Residents’ Perceptions toward the Event Facilities

Yujun Zou

Abstract：Events play a significant role in the social， economy and overall image of hosting cities， regions or countries. The benefits that special events can provide to local economic and residents of hosting destination have been widely recognized， and local governments have been proactive in seeking to attract and support appropriate events and providing a suitable environment for their development.

It takes massive efforts in various aspects to successfully and effectively host whether mega events， such as Olympic games，Commonwealth Games，FIFA World Cup， etc.， or hallmark events like Festival de Cannes，Davos Forum and so forth. The first issue should be concerned is probably resident support and involvement. All tourism planning should be based on community involvement and local attractions should be promoted only when marketing is supported by local residents （Cooke，1982; Deccio & Baloglu，2002）. Generally， most event facilities， including event venues and supporting infrastructures， will become event legacy then can facilitate various community activities for residents in the hosting cities or countries， and the construction of event facilities also involves a series of activities that may have impacts on local community.

Thus， this essay attempts to presenting residents perceptions and attitudes towards the event facilities by discussing relationships between residents attitudes and other variable factors that may influence residents perceptions. Further， this study also tries to provide practical implementations to event managers and local government for reference in managing resident expectations and coping with negative perceptions.

Analysis

Followed are general questions that have been frequently tested during previous researches on residents attitudes toward event facilities：

What attitudes and perceptions will most residents tend to have towards the event facilities？

Will the demographic subgroup differences of residents have significant influence on residents perceptions of event facilities？ There is a paradox between previous studies as Kim & Petrick （2005） tested significant relationship between demographic factors and residents perceptions，while Ohmann et al. （2006） found that residents perceptions are independent to these factors. Thus this issue is worth testing and confirming， and What other variable factors will significantly affect residents perceptions toward the event facilities of Gold Coast Commonwealth Games？

While much literature is written concerning the economic and socio-cultural impacts of major mega sporting events such as Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup， there has been relatively less assessment of other events （Bull & Lovell， 2007） such as Commonwealth Games. Further，there also have been relatively limited efforts to identify residents perception toward the impacts of mega events （Kim & Petrick，2005）. Event facility， as a form of physical legacy of mega events， has yet drawn rare particular attention of literature studying residents attitudes or perceptions toward events. The following section will provide a detailed analysis of different residents attitudes toward special events.

Richie & Aitken （1985） investigated residents perceptions towards various aspects of the hosting of 1988 Olympic Winter Games. They examined the shifts in local residents perceptions and attitudes in a 12-month period starting from March 1983 to March 1984. Their study indicated that respondents in March 1984 have higher awareness of Olympic Winter Games held in 1980， 1984 and 1988 than the respondents in March 1983. Yet， there was little change in the level of support for the 1988 Winter Games between results of two surveys when concerning residents support for hosting the mega event. There were approximately 74% of respondents mentioned that they received value for the cost of Olympic Saddledome when 63% said that they had visited event facilities.

Deccio & Baloglu （2002） researched in non-host community residents reactions towards spillover effects of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City， USA. They used a path analysis to test the model of “Support for Mega Event Based on Social Exchange Theory” to identify residents perception of a nearby mega events spillover effects. Results showed that residents support for the 2002 Winter Olympics was positively influenced by perceived improvement in the spillover benefits， economic gain and resource use， while it was negatively influenced by eco-centric attitude. They further found that the higher support for the event was related to the higher perceived spillover opportunities or benefits of the event， however， the perceived spillover concerns did not have a significant impact on the support for the event.

Kim & Petrick （2005） explored the responses of residents in Seoul with different socio-demographic characteristics in perceiving the impacts of 2002 World Cup. Their factor analysis of 22 positive impact items produced five dimensions and factor analysis of 9 negative impact items produced three dimensions. Their study found that housewives tended to perceive the impacts of the mega event more positively than other occupation groups. In a comparison of residents opinions and perceptions on impacts over two points in time， respondents indicated a lower mean score on the “image enhancement and consolidation” impact， in other words， hosts tended to feel that a mega event has negative impacts on the economy as time passed after the event ended. Further， results also revealed that there were changes in mean values of other items， which suggested that residents attitudes towards the event are likely to be changeable over time.

Ohmann et al. （2006） examined the perceived impacts of the 2006 FIFA World Cup upon residents of one of the host cities—Munich. They adopted a multi-stage sampling technique and randomly selected 180 local residents. Findings suggested that event impacts were largely perceived as positive by respondents，especially in terms of urban regeneration， increased sense of security， positive fan behavior and the general atmosphere around the event. On the other hand， fewer residents perceived negative impacts such as increased crime， prostitution and displacement of local residents. Interestingly， their further analysis demonstrated that such perceptions are not dependent upon socio-demographic factors， while Kim & Petrick （2005） identified several significant differences of residents perceptions among different demographic groups.

Bull & Lovell （2007） examined certain impacts related to the Tour de France Stage One race that ended in the city of Canterbury， by adopting a different approach through examining the views and perceptions of residents just before the event rather than impacts themselves. They interviewed 408 local residents to decide the extent to which residents were aware of the event， likely to participate in it and how much they would support it. Additionally， the study also concerned about measuring the effectiveness of local City Councils promotional Campaign. Findings revealed that the majority of respondents were aware of the event while many planning to watch or to participate in related activities. Moreover， residents showed a overwhelming support for hosting the event， though there was potential for various negative impacts， which indicated that the City Council had launched a effective promotional campaign.

In a study of residents attitudes towards impacts of event tourism， Jackson （2008） examined six events in Daytona Beach， Florida. In addition to attempting to identify residents perceptions of the social， economic and environmental impacts of event tourism， the research also aimed at examining dimensions of community life that were impacted as a result of event tourism. Results indicated that respondents were generally in favor of events that create social and economic contribution to local community. Further studies suggested that residents are not ambivalent to some negative impacts， as long as perceived benefits exceed negative impacts， they are willing to cope with these impacts.

Zhou （2010） examined residents toward the Macao Formula 3 car racing Grand Prix. The research interviewed 598 local Macao residents and the study revealed that most residents perceived the impacts of the event positively. Then respondents were classified into two groups， namely， embracers and tolerators，based on their different perceptions toward Grand Prix impacts in further analysis. Results indicated that residents age groups， attitude about government performance in organizing the event and their preferences regarding having more tourists visit Macao are most significant factors that affected residents perceptions.

Chen （2011） also studied local residents perceptions of all major events in Macao. The author adopted a cluster analysis and found that there are three clusters of respondents with distinct views toward these events. Furthermore， the findings extend the studies by identifying a new factor that perceived by residents， namely personal gains. The cluster analysis showed that respondents with high value in personal gains tended to ignore any other impacts of events on the entire community， instead they focused on their own personal experience with them.

Conclusion

In sum， aforementioned studies examined residents perceptions or attitudes on the impacts of various special events. It has been suggested that event organizers and host governments that attempt to improve the quality of life and equity outcomes be sensitive to community residents responses and reactions， since residents who are positively willing to participate in the event development will enhance the tourists experience and contribute to destinations images. Therefore， it is crucial to obtain a good understanding of residents perceptions towards the design， construction and use of these event facilities before hosting the event. However， there still exits a lack of research explaining perceptions of residents toward event facilities and their relationship with other variables of interest.

Reference

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作者簡介

邹宇君（1988.03—），男，汉族，广东省梅州市，硕士研究生，研究方向：会展经济、职业教育。