Sport management researchers have utilized the concept of brand image to understand sport consumers’ experiences. However, this concept has rarely been applied in a participatory sport event contex...

Sport tourism is anticipated as one of the key industries that can vitalize a community with a wide variety of attractive natural resources. This research focusses on the relationship between tourists’ prior knowledge of the destination, destination reputation, and destination loyalty. Data were collected from domestic sport tourists who visited Niseko Adventure Centre during August, 2018 (N = 221). Using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling, the results showed a significant relationship between prior knowledge, reputation, and loyalty, which explained 34% of the model. Sport tourism is expected to be one of the key elements to stimulate rural areas by utilizing their potential natural resources. In this research, we observed Niseko district to clarify the relationship between destination prior knowledge, reputation, and loyalty. As a result, we were able to conclude that, by focusing attention on information search processes, marketers can develop effective marketing strategies.

Destination loyalty has become a crucial concept in both academia and practice. Numerous studies have revealed the antecedents of destination loyalty to discriminate from other rival destinations. Although increasing destination loyalty is anticipated as the key milestone to achieve from both practical and academic purposes, previous research lacks understanding of the characteristics and profile of loyal travellers. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to segment the profile of active international sport tourists by their perceived destination loyalty and to reveal the differences among three segments of their destination loyalty: low, high, and extremely high. Using a paper–pencil questionnaire, data were collected from international tourists who visited the Niseko ski resort in Japan (N = 298). The results of the confirmatory factor analysis, chi-square test using residual analysis, and ANOVA with post hoc analysis implies that there were significant differences among the three segments. The more loyal tourists feel toward the destination, the more involved with and familiar with a sport they perceive themselves to be, and the more they have visited the destination previously. These results of this study contribute to destination marketing organizations, in particular for snow resorts, to understand their loyal customers, which will be the fundamental material to build their management strategy.

The first touchpoint for potential tourists is the information shared by the destination. Although information search behaviour is critical and has been reviewed from a general tourism perspective, less is known about sport tourism. With social media becoming the predominant source of information, it is necessary to determine how information is searched. Therefore, the purpose of this scoping literature review was to clarify the extent of peer-reviewed research on information search behaviour in sport tourism literature. The PRISMA extension for scoping review protocol was followed. Twenty-nine peer-reviewed journal articles published in English were examined. The findings showed that the first discussion was published in 1992, and most of the articles focused on active sport tourism. The majority of the information sources were offline; however, the usage of social media has been increasing drastically in recent times. Moreover, this study found that sport tourists acquire information to mitigate risk, which varies depending on the athletic activities they engage in at the destination. The results of this study benefit not only the potential tourists but also the tourism sector by enabling them to strengthen their destination marketing strategies. Additionally, this study introduces three propositions for future studies.

There is a global shift in hosting international sporting events, and this is insisted to have social impacts on the host residents and increase their vitality and empowerment. From the academic perspective, numerous studies have revealed the social impacts of hosting mega-sporting events in several contexts. However, research remains scarce in the area of mega-para-sporting events. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between residents’ perceived social impact and supporting intention. Additionally, comparing the levels of vitality were also revealed. Conducting a confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling using group comparison, this study revealed educational benefits as a new insight for hosting a para-sporting event, and their perception differed by the residents’ vitality level. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Research question: Leisure behaviour has focused long time on positive outcomes for active and passive sport participants and it has been advocated that constraints play an important role in decision-making in leisure activities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the interdependencies of spectator constraints, attachment to a sport team, and behavioural intentions. Research methods: Using a paper-pencil questionnaire, data were collected from spectators attending a J. League Division 2 matches in Japan using a convenience sampling approach. Five-hundred and fifty questionnaires were distributed and total sample size used was n = 428. Results and Findings: Structural equation modelling has found a negative and significant direct association of structural constraints on attachment which in turn has a positive and significant direct association with behavioural intentions. There is negative and significant indirect effect of structural constraints on intentions (mediated via attachment) whereas there is no significant direct effect of constraints on intentions. Thus, attachment serves as negotiator between constraints and intentions. Multi-group analysis has revealed significant gender differences. Implications: Practitioners should identify the actual attachment of their spectators as attachment functions as mediator between perceived constraints and behavioural intentions. Since not all structural constraints can be remedied by management (e.g. weather), knowing the level of attachment is important to reduce constraints.