Perceptions and Role of Tourist Destination Residents Compared to Other Event Stakeholders in a Small-Scale Sports Event. The Case of the FIS World Junior Alpine Ski Championships 2019 in Val di Fassa

Abstract

The role of stakeholders is critical in addressing challenges with or problems in small-scale sports events. The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of the event stakeholders toward sports events, with a particular focus on the role of residents in a tourist destination. The goal is to understand their perceptions with respect to different topics and in particular to the sustainable development of the tourist destination. This case study focuses on the World Junior Alpine Ski Championships 2019 in Trentino Val di Fassa—Italy (JWC2019). Applying a mixed methodology, the study analyzes the stakeholders during the sports event (quantitative method) and the point of view of the residents in their stakeholder role after the sports event (qualitative method). The main findings of this study show that residents differ from tourists and other stakeholders in terms of their perception of the event and its strengths. But when it comes to the perceptions regarding the territory, the groups of stakeholders analyzed do not seem to have systematically different opinions. Some paradoxes do, however, emerge with respect to the residents’ awareness of their role as stakeholders and the implications of the event with respect to sustainability and how such an event may underpin a concept of sustainable development for the territory as a whole.