The Sport Tourism Event Research Network is a collaborative research network of academics and industry professionals working to enhance the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the sport industry and related sectors.
We conduct multidisciplinary research to provide innovative marketing and management solutions to business, community and government organisations dedicated to the delivery of sport, tourism, event, and recreation services and products.
Our members have worked on various projects developing economic, operations and marketing reports. We utilise information collected from actual participants to provide evidence-based recommendations in three related areas:
- Tourism expenditure analysis to measure the economic impact of the event with recommendations for increasing the event???s impact for the host community.
- Operation analysis to assess participant satisfaction of event operations with managerial recommendations for improving the event experience.
- Marketing analysis to provide demographic, psychographic and behavioral profiles with recommendations for promoting the event and creating sponsorship opportunities.
Projects
The Sport Tourism Event Research Network performed a detailed study of the visitor spending that resulted from the ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon events in Miami.
2008 ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon
The 2008 ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon witnessed substantial growth attracting over 13,000 participants with 46% coming from outside the United States. Sport Tourism Event Research Network surveyed over 3,300 participants and estimated the total economic impact from the event was $24.09 million for the Miami-Dade County. The direct benefit of the event was $16.06 million. This represents a 43.6% increase on the reported impact of the event in 2007.
The majority of community benefit extends from attracting US based visitors to the area, although international visitors spend more on average per visitor and account for 1/3 of total expenditure. The event attracted new money from direct expenditure on lodging, food and beverage, transport, retail, attractions, entertainment, race fees and other.
2007 ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon
Sport Tourism Event Research Network performed a detailed study of the visitor spending that resulted from the ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon events in Miami. Survey results showed the direct benefit of participants to Miami-Dade County was $4.27 million while spectators accounted for an additional $6.29 million.
2007 Yeungling Shamrock Sportsfest
Our network surveyed over 3,800 participants in the 2007 Yeungling Shamrock Sportsfest in Virginia Beach Virginia. The event created $8.04 million in direct economic impact on the Hampton Roads economy with and indirect benefit of $12.06 million. The vast majority of expenditure came from USA participants and national visitors.