The influence of small-scale sporting events on participants’ intentions to recommend the host city

Abstract

Tourism, including sports tourism, is an important driver of social and economic development. Sports tourism events, and small-scale sporting events in particular, are a powerful resource for promoting tourism in the host city, as a viable way of developing sustainable tourism in the local community. This study aims to analyse the impact of functional quality, outcome quality, satisfaction, and perceived value on intentions to recommend the host city among participants in a small-scale sporting event. A total of 866 runners in a 21-km recreational race participated in this study. A multi-item scale was used and a confirmatory factor analysis of the model was carried out, and the presence of gender differences in the relationships was ascertained using a multigroup analysis. The results revealed a direct effect of functional quality and satisfaction, and an indirect effect of outcome quality and value on intentions to recommend the city. Intention to recommend the city and functional quality showed differences between males and females. In conclusion, managing quality is a key strategy in encouraging participants in small-scale sporting events to recommend the host city.