Over and over : consumer engagement and turning sports tourists into fans

Travel to consume sport is an increasingly popular and prevalent leisure pursuit (Fourie & Santana-Gallego, 2011; Fredline, 2005). From those who follow Formula 1 across the globe (Henderson et al., 2010), to Tennis’ most ardent fans (Fredline, 2005), consumers probe further afield in order to satisfy their desires for memorable and gratifying travel couched within the domain of their favourite sporting activities. Football consumption, although traditionally aligned along geographical or demographic boundaries (Jones, 2000; Porat, 2010, Conner, 2014), is no different with 800,000 overseas tourists travelling to the UK to experience matches every year (Magowan, 2015). The extent of this travel provides opportunities tangentially for service providers geographically proximate to major finals and international tournament destinations (Daniels, 2005; Prayag et al., 2013), but also at a granular level for football clubs who seek to attract, engage, and maintain access to this lucrative market of affluent consumers who spend over £680m annually (Magowan, 2015). Extant research is focused on the impact of this economic influx (Daniels, 2007; Smith, 2005, Allan et al., 2007), with little consideration given to the tourists themselves, nor the potential to engage with these one-off visitors in order to transform them into more regular sources of income. Therefore, engagement is crucial and, from an operational perspective, the football ‘industry’ has recognised this. The increasing prevalence of social media transfer announcements (Lang, 2017), innovations such as Manchester City’s newly developed glass-tunnel (Hyde 2017), and ‘city-takeover’ events aimed at bridging the gap between player-and-fan, demonstrate how football clubs are adopting unusual strategies in order to encourage consumers to believe that they have ‘behind-the-scenes’ access to the machinations of the clubs that they love. However, these attempts typically focus on local fans, neglecting those who travel to consumer sport on a regular basis. As such, the question remains, how can football clubs engage these tourists and encourage them to become ‘fans’ (through repeat visits and recommendations to friends) and thus benefit financially from their considerable spending power

Negotiation, bargaining, and discounts:generating WoM and local tourism development at the Tabriz bazaar, Iran

This paper examines the effects of negotiation intention, bargaining propensity, and discount satisfaction on word-of-mouth (WoM) behaviours for tourists visiting Tabriz bazaar, Iran. Data from 615-survey respondents highlight that tourists are motivated to conduct WoM behaviour when they are experientially satisfied with the opportunity to negotiate and bargain, and when they are satisfied with the discount they receive. This paper makes theoretical contributions to social exchange theory and presents managerial implications for policy-makers to generate tourism development

The molecular and cellular origin of human prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed male malignancy. Despite compelling epidemiology, there are no definitive aetiological clues linking development to frequency. Pre-malignancies such as proliferative inflammatory atrophy (PIA) and prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) yield insights into the initiating events of prostate cancer, as they supply a background "field" for further transformation. An inflammatory aetiology, linked to recurrent prostatitis, and heterologous signalling from reactive stroma and infiltrating immune cells may result in cytokine addiction of cancer cells, including a tumour-initiating population also known as cancer stem cells (CSCs). In prostate tumours, the background mutational rate is rarely exceeded, but genetic change via profound sporadic chromosomal rearrangements results in copy number variations and aberrant gene expression. In cancer, dysfunctional differentiation is imposed upon the normal epithelial lineage, with disruption/disappearance of the basement membrane, loss of the contiguous basal cell layer and expansion of the luminal population. An initiating role for androgen receptor (AR) is attractive, due to the luminal phenotype of the tumours, but alternatively a pool of CSCs, which express little or no AR, has also been demonstrated. Indolent and aggressive tumours may also arise from different stem or progenitor cells. Castrate resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) remains the inevitable final stage of disease following treatment. Time-limited effectiveness of second-generation anti-androgens, and the appearance of an AR-neuroendocrine phenotype imply that metastatic disease is reliant upon the plasticity of the CSC population, and indeed CSC gene expression profiles are most closely related to those identified in CRPCs

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Exploring the antecedents of sustainable tourism development

Purpose: We use two historical case studies (UK and Costa Rica) to explore the antecedents and legitimization of sustainable development in hospitality and tourism, demonstrating the value of historical analysis through careful consideration of motivations, context, and development type under different circumstances.Design:Utilizing government and private archival materials, oral history testimonies, industry reports and secondary literature, we deploy careful historical analysis of developing and developed country approaches to two cases of hospitality and tourism development and how this impacts on notions of sustainability.Findings: Issues surrounding sustainability in hospitality and tourism are longstanding and impacted by their situated context. In considering 'bottom-up' and 'top-down' approaches, this study finds that the private-sector is critical in legitimizing tourism and hospitality development through addressing sustainability aims. Research Implications: Issues faced in developing hospitality and tourism markets should not be taken in isolation and, by drawing upon historical cases, scholars can better-understand how developed tourism markets shape the sustainability of developing contexts.Practical Implications:This study demonstrates how sustainability can be legitimized over time and in different contexts, in both government-led and business-led approaches, providing lessons for understanding the mechanisms by which to address these issues in future. Value: Historical analyses in hospitality and tourism remain relatively few. This study illustrates the theoretical and practical value of historical analysis of the pathway to legitimacy for sustainable tourism development