Research Projects
#991:
The development of Rugby Super 12 and its implications for tourism:
The case of the Otago Highlanders.
J.E.S. Higham
University of Otago, New Zealand.
Email jhigham@business.otago.ac.nz
T.D. Hinch
University of Alberta, Canada
Email thinch@per.ualberta.ca
February 1999
This report presents a detailed analysis of the impacts of Rugby Super 12 on the tourism industry in the Otago Highlanders region. It presents the results of a qualitative programme of research for which individuals involved in the administration of Rugby Super 12 (rugby unions) and tourism development (local government and tourism promotion offices) were interviewed. A sport tourism framework is presented in this report and used to explore the impacts of sport on the spatial and temporal dimensions of tourism. The manner in which Rugby Super 12 affects travel patterns and offers potential for tourism development in the Highlanders region is then explored.
Study participants felt that Rugby Super 12 has had significant implications for tourism in Southern New Zealand. It was seen as generating increased domestic travel into and within the region, attracting people who had little previous interest in rugby and encouraging international visitors to make rugby spectatorship part of their New Zealand tour itinerary. The introduction of Rugby Super 12 to the region was reported as having increased: the numbers of people travelling, their length of stay and their spending patterns. The Highlanders were also seen to present tourism development potential in terms of the promotion of Dunedin as an urban tourism destination (eg., floodlit night sport), the promotion of the heritage, history, lifestyles and attractions within the region, the differentiation of the Southern Macro-region from other tourism regions in New Zealand, the promotion of the region as an international tourism destination through the televising of Highlanders games to international audiences.
Further information
James HighamDepartment of Tourism,
School of Business
University of Otago, PO Box 56 Dunedin, New Zealand
Email jhigham@business.otago.ac.nz
Website http://www.business.otago.ac.nz/tourism/
Full version of paper (PDF 303 KB)
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