Tourism Geographies, Vol. 7, No. 1, 63–85, February 2005
Evaluating the Economic and Spatial
Effects of an Event: The Case of the
World Medical and Health Games
JOANNE CONNELL & STEPHEN J. PAGE
Department of Marketing, University of Stirling, UK
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ABSTRACT This paper examines the spatial implications of the hosting of a special event in 2003
in the City of Stirling, the World Medical and Health Games. This was the first event hosted in
the city since it received City status and was an attempt to assess the extent to which the city
could accommodate a medium-sized event while utilizing the sport infrastructure in the wider
region to support event development. The paper argues that the use of generalized multiplier
analysis does not offer sufficient precision or detail when looking at the impact of events. This
paper uses a business survey technique to assess the effects on local businesses to understand in
detail how an event can affect the space economy of a region during an event.
KEY WORDS: World Medical and Health Games, spatial effects, public sector intervention,
special events
Introduction
There has been a growing interest among geographers in the contribution
of festivals and events to tourism development (Page and Hall 2002), placemarketing and place-identity (de Bres and Davis 2001; Quinn 2003) and
regional and economic development, as well as the social and cultural ramifications of events in different places. Many of the arguments associated
with the promotion of event strategies in different localities (e.g. O’Sullivan
and Jackson 2002) to pump-prime, nurture and develop a visitor market is
based upon the premise of ‘attracting non-residents to the community with
Correspondence Address: Stephen J. Page, Department of Marketing, University of
Stirling, Stirling, Scotland FK9 4LA. Fax: 01786 464745; Tel.: 01786 466451; Email:
[email protected]
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C 2005 Taylor & Francis Ltd
1461–6688 print/1470-1340 Online /05/010063–23 DOI: 10.1080/1461668042000324067
64 J. C o n n e l l & S . J. P a g e
the expectation that their spending will contribute significantly to the local
economy’ (Long and Perdue 1990: 10). These arguments have often led to
significant public sector expenditure to develop, underwrite and promote
event-based tourism development, as notable examples such as Edinburgh’s
internationally acclaimed Hogmanay celebrations each year show. Yet, as
the experience in 2003 with cancellation due to adverse weather conditions
indicate, losses of over £1.5 million highlight the scale of financial losses and
risk which such events carry (Bowdin et al. 2001).
Much of the burgeoning literature on events and festivals tends to tread
a familiar path, evaluating economic or other impacts to answer common
research questions associated with the estimated economic impact of the
event. Such work is frequently linked to public policy-making to assess if
the investment in promoting individual events or a strategy based on event
development does, in fact, generate the desired economic benefits in a defined geographical area. These studies generally conclude that staying visitors
make a significant contribution through accommodation expenditure during multiple-day events, although the magnitude of the estimated economic
impacts depends upon the characteristics of the festival/event (i.e. the duration), the nature of the local economy (i.e. other attractions and linkages)
(Chahabra et al. 2002), whilst expenditure on food and beverage is highest
during single-day events. Although computer software now exists to estimate
these impacts (see Brown et al. 2002), using well-known regional economic
methods (i.e. input–output analysis and economic multipliers), it is a truism that these models are only as useful as the data collected and input to
validate and calibrate the findings (e.g. Breen et al. 2001). The majority of
published articles in the tourism journals and Event Management also focus
in-depth on the methodological issues in arriving at frameworks which are
appropriate for estimating economic impacts (Tyrell and Johnston 2001).
Many frameworks proposed have inherent bias, problems of under- and
over-recording of economic data, as well as concerns on the margin of error
and how representative such studies are. In most cases, the data collected are
based upon visitor surveys to establish expenditure (as well as motivation
to visit, see Nicholson and Pearce (2001) for an example) and so contain
many of the problems familiar to tourism researchers (Getz 1994). Yet, the
outcome of many studies is a level of generalization in terms of economic
effect that is either too imprecise to understand fully the spatial impact at a
variety of scales. One interesting approach by Long and Perdue (1990) used
one question on a survey instrument to assess the impact of visitor expenditure in seven areas. Where other business surveys have been employed to
evaluate impacts, the level of spatial analysis is notably absent since the research question familiar to geographers – who gets what, where and when?–
is rarely posed.
This paper seeks to address this shortcoming in much of the event literature by examining a medium-scale sporting event, the World Medical and
Health Games (WMHG), hosted in 2003, to assess the spatial distribution of
P l a c e : E v a l u a t i n g t h e E f f e c t o f a n E v e n t 65
economic effects at the micro scale. The main purpose of the paper is to illustrate that where economic impacts occur, they are not necessarily distributed
evenly in time and space. To the contrary, events can also generate ‘winners’
and ‘losers’ geographically and policy-makers need to be acutely aware of
these spatial effects when investing in strategies to promote tourism based
on events and festivals. The paper commences with a brief review of the
geographical and tourism context associated with the City of Stirling’s decision to host the WMHG in 2003, and its relationship to event development,
the WMHG as an event and the expected economic impact it would derive.
Then, the findings of a survey of businesses conducted during the event to
examine the impact of the Games on their business in economic terms, and
thereby the spatial impact, are explored. Subsequently, the implications for
event management and the development of tourism in both an urban and
rural context are reviewed, highlighting the importance of place, space and
scale in informing public policy to ensure economic benefits are maximized.
The Geographical and Economic Context of Tourism in Stirling
and its Environs
In 2002, Stirling received City status and has traditionally been a strategic
location within Scotland’s central belt, being accessible to all parts of the
country since it is located at a crossroads between highland and lowland
(Page and Hall 2002). It is located in the Forth Valley (Figure 1) which is a
combination of urban industrial development to the south of the region, retailing in the key settlements and tourism. It also comprises a diverse range of
rural environments from the near-urban areas through to mountain and more
wilderness areas to the north and west of the region, including the Trossachs
and Breadalbane region (Figure 1). In terms of its tourism development, the
City of Stirling is the region’s major nucleus for tourism development, both
as a central place and location of key attractions and services.
Much of Stirling’s recent success in tourism development can be attributed
to public–private sector partnerships in urban regeneration, with tourism developed initially on a product based on heritage (e.g. Stirling Castle and historical associations with the film Braveheart) and retailing. The wider Stirling
District as a visitor region comprises a number of towns and rural districts,
served by Stirling, with 55 percent of the population resident in the urban
areas, dominated by Stirling City with a population of 29,409 (2000 figures).
The tourism economy is estimated to be worth almost £330 million to the
Stirling District, with 67 percent of revenue accounted for by the city area
and 33 percent by rural Stirlingshire. In 2002, the region received 4.3 million
visitors, of whom 77 percent were day visitors. In terms of employment, the
largest sector is Distribution, Hotel and Catering (22%) and other services
(32.5%). More specifically, 6.5 percent of those employed in Forth Valley
are directly involved in tourism (7,900 people), while up to 10,000 were
66 J. C o n n e l l & S . J. P a g e
Figure 1. The Stirling area map.
in tourism-related employment in 2001 (i.e. 2,300 are indirectly employed).
Since 2002, it has also been positioned as the western gateway to Scotland’s
first National Park in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs area. Events are one
area which agencies and the private sector have turned their attention to
since Stirling received City status.
Event Development in the Forth Valley Area
Events remain a largely undeveloped element of both the Forth Valley area
tourism economy and, to a lesser degree, the Stirling region (Page and Hall
2002). A consultants’ report entitled Events Strategy for the Forth Valley
by SQW/MGA (2000) indicated the existing scale of events in the period
1996–1999 which were estimated to generate a net economic impact of
£7.39 million, based on hosting 329 events. Some 50 were rolling events, taking place annually, the majority being public sector and art-related. Approximately £723,000 of this was public sector investment, illustrating the strong
dependence upon a public sector lead to drive the local tourism economy,
P l a c e : E v a l u a t i n g t h e E f f e c t o f a n E v e n t 67
through agencies such as Scottish Enterprise and its local economic development company (LEC) in the area – Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley and
the Area Tourist Board, the Argyll, the Islands, Loch Lomond, Stirling and
the Trossachs Tourist Board (AILLST). One key element of the SQW/MGA
report (2000) was a more proactive series of events. In terms of the events
hosted in the Forth Valley, 86 percent were held in the Stirling area, most
were held at weekends and lasted one to two days in duration. Market intelligence on the events remained limited, with only 58 events able to deduce
information on spectator origin, with 63 percent deemed to be local residents
(i.e. leisure day trips) and 37 percent were visitors from outside of the local
area.
The economic data on 84 events examined in the SQW/MGA (2000) report indicated that 42 broke even, 31 made a loss and 11 made a surplus.
The event most likely to make a surplus was a Summer Highland Games,
an event type forming a dominant feature for many Scottish communities.
This illustrates the relatively under-developed nature of events-based tourism
and leisure in the Forth Valley area. The area did not have a portfolio
of high profile events nationally, with one or two key events that showcased the region. In 1999 alone, the SQW/MGA (2000) report estimated
that events contributed £2.5 million to the Forth Valley economy, although
some £1.2 million were directly attributed to SEFV investment in the Small
Events Support Scheme of £143,000 during 1996–1999. Many of the eventrelated economic impacts occur where the event infrastructure exists, with
Stirling dominating the pattern, with all-weather events provision. (i.e. the
MacRobert centre at the University of Stirling, the Albert Halls, Cowane
Theatre, Stirling Castle and the newly completed Tolbooth, a medieval civic
buiding).
The public sector intervention in local events has largely been justified for
regenerative purposes and for more negative market failure reasons (i.e. to
enable local economic benefits to accrue as the private sector will not invest) (see Kerr (2003) for a more substantive analysis of this argument in
Scotland). The market failure argument as a justification in its own right as
a means of intervention by the public sector is sometimes controversial, but
in a tourism context its justification is acknowledged widely as a mechanism
to achieve tourism promotion effects. In promoting an event, the destination can achieve a wider benefit where a wide range of tourism-related and
non-tourism-related businesses and services achieve significant economic and
social gains (e.g. building civic pride). This is necessary in a highly competitive marketplace where tourism and tourist destinations comprise what are
termed ‘differentiated products’ (i.e. they are not homogeneous and their
competitive edge is based on promotion of their uniqueness and appeal to
different consumer groups) (Page and Hall 2002). In other words, tourism
promotion through events may have a tangible economic benefit, but there
are also intangible benefits such as building a market presence in specific
markets, particularly after Stirling achieved City status. Narrow cost-benefit
68 J. C o n n e l l & S . J. P a g e
analysis cannot easily quantify these wider benefits which are part of the
image building and promotion of a destination that seeks to diversify from
a narrow tourism base dependent upon day visitors.
The major annual event which the region hosts is the Hogmanay celebration to see in the New Year. Based on economic impact evaluations of
the event, The Hogmanay Festival in Stirling in 2000 attracted over 35,000
visits (including residents), contributing £1 million to the local economy. To
further stimulate tourism-based event development in Scotland at a national
level, the Scottish Executive also established Event Scotland in 2002, with
its Scotland’s Major Events Strategy 2003–2015: Competing on an International Stage, setting out the key focus of the new organization and the aim of
improving Scotland’s position as an events destination. At a national level, a
great deal of the public sector funding to pump-prime events has come from
LECs. For example, in Scottish Enterprise (no date) Event Good Practice
Guide they identified three types of events which had a varying degree of
risk involved
• ‘Rolling’ – where an event runs from year to year. In this instance the
Scottish Enterprise (LEC Network) approaches a potential event from
both its economic potential and its business development needs and defines
an exit route for its intervention prior to its involvement. This is, perhaps,
the lowest risk form of event.
• ‘One-off’ – where an event is staged for a discrete period on a nonrecurring basis, for example in support of the opening of a new visitor attraction. Here the Network assesses the potential ability of the
event to impact upon key economic criteria (e.g. net additional bednights/expenditure) and provides support in accordance with the scale
of that impact; more often than not such support is in the form of advice
or funding. This is a medium-risk type of involvement.
• ‘Peripatetic’ – where the Network actively bids for ‘footloose’ events in a
competitive environment with other locations. In this instance Network
intervention is usually two-fold. In the first instance the Network may
identify the event and act as part of the bidding consortium or as a ‘riskreducer’ to it. Subsequently, the Network will often be involved in influencing the subsequent staging of the event. This is the highest risk form
of involvement.
What is evident from both the role of the LECs and Event Scotland’s strategy
is that, following examples overseas, much of the emphasis in Scotland is on
hosting mega events. The implications for smaller cities such as Stirling which
are second-tier destinations compared with Edinburgh and Glasgow, is that
the public sector will have to provide evidence of being able to manage large
events. It is also likely that a partnership approach with strong public–private
sector focus will be a prerequisite for funding to develop events. Therefore,
against this background, attention now turns briefly to the WMHG as an
P l a c e : E v a l u a t i n g t h e E f f e c t o f a n E v e n t 69
event which the City of Stirling hosted in 2003, to highlight the type of event
under consideration.
The World Medical and Health Games and the City of Stirling
The WMHG is a one-week event comprising 20–24 events held annually,
since 1978, in the last week of June or first week of July. The event has
traditionally attracted health professionals from up to 46 countries at previous Games with the potential to attract up to 4,000 people for the one-week
gathering. Locations of previous Games are shown in Table 1. With the clear
French focus on locations, the strong level of sponsorship of this event by the
French Ministry of Health, French Ministry of Youth and Sports and International Olympic Committee is illustrated. The Games are combined with
an International Symposium of Sports Medicine, which has acted as a drawcard for many medical professions, run over five half-days. As an event, the
WMGH is owned and organized by Corporate Sports Organisation (CSO),
a subsidiary of the group Alice Evenements which purchased the rights to
the Games in 1995.
Table 1. Locations of World Medical and Health Games 1978–2003
Country
France
Italy
Monte Carlo
Morocco
Canada
Crete
Ireland
Portugal
Austria
Hungary
Scotland
Location
Year
Cannes
Cannes
Cannes
Cannes
Paris
Lyon
Perpignan
Saint-Malo
Evian
Evian
Le Touquet
Saint Tropez
Albano Terme
Ostuni
Monaco
Casablanca
Montreal
Heraklion
Limerick
Lisbon
Klagenfurt
Balaton Lake
Stirling
1978
1980
1982
2000
1983
1988
1990
1993
1994
2001
1997
1999
1984
1992
1985
1987
1989
1991
1995
1996
1998
2002
2003
70 J. C o n n e l l & S . J. P a g e
The WMHG has a distinctive set of event features which can be summarized as follows:
• it is a non-spectator event, thereby limiting the economic impact which
would accrue from the main element of most events – the spectator;
• the event attracts a high socio-economic group (i.e. professionals), who
combine business and leisure over the duration of the event, a feature of
business tourism for many locations;
• participants arrive on the Saturday, competitions start on the Sunday and
participants depart on the Friday/Saturday;
• the Symposium runs from 14.30–18.00 each weekday, with an Awards
Ceremony each night;
• the WMHG event has a small event organization that arrives a week prior
to the Games;
• no sport teams of international standard are involved as it is an amateur
sport event;
• CSO administer registrations, relationships with participants and sports
management, as a professional event organization. This includes organizing the Award Ceremonies, preparation for the Symposium and the choice
of accommodation and Games Centre. It also organizes all marketing and
publicity.
CSO estimate that in terms of economic impacts, participants will stay five
nights, spend an average of 122 per person-day based on 3,200 people per
WMHG and CSO research data cited in the publicity material and Games
Bidding document state that based on 2001 Games registrations:
• 15–25 percent of participants extend their stay prior to/after the Games
which can generate 16,000 overnight stays;
• media coverage might be quantified at 762,000;
• 83 percent of participants are from Europe, the EU and Switzerland;
• 2.96 percent of participants are from North America;
• 10.45 percent of participants are from South America;
• three percent of participants are from Asia and Africa;
• 65 percent of participants are doctors; ten percent pharmacists; ten percent dentists; ten percent physiotherapists; three percent veterinarians; two
percent qualified students;
• 39 percent of participants were under 35 years of age; 36 percent were
36–45 years of age; 15 percent were 46–55 years of age and seven percent
were 56–63 years of age.
The host city has to contribute £45,000 to CSO for promoting and organizing the event and the costs of the organization and provides free of charge: all
sports facilities, sports staff to manage the events, staffing and security, games
centre, an opening and closing ceremony, receptions for Award Ceremonies
P l a c e : E v a l u a t i n g t h e E f f e c t o f a n E v e n t 71
and signage in the city. The total local economic impact for the event suggested by CSO is 1,952,000. To evaluate the likely impact of the WMHG
event in Stirling in 2003, Stirling Council commissioned SQW Ltd (2002)
to produce an independent economic appraisal of the Games. This report
indicated that, in the short term, the WMHG would bring £2.4 million
of new expenditure to the Forth Valley area and generate up to £100,000
in additional post-Games expenditure from around 20 percent of visitors
extending their stay, increasing the potential impact to £2.5 million. The
Games impacts were based on 4,000 people (3,200 participants and 800
Games personnel) which, at 2002 estimates, yielded a potential leverage of
£16 for every £1 invested by the public sector based on £150,000 in costs.
The actual investment which occurred from Stirling Council and SEFV was
£195,000 which might yield up to £13 for £1 invested by the public sector. However, given the very outdated nature of the multiplier research that
exists in Scotland to derive regional impacts from tourism (Scottish Tourist
Board 1991) and absence of any study in Stirling and environs, there was
no attempt to assess where the impacts would occur. Yet, the public sector
funders did deliberately seek to spread the effects to as wide a geographical
area as possible through the use of sports facilities (see Figure 2) across the
region, connecting them with the accommodation via a bus service.
Provision for evening transport into the city to attend the daily award
ceremony was made to stimulate the city’s hospitality sector, as well as those
Figure 2. Distribution of sports facilities.
72 J. C o n n e l l & S . J. P a g e
establishments hosting guests across the district. To assess the extent to which
this objective was met, one element of the event evaluation strategy examined in this paper was to establish the effect of the first medium-scale event
to be hosted since Stirling gained City status. In particular, the research examined the linkages between the tourism economy and local businesses and
the relationships which exist between hosting an event and business activity
in the city and its hinterland. This not only enabled a more in-depth analysis
to be undertaken of how businesses respond to an event, but also illustrates
the effects of a public sector intervention in the tourism economy and some
of the spatial effects.
The Business Survey: Methodology
In order to examine how businesses were affected during Games week, a
survey instrument was developed to: gauge the likely magnitude of the local
impact in spatial and economic terms; identify the effects on normal business
operation; and evaluate the range of business development issues posed by
hosting an event. The survey took the form of a self-completion postal questionnaire, following the model of small business surveys used in previous
studies (e.g. Page et al. 1999) and those employed in event evaluation studies. In addition, a postal survey enabled effective collection of data across a
wide area and a scattered population. The questionnaire was circulated to
all tourism-related businesses in the Stirling area, including accommodation,
catering, retail, attractions and transport. While the local community uses
some of these services, the aim of the research was to identify the extent
of visitor use of a range of services that support the area’s tourism product. The survey was conducted during the week following the Games, with
a reminder sent to those who had not completed the questionnaire after a
fortnight. The number of responses received was 148 out of a total population of 345, giving a response rate of 42.8 percent. This response rate is
deemed to be particularly successful, acknowledging that obtaining replies
from businesses is generally difficult and, given a busy time of year, a lower
rate of response would have been anticipated. In addition, most equivalent
evaluations (those which are confidential and those in the public domain)
consulted by the authors confirmed that sample sizes are notoriously low in
most cases, typically less than 30 percent, which is generally considered a
positive outcome in small business research of this nature.
Results
Location of Business
As Figure 3 shows, 51.4 percent of responses were received from businesses
operating in the City of Stirling, with other significant clusters of respondents
P l a c e : E v a l u a t i n g t h e E f f e c t o f a n E v e n t 73
Figure 3. Responses by area.
from Bridge of Allan and Callander. The responses received show a diversity
of responses from across the Stirling Council District and, in a small number
of cases, beyond, into the Falkirk and Perth and Kinross Districts plus one
business based in Edinburgh.
While it was perceived that Stirling would receive the most significant impact from Games participants, the responses gained from those businesses
outside the immediate area are important. This shows a geographical dispersion of locations which visitors might frequent and where impacts might
occur, illustrating that the potential effects could be dispersed with careful
planning and marketing of the event to businesses through relationship marketing. Such responses assist in identifying the catchment area in relation to
the impact of the Games, as well as understanding the impact of the Games
on business operations beyond the city. For the purposes of further statistical
investigation, the categorization of business locations can be aggregated into
those in Table 2.
Characteristics of Businesses
Respondents were requested to indicate the principal activity of their business
(Table 3). In proportion with the survey population, a large number of responses were ascertained from accommodation providers. Some 48.6 percent
74 J. C o n n e l l & S . J. P a g e
Table 2. Aggregation of businesses by area
No. of businesses
Stirling
Bridge of Allan
Outside the immediate area
Total
76
15
57
148
Percentage
51.4
10.1
38.5
100
of responses emanated from Bed and Breakfast (B&B) and Guest House accommodation, with a smaller number of hotels, which broadly represents
the bed spaces available in the district. This is an important finding given the
arguments at the outset of the paper that accommodation was a principal
recipient of economic impacts. A reasonable spread of replies was obtained
from all categories of tourism-based businesses, giving the opportunity to
examine the effect of the Games across the various sectors. The majority
of businesses are independently owned (86.5%), with a significant number
operated by one person on a full- or part-time basis (particularly in the B&B
sector), with only 1.4 percent operated as a franchise or as part of a chain
(7.4%). This tends to mirror the characteristics of businesses in this sector noted in other national studies of the tourism and hospitality sector (see
Thomas (2004) for more detail), and recent studies of the local area (Tourism
Resources Company 2003). The employment characteristics, in particular,
are consistent with the findings from Tourism Resources Company (2003),
since some 19.6 percent of businesses do not generate sufficient work to employ one person full-time and 61.1 percent of businesses surveyed employ
two or less people (including the owner in some instances). Again, this is consistent with many of the studies of this sector in other regions of the UK (e.g.
Table 3. Principal activity of businesses surveyed
Category
B&B/Guest House
Restaurant/Café
Self-Catering
Hotel
Other Shop
Gift Shop
Other Accommodation
Visitor Attraction
Taxi Service
Public House
Tour Company
Total
Frequency
56
20
18
16
10
6
5
6
4
5
1
148
Percentage
37.8
13.5
12.2
10.8
6.8
4.1
3.4
4.1
2.7
3.4
0.7
100
P l a c e : E v a l u a t i n g t h e E f f e c t o f a n E v e n t 75
Shaw and Williams 1987), although the mean average number of full-time
employees is significantly skewed by several larger businesses employing 20
or more people, and one with 500 full-time employees. Thus, the median
average is a more meaningful statistic in relation to average numbers of employees per business, with two persons employed full-time and two persons
part-time.
In relation to turnover, 89.9 percent of respondents gave an indication of
average annual totals. Some 62.5 percent reported a turnover of £100,000
or less, indicating that many of these businesses are operating in the Small
Medium and Micro Scale Enterprise grouping in tourism (Shaw and Williams
1990; Wanhill 2000). Over half the sample had a turnover of less than
£50,000. This analysis confirms that the tourism industry in Stirling is typified by a proportionately large number of small enterprises. What was interesting, was that nearly two-thirds of businesses accept credit/debit cards
(60.1%) and just less than one-third accept Euros (29.8%). Such business
operations may have an impact on their flexibility in dealing with overseas, particularly European, visitors. Although tourists were the most significant group overall in terms of contribution to business turnover (59.5%
of businesses said tourists were the most important grouping), the survey
indicated the role of local residents for many businesses, with 30.4 percent
stating that local residents were the most important group. This is consistent with many of the surveys of businesses operating in the tourism
and hospitality sector and certainly reflected in recent studies of tourism
and the small business sector in Scotland (KPMG/The Tourism Company
1994; MacLennan and Smith 1999; Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and
Islands Enterprise 2000). It also highlights the wider implications of businesses which are located in tourist destinations that draw upon a wide range
of markets aside from tourists, including day visitors and locals to remain viable enterprises, as highlighted in previous studies (Page et al. 1999; Thomas
2004).
Awareness of the Staging of the WMHG
Respondents were asked to state whether they were aware of the Games
being staged prior to Games week. Nearly three-quarters (73.6%) reported
that they had been aware of the Games, with 26.4 percent unaware. Further
investigation reveals that business operators in Bridge of Allan and, in particular, Stirling, had prior knowledge, while those outside the immediate area
showed a higher propensity to be unaware of the Games, which is significant in terms of deriving benefits for the wider region. Geographically, the
outlying districts were less aware of the event, comprising over two-thirds
of the 39 businesses who were unaware, with less than one-third located in
Stirling. In terms of sector, it appears that B&B and Guest House operators
were less likely to be aware of the Games than most other sectors. One-third
76 J. C o n n e l l & S . J. P a g e
Table 4. Aggregated business trends during the Games
Increased Remained same Decreased Don’t know
(%)
(%)
(%)
(%)
Number of customers
Average spending by customers
Overall business turnover
Overall business profitability
50.0
18.8
45.2
39.1
40.8
66.9
44.4
48.9
7.7
4.5
6.7
5.3
1.4
9.8
3.7
6.8
of B&B operators were not aware of the Games, compared with one-sixth
of hoteliers.
The Impact of the Games on Business Operations
Table 4 shows the percentage of businesses reporting trends in business operations during the Games period, 21–27 June 2003. Only 50 percent of
businesses felt business turnover had increased while the effect of event displacement was apparent among 7.7 percent of businesses who noted a drop
in business. SQW Ltd (2002) pointed to the potential displacement effects
which could be in the order of £81,000 of business to the wider AILLST region during the WMHG. Conversely, some establishments were already fully
booked with non-Games related visitors. Thus, the Games made little difference to some businesses because they were already at full capacity. Some respondents who stated that their business operations ‘remained same’– noted
that it was a question of ‘who booked first’, that is, if non-Games visitors had
not booked earlier, then Games participants would have made a bigger impact on that business. However, overall turnover was not affected. Generally,
this situation was linked with self-catering units and small B&Bs. For other
businesses, Games participants helped occupancy levels reach 100 percent
at an already busy time of year. A higher proportion of businesses in Stirling
reported an increase in: customer numbers; average visitor spend; turnover;
and overall profitability, compared with businesses in Bridge of Allan, and
outside the area.
Customer Numbers During the Games
Over half the businesses surveyed reported an increase in customers during Games week. The increase was particularly marked in Stirling, where a
larger proportion of businesses saw an increase in customer volumes than in
other places in the area. While increases in customer numbers were witnessed
in Bridge of Allan and beyond, more businesses reported that numbers remained as normal (Figure 4). In particular, restaurants/cafés reported more
increases in customers than other sectors.
P l a c e : E v a l u a t i n g t h e E f f e c t o f a n E v e n t 77
Figure 4. Trends in customer numbers by location during Games week.
Average Customer Spend, Turnover and Profitability
Average spend by customers remained the same as during a normal week
at this time of year, as reported by 66.9 percent of respondents. However,
18.8 percent of businesses stated that average spend had increased per customer. A greater proportion of such businesses were located in the City of
Stirling, although many more businesses in the city reported a normal average spend. Some 7.7 percent of operators stated that customer numbers
had fallen during the week. Only two sectors reported an overall increase in
average visitor spend, these being visitor attractions and gift shops. Similar
proportions of businesses reported that turnover had increased or stayed
the same as usual (45.2% and 44.4%, respectively). More businesses in
Stirling reported an increased turnover, while those outside the city found
that turnover remained similar to normal parameters.
For those businesses reporting that business turnover had increased during
Games week, the mean average percentage rise was 13.4 percent, with the
range from 3 percent to 100 percent, although only six businesses reported a
percentage increase over 50 percent. The sectors most affected according to
the survey findings appear to be gift shops and restaurants/cafés. Other sectors show good results, but numbers were low, rendering statistical reliance
78 J. C o n n e l l & S . J. P a g e
Figure 5. Trends in overall profitability by location.
to be unreliable. In terms of overall business profitability, while it might be
claimed that one week’s trading may prove to have little impact overall, 39.1
percent of respondents informed that profitability had increased as a result of
the week’s activities. Another 48.9 percent stated that profitability remained
the same. Businesses in Stirling city were more likely to see an increase in
profitability than those elsewhere (Figure 5). Overall profitability increased
for a large proportion of restaurants/cafés and, more tentatively, due to small
number of responses in this category, gift and non-gift shops.
Business Experience of the Games
Respondents were asked to indicate their business experience of the Games
by circling numbers on a Likert scale from 1 to 5, where 1 indicates a level of
strong disagreement, through to 5, which indicates a level of strong agreement. The mean responses given are in Table 5.
Some 42.9 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that
the Games had an immediate and noticeable effect on business, while
44.3 percent of respondents disagreed. About one-third of accommodation
P l a c e : E v a l u a t i n g t h e E f f e c t o f a n E v e n t 79
Table 5. Business experience of the Games mean scores
The games had an
immediate and noticeable
impact on my business
I had to order in extra
products/goods to meet
demand
My business was quieter
than normal
I had to increase staffing
levels
Games participants were
not a visible part of my
customer base
My business was too busy
to deal with all the
customers at peak times
The evening period was
noticeably busier in the
City Centre
Minimum
Maximum
Mean
Standard deviation
1
5
2.91
1.49
1
5
2.37
1.28
1
5
2.09
1.14
1
5
2.24
1.18
1
5
2.94
1.55
1
5
2.22
1.14
1
5
3.17
0.89
providers considered that the Games impacted on their business, while
75 percent of restaurants/cafés and two-thirds of all retailers reported an
immediate and noticeable effect on business. Some 54.3 percent of business
in Stirling and 46.6 percent in Bridge of Allan saw an effect, falling to a still
respectable 27.3 percent outside the area (Table 6).
In relation to whether Games participants formed a visible part of a business’s customer base, 45.7 percent agreed or strongly agreed, while 47.8
percent disagreed or strongly disagreed. Accommodation providers and taxi
firms formed the largest proportion of the latter businesses, demonstrating that other users were more important than Games participants. Those
Table 6. The Games had an immediate and noticeable effect on my business
Location
Stirling
Bridge of Allan
Outside area
Total
p = <0.000
Strongly
disagree
Disagree
No
opinion
Agree
Strongly
agree
Total
9
0
27
36
15
3
8
26
8
5
5
18
20
5
9
34
18
2
6
26
70
15
55
148
80 J. C o n n e l l & S . J. P a g e
outside the area were more likely to agree that Games participants were not
part of their customer base, while those in Stirling were more likely to receive
Games-related visitors. In terms of whether respondents observed a heightened level of activity in the evenings in the city centre, given the decision
to host the Award Ceremony in a city centre location each evening, more
than 63 percent felt unable to comment, as they were too busy in their own
business, had not been to the Centre in the evening or lived too far away
to know. However, of those able to comment, two-thirds agreed or strongly
agreed that the city was busier in the evenings. In relation to type of business,
restaurants, pubs, taxi services and gift shops reported higher activity levels
in the city. What is particularly interesting is that several response sets show
a bimodal distribution, where similar proportions of respondents agree and
disagree on questions. Accordingly, there is no strong sense of agreement
about a subject among the sample population, but polarized views, opinions and experiences exist. Such a dichotomy was expected in this survey, as
businesses tended to be either affected or unaffected by the Games.
Two additional statements on the Likert scale were employed to ascertain
if the business community would support future events. A large majority of
respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the idea that the City Council
should promote more events in the city during the summer (86.2%) and
in the winter (89.8%). The strongest level of support for more events was
accounted for by Stirling-based businesses, reflecting the positive outcome
for many with the WMHG.
Implications and Conclusions
What is apparent from the results is that there is a close geographical association with location of businesses and the benefits from hosting of the WMHG.
Here, the city centre locations benefited from the event in disproportionately greater terms than outlying districts, despite many of the venues being
located outside of the city centre. This illustrates the importance of event
management when decisions are made to host events in seeking to match
demand with the available infrastructure and facilities. In policy terms, two
main outcomes were sought from this event: first, to showcase the ability of
the city to host an event and thereby develop its role as an event location
and; secondly, to assess the extent to which the wider Stirling region and
its tourism sector could benefit from such activities led by the public sector.
Whilst policy-makers may see it as desirable to have an inclusive approach to
business development with beneficial linkages between the demand and supply for tourist services, event participants are not the same as visitors seeking
leisure time activities. The structured and focused manner with which event
participants engage in activities reflects their time–space budgets which are
constrained due to the formal event organization which can often leave little time for the pursuit of tourist activities. A highly structured event such
P l a c e : E v a l u a t i n g t h e E f f e c t o f a n E v e n t 81
as the WHMG means that for the wider geographical area to benefit more
visibly from hosting a medium-scale event, deliberate spatial strategies need
to be planned for directing tourist spending opportunities. Simply locating
visitors in accommodation in outlying areas as a means of spreading the opportunities is insufficient. That is why careful thought by the City Council in
locating the award ceremonies in the city centre each night was an example
of good practice in developing a deliberate strategy to focus visitor spending
to yield local benefits.
Geographically, the Forth Valley region has a great deal to offer visitors
in seeking to showcase more than an urban experience. Whilst a number
of participants undertook excursions, many of the benefits accrued to a
business located outside of the area and the links with local suppliers and
attractions were limited. Other opportunities existed for local businesses to
showcase their products and services. Clearer involvement of businesses at
local level would have ensured less leakage out of the District. However,
this is a common problem with all events research and the public sector can
only lead event effects so far and the private sector has to take some level
of responsibility in harnessing the perceived benefits that may accrue. For
example, contracting local businesses to provide tour services, using local
food and drink suppliers and encouraging visitors to stay and spend locally,
would all help to enhance the real economic effects. The model of the Bridge
of Allan Business Association, which undertook a pre-event familiarization
with organizers was worthwhile as they derived beneficial effects for their
members. This highlights the growing significance of event management but
also tourist associations and bodies which lead private sector activities. Cooperative strategies appear to work well, as the example of Bridge of Allan
suggests. What is also critical in event development, is a clear geographical
strategy and understanding of how the local economy works and the role
of local entrepreneurs and businesses. Whilst the event was a significant
economic outcome for the city, there is scope to build upon this success and
nurture the linkages noted above, so that a more integrated and holistic
approach is adopted towards the tourism economy next time such an event
is hosted.
The awareness of business owners of the staging of the Games might have
been better but the lessons learned are useful in planning future events. While,
nearly three-quarters of business respondents were aware of the Games even
though it was not a spectator event, over one-quarter were not and, with an
event where a large volume of participants would make use of local services,
businesses needed to be prepared. Some B&B owners had booked their own
holidays for that week, presumably because it was a pre-school holiday week
and because they did not know that the event was taking place. The survey
revealed, for example, that two B&B operators and one self-catering unit
were closed that week due to holidays.
Whilst this study highlights the significance of a greater focus on the local dimension to events, the results also raise many issues associated with
82 J. C o n n e l l & S . J. P a g e
the management and development of events at different spatial scales. At a
national level, the work of Scottish Enterprise as a lead organization that
has funded event development across Scotland via its LECs is now being
complemented by the work of the new organization – EventScotland. These
two organizations will continue to seek answers to a fundamental question:
Where will event investment be directed to best economic and social effect in
Scotland? From a purely economic cost-benefit analysis, it is likely that the
logical geographical outcome of such an analysis will be to invest in areas of
potential, where the market is well defined and the local infrastructure can
accommodate events without massive investment in new facilities, namely
Glasgow and Edinburgh. This could be the outcome of a strategy that will
seek to attract mega events to showcase Scotland on an international scale
by seeking major media coverage, such as the hosting of the MTV music
awards in November 2003 in Edinburgh’s Leith waterfront area.
However, this study has shown that there are also wider social and economic agendas at work in the public policy arena in Scotland that are complex, have competing forces at work and overlapping sets of agencies promoting tourism development (see Kerr 2003 for more detail). In the sphere
of event management, the research findings here show that an event, if carefully understood, can be harnessed to derive tangible economic outcomes in
spatially defined areas. This means that the relationship between urban sites
for events, if closely integrated with the rural hinterland and its resource
base and infrastructure can play a critical role in dispersing benefits to a
wider area than the urban centre hosting the event. Indeed, through the formulation of public and private sector partnerships at the local level, where
there is a desire to pump-prime or promote event based tourism through the
use of public funds, then there are clear benefits from stakeholders being coordinated to derive real benefits. The WMHG, with a strong contingent of
volunteers, also highlighted that in event management the local community
are motivated by civic pride and the promotion of their locality to visitors if
it is developed through a professional organizing body. It is also clear that
spatial and economic analysis of the staging of events will require the degree of professional impact analysis which is capable of demonstrating the
contribution which events make to local economic development. Even undertaking analysis of event impacts at the level of the wider region, based on
outdated multipliers developed for other similar areas in 1991, is probably
too generalized and not spatially specific enough when seeking to leverage
public sector investment to demonstrate the value for money component
that agencies now seek in their market demand analyses of funding need.
Therefore, micro level analysis such as this does help in understanding more
fully how a public sector intervention in the local economy interacts with
tourism.
Clearly, this event suggests what many existing geographical studies of
tourism imply: that there are a multitude of geographies of tourism to be
examined. To understand one dimension, the geography of tourism business
P l a c e : E v a l u a t i n g t h e E f f e c t o f a n E v e n t 83
winners and losers in an event context is an important starting point at a
micro scale to understand what happens when public sector intervention
occurs to promote event-based tourism and why some businesses engage
with event development and others do not. A spatial approach also shows
that regional economic multipliers may offer an aggregated analysis for the
tourism economy in a city or region, but it does not help to understand
who goes where and why in tourism terms. Furthermore, it does not illustrate how businesses respond to, behave and either wish to participate
in or reject events as a vehicle for tourism development. Many studies in
the event management literature endorse the use of multipliers to tourism
without a critical evaluation of whether businesses wish to become stakeholders and engage in a catalytic process that can result in major pressure on
their business activities and the tourism environment in which they live and
work.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Deborah Willie and Richard Macdonald,
Economic Development, Stirling Council for their help and assistance and
for permission to use data collected as part of the economic impact study
conducted by the authors under contract to Stirling Council in June–July
2003. All comments expressed in the article are those of the authors and do
not represent those of Stirling Council staff.
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Notes on Contributors
Joanne Connell is a Lecturer in Tourism at the University of Stirling. Her
main research interests focus on garden visiting, media-induced tourism and
the role and experience of children in tourism activities. She has recently
undertaken an extensive research programme focusing on visitor destinations in Scotland’s first National Park with Loch Lomond and the Trossachs
National Park Authority.
Stephen J. Page holds the Scottish Forth Valley Chair in Tourism at the University of Stirling. He is the co-editor of Tourism Management and the author
of several text books, including Managing Urban Tourism. Other eventrelated research undertaken by Stephen includes the impact of the Admiral’s
Cup on Auckland, New Zealand.
P l a c e : E v a l u a t i n g t h e E f f e c t o f a n E v e n t 85
Résumé: Evaluation des effets économiques et spatiaux d’un évènement : le
cas des jeux mondiaux de la médecine et de la santé
Cet article examine les conséquences à travers l’espace de l’organisation d’une réunion sportive
spéciale qui a eu lieu dans la ville de Stirling en 2003, les jeux mondiaux de la médecine et de
la santé. Il s’agit du premier évènement organisé dans cette ville depuis qu’elle a reçu le statut
de ’cité’. C’était aussi l’occasion d’évaluer dans quelle mesure la cité était capable d’absorber
une réunion sportive de taille moyenne en utilisant l’infrastructure sportive de la région environnante. L’article démontre qu’une analyse en série généralisée n’offre pas suffisamment de
précision ni de détail quand on examine l’impact d’évènements ponctuels. Cet article utilise
donc une technique d’étude d’affaires pour évaluer les effets sur les entreprises locales afin de
comprendre de façon détaillée comment un évènement transforme l’économie spatiale d’une
région pendant le déroulement d’un évènement.
Mots-clés: Jeux mondiaux de la médecine et de la santé, effets spatiaux, intervention du secteur
public, évènements spéciaux
Zusammenfassung: Einschätzung der wirtschaftlichen und räumlichen
Auswirkungen eines Events: Der Fall der World Medical and Health Games
Dieser Beitrag untersucht die räumlichen Folgerungen aus der Ausrichtung des besonderen
Events der World Medical and Health Games im Jahre 2003 in der Stadt Stirling. Es war dies
der erste Event überhaupt, welchen Stirling seit der Verleihung des Stadtrechts ausgerichtet
hat und deshalb ein Versuch zu ermitteln, bis zu welcher Größenordnung die Stadt in der
Lage ist, mittelgroße Events unter Nutzung der Sportinfrastruktur einer weiteren Umgebung
zu bewältigen. Diese Untersuchung geht davon aus, dass eine genereller Multiplikatorenanalyse keine hinreichende Genauigkeit oder Detailhaftigkeit bietet, um die Auswirkungen von
Events zu betrachten. Dieser Beitrag nutzt deshalb eine Geschäftsbefragungstechnik, um die
Auswirkungen auf örtliche Geschäfte zu ermitteln und im Detail zu verstehen, wie ein Event
sich während dessen Ablauf auf die regionale Wirtschaft auswirkt.
Stichwörter: World Medical and Health Games, räumliche Auswirkungen, Eingreifen der
öffentlichen Hand, Spezialevents