Sports Tourism: participants, policy and providers is an unparalleled text that explains sports tourism as a social, economic and cultural phenomenon that stems from the unique interaction of activity, people and place. Unlike other texts, it seeks to present sports tourism as a unique area that produces its own unique issues, concerns and controversies.

    The text tackles these issues from three viewpoints:

    • participants: examining the profiles, motivations and behaviour patterns of sports tourists to create a typology of participants
    • policy: analyses the response by policy makers to this phenomenon and the problems of achieving integration between two sectors with historically different cultures
    • providers: their motivations, aims, objectives and strategies

    Illustrated by international case studies in each chapter, and with four extended case study chapters, Sports Tourism: participants, policy and providers examines this area using real life experiences and concrete evidence.

    Context; Tracing interest in sports tourism; An overview of the sport-tourism link: Participants - Conceptualising the sports tourist; Participant profiles; A typology of sports tourists: Policy - The policy context; Prospects for integration: Providers -The market for sports tourism; Provision strategies: Case studies - Sports tourism as a diversification Strategy in Malta; Urban sports tourism: the case of Sheffield; Activity tourism in Wales; Winter skiing in the European Alps

    Biography

    Mike Weed, Chris Bull

    "'Sports Tourism: Participants, Policy, and Providers' is an excellent resource for the in-depth exploration of the emerging field of sports tourism... the authors' use of international examples to support their assertions and discussions make this a book that will be valuable to people of all nationalities."
    - Sarah E. Hardin, Southeast Missouri State University, USA