Few forces in contemporary society influence the fortunes of tourism destinations more immediately than sport. From football fans to kayaking, Sports Tourism Destinations: issues, opportunities and analysis examines the planning, development and management of sport tourism destinations. With contributions from international experts, this book looks at the dramatic effects sports tourism has on the economy and future of tourism destinations. Divided into four parts, the book systematically covers: Sports tourism destination analysis: applies principles of destination resource analysis to the study of sport tourism destinations Destination planning and development: illustrates the mutually beneficial links between sport, tourism and destination planning. Destination marketing and management: explores theoretical and applied aspects of sport tourism destination marketing and management Sport tourism impacts and environments: identifies and discusses critical issues of sustainable development at sport tourism destinations Practical case studies in each chapter illustrate and highlight the links between sport tourism theory and practice, making this book a vital resource for lecturers and students alike.

In setting the foundation for this book, the unique qualities of sport as a tourist attraction are presented and discussed theoretically. It then addresses in six chapters central themes of sport tourism development.

Destinations include the places, landscapes and communities where sport tourism development takes place. Whether sport tourism development takes the form of sport events, active participation in sport, and/or sports nostalgia/heritage, it draws on local resources, forms part of the complex dynamic of daily life. As such, sports tourism has implications for residents, with destination communities in a position to benefit from, or absorb the costs of, the extent to which development is sustainable. Subsequently, this book features contributions that focus on sport tourism and destination sustainability. Issues covered include, though are not limited to, destination management, surf localism, the production of space, event sustainability in national parks, utilisation of sport heritage for destination promotion, enhancing the attractiveness of destinations through sport tourism, destination development and sport tourism, utilising sport to motivate travel to destinations and environmentally responsible behaviour in sports tourism destinations. The unique contribution of this edited volume is the multi-disciplinary approach applied to enhance conceptual understanding of issues surrounding sport tourism and destination sustainability. The chapters originally published as a special issue in the Journal of Sport & Tourism.

The importance of Sport Tourism as a developing science and Sport Events specifically is on the increase. This is especially true when experts say that sport tourism is big business. South Africa, like most other countries, hosts thousands of sport events each year. Therefore, destinations compete fiercely not only to host these events but also to offer quality events. All this is happening despite the fact that there is a lack of properly trained sport and event managers. Therefore, the purpose of this book is toe equip the reader with specific knowledge and skills about the sport and events tourism phenomenon. The book deals with a wide variety of topics, stretching from the history of sport tourism to new and globally important issues such as the greening of sport events. The book is a useful tool for both students and practitioners alike, since it also provides guidelines and case studies.

This book examines the economic, social and environmental impacts and issues associated with the development of sport tourism globally, including the lack of research and coordination between industry and government. The book suggests the need for a more balanced analysis of the impacts and issues associated with future sport tourism development.