Sports Tourism and Sustainable Development in Africa-P.C. Ngoka ...

JORIND 11(1), June, 2013. ISSN 1596-8308. www.transcampus.org/journals; www.ajol.info/journals/jorind

SPORTS TOURISM AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA P.C. Ngoka Department of Hospitality Management and Tourism, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike E-mail: [email protected] and O.A. Umeakuka Department of Health and Physical Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Abstract Mega sporting meets constitute major event attractions which pool large numbers of people to host destinations. Sport-motivated travel contributes sustantially to the business of tourism. Host nations stand good chances of capturing the lion share of this business. The present study examines Africa's position in the hosting of major international sporting events vis - a - vis the other continents of the world. It was found that African countries have, on the whole, hosted only 5% of the total meets in 7 listed top global sporting events from their inceptions. Poor infrastructure and facilities, ailing economies, lack of the enabling political climate, and relative low level of sports development in the continent were identified as key problems limiting Africa’s competitiveness. Proper placement of the tourism sector in the economies of African countries was recommended for mitigating identified problems. Key words: Sports, tourism, competitiveness, sustainable development Introduction Modern society has witnessed the formation of mega global and regional sports movements such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and Pan American Games whose activities go on round the year; each with high degrees of political, cultural, educational and economic significance. These events form mega attractions which carry substantial volumes of tourism trade with them and which impact on the lives of people and nations in a number of ways. Viewed from a broader perspective, sports events form the sustantial segment of event attractions which in turn comprise the substantial segment of contemporary global tourism. Major events such as political / diplomatic meetings, conferences, conventions, exhibitions, ceremonies, festivals, and sporting events draw large gatherings of participants who invariably contribute to the business of tourism through various means in the cause of their participation. According to the International Congress and Conventions Association (ICCA, 2007), hosting of international events has become a major marketing strategy adopted by many countries of the world for boosting their tourism trade and ultimately their economies. Event tourism has become big business the world over, accounting for the substantial part of international trade and tourism receipts (ICCA, 2007). According to ICCA, catering to

various forms of events is steadily capturing the attention of many destination planners and event managers. Tourism, as a sector has produced positive impacts on the environment and the economic and socio – cultural lives of many nations. It has contributed to the conservation and protection of many species that would have become extinct but for their tourism value. Tourism has also encouraged the preservation of cultures, artefacts, monuments and ceremonies that would have been forgotten due to lack of relevance or interest (Okoli, 2001; Cook, Yale and Marqua 2006; Ngoka and Onyebinama, 2008). In contemporary society, tourism has had enormous effect on broadening cultural perceptions and contacts among peoples in matters of food, dress, decoration, music, architecture, and automobile; as well as giving people much broader political and business horizon (Sutton, 1995). Global fares and major sporting events such as the Olympics and FIFA World Cup may have greatly enhanced the cross – pollination of tastes and arts around the world through travel. On the economic continuum, the earnings that accrue to many nations from tourism are enormous. Tourism is the second largest US retail industry, earning some $200 billion annually and has become a source of foreign exchange earnings for many countries including Britain,

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Canada, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, India, Thailand, Costa Rica, Brazil, and Kenya (Sutton, 1995). Consequently, it has become the policy of many countries to develop and promote the tourism industry as a means of projecting their cultures and creating economic opportunities for their people in a world in which people are becoming more and more inclined to travel. Tourism has been seen to greatly support the economic and social development of many countries in terms of job creation, revenue generation, foreign exchange earnings, and general improvement in the standard of living of people. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC, 2006), tourism generated 350 million jobs and more than $3.5 billion in gross output; which amounted to 6 percent of the World’s Domestic Product, and 18 percent of all consumer spending in 2005. Anozie (2004) noted that investment in tourism in areas such as facilities, and capital equipment amounts to some $620 billion annually; representing 8.4% of world capital investment. Okoli (2001) noted that tourism as a sector has become one of the most striking phenomena of our time, positively impacting on the lives and wellbeing of many people and nations the world over.

used by tourists while visiting Africa – airline transportation, hotels, amenities, and even food and beverage sold are often provided by foreign entrepreneurs (Eltringham, 1984; Holloway, 2006). According to Monkgogi (2011), where there were largenumbers of regional and overseas tourists who traveled on foreign carriers, stayed in facilities owned by foreign entrepreneurs, and pay foreign owners for most of the services so obtained in such a way that income hardly acrues to local residents, their presence would simply impose costs arising from overcrowding and dagradation of the environment. This aptly appears to describe mega sporting events if held in Africa as at the present time.

In spite of the advantages of promoting the travel trade, it has remained an issue on which much has been said and proposed, but too little achieved in Nigeria and the African continent (Okoli, 2001). Consequently, African countries are yet to get well-positioned to attract the fair share of global tourism business. Africa as a whole erned some $4.5 billion from tourism in 1988, which represents only about 4.29 of total world tourism earnings of $ 105 billion that year.By 1989, Africa’s earnings still fell short of 5% of total global tourism earnings (Ezema, 1993).

Sports tourism as a segment of global tourism

In a recent evaluation of global tourism along regional lines, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWATO, 2012) published a report which clearly presents Africa’s position in world tourism as merely peripheral. In a regional evaluation based on the number of international visitor arrivals, revenue generated by inbound tourism, and the expenditure of outbound travellers by the agency, no African nation came among the top 10 global destinations, earners or spenders. Further, of the 983 million international tourist arrivals worldwide in 2011, Africa as a whole received a paltry 50.17 million (5.1%, UNWATO, 2012). Africa’s tourism can thus be said to be peripheral going by the global picture. Worse still, the substantial part of the supposed Africa’s marginal tourism earnings find their way back to the developed economies through currency repatration This occurs because most of the facilities and tour products

It might thus be pertinent to suggest that Africa is yet to develop the infrastructure that would enable her maximise the opportunities of the tourism sector as a significant segment of the economy which can help the continent achieve sustainable development.

According to Cook, Yale and Marqua (2006), sports tourism is travel away from home to play sport ,watch sport, or visit a sport attraction. Rather than travel for rest and relaxation, more and more of the world’s population is travelling for sport-related reasons. Growth in sports participation, team affiliations and spectatorship, increasing global affluence and health consciousness, coupled with the growing gigantism of major sporting events have culminated in a corresponding explosion in sports tourism as a segment of global tourism. According to Holloway (2006), sport tourism will draw the greatest number of tourists to any one site on the planet; as tickets to the Olympic Games, World Cup, and other world - class sporting events often witness demand well beyond available supply. The economic benefits of these events to host destinations can be enormous. For instance, the 1992 Olympic Games held in Barcelona boosted much needed investment, and tourism trade increased in the aftermath of the Games. Tourism accounted for less than 2% of GPD in the region before the Olympics; but accounted for 12.5% ten years later (Hollway, 2006). Thus, developing sport tourism can be a viable way of enhancing socio-economic development that will ultimately impact positively on the wellbeing of people and nations.

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Sports tourism and the African continent Sporting events regularly attract large numbers of people to host destinations, who travel under various platforms – athletes, coaches, trainers, managers, officiating officials, journalists, photographers, researchers, writers, artists, fan clubs, and spectators. The travel and activities arising from such events generate huge tourism business in the form of transportation, accommodation, food, beverage and catering services, manufacture and sale of equipment, accessories, and souvenir items. Public sporting events also involve large expenditure for facilities, building construction and maintenance; service personnel; which activities can create big business in virtually every sector of the economy –engineering and allied fields; administration; Information Technology (ICT); institutional education and manpower development; transportation; hospitality; security, and so on. Enormous receipts also come from admission charges, food and beverage concessions, broadcasting rights, price monies, and endorsement of consumer goods and services (Downey, 1996). Host nations stand greater chances of controlling the substantial part of the tourism business associated with sporting events. African countries might not have been lucky winning the fair share of hosting rights of international sporting events as to benefit substantially from the tourism business that goes with such hosting. Benefiting from such businesses would have gone a long way to improve economic opportunities, living standards and the general wellbeing of African nations. This study thus investigated Africa’s position in the hosting of world – class sporting events in relation to other continents of the world. This study leans on the assumption that hosting right accords host nations of the opportunity of controlling and getting the lion share of tourism business that goes with it, and was thus used as a measure Africa’s share of sport tourism business.

officials of the Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Sports and Youth Development and members of Nigeria’s sports associations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Nigeria Football Federation, and the Commonwealth Games were conducted to extract information about adjudged hindrances to Africa’s hosting of global sporting events. They were exclusively selected, having been deemed as being in the position to elicit useful information. The identified host countries and continents over the years were reported and Africa’s share of the hosting analysed. Also, identified hinderances to Africa’s hostimg of international sporting events were reported and discussed. Findings Tables 1(a) and (b) shows that no African country has hosted the Summer Olympics from its inception till date. Of the 28 events staged since the Modern Olympics of 1896, 16 were hosted in Europe, three in Asia, six in North America, two in Australia, and one in South America No event has thus far been held in Africa. In similar light, no African country has hosted the Winter Olympics since its inception. European countries have hosted 12 events, North America has hosted five, while Asia and Australia hosted two events each. In the case of FIFA World Cup finals, Africa has hosted one, while South America and European have each hosted nine. Africa has hosted three events of the U- 20 World Cup, South America hosted four, three events were hosted in Erope, five in Asia, and two in Australia. In the FIFA Women World Cup, North America has hosted one, Eurpoean countries hosted two, and two events were hosted in Asia. African countries have thus far hosted two events of the FIFA U - 17 World Cup, one held in North America, three in South America and Asia each, while one event was held in Australia. Of the 19 events of the Commonwealth Games held thus far, four were held in North America, one, in South America, five in Europe, two in Asia, 7 in Australia, and non yet in Africa.

Methodology The staging of the competition events of seven largescale international sports movements namely the Summer Olympics, Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup finals, FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA Women World Cup, U-17 World Cup, and the Commonwealth Games from their inceptions were studied. Secondary data sources involving desktop literature review of available information on hosting of global sporting events obtained from the mass media, documentary records, books, journals and the internet were employed for data collection. The chronological hosting of the events by countries and continents were traced. Also, primary sources involving stakeholder interviews relevant

Discussion Tables 1 – 7 show that no African country has hosted the Summer Olympics, Winter Olympics, FIFA Women’s World Cup, and the Commonwealth Games. Only one African country (South Africa) has hosted the FIFA World Cup Final Competition since its inception; representing 5.3% of hosting for the event. Also, only 3 African countries – Tunisia, Nigeria, and Egypt have hosted the FIFA U – 20 World Cup (table 4); while 2 African countries – Egypt and Nigeria have been able to host the U – 17 World cup (table 5). On the whole, Africa has hosted only 6 out of the 120 events thus far

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staged in the listed sports; representing 5% of hosting globally. This means that 95% of the listed events took place outside Africa.

Recommendations

This finding agrees with early speculations by Okoli, 2001; UNWTO, 2006, and Ogbuokiri, 2007 that not many international events are hosted by African countries. Consequently, the tourism business that goes with hosting of world – class sporting events would have eluded African countries; along with the enormous economic benefits that would have gone a long way to better the economic status and general wellbeing of the countries and people of the continent. Thus, by not having a fair share of hosting of international sporting events, African countries may not have had the fair share of the huge tourism receipts that went with the events. Worse still, the substantial part of receipts accruing from Africa’s meagre share of the hosting would have drained away to other lands through currency repatriation. This would have occurred because, according to Elthringham, (1984); Holloway, (2006), a great deal of the tourist facilities –airline transportation, hotel accommodation, and even food sold to tourists while in the few African countries that hosted were largely from foreign investors. Hence, the postultion of Monkgogi (2011) that where there were largenumbers of regional and overseas tourists who traveled on foreign carriers, stayed in facilities owned by foreign entrepreneurs, and pay foreign owners for most of the services so obtained while a destination in such a way that income hardly acrues to local residents, their presence would simply impose costs arising from overcrowding and dagradation of the environment. Africa might indeed be finding itself at the crossroads by way of not possessing the capacity for attracting the hosting rights of world – class sporting events. International event hosting, including sporting events, calls for state of the art infrastructure and facilities (Holloway, 2006); which many African countries might not have the capital to develop in order to place them in competitive position for winning the hosting rights of international sporting events. Thus, many African countries might be finding themselves caught in a vicious circle – not being in the position to attract hosting rights of major sporting events to net the attendant tourism receipts for the wellbeing of their citizens - and not having the money to update their infrastructure and facilities to become competitive in the race. In the light of the above, the African continent might continue to lag behind the other continents of the world in sharing the benefits accruing from sports tourism the continent is capable of making the necessary infrastructural investment in this subsector of tourism.

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1) Proper placement of the tourism sector in the economies of African countries will front the sector as a priority area of investment, and gear efforts towards the development of the necessary superstructure. 2) Cultivation of the right political will by African countries will shed present seeming complex in measuring up to the demands for taking their due position in the global sport tourism trade. South Africa has already shown that it can be done by successfully hosting the World Cup in 2010. 3) African countries should embrace international lending and donor agencies for sourcing of funds for development of tourism infrastructure, and leas with the relevant international technical aid agencies such as the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) for technical support in executing their tourism programmes.

References Cook, R.A; Yale, L J, and Marqua, J. J. (2006). Tourism: The business of travel. (3rd ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Downey, D. W. Et al (1996). Sports and athletics. In New standard encyclopedia (vol. 16, pp s-739 – s-742). Chicago, Standard Educational Corporation. Eltringham, B. K. (1984) Wildlife resources and economic development. New York: John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Holloway, C. (2006) The business of tourism (7th ed.). London, Pitman Publishing. International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA [2007]). Statistical year book 2006, Author. Ikwuenze, E. (2010). Football World Cup records beyond 75 years. Johanesburg, Graphic Mount Press Publishers. Monkgogi, L. (2011). The place of event tourism in Botswana’s High Income-Low Volume tourism strategy: Challenges and prospects for sustainability.


Unpublished paper presented at the 7th Africa conference of the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS) held 6 – 8th June, 2011 at Makerere University, Uganda.

Okoli, C. I. C. (2001) Tourism development and management. Enugu, Jee Communications. Sutton, H. (1995). Tourism. In Encyclopaedia americana.(Vol. 26, pp 877 – 879). Danbury, Connecticut, Grolier Incorporated.

Ngoka, P. C. and Onyebinama, U. A. U. (2008). Socio– cultural impact of tourism: Issues in Nigeria’s tourism development. Journal of Social and Policy Issues 5(2), 9 – 15. Ngoka, P. C. (2011). Tourism as a veritable instrument for Nigeria’s rebranding project. Journal of the Hospitality and Tourism Management Association of Nigeria, 1(1), 29 – 36. Ogbuokiri, A. (Desk editor). (2007, October 21). Nigeria loses millions in global tourism market. (Business Day newspaper).

United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO, [2007]) Statistical year book 2007, Madrid, Author. World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC, [2006]) Yearly Bulletin 2006. http:/www.worldatlas.com/atlas/infopage/olypi c.htm Retrieved 1/6/2011

Appendix of tables Table 1(a): Host cities, countries and continents of the Modern Summer Olympics from inception to present Year

Host City

Host Country

1896

Athens

Greece

1900

Paris

France

Europe

1904

St. Louis

USA

North America

Athens

Greece

Europe

1908

London

Britain

Europe

1912

Stockholm

Sweden

Europe

1916

Could not hold–World War 1

1920

Antwerp

Belgium

Europe

1924

Paris

France

Europe

1928

Amsterdam

Belgium

Europe

1932

Los Angeles

USA

North America

1936

Berlin

Germany

Europe

1940

Could not hold –World War II

1944


1948

London

Britain

Europe

1952

Helsinki

Finland

Europe

1956

Melbourne

Australia

Australia

1906 (Special Anniversary)

10th

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Continent Europe


1960

Squaw Valley Caliph

USA

North America

1964

Tokyo

Japan

Asia

1968

Mexico City

Mexico

South America

1972

Munich

Germany

Europe

1976

Montreal

Canada

North America

Source: Compiled from http:/www.worldatlas.com/atlas/infopage/olypic.htm– 1/6/2011 Table 1(b): Host cities, countries and continents of the Modern Summer Olympics from inception to present continued Year

Host city

Host country

Continent

1980

Moscow

Soviet Union

Asia

1984

Los Angeles

USA

North America

1988

Soul

South Korea

Asia

1992

Barcelona

Spain

Europe

1996

Atlanta

USA

North America

2000

Sidney

Australia

Australia

2004

Athens

Greece

Europe

2008

Berlin

Germany

Europe

2012

London

Britain

Europe

Tables 1(a) and (b) shows that no African country has hosted the Summer Olympics from its inception till date. Source: Compiled from http:/www.worldatlas.com/atlas/infopage/olypic.htm– 1/6/2011 Table 2: Host cities, countries and continents of the Modern Winter Olympics to present

from

Year

Host city

Host country

Host continent

1934

Chamonix

France

Europe

1928

St Moritze

Switzerland

Europe

1932

Lake Placid (New York)

USA

North America

83

inception


1936

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Germany

Europe

1940


1944


1948

St Moritz

Switzerland

Europe

1952

Oslo

Norway

Europe

1956

Cortina d’Ampozzo

Italy

Europe

1960

Rome

Italy

Europe

1964

Innsbruck

Australia

Australia

1968

Grande

France

Europe

1972

Sapporo

Japan

Asia

1976

Innsbruck

Australia

Australia

1980

Lake Placid (New York)

USA

North America

1984

Sarajevo

Yugoslavia

Europe

1988

Calgary, Alberta

Canada

North America

1992

Albertville

France

Europe

1994

Lille Hammer

Norway

Europe

1998

Nagano

Japan

Asia

2002

Salt Lake City

USA

North America

2006

Turin

Italy

Europe

2010

Vancouver, British Columbia

Canada

North America

Table 2 shows that no African country has hosted the Winter Olympics from its inception.

Source: Compiled from http:/www.worldatlas.com/atlas/infopage/olypic.htm – 1/6/2011 Table 3: Host countries and continents of the FIFA World Cup finals from inception to present Year

Host Country

Winner

Host Continent

1930

Uruguay

Uruguay

South America

1934

Italy

Italy

Europe

1938

France

Italy

Europe

84


1940


1944


1950

Brazil

Uruguay

South America

1954

Switzerland

Germany FR

Europe

1958

Sweden

Brazil

South America

1962

Chile

Brazil

South America

1966

England

England

Europe

1970

Mexico

Brazil

South America

1974

Germany FR

Germany FR

Europe

1978

Argentina

Argentina

South America

1982

Spain

Italy

Europe

1986

Mexico

Argentina

South America

1990

Italy

Germany FR

Europe

1994

USA

Brazil

South America

1998

France

France

2002

Korea Rep/Japan

Brazil

South America

2006

Germany

Italy

Europe

2010

South Africa

Spain

Europe

Table 3 shows that one African has hosted the FIFA World Cup finals since its inception

Source: Compiled from Ikwuenze, E. (2010).

Table 4: Host countries and continents of the FIFA U – 20 World Cup from inception to present Year

Host country

Winner

Host continent

1977

Tunisia

USSR

Africa

1979

Japan

Argentina

Asia

1981

Australia

Germany FR

Australia

1983

Mexico

Brazil

South America

85


1985

USSR

Brazil

South America

1987

Chile

Yugoslavia

South America

1989

Saudi Arabia

Portugal

Asia

1991

Portugal

Portugal

Europe

1993

Australia

Brazil

Australia

995

Qatar

Argentina

Asia

1997

Malaysia

Argentina

Asia

1990

Nigeria

Spain

Africa

2001

Argentina

Argentina

South America

2003

United Arab Emirates

Brazil

Asia

2005

Netherlands

Argentina

Europe

2007

Canada

Argentina

Europe

2009

Egypt

Ghana

Africa

Table 4 shows that 3 African countries have hosted the FIFA U – 20 World Cup from its inception. Source: Compiled by the authors from literature

Table 5: Host countries and continents of the FIFA Women World Cup from inception to present Year

Host country

Winner

Host continent

1991

China PR

USA

Asia

1995

Sweden

Norway

Europe

1999

USA

USA

North America

2003

USA

Germany

Europe

2007

China PR

Germany

Asia

Table 5 shows that no African country has hosted the FIFA Women World Cup from its inception.

Source: Compiled by the authors from literature

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Table 6: Host countries and continents of the FIFA U – 17 World Cup from inception present

to

Year

Host country

Winner

Host continent

1985

China

Nigeria

Asia

1987

Canada

USSR

North America

1989

Scotland

Saudi Arabia

Europe

1991

Italy

Ghana

Europe

1993

Japan

Nigeria

Asia

1995

Ecuador

Ghana

South America

1997

Egypt

Brazil

Africa

1999

New Zealand

Brazil

Australia

2001

Trinidad and Tobago

France

South America

2003

Finland

Brazil

Europe

2005

Peru

Mexico

South America

2007

Korea Rep.

Nigeria

Asia

2009

Nigeria

Switzerland

Africa

Table 6 shows that the African continent has hosted the U – 17 World Cup in 5 occasions from its inception. Source: Compiled by the authors from literature Table 7: Host cities, countries and continents of the Commonwealth Games from inception to present Year

Host city

Host country

Host continent

1930

Hamilton, Ontario

Canada

North America

1934

London,

United Kingdom

Europe

1938

Sydney, New South Wales

Australia

Australia

1942

Could not hold - World War II

1946

Could not hold - World War II

1950

Auckland

New Zealand

Australia

1954

Vancouver

Canada

North America

1958

Cardiff, Wales

United Kingdom

Europe

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1962

Port West

Australia

Australia

1966

Kingston

Jamaica

South America

1970

Edingbough

United Kingdom

Europe

1974

Christchurch

New Zealand

Australia

1978

Edmonton

Canada

North America

1982

Brisbane

Australia

Australia

1986

Scotland

United Kingdom

Europe

1990

Auckland

New Zealand

Australia

1994

Victoria

Canada

North America

1998

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

Asia

2002

Manchester, England

United Kingdom

Europe

2006

Sydney

Australia

Australia

2010

New Delhi

India

Asia

Table 7 shows that that the African continent has not hosted the Commonwealth Games from its inception Source: Compiled by the authors from literature Table 8: Summary of Africa’s share of the hosting of global sporting events (Tables 1-7) Event

No. of hostings

No hosted countries

Summer Olympics

26

0

0

Winter Olympics

21

0

0

FIFA World Cup Final Competition

19

1

5.3

FIFA U – 20 World Cup

17

3

17.6

FIFA U – 17 World Cup

13

2

15.4

FIFA Women World Cup

5

0

0

Commonwealth Games

19

0

0

Total

120

6

5

88

by

African

% Hosting countries

by

African


Table 8 shows that African countries have hosted 5% of the listed global sporting events since their inceptions. Table 9: Problems militating against hosting of mega sporting events by African nations Problem

Effect(s)

Poor infrastructure

Less than standard roads, airports, power and water supply systems and general infrastructure translate into low capacity for handling mega sporting events and consequent low bidding competitiveness

Poor facilities

Inadequate /substandard sporting facilities, hotels, conference centres, catering facilities, etc, will result in low bidding competitiveness for African countries

Poor / shrinking economies

Lack of the funds to update infrastructure and facilities will lead to perpetual poor standards, and low bidding competitiveness

Lack of the right political images and goodwill

Absence / poor democratic tradition / structures and stable political climate in many African countries often erode the political and diplomatic goodwill necessary for successful bidding

Lack of information

statistical

Dearth of statistical data on existing capacities will result in poor exposure and poor marketing of existing potentials.

Low level development continent

of sports within the

The major players in the performance and administration of the major sporting organisations usually take the upper hand in the bidding for hosting rights, and vice versa.

Prejudices against African continent

the

Antecedents of many countries of the continent subject it to the branding of a never –do –well region among the developed countries.

Table 9 shows the factors inhibiting African countries’ ability to host mega sporting events and their concomitant effects.

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