Analyzing the Melbourne Cup as a Hallmark Event - Coursework Example

MEGA AND HALLMARK EVENTS Name Professor (Tutor) University Course City and State Date Mega and Hallmark Events It is critical to understand the importance of mega events and hallmark events in tourism. Hallmark event often needs a relationship between even inseparably and the destination. On the other hand, the mega event needs a bid that is competitive in nature to win, and it is achieved with limited resources including time and budget. The characteristics that these two events possess are used to distinguish them. This essay will major on defining the different characteristics and roles they play in the tourism sector. The differences will be based on a tourist attraction, the size of participation, national funding, branding, community, and infrastructure development. Regarding a mega event focus will be on the 2010 world cup that was held in South Africa while analyzing the Melbourne Cup as a Hallmark event. A mega event requires a competitive bid to win ahead of other bidders from different countries; the event is limited in terms of costs and time (Frost, 2012:76). The winner of the bid who now becomes the host nation have a mandate to follow all the rules and regulations that are set by the owner of the event. The factor that distinguishes mega event and hallmark event is size with the mega event being larger than the hallmark event. The participation in the mega event is larger, and this, therefore, forms the need for a global media coverage. The main characteristics of the mega event that are determined by its size include budget, tourist attraction, and infrastructure. Besides, mega events are essential to a country's economic development. The tourist attraction is also promoted by mega events, both international and domestic tourism. Tourism goes a long way in building a country’s economy through exports and investments. The bidding process to win a mega event is costly and risky since it requires a high level of cooperation both national and local governments. Nevertheless, the host nation can improve its economy if it can be able to attract more people who will provide more capital than the nation spent in the bidding process. It is rare to find small nations or cities in the bidding process since they do not possess enough resources. Mega events are always appealing to nations, as they possess the capability of attracting many tourists’ especially international tourists who would ensure that the nation recovers the capital it used in the bidding competition (Frost, 2012: 76). However, in some rare occasions, a host nation may fail to attract enough international tourists leaving the country in debt. It is also important to note that hosting a mega event needs highly developed infrastructure for example hotels and roads or rail to be used by the international tourists. Developing the required infrastructure there is a need for the national government to provide funding. The brand of the mega event is essential compared to the host country, that is, a mega event that is highly regarded can be a major success even if the host nation is not popular. A mega event example is the 2010 World Cup that was held in South Africa. The brand that comes with the FIFA World Cup is huge as the event takes place after every four years. The bidding process involved many countries, but underdeveloped countries were not included in the bidding war, as they do not have the resources to bid let alone to host the event. One of the nations was Morocco, which South Africa beat by four votes to emerge victoriously. After winning the bid South Africa now the host had the responsibility to follow all requirements and rules set by FIFA who are the event owners. FIFA World Cup is a sports mega-event whose recent bidding process has become discrete because of its global impact politically and economically. Besides, the strong relationship that has developed between sports and tourism has led to the growth of the tourism industry as a global economic force. Henderson (2010:61) defines sports event tourism as, “a manifestation of sports tourism, which is a socio-cultural, economic phenomenon arising from unique interactions of people and place, and activity.” Globalization aspects including homogenization, linearization, and commodification of culture have improved the growth of international tourism further. Therefore, the 2010 FIFA World Cup will remain in the history of the international sport as an important promotional event in South Africa regarding politics and economy. The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th time the event was hosted, and it attracted many tourists from all over the world especially soccer fans. The media coverage and global focus the even provides are massive, and this depicts the extensive brand the event has developed over the years. Half of the 2.8 million stadium seats were sold to international tourists; this shows how the nation was able to benefit economically. In preparation for the event, the South African government put in massive funds to ensure the infrastructure was developed including stadiums, roads, and hotels. It is, therefore, important to note that the international tourists remember the 2010 FIFA World Cup because of the brand the event comes with rather than the location that it was hosted. Hallmark event differs from the mega event the as it is founded by the strong connection between location and destination where it is hosted and the event itself. The event and the location where it is being hosted are inseparable. Besides hallmark events do not change location and are held on a regular basis. The local media for example television and newspapers and not global media as in the mega events determine the coverage regarding media. The distinctive characteristic of hallmark event is the fact that it does not require the host city to follow the rules and regulations set by the event owner. The image and brand of the location for hosting hallmark events are developed by through marketing. Besides, the image of the event also promotes tourism development (Asli & William, 2007:413). Besides, hallmark events are focused on developing culture and tradition as opposed to promoting the national economy. The differentiating characteristics between Hallmark and the mega event are the budget, image or brand, and the size regarding participation. The size of participation for Hallmark even is big compared to mega event, most of which are domestic tourists. The infrastructure and development of facilities for hallmark event is a non-factor compared to the mega event where it is a necessity. The local government, sponsors, and donors can provide the budgeting and funding of hallmark events since it is not expensive. The infrastructure required for hallmark event is traditional as its theme is founded on culture and tradition. It is critical to note that hallmark events also attract visitors though small in number. These visitors aid in the formation of an image or brand that is connected to the destination and is inseparable. An example of a hallmark event is the Melbourne Cup held in Melbourne, Australia on a yearly basis. The event is held on every year on the first Tuesday of November. Melbourne Cup is a horseracing event that includes world leading handicap horse races (Narayen & Smyth, 2003:1650). Many tourists who share the same interests, which is horseracing often, meet at the Melbourne Cup. Melbourne Cup is a destination fro may as it relates to culture, sociology, and location. The event has been in existence for more than one hundred and fifty years, and through its history, it has created a strong image and brand in terms of destination. The strong destination image the event creates is a major factor in attracting both domestic and international tourists to the event. The number of people that attend the Melbourne Cup is massive and media coverage is done nationally rather than internationally as in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. There is no construction needed in terms of infrastructure for the Melbourne Cup with only a few decorations needed. Several parties including, horse racing lovers and gamblers that win the stake, the Melbourne City local government, and sponsors that come in annually with the aim of promoting their brands contribute the budget of the Melbourne Cup. Through the Melbourne Cup, the Melbournian spirit is developed and promoted. The event and its location, which is Melbourne, are inseparable, that is, the location cannot be changed no matter the conditions. This aspect, therefore, creates a strong image and brand for the Melbourne Cup as it has become an important part of Melbourne city. It is also essential to provide a differentiation between hallmark event and mega event, and this can be achieved by providing the example of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix racing. This sports event has been essential in developing and marketing tourism strategies. There is little domestic tourism in Singapore since it is a small country. However, the country attracts many international tourists as depicted by over ten million tourists that visited the country in 2008 (Henderson et al. 2010: 63). The country benefited economically by recording an average of 229 USD in profits in the financial year 2007/2008. This revenue is attributed to the fact that in May 2007, the country hosted the formula one race. The Singapore national government provides more than 50% of the funding for the Singapore Grand Prix. The return on investment in calculated for approximately 40 000 foreign tourists Frost, 2012:77). The event sold over 100 000 tickets earning approximately 128 USD with the costs of the tickets ranging from 115USD to 5 000 USD. The foreign tourists that attended the event stayed in the country an average of five days, and this earned the country approximately 168 USD foreign revenue (Henderson et al. 2013: 65). These characteristics concerning the promotion of tourism and improving the economy of the country present the Singapore Grand Prix as a mega event. Nevertheless, the event was developed to promote Singapore as a hallmark. It is, therefore, correct to interpret the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix Racing as an event that is categorized between a mega and a hallmark event. That is, it can be regarded as a mini-mega event. The categorization of this event is because the event has been hosted in many countries over the world including India, China, Melbourne, Abu Dhabi, and the United Kingdom. Singapore as a country took advantage of the event to attract international countries and this creates confusion when compared to other locations that have hosted the event. It is, therefore, safe to conclude that some events cannot be categorized as either mega events or hallmark events as they possess the characteristics of both types. In conclusion, mega event and hallmark event are distinguishable through the major characteristics that they possess. These characteristics are determined by size, national funding, infrastructure, tourist attraction, and image or branding. All these factors are used to bring up the characteristics that distinguish mega event from hallmark event. For example funding for mega events are provided by the national government while local governments and sponsors provide funding for hallmark event. Regarding tourist attraction, the mega government attracts more tourists that are foreign compared to hallmark events, which attracts more tourists that are domestic. Regarding infrastructure, the mega event needs developing infrastructure while hallmark event does not require developed infrastructure as it is based on culture and tradition. The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa was used as an example of a major event and the Melbourne Cup as an example of a hallmark event. However, there are some events that possess characteristics from both types, for example, the Singapore Grand Prix Formula One motor racing. These types of events are used as a differentiation to provide a distinction between Hallmark and mega events. In summary, the connection between event location and the event is essential for both types since there can be no event without a location. References Asli, D. & William C. 2007, ‘Destination Image and Its Functional Relationships,' Journal of Travel Research, vol. 45, no. 4, pp. 413-425. Frost, W. 2012, ‘Events and Tourism,' in Page, S & Connell, J (eds), The Routledge Handbook of Events, London, pp. 75-86. Henderson, J., Foo, K., Lim, H. & Yip, S. 2010, ‘Sports events and tourism: the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix’, International Journal of Event and Festival Management, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 60-73. Narayan, P. & Smyth, R. 2003, ‘Attendance and pricing at sporting events: empirical results from Granger Causality Tests for the Melbourne Cup,' Applied Economics, vol.35, no. 15, pp. 1649-1657. Read More