According to Müller (2015, p.634), “mega events are those of a fixed duration that attract large numbers of visitors, have a wide reach through media outlets, come with large costs and have significant impacts on the built environment and the population”. Major and mega events play a significant role in encouraging people to visit a specific area or region and have a variety of impacts on the hosting location both before, during and afterthe event hasrun. These types of events are critical elements in many destinations’ tourism strategies as they attract visitors who may otherwise not have chosen to travel to the hosting location. Given the large influx of visitors, events of this size require support from the local hospitality and tourism industries to run successfully.
This assessment will allow students to explore the impact of large-scale events on hosting locations and strategies used to manage successful event operations. In addition, students will explore the importance of synergy between the tourism, hospitality, and events industries in meeting & exceeding consumer expectations.
Instructions:
Students are required to research an existing major or mega event (a list of events to choose from will be provided by the learning facilitator) and explore the impacts of that event on the host destination. Findings will be presented in-report format.
Support on report format can be found at:
Academic Skills – Report Writing
Students should select one (1) major or mega event, which takes place either in Australia or elsewhere in the world. Within the report, students should:
- Provide an overview of the event and outline its history and developments over time.
- Discuss the impact of the event on the hosting location’s tourism and hospitality industries (for example the growth of service providers such as accommodation in the area).
- Identify and explain two (2) positive and two (2) negative impacts of the event on the host destination (these may be socio-cultural, economic and/or environmental).
- Propose two (2) evidence-based strategies that the event organisers could implement to manage the negative impacts identified above