Santos Tour Down Under - Sustainability - Case Study Example

Case Study of Santos Tour Down Under by Course: BUSS 5358 Tutor: University: Department: Deadline: Introduction This paper presents a case study of Santos Tour Down Under, a major sporting event held annually in the month of January. The first section is a history of the event, which will cover the location, scale, stakeholders, theme, and several other elements of an event. Visitors to the event will be profiled in terms of source markets, types, and patterns of visitation. Marketing activities conducted by event organizers will be brought to light. Finally, critical issues emerging from Santos Tour Down Under shall be given attention. Among several other events held in Australia, Santos Tour Down Under is important because it is not only about competition but also captures the aspect of entertainment, tourism, and unity. The event According to the Government of South Australia (2014), the first event of Santos tour Down Under was held in 1999 and has grown to become a major cycling competition in Southern Australia. In 2014, Tour Down Under event started on Saturday 18 January and run through to the Sunday 26 of the same month. As the first event of the year in Union Cycliste Internationale's ProTour, Tour Down Under gathers elite professional cyclists, the key stakeholders, to compete. Other stakeholders in the event are the Government of South Australia, the hospitality industry, tourists, the event organizers, and the people of South Australia. The objective of the race is to award winners with UCI World Tour points and the prestigious Santos Ochre Leaders Jersey. Santos Ochre Leaders Jersey goes to the rider who scored the highest cumulative time at the close of each race and to the leader in the final race. In 2014, Australian rider Simon Gerrans won the Santos Ochre Leaders Jersey for 2014. The event features six days of cycling as well as entertainment across Adelaide and South Australia (The South Australian Tourism Commission, 2014). This sporting event, therefore, presents an opportunity for tourist to watch the cyclists racing through Adelaide Hills, along the scenic Barossa Valley and Fleurieu Peninsula. The final race took place along the streets of Adelaide. Besides racing, the Santos Tour Down Under is a festival that creates an environment for people to party across South Australia. The event is organized to match with the peak summer holiday. Santos Tour Down Under race is organized such that the main race starts and finishes in Adelaide city street circuits while other stages of the race takes place in different parts of South Australia. Table 1 is a summary of activities during Santos Tour Down Under. Table 1: Program of activities On 18th January 2014, there was an opening concert to the 2014 Santos Tour Down Under where fans enjoyed free concert. The people’s choice classic is a closed circuit road race conducted as a preview to the Santos Tour Down Under. It was a curtain raiser for 2014 race and saw riders race through the center of Adelaide along Victoria drive. The race was also an opportunity for spectators to watch the best cyclists for the first time in 2014. By looking at schedule of activities during the third stage of 2014 Tour Down Under, there is interplay between competition and entertainment. The schedule is shown in table 2. Table 2: schedule of activities for stage 2 Time Activity 11.30 AM - 1.00PM Free Family Entertainment 1.00 PM - 1.30 PM the Santos Super Cycles 1.00 PM Library Tour Down Under story time - for preschool children 1.30 PM Photo opportunities with the Santos Super Cycle characters - Piazza 1.30 PM -3.00 PM Free Family Entertainment 2.56 PM (approx.) Santos Tour Down Under riders Pass the Thomas Foods Stage 3 finish line on Montacute Road Source: Campbelltown City Council (2014) The Tour Down Under falls under sport tourism. According to Hinch and Higham (2011), sport tourism is a process where an individual travels internationally for purposes of watching a sporting event. Other common examples of international events include soccer, rugby, cricket, Formula 1 Grand Prix and Olympics. Being an event that encourages tourism, Santos Tour Down Under generates immense economic benefits. In 2013, Santos Tour Down Under generated economic benefits to South Australia amounting to $43.6 million. Role of resource base Resources required for the success of Santos Tour Down Under include the natural and social-cultural environment, human resources, and finances. The event is conducted across different geographical areas of South Australia. One of the benefits of Santos Tour Down Under is that it is an environmentally friendly event given that it does not contribute to carbon in the air. Even though closure of various roads for the event affects the daily operations in South Australia, residents are often notified in advance. To avoid disruption of traffic flow the police implement a rolling road closure system. This system requires police to close the roads for about 20 minutes then reopen once the final escort car has passed. Other resources necessary for the event are corporate sponsorship. Sponsors in turn will benefit through media coverage, on-track and onsite visibility, and close contact with fans and spectators. In terms of human resources, medical experts and individuals stationed at various points of the race are required. The Tour Down Under attracts thousands of visitors from different states as well as from overseas. According to the Government of South Australia (2014), the 2012 event generated $42.2 million in economic activity and attracted 760,600 spectators. Included in this number of spectators were 36,000 interstate and international visitors. A summary of visitors to the event is shown in the table below. The South Australian Tourism Commission affirmed that 33 percent of riders taking part in Bupa Challenge Tour were international and interstate participants. Visitors to the Santos Tour Down Under were, therefore, made up of event specific visitors, spectators from within the state, international and interstate riders. Spectators are mainly motivated by the sense of fun that accompanies Santos Tour Down Under sporting event. The fact that Santos Tour Down Under is held at the peak of summer season is an advantage to those who love parties and celebrations. Event specific visitors as well as interstate and international visitors spend 6 days from the start until closure of the event. Green and Chalip (1998) distinguished activity participants from players in sport tourism. According to the researchers, activity participants are interested in recreation as opposed to competition. In this case, their motivating factor is the process of playing sport and not the result of the contest. On the contrary, players are attracted to a sport in order to compete and ultimately win a prize. They participate in formally organized groups. This is the case with Tour Down Under because players join formal teams to compete for UCI ProTour points as well as Ochre Leader’s Jersey. Cycling is a sporting event whose funs have strong sense of identification and belonging. Because of funs that have a strong emotional attachment with the event, Tour Down Under has low cross elasticity of demand. This implies that it is difficult to replace Tour Down Under with another sport. In line with assertion made by Smith and Stewart (2010), Tour Down Under is able to arouse strong passionate attachment, loyalty, identification, and blind optimism. The 2014 Tour Down Under attracted 18 UCI ProTeams which had the best riders from across the globe. Some of the teams were BMC racing team form USA, Lampre team from Italy, and Tinkoff-Sxo form Denmark. Green and Chalip (1998) note that demand for participation in sports have recently increased particularly with regard tourists. McCabe (2005) appreciates that a traveller plans a vacation that coincides with an event. This is true in the case of Tour Down Under because it coincides with summer holiday. Bearing this in mind, many countries have centered there economic development plans around the component of sport tourism. Green and Chalip (1998, p.276) states that sports has become an avenue for active lifestyles besides spectatorship. The current trend towards active lifestyles has raised the profile of sport tourism. Green and Chalip gave the examples of Boston travel agency that organize individualized vacations to marathons around the world. International football teams also have been making tours around the world to meet with funs and to encourage youngsters to join a team. Sustainability In a research by Swarbrooke (1999) sustainable tourism touches on the environment, economic life of communities and companies, and the impact on the host culture. Considering the case of Santos Tour Down Under, the event is able to meet needs of current and future generations. Homfray (2013) confirms that the future of the event was already secured. Tour Down Under generates revenue for the government of South Australia. Income from the event is also used to organize for future events in Adelaide. Socially, Santos Tour Down Under brings together the people of South Australia to have fun while watching the race. Figure 1 below is a picture of spectators during stage 2 finish of the Tour Down Under race. It confirms the excitement that spectators encounter when watching the race. Figure 1: Spectators during Stage 2 Source: Campbelltown City Council (2014) In a study by Smith and Stewart (2010, p.4), professional sport is classified as an intangible product. Funs derive satisfaction by watching players as they engage in diverse physical activity. This description fits well with the cycling competition. Evident in figure 1, cycling is a spectator sport because it engages fans such that emotional and loyal attachment to teams and players is developed. Sustainability is also visible in waste management. Santos Tour Down Under is keen on disposing waste and conserving energy. Waste disposal bins and recycling bins are available at various stages of the race. This has minimized the amount of litter in the environment. Additionally, Santos Tour Down Under is sustainable in the sense that it exposes South Australia to people across the globe. Specifically, television coverage gives footage of outstanding features of South Australia. Conclusion This paper presented a case study of Santos Tour Down Under, a major sporting event held every year at the peak of summer. The first event of Santos tour Down Under was held in 1999. It has grown to become a major cycling competition in Southern Australia. The number of domestic, regional, and international visitors attracted by Santos tour Down Under has consistently increased over the years. Such an event unites Australians and acts as a major source of revenue for South Australia. Moreover, the event markets Australia to the rest of the world consequently attracting tourists. Reference List Campbelltown City Council 2014, Tour Down Under Schedule, viewed 10 May 2014, http://www.campbelltown.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=2204. Green, C & Chalip, L 1998, ‘Sport tourism as the celebration of subculture’, Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 275-291.  Hinch, T and Higham, J 2011, Sport Tourism Development, 2nd ed, Channel View Publications, Bristol. Homfray, R 2013, ‘Santos Tour Down Under is in South Australia to stay’, The Australian, 25 January, viewed 10 May 2014, < http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/santos-tour-down-under-is-in-adelaide-to- stay/story-e6frg6n6-1226561295024>. McCabe, S 2005, ‘“Who is a tourist?” A critical review’, Tourist Studies, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 85–106.  Swarbrooke, J 1999, Sustainable Tourism Management, CABI, Oxford. Smith, ACT & Stewart, B 2010, ‘The special features of sport: a critical twist’, Sport Management Review, vol. 13, pp. 1–13.  The Government of South Australia 2014, About the Santos Tour Down Under, viewed 9 May 2014, < http://www.tourdownunder.com.au/copyright-statement.htm>. The South Australian Tourism Commission 2014, Santos Tour Down Under, viewed 10 May 2014, < http://www.southaustralia.com/info.aspx?id=9001151 >. Read More