What motivates sports event tourists? : a synthesis of three disciplines

Sport event tourism is a significant and growing global industry with important economic implications for the specific sport the/or event and the flow on impact of travel and tourism related benefits for host destinations. Research within the tourism and event marketing fields reveal an abundance of studies on motivation and satisfaction (Crompton 1979; Dann 1977; Uysal & Jurwoski 1994; Gnoth 1997; Wann & Branscombe (1995). However there is a lack of research into what motivates consumers to become sport event tourists and whether these motivations differ from those posited in the traditional sport consumption, tourism or event marketing literature. This working paper synthesises the consumer motivation literature from three fields; tourism, events and sports spectating. It further outlines a proposal for future research which advocates the testing of a new set of motivational variables with the intent eventual identification of a sport event tourist typology.