Adventure Sport Tourism in Rural Revitalisation—An Ethnographic Evaluation

Abstract

The use and value of adventure sport tourism for revitalisation of rural economies has been widely debated. This study employs ethnographic methods to explore the opportunities and disappointments associated with a Portuguese rural community's use of paragliding in its mix of tourist attractions. Although the case has been popularly identified as a successful application of adventure sport tourism for rural revitalisation, findings indicate that paragliding has only a small impact on the community because paragliders prefer to socialise with one another, and often shop and eat outside the community. Nevertheless, paragliders seek activities to complement their stay, and would like to bring their families. The absence of strategic market planning contributes to the community's failure to capture a larger spend from paragliders, or to generate tourism revenue from accompanying markets. Ageing of the local population, a conservative social climate, and tourism planning that is exogenously driven underpin development and marketing deficits. Findings are consistent with other research in rural development and sport tourism, suggesting that participative planning focused on integrating and leveraging a rural community's assets will be necessary to optimise the role that sport plays in revitalisation.

Sports Tourism and Perceived Socio-Economic Impact in Kenya: The Case of Machakos County

“…The human element, the nucleus and informational element as core to defining a sports tourism package have to be presented in a well-adjusted ratio relevant for a destination's image as a sports tourism nucleus. Regions should consider cantering tourism components to a sporting event in order to maximize economic benefits (Costa and Chalip, 2005).…”

“…Although studies have found evidence of positive impacts of sports tourism (see Ap 1992;Brida and Disegna 2011;Chen 2008;Coakley 2004;Costa and Chalip 2005) for broader civic and local development of hosting cities, and it is commonly assumed that this will create lasting economic benefits to destination cities (Demir et al, 2015), long-term social benefits for host regions seems improbable and are not guaranteed (Clark and Misener, 2015). Instead, literature has evidenced that the long-term benefits are increased international publicity and recognition; in other words, image promotion (Demir et al, 2015), and that these marketing benefits are volatile in time (Demir et al, 2015;Chen 2008;Coakley 2004) There seems to clearly exist limitations for regions to maintain the benefits on a longterm basis.…”

Regulating “Nirvana”: Sustainable surf tourism in a climate of increasing regulation

“…Rural sport tourism destinations must retain relatively uncrowded conditions in order to guarantee consistency and to remain competitive (Buckley, 2002b;Costa & Chalip, 2005;Hinch & Higham, 2011;Hugues Dit Ciles, 2009). Previous research has established the importance of strategic planning to ensure that sport tourism is an agent for positive social change (Mair & Reid, 2007;O'Brien & Ponting, 2013;Okazaki, 2008;Wray, 2011).…”

The Economic Valuation of Change in the Quality of Rural Tourism Resources: Choice Experiment Approaches

“…Consequently, rural tourism has been supported by national and local governments around the globe. Western countries such as Portugal and France [3], Eastern Europe including former Soviet nations [4], and many developing countries-such as those in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and South America [5]-have, for example, implemented nationwide development projects to increase the effectiveness of rural tourism activities. It is, in this respect, evident that rural tourism as a key mechanism for economic growth can significantly contribute to an increase in rural communities' incomes [6].…”

“…Nevertheless, rural tourism has frequently been found to under-deliver with regard to expected economic benefits. Rural communities often lack the experience required to successfully attract and satisfy tourists through their tourism resources such as amenities, attractions, shows/festivals/adventures, and specialties [3].…”