Extract of Study – a Comparative Analysis of the Management and Socio-Economic Impacts of Sport Tourism Events in Cape Town and Durban

Extract of study – A comparative analysis of the management and socio-economic impacts of Sport Tourism Events in Cape Town and Durban (Dr Deborah Johnson, 2010). 2. 3 Sport tourism perspectives Sport tourism is recognised as one of the fastest growing segments within the tourism industry (Getz, 1998). The Olympic Games, the world’s most famous event, is an example of a mega sport tourism event.

In the world of sport, events can range from a local basketball tournament to professional games. Sport tourism events have potential to capture the attention of attendees and to engage them in the excitement of the event.

Sport tourism events such as the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour, CM and OMTOM, have the capacity to transcend international barriers and to bring together top athletes for moments of fun and competition (Wiersma & Strolberg, 2003: 3). Such events further provide an opportunity for the destination to leverage tourism development potential; to provide opportunities for local business to leverage economic opportunities; and to provide unique opportunities to engage local communities in entrepreneurship.

It further creates opportunities to build on development of education and training in the fields of sport, tourism and events, as a sub-sector of sport tourism. 2.

3. 1 Global perspectives An indication of the significance of the sport event tourism market includes an increasing proliferation of new international events. Factors that influence this trend include a desire of media to cover new, exciting events, investments of sponsors who utilise sponsorship to reach their consumers, and competition among destinations to attract events (Getz, 1998).

He adds that it is now widely recognised that sport events contribute significantly towards increasing tourist traffic and driving economic development of a region. As a result, hosting and bidding for events have presently become integral components of the overall tourism product of several countries.

Organisations such as Event Corporations and Sport Commissions have been established whose sole mandate is to develop and manage event strategies on behalf of the city or region (South Africa, 2002).

Globally several destinations have incorporated sport tourism into their national marketing plans. Such destinations include United States of America (USA), Malaysia, 1 China, Ireland, Thailand, Korea, Nepal, Barbados, Brunei, Portugal and Australia (Neirotti, 2005: 19). She further notes that in the USA more than 2570 cities have actively engaged in attracting sport events to their area, while most of these cities have commissioned formation of a sport authority to deal with bidding to host new events and to deal with existing events.

As an example from a global perspective, this important focus of sport tourism events has been recognised to an extent that an organisation, namely, the Sport Events Cities Network (SECN), was created in 2005. SECN is an international network, which comprises cities that are involved in organising and staging major sporting events, as a sub-sector of sport tourism.

These cities are listed in the table below. Table 2. : SECN cities that participated in a research study on sport strategy for international promotion City Country Auckland New Zealand Barcelona Spain Cape Town South Africa Estoril Portugal Fukuoka Japan Henley United Kingdom Melbourne Australia Newport United States of America Porto Cervo Italy Rio de Janeiro Brazil San Diego United States of America Singapore Malaysia Torino Italy Valencia Spain Adapted from SECN (2006: 33) SECN’s mission is to promote cooperation among member cities and to foster exchanges for best practices amongst the members.

SECN (2006: 2) states that sport events can be used for international promotion of a city and region and that using the event in such a manner will lead to benefits that are linked to branding opportunities and to maximising benefits that are extended beyond the particular event itself. SECN (2006: 2) further notes that this in return leads to benefits for all stakeholders that are involved with the sport event while there are direct benefits for the host community.

Swart and Bob (2007: 374) acknowledge that the sport tourism event industry has grown significantly and that the increased demand for sport programming from television broadcasters and the large amounts of funding spent by corporations on sponsoring 2 teams and events, have contributed to this growth.

Richie and Adair (2004) state that the growing importance and recognition of sport tourism, as a share of the tourism market, is illustrated by increasing levels of research that is undertaken internationally in this area.

Technologies of mass communication, particularly the development of satellite television, have created global audiences for all types of sport tourism events. There has also been an influx of corporate sponsorship funding into mega sporting events, which has provided an important source of income for host cities and international organisations that are involved with running world sport events. Sport tourism events are regarded as useful in aiding with selling commercial products; as valuable promotional opportunities for cities, which showcase their attractions to global audiences; and to attract tourism (Horne & Manzenreiter, 2006: 1–19).

Sport tourism events are primary and tertiary tourism attractions on a global scale.

There are several destinations that have realised the major economic impact of the sport sector on the economy of a destination and, in particular, to tourism, however, Weed (2003: 259) states that: Across the globe there are few examples where agencies responsible for sport and tourism have developed links or worked together, furthermore, in the very few areas where links have emerged, they have done so in a very piecemeal and ad-hoc manner, evidenced by one of the highest profile areas on the sport-tourism link, major events.

Weed (2003: 259) further posits that globally, potential of major events to attract visitors to an area, is acknowledged, but that partnerships that emerge are mostly short-term, uncoordinated and, in some instances, non-existent. The following section evaluates destination experiences in relation to sport tourism. 2. 3.

1. 1 Australia The Australian Government acknowledges (CDISR, 2000: 5) that the sport sector has a major economic impact on the country and that it creates employment opportunities for Australians.

It also recognises that sport is a part of Australian culture and identity, based on various achievements in sport such as rugby and cricket. This niche market is so important to the Australian Government, that a draft strategy was developed to 3 identify various issues that impact on development of the sport tourism industry of the destination. The draft strategy also made recommendations for development and actions.

Key issues addressed in this draft strategy focussed on: • • • • • • • Industry coordination; Education and training; Government regulations; Sport and tourism infrastructure; Evaluation of economic benefits of sports tourism; Research and data; and Strategy implementation. Tourism has played a vital role in expansion of the global sport and recreation industry (CDISR, 2000: 6).

Sport tourism has also been recognised as having potential to develop niche sectors, which provide economic and social benefits to the destination. They state (CDISR, 2001: 2) that by hosting the 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games, provided Australia with a unique opportunity to showcase Australia to the world and that a challenge for Australia was to take full advantage of such opportunities. A key focus of this plan was to consolidate the sport and leisure industry, and to capture world market opportunities.

Other key areas of the plan (CDISR, 2001: 1) included: • • • • • • To encourage sport and leisure firms to see themselves as part of a broad industry; To capture a greater share of world market opportunities; To better harness networking and product branding opportunities both in Australia and internationally; To encourage greater innovation and commercialisation of ideas; To continue to improve the education and training system; and To improve statistical information on the industry. 4

Jago, Chalip, Brown, Mules and Shameen (2003: 7) mention that after the 2000 Summer Olympic Games, a government restructure resulted in the departments of sport and tourism being separated into different government departments, which resulted in impetus for the strategy to be evaporated as no department assumed responsibility for the proposed draft strategy. However, recognition of the importance of sport and recreation within the tourism industry was supported by the Australian Government to an extent that the focus of a strategy or plan was revived (Australian Trade Commission, 2007: 1).

The Australian Trade Commission (2007: 1) states that “the Australian Government committed $1 million to work in partnership with Australia’s sport and leisure industry to build on Australia’s reputation as a sporting nation and increase recognition of the industry as world class providers of sport and leisure goods and services”. As a result of this commitment, namely, ‘Game Plan 2006′, a Sport and Leisure Industry Strategic National Plan was developed in consultation with an industry consultative group (Australian Trade Commission, 2007: 1).

It is evident that the Australian sport industry is a major contributor to the world’s most well known and prestigious sporting events, however, the absence of a sport tourism policy, is noted. Sport is linked to other domains and is grouped with ‘Sport and Leisure” and with events as part of Australia’s tourism policy. Jago et al. (2003: 8) state that “the failure to finalise a Sports Tourism Strategy as a consequence of sport and tourism being allocated to separate government departments, highlights a key problem that has impeded the development of sport tourism in Australia”. . 3.

1. 2 Britain The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport of Britain posits the following (Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), 2000: 2): “The vision for Britain is straightforward, we want to see successful businesses providing a rich variety of experiences for today’s discerning leisure and business tourists, and creating a real economic and social benefits for the whole country in the process”.

The DCMS further demonstrated the importance of sport event tourism to the economy by linking sport tourism events such as the Olympic Bid and preparation for the 2012 London Olympic Bid. The DCMS (2000: 16 – 17) mentioned that a successful bid for the 2012 Olympics 5 could provide valuable opportunities for tourism development across the United Kingdom (UK).

In view of their focus for a successful bid, some key areas of importance linked to tourism development, included: • • Review of tourism support requirements such as visitor centres and liaison facilities; Consideration of accommodation facilities, which used the Sydney Olympics as an example; • Planning accordingly for increased tourist activities in the years leading to the sport tourism event; • Planning specific Olympic-themed marketing activities that are linked to the brand of Visit Britain, Visit London and London 2012, which add value to existing and planned marketing activities; and • Networking with regional partners to review tourism opportunities associated with Olympic activities.

The DCMS focusses on the importance of sport tourism events within the British economy by linking these events to tourism frameworks; however, absence of a structured sport tourism policy, which effectively implements, develops and manages sport tourism events, is evident. Weed (2003: 258) identified this notion of a lack of integrated policies for sport and tourism in Britain, when he conducted a four year research study, which examined potential for greater integration of sport and tourism policy in the UK.

Weed (2003: 278) posits that there are potential areas for sport and tourism authorities to work together, but that potential is not fulfilled. He further contends that the research analysis serves to articulate the major influence that regional contexts and individuals may have on the sport tourism policy process. Weed (2003: 279) also identified that the British Tourist Authority (BTA) established a small Sport Tourism Department, which focuses on raising awareness within the sport industry regarding economic benefits and potential of overseas visitors, which should contribute to winning major international sporting events and positioning the BTA as a leading agency of an integrated approach to development of sport tourism.

Despite attempts by regional and local authorities, in support of sport tourism event policy development, there is no evidence of any partnerships between key agencies such as the United Kingdom Sport 6 Major Events Group and the British Tourist Authority Sports Tourism Department (Weed, 2003: 279). 2. 3. 1. 3 Canada Turco et al.

(2002: 52) mention that hosting international sport events offers Canada potential to bring a number of benefits to a destination. As a result, a Federal Policy for Hosting International Sport Events was developed. Turco et al. (2002: 52) assert that the main objective of this policy is to use it as a decision-making framework to determine government involvement in hosting international sport events.

Turco et al. (2002: 52) further posit that the policy only applied to hosting major games, strategic focus events and single-sport hosting, hence supporting events that advance national policy objectives.

According to the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance (CSTA) (2008: 1), the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) introduced a programme, which promotes community and tourism industry interest in development of sport tourism as a viable contributor to the economic well-being of local communities during 1996. The CSTA (2008: 1) states that “the Canadian Sport Tourism Initiative was designed to increase the quality and quantity of sport events hosted in Canada.

Objectives included the following (CSTA, 2008: 1): • • To create a viable sport tourism industry in Canada; To organise Canadian communities to pursue sport tourism by providing them with assistance in organising appropriate local resources and for infrastructure to be effective; • To assist communities in developing sport tourism commissions, appropriately organised to recruit sport events, in particular; • To create necessary links with the Canadian national, provincial and local sport systems and event hosts to assist in developing the sport tourism industry; • To create new revenue streams and resources for local event organisers, sport friendly businesses and sport, in general; 7 • To provide effective communication channels to facilitate business to business relationship marketing opportunities between event rights holders and potential host cities; and •

To create an industry-led Canadian Sport Tourism Coalition to provide a forum for education, market intelligence and sport tourism marketing for communities and sport involved in the sports tourism business. CSTA (2008: 1) reports that various Canadian communities were interested in the initiative as they perceived sport tourism as an opportunity. As a result, a partnership between CTC communities and the sport and tourism industry was established.

Communities throughout Canada were informed of this initiative, which lead several more communities becoming involved and having their regions transformed into becoming sport tourism ready. CSTA (2008: 3) states that eventually the Canadian Sport Tourism Coalition was established, which become known as the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance in 2001.

The Canadian Government is so committed to the development of sport tourism that a variety of programmes have been established under the banner of “Tourism British Columbia and 2010 Legacies Now, Sport Tourism Initiatives – as of September 2006″, which addresses aspects on staging these events and includes a specific focus on: • • • • • Event hosting and evaluation; Education and training; Marketing and promotions; Industry research and coordination; and Community and social development. An example of their commitment is demonstrated in development of sport tourism events such as the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, which will be hosted in British Columbia. A special organising committee was established to deal with all event management related aspects of the sport tourism event, known as the Vancouver Organising Committee (VANOC). As stated by the Premier, Gordon Campbell (2008: 1), 8 The Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are leaving a lasting legacy of world class sporting venues, generating new economic opportunities and promoting active living and sporting excellence for generations to come”.

By evaluating these programmes, it is evident that the Canadian Government places importance on sport tourism for the destination. The Community Sport Tourism Development Programme is a special programme under the banner of Tourism British Columbia, in association with partners, which is aimed at assisting communities to become sport tourism orientated (Tourism British Columbia, 2006: 1). This programme currently offers sport tourism workshops, which focus on relationships between the host community and how the host community can play a role in formulation of a sport tourism strategy.

CSTA uses its expertise to grow the sport tourism industry of Canada and also concentrates on promoting development of partnerships between events rights holders and host cities, making their approach event focussed. They further also share best practices, measure economic impacts of sport tourism events, and work on enhancing the profile of sport tourism (CSTA, 2008: 2).

2. 3. 1. 4 China Xu (2006: 90) posits that the “XXIX Olympiad is coming to Beijing at a critical juncture of world history of globalisation and the Chinese history of grand socioeconomic transformation”. Xu (2006: 91) further states that sport is prominent in the global political economy and is present in development of the Chinese state system.

Xu comments that sport is conceptualized into practices and institutions, and observed that for China, physical culture, in general, and sport are developed alongside efforts to turn a dynastic realm into a modern nation-state. China became part of the Olympic Movement in 1979, and emerged as a rising power. China’s sport policy, in general, and its relations with the Olympic Movement, was part of this movement (Xu, 2006: 93). Xu (2006: 93) observed that the “Olympic Games gave the overall impression of an attempt to symbolically link economic modernisation, Chinese nationalism, and Communist Party legitimacy into a meaningful and even moving totality”. Sport was used for state legitimisation and national cohesion.

Xu (2006: 94) posits that sporting mega-events gained a greater political and national meaning for China.

As a result of successfully staging the Asian 9 Games in 1990, China began to prepare its bid for the Olympic Games, however, the first bid ended in failure. China remained positive and again submitted a bid for the 2008 Olympics and won (Xu, 2006: 94). The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) identified sport tours as a major theme for their tourism campaign of 2001 and further developed special tour packages for the domestic and international market, which are aimed at large sport events that are staged in China (Neirotti, 2005: 19). As a bundling effort, Chinese tour operators were supported to develop sport-related tour packages to aid with economic development.

Their packages included elements of rock climbing, desert exploration, rafting, skiing, golfing and martial arts. As agents of sport event tourism development, the CNTA, China International Travel Service (CITS) and the China National Athletics Association, work together to market relevant sporting events (Neirotti, 2005: 20). As an example, Neirotti (2005: 19) mentions that a new Formula One race that was held in September 2004 was aimed at stimulating China’s tourism potential, as well as the automobile economy. This event was supported by major car manufacturers and was used by them as an advertising showcase, estimating the economic impact to be $80 – 100 million. Beijing osted the Olympic Games in 2008, and to stage this mega-event, a strategy was developed to leverage maximum potential of this event for the destination.

It was hoped that the Beijing Games would bring a new turning point in China’s continuous grand transformation in sport and beyond (Xu, 2006: 95). 2. 3. 1. 5 Dubai Tourism counts for a high percentage of Dubai’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and it is expected to surpass oil exports as an important source of revenue (United Arab Emirates Tourism, 2008: 2).

Dubai is seen as an ideal tourist destination and a thriving commercial centre. As part of tourism development, the importance of sport tourism events for Dubai has been recognised.

Dubai is branded as the “City of Activities and Events” (Dubai Sports Council, 2007: 1) (DSC). The DSC (2007: 2) states that Dubai has unique tourism features and that it hosts international sport events and events that are linked to other fields. The DSC is focussed to make Dubai a pioneering milestone in the sport sector.

Dr Ahmad Al Sharif (2008: 2) stated that “the region, as a whole, with rapid development of sport and leisure infrastructure, is now fast gaining a reputation as 10 a global sport tourism centre in the wake of Dubai becoming a prime destination for the sport and leisure industry, contributing to the 15% annual growth in inbound tourism”.

In order to achieve their objective a comprehensive sport strategy was developed to enable the Dubai sport sector and clubs to cope with international standards and to work together with partners that are based in Dubai. They have further added to their branding that Dubai is the “Sports Capital of the Middle East”. The DSC and tourism authorities are linked and are in support of sport tourism event development. It is, however, noted that no mention or reference was made of tourism or the importance of sport tourism events to the destination in the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015. 2.

3. 1. 6 Ireland Neirotti (2005) observed that in Ireland the national tourism marketing body, Bord Failte, was granted Euro 55. 3 million by the government to attract big sporting events.

Neirotti (2005: 19) also mentions that an international sport tourism initiative was launched in Ireland at the start of 2000, resulting in the Special Olympics World Summer Games, rugby’s Heineken European Cup Final, the European Eventing Championship and the Smurff European Open Golf being hosted in Ireland. Ireland has a combined Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism (DAST), which works in a relationship with the Irish Sports Council. The DAST (2007: 8) observes that sport and leisure that are linked to tourism, plays a major role in economic development and community development. A key focus relates to better and improved facilities for sport in Ireland (DAST, 2007: 8 – 13).

The report (DAST, 2007: 8- 13) contains key points for future development, which incorporate actions such as: • • Investment in sport facilities around Ireland; National audit of facilities and development of a long-term strategic plan to ensure that development takes place; • • • Construction of a world-class stadium to host sport tourism events; Improvement of municipal services; Implementation of a high performance strategy for athletes; 11 • • Working on building sport partnerships; and Encouraging voluntarism in Irish sport.

Sport and tourism does not appear to be integrated, but it appears that operational agendas are separate and either focuses on sport or tourism, but no integration of the two. Although the sport tourism initiative was created to develop sport tourism events, it is not addressed as a priority in the progress report of DAST of 2007. Hence there is no specific sport tourism policy for Ireland. 2. 3. 1.

7 New Zealand The New Zealand Government restructured the office of tourism and sport into a Ministry during January 2002.

A key focus of the Ministry relates to tourism and to develop the New Zealand tourism industry in a sustainable manner (Ministry of Tourism, 2008: 1). It is noted that sport became a function of Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC, 2008: 1) to develop and promote sport and physical activity so that more people can be involved, enjoy an active lifestyle and develop their skills. It is further notes that the SPARC was formed from the Hillary Commission for Sport, Fitness and Leisure, the New Zealand Academy of Sport and the Sports Policy Department of the Ministry of Tourism. There is no evidence contained in the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015 that addresses ny issue on sport tourism events. A key focus of the strategy is to develop tourism in a sustainable manner and the range of product development suggested does not include sport tourism events.

Instead, sport is dealt with separately by SPARC and focuses on lifestyle issues and development of sport talent and skills. Based on the evaluation of sport tourism policy of selected destinations, it is evident that sport and tourism feature as separate entities. It appears that Canada has been successful in merging sport and tourism into one entity, receiving support from industry and the community, hence the establishment of the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance.

Weed (2003: 259) states that “notwithstanding any reluctance among sport and tourism agencies to work together, developing policy to support the diverse nature of sport tourism is no simple task and that the development of such policy takes place against a general backdrop of indifference from many of the policy agencies that might reasonably be expected to be involved, only serves to make the task more complicated”. He further 12 posits that separate development of sport and tourism is a result of the different ‘ethos’ of the two sectors. 2.

3. 2 National perspectives Saayman posits (2004: 42) that sport in South Africa is a rather young industry and that it only became established between 1890 and 1910. He further states that British sport had significant influences on South African sport.

According to Saayman (2004: 42) the British Settlers of 1820 introduced sport such as athletics and cycling to South Africa. Saayman (2004:43) asserts that with the change of government in 1948, a whitecontrolled National Party government, the policy of separate development was introduced to all areas of society, including sport.

He further posits that separate national, provincial and local clubs for sport were established, which impacted on participation in international sport tourism events such as the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and virtually all national sport controlling bodies. This also included development of sport policy and laws to enforce apartheid in all facets of sport in South Africa. Saayman (2004: 43) indicates that development of such policy led to fierce resistance on national and international levels which resulted in international sport boycotts. All sport tours internationally and to South Africa came to a halt. Towards the end of the seventies and the start of the eighties, the South African Government realised that reforms were required within sport.

The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) conducted an investigation into South Africa’s sport situation and recommended from their study that the apartheid laws should be changed to ensure justice and fairness in sport (Saayman, 2004: 42 – 43). Saayman posits that the recommendations were accepted, which signified a new era and dispensation for South Africa, subsequently, including sport.

Apartheid in sport and within the South African community was abandoned in 1994 when the African National Congress became the new government. As a result, a totally new sport dispensation, based on the principles of democracy, fairness and justice came into being (Saayman, 2004: 43 – 44). Although a new sport dispensation was established according to Swart (1999: 5), the sport and tourism industries in South Africa have not been able to enhance its potential owing to domestic instability during certain peak periods.

However, since the first democratic election in 1994, tourism has become a fast growing economic sector and owing to unique 13 geographical and cultural settings, South Africa attracts tourists on a national and international level.

Furthermore hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, presented South Africa (Swart & Bob, 2007: 373) with numerous opportunities such as engaging in high profile promotion of sport and tourism products on a global scale; development of international standard sporting facilities and related infrastructure upgrades; attracting sport tourists; and further development of the sport tourism sector. The following section provides an overview of the structure of sport in South Africa, sport policy aspects, structure of tourism in South Africa, tourism policy aspects, sport tourism aspects and the Tourism Hospitality and Sport Education and Training Authority (THETA). 2. 3.

2. Sport structure and policy A priority of the Ministry and Department of Sport and Recreation is to confirm the roles of stakeholders and to streamline responsibilities of stakeholders in sport and recreation to ensure that coordination at levels and economies of scale are realised (White Paper, 1998: 4). Governance of sport and recreation is divided into three categories, namely, national level, provincial level and local level. The Sports Commission amalgamated with Sport and Recreation South Africa, making SRSA the responsible body for provision and facilitation of sport and recreation delivery in South Africa (SRSA, 2007: 4). The following figure provides an indication of the structure of sport in South Africa and it is noted that sport tourism events is placed under the South African Sports Confederation Olympic Committee (SASCOC).

SASCOC is the controlling body for all high performance sport in South Africa and, in particular, they have been mandated with the task of ensuring that the bidding process, which relates to hosting international sporting events, complies with the necessary rules and regulations (SRSA, 2007). 14 Figure 2. 1: Structure of Sport in South Africa. Source: Sport and Recreation South Africa (2007: 12) Stakeholders on a national level include Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA), South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), previously known as the National Olympic Committee of South Africa (NOCSA) and National Federations (NFs). SRSA is geared to increase levels of sport participation amongst South Africans and to raise the sport profile amongst decision makers as a national priority (SRSA, 2007: 12).

SASCOC conversely, deals with coordination of participation of South African athletes at the Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games. The NFs act as principal delivery agents for their respective sport disciplines (White Paper, 1998: 4). In order to deal with these tasks, SRSA organised tasks into five programmes, namely, administration, client support services, mass participation, international liaison and events as well as facilities co-ordination. In order to ensure that South African national teams are representative, representivity was introduced at lowest levels such as school level. Thus SRSA has been working together with the Department of Education to promote sport on a junior level, secondary level and tertiary level. SRSA (2007: 12) 15 sserts that the Mass Participation Programme enables the sport sector to contribute to the Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA) in the form of training and recruiting youth into employment as Activity Coordinators, where they receive a stipend.

Furthermore, this programme has also trained over 2000 young volunteers in sport and recreation administration, over 1500 entry-level coaches, over 1200 referees and over 1600 people in event management and first aid. SRSA has also addressed gender imbalances in sport and recreation both at participation level and administrative level, through gender mainstreaming and role modelling. Special events were held for women in sport such as sport seminars and women sport festivals (SRSA, 2007: 12).

SRSA has also been working together with the National Department of Tourism (NDT) in terms of sport tourism events. They ran a 2010 FIFA World Cup mass mobilisation campaign.

The campaign aimed to create awareness amongst ordinary South Africans by promoting vibrant, cohesive and sustainable projects that were linked to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in various communities. Furthermore, these services of SRSA are cascaded down to local level via Provincial Departments to relevant Local Authorities (SRSA, 2007: 12). At a provincial level, the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) and the Provincial Department of Sport and Recreation are responsible to cascade the national policy to provincial level.

This will imply that provincial policy development is established within the framework of the national policy and implementation of the national recreation policy through Provincial Recreation Councils. Furthermore, their tasks involve developing and upgrading facilities for national and provincial sport tourism events (White Paper on Sport and Recreation, 1998: 5).

In order to deal with public inputs on sport policy, the Parliamentary Committee (PC) on Sport and Recreation offer sport federations, scientists and members of the public, opportunities to provide input on sport policy (Komphela, 2007: 20). It is a positive reflection of government support to provide transparency and access to sport and recreation matters.

The notion of national policies through provincial authorities are cascaded down to local level, and becomes the responsibility of local level authorities to develop policy at this level, which is aligned to provincial and national policies. They are also responsible to develop and upgrade facilities for local sport tourism events (White Paper on Sport and Recreation, 1998: 5). SRSA (2007: 5) acknowledges the important link with tourism and that relevant authorities should work together in partnership to support development of sport tourism 16 projects. The South African Government is committed to increasing participation in sport; to raise the profile of sport; to support tourism initiatives; and development of sport tourism events (SRSA, 2007: 12).

There are a number of reasons why governments engage in policy-making (Weed & Bull, 2004) such as drawing on the knowledge of interest groups and ensuring implementation of the policy. The White Paper of Sport Recreation South Africa was an attempt to establish a sport ethic within South African society and to create a confluence with the tourism industry. There is an impression that sport was always short-changed in terms of allocation of resources, as a result of a lack of knowledge of decision makers and them not understanding the important role that sport can play in a society and, in particular, being used as a vehicle for transformation (White Paper on Sport and Recreation, 1998: 1).

According to the White Paper on Sport and Recreation, reasons for changes were to introduce speedy delivery of services; to ensure that stated government policy brings about a better life for all by getting the nation to play and participate in sport commercially and non-commercially; and to ensure that sport reaches every South African. The White Paper on Sport and Recreation (1998: 1-2) asserts that SRSA set the following objectives for sport in South Africa: • • • Increasing the level of participation in sport and recreation activities; Raising sport’s profile in the face of conflicting priorities; and Maximising the probability of success in major events. Realisation of these goals requires a conscious effort and firm commitment from government, non-governmental organisations, the private sector and South African society, in general.

Within this triad, each stakeholder has a particular role to play in laying a foundation for a culture of sport and recreation and that, overall, the responsibility for the policy, provision and delivery of sport and recreation resides with SRSA and the South African Sports Commission (SASC) (White Paper on Sport and Recreation, 1998: 1- 3). The White Paper on Sport and Recreation (1998: 2) defines sport as an activity, which involves a level of physical involvement where participants engage in either a structured or unstructured environment for the purpose of competition, but also for relaxation, 17 personal satisfaction, physical health, emotional growth and development. They also define recreation as a process of voluntary participation in any type of activity that makes a contribution to improving general health and well-being.

The White Paper on Sport and Recreation (1998: 2 – 5) regards sport as an investment, which can be translated into the following focus areas (The White Paper on Sport and Recreation, 1998: 2 – 6): • • • • Investment into the health, vitality and productivity of the host community; Improvement of quality of life, physical, mental and moral-well being of the nation; Successful athletes serve as role models for the youth of the destination; Sport can also address gender inequalities and discrimination against disabled minorities; and • Fostering national unity. In order to ensure that sport is accepted by the South African nation as an instrument of transformation and of fostering a positive attitude towards health and wellness (White Paper on Sport and Recreation,1998: 3–14), the Ministry, SRSA and South African Sports Commission identified certain priorities to ensure that sport becomes acceptable to the nation.

These priorities included the following: • To confirm roles and streamline the responsibilities of various stakeholders in sport and recreation to ensure that coordination of scale is realised; • To provide funds for the creation or upgrading of basic multi-purpose sport facilities in disadvantaged areas; • To develop the human resource potential required for the effective management of sport and recreation in South Africa; • To motivate the community to develop active and health lifestyles and to channel those with talent toward the competitive areas of sport; • To develop a high-performance programme that is geared towards the preparation of elite athletes for major competitions; 18 • To ensure that all sport and recreation bodies meet their affirmative action objectives; • •

To develop a code of ethics for sport and recreation in South Africa; and To develop an international relations policy, in concert with national government policy.

The paper is clearly committed to encourage improvement in levels of participation in physical activity. It also demonstrates commitment to providing systems for casual participation in sport to elite competitive sport and focuses on development of improved performance at major events. The White Paper on Sport and Recreation further recognised the international potential of sport events and identified the necessity for international relations, within which the sport tourism event environment can achieve economies of scale. The following section provides an overview of tourism structure and policy. 2. 3.

2. Tourism structure and policy South African Tourism’s (SAT) core activity is marketing South Africa as a tourist destination, which forms part of a broader international tourism strategy in combination with domestic marketing known as the Tourism Growth Strategy (TGS) (South African Tourism, 2007: 3 – 5). SAT consists of sub-business units that focuses on tourism grading; marketing (such as business tourism, e-business); marketing to domestic and international markets; central marketing functions (such as channel and customer focus, advertising, global projects, products and itineraries and events); finances; research; and human resources (SAT, 2007). Tourism functions are further devolved to provincial and local levels with structures and authorities that deal with marketing and development issues.

According to SAT (2007: 7), core functions include: • Conduct research on the choice markets for South Africa and facilitate industry insights on customer product and service needs; • Take the lead to make the choice-making for respective markets, segments and tourism brand development and to lead the choice-making process for other markets; 19 • To market and lead projects in focus markets and tourism brand development, facilitate unblocking of potential barriers and facilitate packaging for the core markets; • To facilitate the tourist-product connection and appropriate product development; and • To monitor tourist satisfaction and experience and evaluate feedback.

The concept of the TGS began in 2001 with an objective to develop a data-driven strategy that SAT could market South Africa in a more effective manner (SAT, 2007: 9). SAT articulates that the third revised version of the strategy does not change the original vision for tourism, but that it updated and consolidated the strategy. A key focus is on creating synergy with markets such as sport that will bring in economic impact for the destination. SAT (2007: 9) augments that the focus should not narrow niche opportunities, but expand them. In view of the importance of sport tourism events, SAT (2007) consolidated a new division of activity entitled events, viewing events such as the Cricket World Cup and FIFA 2010 as opportunities to allow them to position South Africa on the global stage. It is evident hat the TGS supports the broader tourism industry on all levels.

The objective of the TGS can also be linked to key elements of tourism development, which are identified in the White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa of 1996, namely, niche area development such as sport tourism, regional and local development. South Africa’s tourism policy, the White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa (1996: 8), states that “Tourism creates opportunities for the small entrepreneur, promotes awareness and understanding among different cultures, breeds a unique formal sector and helps to save the environment”.

The White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism (1996: 8) further identifies that tourism creates economic linkages with agriculture, light manufacturing and curios (arts, crafts and souvenirs), creates linkages with the services sector (health and beauty, entertainment, banking and insurance) and provides dignified employment opportunities. The White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism (1996: 8) also posits that tourism can also play a strategic role in dynamising other sectors of the economy. It is further recognised that if tourism is not adapted in a strategic manner to develop the 20 economy of South Africa, and if the most important plans, policies, strategies, actions and resources to support it are not in place, tourism will become a missed opportunity (White Paper on The Development and Promotion of Tourism,1996: 8–9).

The White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism also emphasises development of products that provide potential for development and cites sport tourism as a development option and recognises sport tourism as a niche product, hence “encourage the development of sport tourism and encourage the provision of facilities, training, marketing and promotion to give emphasis to the development of this segment of the industry” (South Africa, 1996: 40). Sport event tourism has the potential to create several benefits such as: • • • • Generating a favourable image for the destination; Attracting high yield visitors; Generating increased rate of tourism growth; and Bringing a locality to life, bringing employment opportunities and pride to the community.

Swart (2001: 58) asserts that the White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa revealed a strong relationship between sport and tourism in highlighting tourism potential, investment opportunities, marketing strategies and youth development. 2. 3.

2. 3 Sport tourism, South Africa According to Turco and Eisenhart (1998), sport has become a viable development strategy in the global sport community. Swart (2001: 20) concurs that this particular situation should expand to South Africa. Aligned to the views of Turco and Eisenhart, as well as Swart, the Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, in association with the Ministry of Sport and Recreation, launched “South Africa Sports Tourism” in October 1997 (Swart, 1999: 8).

As indicated by Swart (1999), the initiative was developed as a prototype of how government-led, private sector driven and community based partnerships in sport and tourism could be effectual cost-saving enterprises through 21 combining resources of pertinent stakeholders to promote tourism in South Africa.

This campaign was also aimed at attracting foreign visitors to South Africa and to participate in enhancing the destination image abroad (Mokaba, 1997). According to Swart (1999: 8), the campaign faced numerous challenges such as a lack of government financial support, lack of communication between tourism and sport industries and a lack of forward planning and communication by tourism bodies.

Although the campaign faced various challenges, an attempt was made to create a confluence between sport and tourism. South Africa has a wealth of resources and that there is further potential to develop the current sport tourism event scenario by committing to the notion of sport event tourism and actively engaging with development of a national sport tourism event strategy as well as sport tourism event strategies for regions and cities. In order for it to be successful, relationship building between the two sectors and authorities should grow and be nurtured.

This concept was articulated in the National Event Strategy of 2002 and the South African Sport Industry Competitiveness Report of 2005.

DEAT (2002: 8 – 9) noted that SAT, the National Tourism Organisation of South Africa, was tasked with a mandate to market South Africa as a preferred destination. Part of the marketing approach was to host various events such as meetings, incentives, entertainment events, exhibitions and in particular sport tourism events. These events occur without a national co-ordinated strategy, which is inclusive of all types of events. It was further noted that the impacts of these events on the destination, are not understood (DEAT, 2002: 1). In order to consolidate these events and create an understanding of the impacts of these events, SAT and DEAT commissioned a study to formulate a national event strategy.

The focus of the strategy was to develop methods of understanding impacts of events on the national economy and how these benefits are maximised by relevant beneficiaries from previously disadvantaged sectors. DEAT (2002: 10) posits that “across the globe tourism is increasingly being recognised for the role that it can play in driving economic development in a region and it is with this in mind that the South African government has made tourism development a priority”. It is further pointed out that markets in Africa such as Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and Mauritius are opportunities for tourism influx to South Africa. The research also investigated the role of events as part of the national tourism product.

DEAT asserts (2002: 16) that events are recognised globally and that those events are situated across the spectrum focussing on MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions), sport, 22 arts and culture.

DEAT (2002: 17) advances that if these events are managed and coordinated in an effective manner, and forms part of a well developed and planned event strategy, it could have the potential to earn several benefits for the destination. An interesting factor is that 100 questionnaires were forwarded to a variety of tourism stakeholders, which included government, parastatals, the private sector and tertiary institutions. A total of 23 completed questionnaires were received and it was identified that some of these stakeholders felt that the questionnaires were not relevant.

Furthermore, it is pointed out that some of the government departments did not even respond to the questionnaires (DEAT, 2002: 33). This could have been as a result of a general lack of knowledge or not being interested. Sport event tourism, has a major role to play in further development of the industry and being a catalyst for economic development, the lack of response is a concerning factor and highlights performance problems within the industry.

The fact that the surveys were not completed, identifies a need for the importance of a strategy for cities that have potential to develop sport event tourism as a sustainable beneficial resource base for the city.

Such a strategy can highlight and identify required methodology of achieving a sustainable and viable sport event tourism industry in which all sectors, namely, government, private sector and the host community can benefit in a positive manner. If it is developed correctly, implemented and managed correctly, it can bring about a win-win situation for a destination, including both national and local levels. DEAT (2002: 63) noted an important factor that for South Africa to host events that are appropriate, a mechanism to distinguish between different types of events should be established. It was recommended that distinguishing categories should be outlined in the following manner. Table 2.

: Event categories according to the National Event Strategy for South Africa Category Type of Event Sport, Arts and Culture Mega-events • FIFA World Cup • Commonwealth Games Major international • World championships events • International sport events • International cultural events Established • CM created events • Pick ‘n Pay Argus Cycle Tour • OMTOM • National Arts Festival • Vodacom Beach Africa • North Sea Jazz Festival Community • Klein Karoo Kunste Fees festivals • Knysna Oyster Festival • Hermanus Whale Festival • Cherry Blossom Festival • Kwa-Ximba Cultural Festival 23 Creating new events MICE Sector Meetings Incentives Conference Exhibitions • • • • • Events that can be created in the absence of suitable events, Cities can identify products

Smaller events where people gather to discuss matters, sport and cultural organisations can host their continental and international meetings in South Africa Incentives is a method that focuses on travel experiences as a motivation tool for peak performance within a company, and can be linked to sport events Conferences and conventions, which include larger types of gatherings that can last for longer than five days, up to 14 days, can be linked to sport events A specific activity designed to target suppliers of products, equipment and services to provide an opportunity to demonstrate products, equipment and services to certain markets, can be linked to sport events Adapted from DEAT (2002: 63 – 65) It is noted that that DCM and the BR are also established created events, however, not on the same scale as the CM and OMTOM.

In all these categories a link can be drawn to sport event tourism, which implies the necessity of developing sport event tourism as a catalyst of sustainable economic development for Cape Town and Durban. This is supported by the statement, as mentioned in the study that event tourism has potential to be “a powerful vehicle for complementing and/or driving economic and social development in South Africa” (DEAT, 2002: 112). A performance problem identified in this study articulates that as there is a lack of synergy amongst the various stakeholders in South Africa and that in the public and the private sector, a barrier is created that can hinder South Africa to harness the ability to become a major player in the global event tourism industry (DEAT, 2002: 112).

DEAT (2002: 112 – 116) articulated the following important points: • Successful event tourism destinations have a clearly well defined event calendar linked to an appropriate and timeous marketing strategy; • It appears that the MICE sector dominates the national event area, while as a result of clearly defined event strategies internationally, MICE and sport event tourism complement each other; • Sound event tourism strategies can only be effective if it is supported by adequate infrastructure, political will and commitment, appropriate funding, tourism-friendly environments, adequate marketing, support from local communities, partnerships with the private sector and clearly defined organisational capacity; • It is advised that event tourism should be part of economic development strategies; 24 • That any event tourism strategy should include a form of research to contribute towards monitoring event development on a national, provincial, regional and local level; • Lack of standard operational procedures for dealing with the bidding of events, procuring government funding, accessing services and important infrastructure do not exist; • • •

Need for further education and training in events; Need for community participation in all events; and Need for co-ordinated strategies to effectively deal with events on a national, provincial, regional and local level.

The National Event Strategy addressed critical issues pertaining to the events industry of South Africa. It identified key areas that require further development that can be directly applied to strategy development for sport tourism events. Concepts that have been identified in this particular research study can be linked to the Overview of South African Sport Industry Competitiveness Report of 2005 (SAT, 2005), which was developed in conjunction with the 2010 Soccer World Cup Tourism Organising Plan (SAT, 2005). These reports highlight the confluence of sport and tourism with relevance focussed on events.

The Overview of South African Sports Industry Competitiveness report (SAT, 2005) further focuses on strategic opportunities that are available for sport tourism competitiveness in the run-up to and after 2010; however, these aspects are also applicable to all types of sport tourism events.

SAT (2005: 5) asserts that high performance sport in South Africa meets established criteria, namely, that it is significantly organised competition at a professional, inter-provincial and international level, including formal, high profile events, which drive significant overnight travel by participants and/or spectators. SAT further identified areas of strengths and weaknesses in the sport industry, which leaves opportunities for improvement and strategy development for the weaknesses. The following table provides a short overview of areas of strengths and weaknesses. 25 Table 2. : Sports industry competitiveness, strengths and weaknesses Strengths Context for Firm Strategy and Rivalry • High quality management and professionalism within certain sports, known as codes Weaknesses Context for Firm Strategy and Rivalry • Lack of domestic rivalry • No uniform administration across the various sports • Conflict of interest, leading to inefficiencies in decision making • Lack of capacity and information Government • Governing structures are new with roles still being fully defined • No national overarching strategy for proactively growing a portfolio of sport events • Limited focus on driving economic competitiveness and growth Factor Conditions • Participation across sports are often not representative of the South African population • Insufficient number of skilled athletes • Observed growth in commercial activity does not seem sustainable and there is a need to broaden sponsorship base and include more private sector players • Facilities are non-existent in areas where they are needed Demand Conditions • Demand for sport is focussed heavily on only a few sports • Interest in sport does not translate into attendance or participation for majority of the population • General spectatorship of sport is declining amongst the population Related and Supporting Industries • Weaker linkages do exist with certain related and supporting industries such as tourism

Government • Outlined priorities for sport and recreation with respect to enhancing international performance • New consolidated structures to enhance delivery • Prioritised list of high performance sport for mass participation and international performance Factor Conditions • South Africa has a variety of climates, terrain and geographies to support the development of many sports • Financial capital from the private sector is available • Where facilities exist they are world class and are expected to improve further post 2010 • Existing world-class technology and knowledge Demand Conditions • A strong sporting culture with sophisticated demand for participation and media spectatorship • Sport attendance is spread across geographies in South Africa Related and Supporting Industries • The existence of some world class, internationally competitive supporting and related industries that have strong linkages with the sport industry such as science, medicine and goods manufacturing Adapted from SAT (2005: 8 – 12)

SAT (2005: 14) asserts that there are key challenges that require attention to ensure that economic growth takes place. These challenges focus on driving economic value not being a priority; a lack of holistic strategy for the South African sport industry; lack of well-defined government and sport-code level structures; and demand does not translate into a growing spectator base and event attendance.

These areas become a key focus for sport tourism event development. SAT (2005: 61) identified the importance of linkages with tourism, stating that, conceptually, tourism and sport can have strong interconnections, which create a positive feedback dynamic.

These strategies attempted to articulate the link between sport and tourism. SAT further posits that sport events have the following benefits for tourism (SAT, 2005: 61): 26 • • Attendance at sport events creates value for hotels, restaurants, shops and curios; Viewership of sport events and a positive experience strengthens national/regional brand; • Attendees or participants may extend their stay post the sporting event for tourism reasons; • Sport events provide a source of growth in domestic tourism demand to drive competitiveness and innovation and to assist with challenges such as seasonality; • Sport tourism events support local businesses, leads to job creation and creation of tax revenue; •

Sport tourism events can be leveraged in such a manner that it can spread economic growth across geographies and over time and also support transformation goals; • If sport activities are bundled with tourism activities they can assist the destination to increase event attendance; • Sport tourism events can drive the creation of support infrastructure such as hotels, restaurants, and areas for public transit; • Sport tourism events can create a positive image for the destination, which can allow for more competitive bids for the destination; and • Economic value is generated through sport and tourism and can be reinvested by government, private sector and sponsors into talent development, infrastructure development and capacity building within communities of the host destination. 27