Study on Athletes Tour Planning from Sport Tourism Perspective for Hosting International Sports Events in Taiwan

The Sports Administration of the Ministry of Education has strived for the right to host various international sports events since its founding. Such events attract not only media attention but also tourists from countries around the world, thereby increasing relevant job opportunities and boosting economic benefits. Sports tourism has become a crucial and highly potential market and is a powerful tool to promote Taiwan. According to the 2018 statistics of the Sports Administration, 130 international sports events were held in Taiwan in 2018, attracting more than ten thousand athletes from around the world and over one hundred thousand event participants. Sports tourism has contributed tremendously to international sports events promotion and the local economy. This study included delegations, friends, families, and fans of delegation members, cheerleading teams, as well as supporters. The delegation members were expected to stay in Taiwan for an extended period to travel across the island after the games. Doing so helps ease their physiological and psychological tension and restore health. Therefore, creating an appealing itinerary for targeted sports tourists is essential. In the itinerary-creating process, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method was applied to verify the product attributes and quantitative indicator weighting of the itinerary designs. To maximize the attractiveness of package tours, the itinerary was created to meet diverse objectives by integrating natural ecology, humanistic landscapes, historical sites, geographical features, local characteristics, and recreational activities. In addition, based on the sports tourism itinerary plan, a smart sports tourism system structure was established along with an innovative itinerary research and knowledge base development. The tourists’ behaviors after traveling across Taiwan were also surveyed and analyzed to serve as references for the development of Taiwan’s sports and tourism industry.