Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Edith Cowan University

Degree Name

Bachelor of Tourism Management (Honours)

School

School of Marketing, Tourism and Leisure

Faculty

Faculty of Business and Law

First Supervisor

Dr Dale Sanders

Abstract

Sport tourism is a growing sector within both the tourism and sport industries. The majority of research into sport tourism has focussed on definitions, the benefits and impacts associated with hosting a sport event and exploring who these sport tourists are. The motivations behind these sport tourists have been considered, however the associated tourism experience tourists have while at a destination has not been widely explored. There is also a lack of research into the motivations and tourists activities of fans who travel interstate to support a team in a professional national sport league like the Australian Football League (AFL). This research examines the motivating factors behind the decision to travel and the associated tourism experiences of interstate sport tourists travelling to Western Australia to attend an AFL game. A self-completed survey questionnaire was distributed to AFL interstate sport tourists at Patersons Stadium in Perth during the 2011 AFL season. Data collected from the 76 participants was then statistically analysed using SPSS version 18. The results indicated that demographic background provided participants with the means to travel interstate but did not significantly influence their decision to do so. The main motivating factor behind AFL interstate sport tourists travelling to Western Australia was ‘achievement’ or the associated feeling they have when their team wins. The associated tourism experiences of the participants revealed that they could be classified into one of two groups, hard sport tourism or hard tourism sport. This classification may have implications that sport tourism destinations should consider, as it affects the time that participants tend to stay at the destination. Participants involved in hard sport tourism, whose primary reason for travel was to attend an AFL game, tended to stay four or less days whilst those involved in hard tourism sport, who travelled for other reasons, tended to stay five or more days. The findings suggest it is important to understand the AFL interstate sport tourists so that it is possible to market the important motivating factors and the tourism experiences to them.

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