A Strategic Approach to International Event Tourism

Whitford (2009) in her analysis of event policy discusses how the popularity of events and the positive association attached to them means they are coveted by Governments around the worldwide. The tourism potential of events is one of the main economic reasons why Governments are so keen to support them. This is summed up by Roberts (2004) who discusses how towns, cities and counties bid for and host events primarily because they attract visitors and their money. In fact, Roberts (2004) goes as far as to state that the economy of most cities and holiday resorts would stutter without a stream of major and minor events. However, it would be naive for a destination to simply jump on the ‘event tourism bandwagon’ and assume that an event will generate tourism benefits. To maximise the tourism potential of an event it is essential that tourism impacts are planned properly. In this chapter the authors will discuss why the host destination must adopt a strategic approach to event tourism and will use Northern Ireland as a case study.