Running Tourism and the Global Rise of Small Scale Sport Tourism Events

Abstract

Sport tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors within the global tourism industry. Within this geopolitical context, small scale sport tourism events offer a wealth of opportunities for local host cities and communities. As such, many countries and municipalities within these countries want to capitalize on the local and global opportunities of sport tourism. While many of these locations are interested in the potential economic benefits of these sport tourism events, there is increased pressure on organizers and sponsors to also promote social and environmental sustainability. The aim of this book is to outline the contribution of small scale sport tourism events for local sustainable development in nine countries across three continents. The event, half marathon races, serves as the unit of analysis for comparison, as running tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors within the sport tourism industry worldwide. Findings from this comparative study reveal a collection of best practices for future planning and implementation at the intersection of small scale sport tourism and local sustainable development.

Developing Sports Tourism Destinations in Emerging Countries: The Case of Zrebar Lake in Iran

“…Small sports tourism events offer many opportunities for local cities and host communities. Thus, many countries and municipalities within these countries want to take advantage of local and global sports tourism opportunities for gaining economic benefits [24]. Because a small-scale sports event that is compatible with the community infrastructure and human and cultural capital of a region can be a more suitable form of sustainable tourism development [25].…”

“…J. Sport Tourism 2023, 30 (2), [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] The final reachability matrix is obtained by considering the transferability relationship, meaning that the initial reachability matrix is adapted. Thus, to obtain the matrix (using Euler's theory), we first add the initial matrix to the unit matrix and then bring the resulting matrix to the power of n. The empowerment operation must be performed based on the Bolin rule.…”

Two of a Kind? Similarities and Differences between Runners and Walkers in Sociodemographic Characteristics, Sports Related Characteristics and Wearable Usage

“…In addition, people are becoming increasingly active in non-organised contexts as well (so-called sport light; e.g., alone, unorganised with friends, in participatory sports events, etc.) [ 5 , 6 ].…”