The Nation-Branding Legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup for South Africa

Abstract

There has been a growing awareness of the potentially significant impact that hosting sport mega-events, such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, can have on a nation's brand. Within the broader context of nation branding, this article explores the specific tourism legacy that may be achieved from sport mega-events and details an exploratory investigation that aimed to identify brand perceptions and changes in perceptions of international visitors to South Africa during the mega-event. The tourism legacy of the event appears to be the degree to which brand perceptions of travelers changed and formed as a result of visiting the nation. The value of these changed perceptions manifests in important behavioral intentions, such as repeat visitation and positive word-of-mouth promotion. The study concludes that mega-events provide an opportunity to elicit tourism legacies for a nation, especially in terms of nation-brand development for the host.

Image interplay between events and destinations

“…However, visitors of a destination who are primarily attending for an event are more positive of the destination than non-primary visitors (Knott et al, 2013). However, visitors of a destination who are primarily attending for an event are more positive of the destination than non-primary visitors (Knott et al, 2013).…”

“…With the growing popularity of events, their propensity for attracting (inter)national media has also increased (Dwyer, Mellor, Mistilis, & Mules, 2000;Getz & Fairley, 2004). Research has shown that events provide the ability to show the variety and uniqueness in a destination's touristic resources (Kim & Morrison, 2005;Knott, Fyall, & Jones, 2013). An increase in awareness allows events to highlight certain aspects of a destination to (potential) visitors of an event which benefits the host destination's image.…”

“…Events therefore provide a natural platform by which destinations can increase their awareness and familiarity, and ultimately improve their destination image (Kim & Morrison, 2005;Richards & Wilson, 2004;Ritchie & Smith, 1991;Westerbeek & Linley, 2012). These are resources that are not only limited to the event as (potential) visitors gain the ability to travel within the destination (Knott et al, 2013). Research has shown that events provide the ability to show the variety and uniqueness in a destination's touristic resources (Kim & Morrison, 2005;Knott, Fyall, & Jones, 2013).…”

“…Research has shown that events provide the ability to show the variety and uniqueness in a destination's touristic resources (Kim & Morrison, 2005;Knott, Fyall, & Jones, 2013). This is particularly relevant with image dimensions such as "nature" and "environment" (Ahmed, 1991;Knott et al, 2013;Ritchie & Smith, 1991), "local people" (Florek, Breitbarth, & Conejo, 2008;Gibson, Qi, & Zhang, 2008), "history & culture" (Arellano, 2011;Gibson et al, 2008), and "service quality" (Heslop, Nadeau, & O'Reilly, 2010;Lee et al, 2005). It is therefore understandable that repeat visitors (familiarization) due to an event being hosted result in more concrete and clear image impacts than first-time visitors (Richards & Wilson, 2004).…”

“…Several studies suggested that the venues or infrastructures used by events had a significant and positive impact on being associated with a host destination (Bodet & Lacassagne, 2012;Deng & Li, 2013;Yu et al, 2012). Knott et al (2013) found that an improved destination image due to hosting an event appears to have a positive impact on consumer behavior intent. Knott et al (2013) found that an improved destination image due to hosting an event appears to have a positive impact on consumer behavior intent.…”