Overtourism and Medium Scale Sporting Events Organisations—the Perception of Negative Externalities by Host Residents

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of non-mega sporting events on the perception of negative externalities of host residents. The detailed aim of the study was to examine whether the inhabitants of the city feel the negative effects of organizing sporting events (communication problems or inappropriate behavior of supporters) and do they believe that these events increase the level of crime in the city or, despite these inconveniences, they are satisfied with the organization of sporting events in their place of residence. The case study is the city of Poznan and two, well-known events in this agglomeration. The first one is the Poznan Half Marathon—medium scale mass event, the second one is Cavaliada—elite international equestrian event. The theoretical part of this article presents the meaning of sporting events organization for tourism industry and indicates the positive and negative effects this kind of tourism brings to host cities. The whole refers to the theoretical foundations of the term of “overtourism”. The second part of the manuscript presents empirical research results, between 774 active and passive participants, which was conducted by the method of diagnostic survey. The results of this research show that both athletes as well as fans of the Half Marathon said that the Poznan Half Marathon event causes bothersome communication problems in the city and some other social problems. The inhabitants only experience minor inconveniences that felt as a result of organizing sporting events in the city. The negative impact of Cavaliada was very low. For checking the differences between the two examined groups of respondents: Half Marathon fans and Cavaliada fans, Chi-square test and U Mann Whitney’s test was used. The participants feel bothersome communication problems that cause the Half Marathon and have an average level of dissatisfaction higher than the average level of dissatisfaction of Cavaliada participants. Moreover, the participants in the Half Marathon have an average level of satisfaction with the organization of sports events in Poznan significantly lower than the average level of satisfaction of Cavaliada participants. Therefore, an elite equestrian sporting event is less burdensome for its residents and gives them more satisfaction.