Golf tourism in South Africa: Profiling attendees at a major championship event

Abstract

Profiling attendees at sport related events is an established research theme both in the developed and developing contexts. While most of the scholarship has mainly focused on profiling major events, specifically in the developed context, a range of studies has increasingly emerged from the less developed and developing context from an impact perspective. In the South African discourse on sport events, profiling tourists at golf events have been largely unexplored. The current research surveys 237 spectators at the 2015 Africa Open Golf Challenge to demonstrate current socio-demographic characteristics in terms of (i) nationality and place of residence, (ii) age, gender, income, level of education, (iii) travel behaviour, (iv) consumption pattern. Findings revealed that the event attracts mainly local and domestic visitors, most of whom are males in their early forties. Furthermore, the attendees of the event participated in various tourism activities that contributed to the local economy. The study provides empirical evidence of differences in the socio-demographic composition of the market presented by the event and underscore the need for concerted market segmentation with the aim to improve upon the economic contribution of the event on the part of host destination managers.

Keywords: Attendee profiles, sport events, Africa Open Golf Tournament, golf tourism