Measuring socio-demographic differences in volunteers with a value-based index: illustration in a mega event

The phenomenon of volunteering can be analysed as a consumer experience through the concept of value as a trade-off between benefits and costs. In event volunteering, both the expected value (pre-experienced) and the perceived value (post-experienced) of volunteering can be assessed. With this purpose, an online quantitative survey is conducted with a sample of 711 volunteers in a religious mega event, with questions related to five dimensions of their experience: efficiency, social value, play, spirituality and time spent. These five scales, properly tested are used for building a multidimensional index of both the expected and perceived value of the volunteer experience. ANOVAs test show significant differences on the index in both moments upon the socio-demographic profiles: negative expectations/experience balance by age, contrasted results by sex, and more experienced volunteers being more critical with the value experienced. Implications for event managers are proposed, in line with the motivation of volunteers

Too many policy options, not enough diversity? A typology of tourism policy tools

The design of a typology of policy tools specifically aimed at tourism policy represents the main goal and the original contribution of this article. Based on the theory of market failures and the tools of government approach, we extend Weimer and Vining’s original typology of public policies to the field of tourism by relying on an empirical analysis of tourism policy tools adopted by local governments in Portugal. The results suggest the existence of specific situations requiring the enlargement of Weimer and Vining typology. The ultimate goal is to contribute to research and practice in the field of tourism policy and management by providing both scholars and decision-makers with a policy toolbox, which can be useful to tackle policy problems in tourism markets.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio