Evaluating the impact of the 2000 America’s Cup on Auckland, New Zealand

Barker, M; Page, S. J. and Meyer, D

Centre of Tourism Research, Massey University-Albany, Auckland, New Zealand; Department of Marketing, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland; Institute of Information and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University-Albany, Auckland, New Zealand; Department of Marketing, University of Stirling, Scotland, FK9 4LA

2002

Cognizant Comm. Corp USA

This research is available from Cognizant Communication Corporation as part of their Event Management Journal in Vol. 7(2) pp. 79-92.

www.cognizantcommunication.com

Tourism events are often recognized for their ability to generate significant economic benefits for the host destination. In an environment where research is predominantly concerned with measuring economic impacts, this study sought to examine the wider impacts and implication of hosting a special event, the America’s Cup in 2000. This article evaluates the major impacts of hosting the America’s Cup in the city of Auckland and finds a notable lack of available data that document the impacts of tourism events. It considers whether the costs invested in hosting an event are recovered as a direct result of staging the event. The study concludes that the economic agendas on which event management is often based need to be viewed in the context of the total impacts generated. Furthermore, while this type of overview is important for contextual purposes and identifying available data, more research attention needs to be directed towards understanding the social, physical, environmental, and tourism impacts associated with hosting events in their local context. The nature and extent of impacts can vary significantly between events and destinations and therefore the repeat hosting of the America’s Cup in Auckland 2003 provides a unique opportunity for longitudinal studies to increase the industry’s understanding of the significance of event tourism. 

Keywords:

America’s Cup, Auckland, Event hosting, Economic impact

Case study

Auckland

Outdoor Recreation

Events

Impacts - economic, Impacts - environmental, Impacts- social

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December 6, 2011

June 19, 2012