Understanding the relation between serious surfing, surfing profile, surf travel behaviour and destination attributes preferences

Portugal, Ana Cristina; Campos, Francisco; Martins, Fernando Manuel Lourenço; Melo, Ricardo

doi:10.54055/ejtr.v16i.278

Cited by 22 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The study presented here builds on the earlier work by Langseth (2012) and adds to the growing body of literature which explores surfing and its influences at a personal level (for example, see Stranger, 2011;Barbieri and Sotomayor, 2013;Borne, 2017;Portugal et al, 2017;Elmahdy et al, 2021).…”

Section: Social Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Exploring the personal benefits of surfing: insights from cold-water surfers in Jæren, Norway

Elmahdy,

Orams,

Mykletun

2024

Front. Sustain. Tour.

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IntroductionSurfing has grown since the 1960s to become a global marine leisure activity. Traditionally, surfing is associated with tropical and temperate climates and a sea, sand, and sun setting. However, surfing's geographical spread now includes polar and sub-polar regions, areas where the cold and sea-conditions provide challenges to human survival.MethodsThis study uses a phenomenological approach to identify and explore the personal benefits gained by experienced surfers in the Jæren region, south of the city of Stavanger in Norway. Data were obtained from semi-structured in-depth interviews with 13 experienced surfers who surf year-round, but primarily in winter, in extreme conditions. Additional secondary data were derived from written and video material published in online surfing blogs/vlogs and surfers' private video footage.Results and discussionParticipants gained a wide range of benefits including experiencing strong positive feelings, inclusion, and social cohesion with other members in the surfing subculture, a deep connection to nature, physical and mental health benefits, and an overall enhanced quality of life. While international surf travel was constrained by the COVID-19 pandemic, local surfing was reinforced. This resulted in surfing becoming an opportunity to safely socialize with others outside of one's family, thus increasing the social benefits of the sport. This study presents the first empirical data on the personal benefits of surfing from a non-traditional cold-water surfing nation in Scandinavia.

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Section: Social Benefitsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Exploring the personal benefits of surfing: insights from cold-water surfers in Jæren, Norway

Elmahdy,

Orams,

Mykletun

2024

Front. Sustain. Tour.

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“…Other studies (Portugal et al, 2017;Sotomayor and Barbieri, 2016) have segmented active surf tourists based on surfing practice and/or opinion about destination attributes (e.g. surfing destination attributes and destination access and infrastructure).…”

Section: Surf Tourism and Surf Touristsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this context, the predominance of males and young adults have been characteristics identified by several studies (Barbieri and Sotomayor, 2013; Hritz and Franzidis, 2018; Mach and Ponting, 2021). Other studies (Portugal et al , 2017; Sotomayor and Barbieri, 2016) have segmented active surf tourists based on surfing practice and/or opinion about destination attributes (e.g. surfing destination attributes and destination access and infrastructure).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors shaping spectators’ consumption patterns: controversial arisings from an international sport tourism event

Mascarenhas,

Vieira,

Martins

2023

CBTH

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Purpose Sport events’ contribution to the destinations’ local economy implies in-depth knowledge of the economic benefits generated by non-resident spectators (NRS). Thus, this study aims to answer: What is the profile and shaping factors of the consumption patterns of the several types of NRS in international surf tourism events? Design/methodology/approach A total of 263 questionnaires applied to the NRS of an international surf event were collected and analysed. The identification of the NRS profile and the predictive factors of their total expenditure were performed through the correlation of factors and multiple linear regression, respectively. Findings Mostly, the event attracted generation Y NRS, with a high level of education and regular sport practice. The results showed differences among the NRS: the “casuals” included more women than men; the “extensioners” integrated the NRS whose surfing practice is higher; the “event visitors”/”time switchers” mostly integrated the domestic tourism flows; the “casuals” and “extensioners” spent the most at the destination, and those whose intention to recommend/revisit the destination, respectively, was higher; and the shaping factor that most influenced the increase in NRS expenditure was the overnight stay, added by older age, higher education level and foreign origin. Originality/value Regardless of the initial motivation that led to the trip to the destination, the results verified that the event’s attributes are capable of contributing to the recommendation/visitation of the destination. Consequently, the study of economic benefits (tangible and intangible) provided by sport events in destinations should be guided by an integrative analysis of NRS.

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“…Most recently, researchers defined it as 'blue tourism', a concept intimately related to the blue economy and the blue growth strategy [38]. Blue tourism highlights the sea as the central resource for leisure and recreation activities and leisure and tourism industries [39,40].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Climatic Potential of Somo’s Surf Spot for Tourist Destination Management

et al. 2022

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Surfing is one of the most popular activities in coastal tourism resorts. However, the sport depends strongly on the met-ocean weather conditions, particularly on the surface wind-generated waves that reach the coast. This study provides examples of how users’ needs and user perspectives are considered by climate data specialists to develop needed, highly useful information addressing human and social needs. In this vein, the climate analysis of such data can provide input on the expected length of a surfing season, according to the surfer’s level of expertise. In addition, other water sports, such as SUP Wave and windsurfing, among others, might be indicated when surfing conditions are not optimal. Finally, the safety of surfers and other tourists who venture into the sea is also dependent on those conditions. We collaborated with the surfing community to define a series of indices for quantifying surfing days (SD), surfing days stratified by surfers’ skills (SDS), alternate offers (AOs), and surfers’ and swimmers’ safety (SuS and SwS). These are of general applications but require wind and wave data at a very fine scale as the input. To illustrate the potential of our indices, we applied them to the Somo beach (Cantabria, Spain). We downscaled a global wave hindcast dataset covering a 30-year period to a spatial resolution of 100 m to obtain wave-surfing information at Somo’s surf spot. The results confirmed Somo’s status as a year-round surf spot, with SD values of 229.5 days/year and monthly values between 22 days/month and 16 days/month. SDS showed different seasonal peaks according to the surfers’ skills. Beginners’ conditions occurred more often in the summer (18.1 days/month in July), intermediate surfers’ conditions appeared in the transitional seasons (14.1 days/month in April), and advanced and big-wave riders in the winter (15.1 days/month in January and 0.7 days/month, respectively). The AO index identified the SUP wave values of 216 days/year. Wind water sports presented values of 141.6 days/year; conversely, SUP sports were possible on only 7.4 days/year. SuS and SwS identified different seasonal hazard values, decreasing from the winter, autumn, and spring to minimum values in the summer.

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Understanding the relation between serious surfing, surfing profile, surf travel behaviour and destination attributes preferences

Cited by 22 publications

References 36 publications

Exploring the personal benefits of surfing: insights from cold-water surfers in Jæren, Norway

Exploring the personal benefits of surfing: insights from cold-water surfers in Jæren, Norway

Factors shaping spectators’ consumption patterns: controversial arisings from an international sport tourism event

Exploring the Climatic Potential of Somo’s Surf Spot for Tourist Destination Management

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