A Critical Analysis of how events contribute to destination community development.

Events & Destination Community Well-being

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Introduction

Tourism can improve the well-being of destination communities and this well-being is dependent on the contribution of several different types of capital. The relationships between well-being, capital and sustainable tourism are also important (Naidoo & Sharpley, 2016; Moscardo, Konovalov, Murphy & McGehee, 2013; Wheeler & Laing, 2008). The five types of capital that contribute to community well-being include built, human, social, cultural and natural capital (Moscardo et al., 2013). These capitals contribute to sustainable tourism which is defined as tourism that is economically viable but does not hinder the ability of future generations to access resources, and does not destroy the natural environment, and the social ties of communities (Saarinen, 2006). Reitsamer and Brunner-Sperdin (2017) believe that if tourists are attracted by a destination’s resources they are more inclined to view a destination favourably and recommend this place to others.

The literature search process for this systematic review was conducted by undertaking key word searches that utilised online search engines such as OneSearch and Google Scholar. Four starter references were also provided on the LearnJCU website. Selected literature was then reviewed and separated into categories according to which type of capital they discussed (human, social, cultural, natural or sustainable tourism). Identified limitations to this systematic review included a lack of available information regarding events and built, human and natural capital.

This systematic review begins with an overview of events and destination community well-being, where the five different types of capitals previously mentioned will be defined, key features noted, and examples of how these events contribute positively will be provided for the relevant type of capital. Following this will be a discussion regarding the way in which events make a positive contribution to sustainable tourism. Finally, the main factors that support positive event contributions to community well-being and sustainable tourism will be identified, and recommendations will be made regarding ways in which events could improve destination community well-being and sustainable tourism.

Events and Destination Community Well-being

Events and Built Capital

Built capital includes the physical structures and infrastructure that are available to communities, such as buildings, road, other mass transit systems, public spaces, and distribution systems for water, waste and energy (Moscardo et al., 2013; McGehee, et al., 2010). Seetanah and Khadaroo (2009) cited that the infrastructure base of a country is one of the possible factors that can make a country attractive to tourists as a destination. An important component of this is transport infrastructure which can include roads, seaport and airport facilities. Lack of safe, efficient and effective transport systems may lead tourists to seek alternative destinations (Seetanah & Khadaroo, 2009). An example provided by Seetanah and Khadaroo (2009) of a destination that recognises the importance of transport infrastructure is Mauritius. Mauritius is “heavily dependent on tourism” (Seetanah & Khadaroo, 2009, p.786) and there has been massive amounts of investment into their transport infrastructure. Due to the fact that Mauritius is accessible only by air from major tourism-generating destinations, development of transport infrastructure has been crucial (Seetanah & Khadaroo, 2009).

A study undertaken by Lee, Lee, Kang, Lee and Jeon (2013) also discusses infrastructure in destination communities, but in relation to sports events. Lee et al. (2013) state that mega-events such as the Olympics (examples provided included the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta) can improve the quality of life of local residents and can also improve the quality of infrastructure in a community, with upgrades to sporting facilities, public transport and roads. As well as providing benefits for built capital, the mega-events can provide benefits socially (Lee et al., 2013).

Events and Human Capital

Human capital encompasses the skills, capabilities, knowledge and health of the people who make up a community. Nwosu and Onah (2016) state that human capital development is critical in order to sustain the tourism industry, and this is especially the case for developing nations. In the case of Cross River State (CRS) in Nigeria, human capital development was not originally considered particularly important, however, later on the importance of developing human capital was recognised, as neglect of this aspect could lead to long-term impacts on the sustainability of the CRS as a tourist destination (Nwosu & Onah, 2016). To ensure a sustainable tourism industry CRS had to identify the basic requirements, knowledge and skills required for positions within the tourism industry of the area and thus what training was required so as to maximise the benefit to CRS (Nwosu & Onah, 2016). It is also noted that importing skilled workers from outside the State was a short-term option that was not viable in the long-term.

Events and Social Capital

Social capital has been defined as the development of strong communities through social and community participation and interactions, which include trust, reciprocity and cooperation (Moscardo, Konovalov, Murphy & McGehee, 2013, p. 534; Emery & Flora, 2006, pp. 20-21; Jamieson, 2014; Beeton, 2006).

The social benefits of hosting events are discussed in Gibson et al. (2012), and other literature cites the social benefits also, saying that it contributes to quality of life (Walo, Bull & Breen, 1996) and, improves community pride (Ziakas, 2010; Walo et al., 1996). Furthermore, community involvement via use of volunteers and existing facilities can aid in the maximisation of social, physical and economic benefits at small-scale events (Gibson et al., 2012; Walo et al., 1996).

Schulenkorf, Thomson and Schlenker (2011) discuss social capital and sporting events and how, through participation at these events, people are given the opportunity to build on social networks on both personal and professional levels. An example of this is the Asian German Sports Exchange Program (AGSEP) in Sri Lanka. AGSEP is an intercommunity sporting event that has been marketed as ‘Games for Peace’, and is supposedly free of socio-political constraints, which Schulenkorf et al. (2011) believe is beneficial to building social capital. AGSEP aims to improve relationships and promote peace between estranged cultural communities in Sri Lanka, and to encourage respect, courage and commitment through these sporting events (Asian German Sports Exchange Programme, 2017; Schulenkorf et al., 2011).

Events and Cultural Capital

Cultural capital is defined as the values and symbols shared by groups of people which are displayed through rituals, local stories, arts and crafts, traditional foods, spirituality, language and celebrations (Moscardo et al., 2013; Emery & Flora, 2006; McGehee et al., 2010; Beeton, 2006). Liu (2014) explains that cultural events are commonly being used for “economic revitalisation, city transformation, destination repositioning, image enhancement… and tourism revenue generation” (p.499). Cultural tourism is a large and fast growing tourism market internationally, and is significant within the travel and tourism industries (Liu, 2014). Developing cultural tourism in cities, regions and smaller towns can help to make these places more attractive to visit, live and/or invest. It also provides a new source of revenue for these destinations where other revenue streams may not be performing as well as they once were (Liu, 2014).

In Europe there has been a large amount of promotion that utilises the continent’s various cultures and lengthy history. One event that does this is the annual European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) initiative (Liu, 2014). ECOC began as a purely cultural venture but has since transformed into a tool for economic benefit, urban revitalisation, and image enhancement. Many European cities claim that cultural motives are still at the core, however, the success of ECOC is often measured in the number of tourists that visit destinations (Liu, 2014). Liu (2014) provides the examples of Glasgow, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Porto and Liverpool as cities that were seen unfavourably but since adding a cultural dimension the perception of these cities has shifted to a more favourable one.

Table 1 provides an overview of the tourism marketing budgets that some European cities have and shows how effective and ineffective some cities have been at marketing and using their budgets wisely (Liu, 2014). Hosting of the ECOC does not guarantee that destination image is attained or retained. Often if an event is not followed with effective marketing strategies or investment no benefit will be gained in the future (Liu, 2014). An example of this is Sibiu, Romania. Sibiu’s image benefited greatly in the year it hosted the ECOC as it did not have much of a following outside of Romania prior to this, however, following the ECOC Sibiu did not maintain its image showing that a longer term strategy is required in order to maintain the benefits that were gained from the event (Liu, 2014).

Table 1. Marketing budgets, populations and visits of selected ECOC’s

	Marketing Budget (Million €)	Population (Million)	Total Visits (Million)
Luxembourg (1995)	2.20	0.41	1.1
Copenhagen (1996)	4.70	1.36	6.92
Thessaloniki (1997)	8.17	1.08	1.50
Stockholm (1998)	12.51	0.74
Helsinki (2000)	6.70	0.55	5.40
Bologna (2000)	8.20	0.38	2.15
Brussels (2000)	3.17	0.96
Prague (2000)	2.12	1.18
Reykjavik (2000)	1.38	0.11	1.47
Porto (2001)	9.50	0.26	1.25
Salamanca (2002)	3.67	0.16	1.90
Bruges (2002)	5.94	0.12	1.60
Gaz (2003)	14.14	0.23	2.76
Luxembourg Region (2007)	7.50	0.48	3.33

Source: Liu, 2014, p.505

Events and Natural Capital

Natural capital is the ecosystems, assets, services and resources that the natural environment provides. This can include landscape, environmental systems, green spaces and conservation areas (Moscardo et al., 2013). When the first national parks were created they were as much about protecting nature as providing an attraction for tourists (Stoddart & Nezhadhossein, 2016). Research into tourism has noted the growing significance of nature based encounters, while also promoting a sustainable form of development for destination communities (Stoddart & Nezhadhossein, 2016).

Events and Sustainable Tourism

Sustainable tourism, as defined by Liu (2003), includes all forms of tourism that are “compatible with and contribute to sustainable development” (p. 461). The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) (as cited in Gibson, Kaplanidou & Kang, 2012, p. 161) provided a more specific definition explaining that sustainable tourism must meet the needs of current generations while also protecting and improving resources for future generations. While there is some contention regarding sustainability and tourism, there are some points of consensus (Moscardo et al., 2013). Firstly, the literature reviewed agreed that there is increased pressure on tourism planners and their associates to address sustainability issues and negative impacts of tourism (Moscardo et al., 2013). Secondly, other aspects of sustainability such as social justice and equity issues need to be focused on as well as environmental sustainability (Moscardo et al., 2013).

Gibson et al. (2012) explain that criticism is growing regarding the sustainability of what they term mega sporting events, such as the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup due to the financial burdens they can incur, facility use after events (or lack of), and environmental and social impacts (p.160). This led to the suggestion of smaller scale sporting events for communities wanting to develop sports tourism (Gibson et al., 2012).

Research suggests that hosting small-scale tourism events often provides economic benefits to the host communities where most expenditure by tourists is in accommodation and food (Daniels & Norman, 2003; Gibson et al., 2012; Mackellar & Reis, 2014). These benefits are mainly due to these events using already existing facilities and visits from people who would not have otherwise visited (Gibson et al., 2012). Further to this, benefits can also manifest in the form of increased employment, income, more community services and infrastructure so long as community members are willing to participate (Mackellar & Reis, 2014; Gibson et al. (2012) and Ziakas (2010) suggest that for these events to remain sustainable into the future the host communities who regularly host events would need to create an events portfolio to guarantee a steady flow of tourists and expenditure.

Synthesis and Recommendations

Destination community well-being is dependent on the maintenance of several different types of capital, including built, human, social, cultural and natural capital. Having a good understanding of how tourists contribute to these capitals is integral to community well-being according to McGehee, Lea, O’Bannon and Perdue (2010). When these capitals are ignored or poorly managed negative impacts can occur in destination communities. Sustainable tourism encompasses all of these types of capital in order to maintain sustainable tourism industries in destination communities.

Every destination community is different which means they all have different approaches to improving well-being and sustainable tourism that best suit the needs of their communities. Several articles have been looked at including Wongthong and Harvey, 2014, and Wheeler and Laing, 2008, that discuss approaches that were undertaken in destination communities in order to build on and improve community well-being and sustainable tourism. These communities include Bendigo (Australia), Beechworth (Australia) and the scuba dive industry in Thailand.

In the case of Beechworth, this community has employed a bottom-up approach to tourism and development (Wheeler & Laing, 2008). This means that Beechworth is quite dependent on community engagement and participation, and involvement from the wider community (including businesses and Chamber of Commerce) in order to develop and promote tourism (Wheeler & Laing, 2008). In comparison, Bendigo utilises a top-down and strategic approach to tourism and development. The wider community is engaged by the local council to ensure they are on board with the council’s vision for Bendigo (Wheeler & Laing, 2008). However, simply consulting and engaging with the community may not allow the residents of Bendigo to have a fair share of input into the decision making process for tourism and development (Wheeler & Laing, 2008).

In their article about the scuba dive industry in Thailand, Wongthong and Harvey (2014) suggested some management interventions that could be implemented in order to improve sustainable tourism which are summarised in Table 2. While these suggestions are made in relation to Thailand, they could be applied in other destination communities in similar situations. In the interest of increasing tourist numbers to destination communities and extending the length of stay of tourists, limiting the number of tourists and the number of tourism facilities built each year would be counterproductive and possibly not the best management policy, however, in the interest of community well-being these two actions could be beneficial to social and natural capital.

Table 2. Management intervention suggestions for sustainable dive tourism

Actions Required to Reduce Tourism Impacts

Environmental awareness and knowledge among local residents

Green operation and regular maintenance of tourism providers (e.g. alternative energy, recycle, renewable resources, wastewater treatment)

Local regulation and enforcement

Eco-tourism

Building structure/architecture in harmony with the nature (e.g. materials, colours, designs)

Marine and land-use zoning

Environmental awareness and knowledge among tourists

Limit number of tourists

Limit number of tourism facilities (e.g. hotel room) built each year

Concern about health and safety (e.g. road, diving)

Standard pricing in tourism goods and services

Standard code of practice in taxi and car/bike/ATVs for rent

Other (e.g. no girl bars, establish tourist centre, effective local government)

Source: Wongthong & Harvey, 2014

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