The Beijing Winter Olympics is different! Or is it?: integration and revalidation of residents’ mega-event perceptions and support models
International Journal of Tourism Cities
ISSN: 2056-5607
Article publication date: 7 June 2023
Issue publication date: 7 November 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to integrate and revalidate previously proposed various structural models in understanding residents’ attitudes and behaviors in relation to mega-events before the events.
Design/methodology/approach
This study focussed on the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and used a questionnaire-based quantitative survey prior these events. A PLS-SEM analysis was run on a sample of 473 residents, in testing relationships between residents’ trust, perceived impacts, support for hosting and subjective well-being.
Findings
Results revalidate propositions from previous research, but suggest key contextual differences in light of biosecurity risks. Residents’ perceived positive (cultural) and negative (environmental) impacts affect their support for mega-events, and their perceived positive (economic and cultural) and negative (social) impacts affect their subjective well-being. Variances in the relationships were found for those who perceive a high biosecurity risk.
Research limitations/implications
The data were collected from one mega-event, and thus the findings of this study are highly contextualized.
Practical implications
This research suggest that mega-event organizers should put effort into promoting the benefits of hosting mega-events and work collaboratively with stakeholders to reduce potential negative costs and risks as well as increase resident well-being via bringing in economic and cultural benefits.
Social implications
This research focusses on social well-being during and post COVID in relation to the hosting of a mega-event.
Originality/value
The data were collected from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, a mega-event that, because of COVID-19 and restricted spectator flows, potentially had characteristics quite different from that of other Winter Olympics or sporting mega-events.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the Youth Project of National Social Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 21CTY007.
The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
All formal consents from survey participants were obtained in writing.
Citation
Chen, N.(C)., Chen, X., Hall, C.M., Li, B., Wang, X. and Wang, L. (2023), "The Beijing Winter Olympics is different! Or is it?: integration and revalidation of residents’ mega-event perceptions and support models", International Journal of Tourism Cities, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 534-551. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-06-2022-0153
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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