Examining sport tourism role in fostering social sustainability: Qatar youth perceptions.

This study examines the evolving perceptions of youth residents in Qatar, particularly university students, regarding the social impact of hosting major sport events from 2015 to 2022. It offers crucial insights into the contribution of sport tourism in fostering social sustainability, contrasting post-event perceptions of the 2015 Handball World Championship (HWC 2015), the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championship (IAAF 2019), and the 2022 FIFA World Cup (FIFA 2022), using a cross sectional analysis. The impact is assessed across five dimensions: community pride, enhanced community attachment, event excitement, pride in community infrastructure, and community excitement. Participants are categorized based on nationality (Qatari nationals, Arabs excluding Qataris, and Non-Arabs) to capture cultural and demographic differences. Results reveal increasingly positive perceptions across events regarding the five dimensions. Significant multivariate effects are found on the combined dependent variables for event type and nationality. The study underscores the role of hosting sporting events in advancing social sustainability and community development in Qatar. Variations among national groups indicate a need to tailor policies and strategies to foster inclusivity. The work provides valuable baseline insights to inform future hosting bids and encourage regional collaboration.

Sport tourist perceptions of destination image and revisit intentions: An adaption of Mehrabian-Russell's environmental psychology model.

In environmental psychology literature, an individual's perception of the surroundings leads to subsequent behaviors. In this regard, small-scale sport events (SSE) have been used as a marketing tool for tourism development. However, how SSEs are leveraged to improve destination image (DI) for tourists has not been fully understood. Building on Mehrabian-Russell's environmental psychology model, this study examined the relationship between the SSE environmental stimuli and revisit intentions through the sequential mediation of cognitive and affective DI. Data from the 423 respondents were collected from 2023 Wuxi Marathon held in Wuxi, China. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the hypothesized framework. The results indicated that the SSE environmental stimuli were positively associated with both cognitive and affective DI, which were positively correlated with revisit intentions. The applicability of the serial mediation of cognitive and affective DI within the relationship was confirmed. This study contributes to the sport and tourism literature by extending the applicability of Mehrabian and Russell's model to SSE settings and identifying the serial mediating effects of cognitive and affective DI.

Intersecções entre lazer e esporte performance: uma análise das práticas de lazer dos atletas olímpicos de taekwondo do Brasil / Intersections between leisure and performance sport: an analysis of the leisure practices of olympic taekwondo athletes in Brazil

Esta pesquisa se pautou em analisar o esporte, a partir do campo do esporte performance, e o lazer, a partir da compreensão dos estudos contemporâneos. O objetivo geral consistiu em analisar em medida as competições esportivas se constituem em um momento para a diversificação das práticas de lazer do atleta olímpico de taekwondo. Foi utilizada a abordagem qualitativa, tendo como técnica de coleta a entrevista semiestruturada, seguida da análise de conteúdo de Bardin (2016). A pesquisa constatou que os atletas olímpicos compreendem o lazer como uma atividade desvinculada ao trabalho, o que torna as práticas de lazer raras ou nulas durante o período da competição. As características e os fundamentos olímpicos do taekwondo foram descritos como fatores de influência das práticas de lazer dos atletas, fosse na preparação para as competições ou no período de ocorrência das mesmas.

This research was based on analyzing sport, from the field of sport performance, and leisure, from the understanding of contemporary studies. The general objective was to analyze in measure the sports competitions that constitute a moment for the diversification of the leisure practices of the Olympic taekwondo athlete. A qualitative approach was used, using the semi-structured interview as a collection technique, followed by Bardin's (2016) content analysis. The survey found that Olympic athletes understand leisure as an activity unrelated to work, which makes leisure practices rare or null during the competition period. The characteristics as well as the Olympic fundamentals of taekwondo, were described as factors influencing the athletes' leisure practices, whether in preparation for competitions or during the period of their occurrence.

Nostalgia in sport and leisure.

As the COVID-19 crisis continues, society has re-engaged with nostalgia, especially in relation to sport and leisure. This review outlines the descriptive and analytical contours of the phenomenon and potentially useful explanatory paradigms. In doing so, this review first provides an overview of the recent studies on nostalgia in sport and leisure, especially within the context of COVID-19. Then, the review summarizes the four functions of nostalgia in sport and leisure, which include acting as a marketing tool, inducing positive behavior, serving as a buffer, and enhancing positive psychology. The review also discussed future research directions on nostalgia in sport and leisure contexts.

Portugal nautical stations: Strategic alliances for sport tourism and environmental sustainability.

Nautical tourism is a tourist product with great development in the European space and a lot of potential to promote and develop tourist destinations. Considering the dynamics of nautical tourism management and the importance of meeting the specificities of this market niche, the objective of this study was to analyse the strategic alliances for the development of the offer of nautical tourism products, namely the strategic goals and sustainable environmental practices adopted by their actors which integrated the strategic alliances in order to certificate a plethora of nautical stations in Portugal. Between September and December 2021, 17 Portuguese nautical stations' application forms were collected. Content analysis using Nvivo software was the technique used for data analysis. The results showed a multiplicity of strategic objectives associated with the strategic alliance established between the nautical stations. The strategic vision of nautical stations for the development of strategic alliances is built, firstly, on the objective of structuring the tourism offer, followed by increasing governance and promoting and marketing nautical tourism using the image of the destination. Based on these results, it is possible to infer the importance of nautical stations in destination competitiveness and the role of strategic alliances in facilitating penetration in the nautical tourism market. The managers of nautical stations should consider the use of strategic alliances to make a cooperative marketing in order to improve the experience of the clients. Regarding environmental sustainability practices, the results exposed the prominence of environmental education actions in contrast to the reduced number of nautical stations developing actions for the adoption of sustainable transport. This study contributes to a better understanding of nautical tourism and Portuguese nautical stations, a project of strategic investment in sport and tourism, inferring on the objectives underlying the formation of strategic alliances and on the adopted environmental sustainability practices. The conclusions of this study point to the need for future scientific research on the actual operationalization of the objectives underlying the formation of strategic alliances, as well as the environmental practices developed by nautical stations.

Sustaining Sporting Destinations through Improving Tourists' Mental and Physical Health in the Tourism Environment: The Case of Korea.

The purpose of this study was to explore structural relationships between emotional experiences, novelty seeking, tourist satisfaction, and destination loyalty in the context of active sport tourism. The study emphasizes the mediating effect tourist satisfaction has on the relationship between emotional experiences and destination loyalty. The validities and reliabilities of the measures used were examined through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and correlation analysis using 230 domestic and international participants who attended a marathon race as amateur athletes. Structural equation modeling analysis with maximum likelihood estimation was conducted to investigate relationships between study variables. Findings disclosed the positive impacts of (a) emotional experiences on tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty, (b) novelty seeking on tourist satisfaction, and (c) tourist satisfaction on destination loyalty, and demonstrated that (d) tourist satisfaction fully mediates the relationship between emotional experiences and destination loyalty. Based on its results, this study (a) indicates that emotional experiences play key roles in predicting tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty, (b) provides an example of the merits of the Destination Emotion Scale (DES) in a sport tourism setting, (c) implies that both emotional experiences and novelty seeking should be incorporated into tourist behavior models, and (d) contributes to tourism studies by exploring the mediating effect of tourist satisfaction on the relation between emotional experiences and destination loyalty. Thus, destination managers should manage gorgeous natural views and beautiful cityscapes, and organize various fun events, such as prize and ticket giveaway events, music performances, and charity campaigns for tourists during events.