Promotion Tools Used in the Marketing of Sport Tourism Experiences in a Mature Tourism Destination

Abstract

Purpose

It is observed that many destinations are implementing sport tourism offerings to enhance their ability to attract visitors through satisfying their desires of new experiences. This has led to a highly competitive sport tourism market and as a result destinations engage in various marketing techniques and promotional tools to gain an advantage. For that reason this research was undertaken to acquire a greater understanding of the importance of promotional tools to successfully and efficiently market sport tourism experiences.

Methodology/approach

The construct of this study comprises of two stages. The aim of the first stage is to evaluate the specific tools used to promote sport tourism and sport tourism experiences in Barbados by examining the responses of various sporting and tourism bodies. The second stage of this research was conducted to present and analyze how marketing/promotional tools could contribute to better market sport tourism experiences.

Findings

The research found that many of the promotional tools implemented in Barbados during their marketing process correspond with those used internationally. However, problems of poor and insufficient sporting facilities as well as little collaboration between tourism and sporting entities, hamper the success of Barbados as a sport tourism destination. This further minimized Barbados’ ability to market favorable tourism experiences. This therefore shows that while promotional tools are essential in attracting tourists, other elements must also be taken into consideration to ensure sport tourists have positive experiences which would lead to a successful sport tourism destination.

Originality/value

Few studies in this area have been undertaken in the Caribbean. This study attempts to fill this gap by examining the implementation of sport tourism offerings to attract visitors to Barbados.

Citation

Lewis, C.C. and Jönsson, C.H. (2016), "Promotion Tools Used in the Marketing of Sport Tourism Experiences in a Mature Tourism Destination", Sotiriadis, M. and Gursoy, D. (Ed.) The Handbook of Managing and Marketing Tourism Experiences, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 397-407. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78635-290-320161016