Getz (2008:406) defined event tourism as development and marketing of events ‘the for tourism and economic development on this definition Smith purposes’. Building (2012) discusses how events can assist a destination both in the short-term and long-term. The most obvious short-term impact would be increased visitor numbers to the host destination. Duffy and Mair (2015) discuss how festivals and events have strong tourism potential because they can a destination, create ‘product’, enliven animate static attractions and promise a glimpse into the authentic culture of a place. Events can also entice people to extend their stay or spend more money at the destination (Chalip, 2004). To illustrate this, the author will use a number of examples from Northern Ireland, the country featured in the case study later in the chapter. In 2011 Northern the Ireland’s capital city, Belfast, hosted MTV EMA’s which placed Northern Ireland firmly on the world music stage. To maximise tourism spend and lengthen visitor stay Belfast leveraged this event by organising Belfast Music Week alongside the MTV they created 8,000 bed nights in Belfast EMA’s. Combined, hotels and the total economic impact for the city was £22 million. The following year the coastal town of Portrush hosted the Irish Open Golf Tournament which provided another boost for Northern tourism industry. Over 130,000 tickets were sold Ireland’s for this three-day event generating £9.5 million. The National Tourism Organisation helped fund this event and their return on investment was £1: £4.29. Building on the success of the Irish Open, Northern Ireland secured the rights to host the first three stages of another prestigious international sports event, the This Giro d’ Italia 2014. attracted 227,000 national and international spectators. The tourism ‘Grand Depart’ impact was £12.7m which equated to a return of investment of £1: £2.45.
Getz (2008:406) defined event tourism as ‘the development and marketing of events for tourism and economic development purposes’. Building on this definition Smith (2012) discusses how events can assist a destination both in the short-term and long-term. The most obvious short-term impact would be increased visitor numbers to the host destination. Duffy and Mair (2015) discuss how festivals and events have strong tourism potential because they can create ‘product’, enliven a destination, animate static attractions and promise a glimpse into the authentic culture of a place. Events can also entice people to extend their stay or spend more money at the destination (Chalip, 2004). To illustrate this, the author will use a number of examples from Northern Ireland, the country featured in the case study later in the chapter. In 2011 Northern Ireland’s capital city, Belfast, hosted the MTV EMA’s which placed Northern Ireland firmly on the world music stage. To maximise tourism spend and lengthen visitor stay Belfast leveraged this event by organising Belfast Music Week alongside the MTV EMA’s. Combined, they created 8,000 bed nights in Belfast hotels and the total economic impact for the city was £22 million. The following year the coastal town of Portrush hosted the Irish Open Golf Tournament which provided another boost for Northern Ireland’s tourism industry. Over 130,000 tickets were sold for this three-day event generating £9.5 million. The National Tourism Organisation helped fund this event and their return on investment was £1: £4.29. Building on the success of the Irish Open, Northern Ireland secured the rights to host the first three stages of another prestigious international sports event, the Giro d’ Italia 2014. This ‘Grand Depart’ attracted 227,000 national and international spectators. The tourism impact was £12.7m which equated to a return of investment of £1: £2.45.
Event%20tourism%20chapter.docx