The impact of mega-events on tourist arrivals
Abstract
While a mega-event is scheduled at least once every year somewhere in the world, these events are rare occurrences for the host cities and countries. The benefits of such events seem lucrative; the very fact that many countries bid to host these events suggests that the benefits - be they tangible or intangible - more often than not outweigh the costs. Using a standard gravity model of bilateral tourism flows between 200 countries from 1995 to 2006, this paper measures a very direct benefit of such mega-events: the increase in tourist arrivals to the host country. Although ex ante expectations are that tourism numbers would increase significantly during such an event, a growing literature points to the careful appraisal of possible tourist displacement, i.e. 'regular' tourists that change their behaviour when a mega-event is held, either shifting their trip to a different time or different location. This may result in reduced tourism gain, or even loss. In general, results suggest that mega-events promote tourism but the gain is dependent on the type of mega-event, the participating countries, the host country’s level of development, and whether the event is held during the peak- or off-season.Download Info
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Paper provided by Economic Research Southern Africa in its series Working Papers with number 171.Length: 23 pages
Date of creation: 2010
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:rza:wpaper:171
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Related research
Keywords: Mega-events; panel data; development; international tourism;Find related papers by JEL classification:
- L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Recreation; Tourism
- F19 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Other
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-ALL-2010-05-15 (All new papers)
- NEP-MIG-2010-05-15 (Economics of Human Migration)
- NEP-SPO-2010-05-15 (Sports & Economics)
- NEP-TUR-2010-05-15 (Tourism Economics)
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Citations
Blog mentions
As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:- African tourism
by Johan Fourie in Johan Fourie's Blog on 2012-04-14 10:39:50 - Explaining African tourism
by Johan Fourie in Johan Fourie's Blog on 2012-04-14 10:39:50
Cited by:
- Johan Fourie & Maria Santana-Gallego, 2011. "The Determinants of African Tourism," Working Papers 260, Economic Research Southern Africa.
- Jaume Roselló Nadal & María Santana Gallego, 2012. "Climate change and global international tourism: An evaluation for different scenarios," DEA Working Papers 52, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Departament d'Economía Aplicada.
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