Sport as a Tourism Attraction in Malaysia: Potential and Prospects - Management Assignment Help

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Abstract

Sport tourism has become a popular sub-sector in the tourism industry today. Until the early 1990s, tourism and sports existed as two distinct areas of activities but the success in organizing the World Conference on Sport Tourism in Barcelona, Spain 2001has resulted in more serious attention being paid to this sector. Before, scholars, decisionmakers and governments involved in the field of tourism and sports perceived their respective profits independently of one another; now it is realised that the benefits generated by the synergy of both is far greater. This study examines the development of sport tourism in Malaysia. It was found that the success in organizing the race Le Tour de Langkawi in 1996 was a turning point in the government's focus on the development of the sport tourism sector. Currently, Malaysia is known for organizing several world-class sport events, among them the Royal Langkawi International Regatta (January), Ironman Triathlon (February), Formula 1 Grand Prix Malaysia (March), FEI Showjumping World Cup (May), Petronas Primax 3 Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race (July), Super GT (August), Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix (September), A1GP Malaysia (November) and Monsoon Cup (December). All these world-class sporting events bring substantial returns to the society and the economy. The strengths of sports as a tourism attraction include the length of time in which the events take place, extensive publicity coverage through the print and electronic media, sponsorship from various domestic and multinational companies and business opportunities provided to local residents during the event.

Keywords: sport publicity, sport tourism attraction, sport tourism potential, sport tourism prospects, sport tourism, sport tourism synergy

Introduction

According to Bhatia (1986), tourism is a smokeless industry because there is no production process in a factory; the source of income is generated through a variety of services offered to tourists. Tourism is a combination of a variety of activities, services and industries that provide a travel experience encompassing transportation, accommodation, food and beverages, shopping, entertainment, activities and other hospitality services which are provided to an individual or groups of tourists who are away from home (Goeldner & Ritchie, 2006). This concept is closely related to the core tourism model proposed by Medlik (1996). According to him, tourism is an industry that includes the firms and organizations providing services and features of tourism attractions to the tourists. Recently in Malaysia, one of the tourism sectors has been emphasized, namely tourism involving sport activities. Sport-based tourism has the potential to become a tourism product which can yield high economic returns to the country. The presence of large audiences and the involvement of domestic and international participants in sporting events have contributed to the national income. The earnings from tourism has increased continuously each year. This indicates that the tourism industry in Malaysia will continue to grow and potentially  contribute hugely to the economy. This is not surprising since the country is endowed with many beautiful islands, attractive highlands and a variety of heritages. Tourism and sport are both the largest and fastest growing sectors throughout the world, both in the social and economic aspects (Kurtzman & Zauhar, 2003). The success in organizing the World Conference on Sports Tourism in Barcelona, Spain 2001 was the beginning of more serious attention being paid to this sector and the resultant widespread coverage in the coming years (World Tourism Organisation & International Olympic Committee, 2001). Sport tourism involves all forms of active and passive participation in sporting activities, participated in casually or in an organized way for noncommercial or business / commercial reasons, that necessitate travel away from the home and work locality (Standeven & De Knop, 1999). Standeven and De Knop presented a theoretical framework related to sport tourism which is divided into the passive and active component . The passive form of sports holiday includes either the casual observer or the connoisseur while the active form of sports is divided into 'vacation sport activities' and 'holiday sport activities'.

Sport tourism:

Literature review According to Glyptis (1991), until the early 1990s tourism and the sports sector have evolved as two distinct areas of activities. In the period 1990-1995, a large number of scholars, decision-makers and governments involved in the field of tourism and sports appeared to have ignored the potential and benefits that can be generated collectively from the synthesis of both fields. This is despite studies that have examined the interdependence between tourism and sports (Redmond, 1990; Weed & Bull, 1997; Standeven & De Knop, 1999). Studies at the international level revealed that sport tourism creates quite an impact on the economy of a country when particular sporting events are organized. A survey done by Jones (2001) on the Rugby World Cup Championship (RWC) tournament held in Wales in 1999 found that a profit of $ 1.3 billion was earned by the country and attracted 1.7 million visitors to watch the tournament. Similarly, the organization of an international golf event held at La Costa, California, United States drew a crowd of 75,000 people, including spectators, tournament officials, team officials and media crews. The PGA Tour Championship in United States brought a return of $ 25 million to the local economy, particularly in food, entertainment and souvenirs (Md Amin, 2003). There are a variety of classifications of sport and tourism depending on interests of the researchers on the particular matter. Sport and tourism are closely interrelated and have become one of the booming tourism products in developing countries. It can also attract a large number of viewers and augment the economic activities of the local community (Mules & Faulkner, 1996).

The development of sport tourism in Malaysia

The successful organisation of the Commonwealth Games (SUKOM 98) in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 was an eye opener as it highlighted the value of hosting international sporting events. The Commonwealth Games is the second largest sport event in the world after the Olympic Games. Undeniably, there have been criticisms that the organization of sport tournaments at the international level is a waste of resources. This is because the financial requirement of hosting such a sporting event is enormous. Large financial outlays are necessary to ensure that the sport infrastructures are in accordance with the specifications set by international organizations. However, the potential returns may actually be many times more than the figures released as the income is multiplied by the entry of foreign tourists and the participation of local spectators desiring to witness an international tournament. In general, sport tourism encompasses a journey that requires costs and time to reach the destination where the sport event is organised. Usually, those involved are members of a team including the managers, coaches, officials and support assistants and athletes or players. In actual fact, the number far exceed the list of participants as it is supplemented by their family members, sports enthusiasts who want to watch the sports live, and those who choose to attend for reasons such as the prestige of the tournament or admiration and support of the players. According to Hudson (2003), world tourist arrivals are estimated to increase annually by 4.3% and is expected to reach 1.6 billion by 2020 and sport tourism is one of the factors accounting for this upsurge.

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