Research and Scholarly Activity

Tourism Management Research

The Tourism Management programme at the University of Chichester is to undertake a full economic impact assessment of the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Revival meeting, on behalf of the Goodwood Motor Racing Circuit.

As Dr Andrew Clegg, Subject Leader for Tourism Management explains, "This is a really exciting project. Goodwood is a major event in the local area, and attracts over 150,000 visits, which is comparable to visitor numbers to the British Grand Prix. However given its significance, we do not actually know the precise economic impact it has on the local economy. The aim of the research is to try and quantify the actual value of the event."

The research will revolve around a large-scale visitor survey over the course of the Festival, to ascertain visitor profiles and how much money people have spent onsite during the course of the Festival and on local accommodation and other services.

Working in collaboration with Goodwood, access will also be given to the Formula 1 teams attending and other participants and exhibitors. A similar research strategy will then be put in place to measure the economic impact of the Goodwood Revival meeting in September.

As Dr Clegg explains, "The research will allow us to look at the impact of the two events separately, but then we will be able to consolidate the results, to look at the overall economic impact of two major events in the local area."

This research forms part of a long-term strategy looking at the overall economic impact of the Goodwood portfolio in the local area.

Survey to Highlight Local Resident Attitudes Towards the Tourism Industry

The University of Chichester, on behalf of Arun District Council, is conducting a major survey of the attitudes of local residents towards the tourism industry in the District. The survey, being undertaken by Level 3 Tourism Management student Beverley Marshall, is the largest of its kind undertaken in the District. The survey is being supervised by Dr Andrew Clegg, Subject Leader for Tourism Management at the University. As Dr Clegg explains "last year research into the tourism industry revealed that a high percentage of residents in Bognor Regis, do not like the tourism industry. Given that Bognor is a major seaside resort, this came as quite a surprise. Given the current development proposals for Bognor Regis, and Butlins’ recent announcement that they intend to invest heavily in the Bognor Regis site, it is essential to have a clear understanding and appreciation of the views of local residents".

The aim of the research is to explore resident attitudes towards the tourism industry, looking at key areas such as economic impacts, quality of life, and the environment. The research also aims to identify what factors are influencing resident perceptions, for example whether they are employed in the tourism industry or whether they live close to main tourist areas. In total, 4,000 questionnaires have been mailed to households across in the District. As Richard Edwards, Tourism Manager at Arun District Council points out "having a host community which understands the benefits of tourism, and which welcomes visitors is a fundamental requirement for a successful visitor destination. The need for this research was highlighted in the new Sussex by the Sea Visitor Strategy. It will give us a good idea of how the attitude of Arun's residents match up to the ideal of a welcoming community. I am very grateful to the University of Chichester's Tourism Management department for helping us to undertake this research, and in particular to student Beverly Marshall, who is doing the work and to Dr. Andrew Clegg, who is supervising the study".