental impacts (see Chapter 2), very little has been written about the people who generate these impacts – the sports tourists themselves. Furthermore, where sports tourists are considered, they are usually presented as a homogeneous group (either event or activity based) generating a particular type of impact. Examples of this might be the economic impact generated by visitors to sports events, or the environmental impacts of various outdoor adventure activities. Only in very rare cases is there any detailed consideration of the behaviours and profiles of sports tourists. This is largely a result of the inherent problems in creating such a data set, which requires detailed investigations of individual preferences, decision-making processes and lifestyle profiles. However, the information generated by more detailed research represents a considerable advance in the field of sports tourism, because not only does it assist in developing a greater understanding of the sports tourist, but it can also deepen understanding of how sports tourism impacts are generated.
