The path to resilience in sport event tourism: South African stakeholder responses to a crisis

This study sought to determine how South African sport tourism stakeholders responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, looking at sustainable pathways to building a resilient sport event tourism sector. In-depth semi-structured interviews with 28 sport event tourism stakeholders revealed that, in response to the pandemic, there was unprecedented collaboration between stakeholders, particularly concerning joint funding initiatives, collective marketing strategies and reviewing of contractual partnerships. Furthermore, there is a lack of relevant policy to guide stakeholders through recovery and the mitigation of long-term negative impacts. The current study is the first of its kind globally and in South Africa, viewing sport event tourism through the lens of resilience and stakeholder management, and providing recommendations on stakeholder collaboration and policy development for sustainable practices and management, ensuring the future resilience of the sector.