Factors Affecting The Spectator Attendance At Auto Racing Events In Taiwan

Introduction
Auto racing is a fast-growing spectator sports in many countries. Thousands of fans are drawn to the speedways, with
millions watching races on television. Ticket sales are one of the primary financial resources for spectator sport
organizations. In order to maximize spectator attendance, it is required to identify the salient factors that may influence
the spectator decision to attend sport events. Researchers have examined factors that affected spectators’ decision to
attend sport events in the United States [1] [2] [3] [4]. A review of the literature revealed that few studies in this area
were conducted in Taiwan. The purpose of this study was to investigate the demographic information of the auto racing
spectators, and factors that influenced their decision to attend racing events in Taiwan.

Methods
The instrument used for this study was based on a review of the literature and interviews with auto racing spectators
which included 13 items under four factors: media promotion, site accessibility, ticket price, and racing program. A
randomly selected group of auto racing spectators (N = 859) at the Taiwan International Speedway (TIS) were
surveyed, and participants were asked to rate the selected statements which may affect their decision to attend the racing
events (1=not at all to 5=Very much). Descriptive statistics, MANOVAs and multiple regression analysis were applied
to analyze the data.

Results
Results revealed that the majority of the respondents were male, single, aged 20-29, and without college degree. Table 1
indicated that primary factors to spectator attendance were identified as "site accessibility (M=3.69)," "racing program
(M=3.65)" and "ticket price (M=3.39)." MANOVAs revealed that the selected factors were related to several
demographic variables including gender, age, education, and income. The powerful predictors for spectator attendance
included "site accessibility" and "racing program"(Table 2).

Discussion/ Conclusions
This study uncovered the target market of the auto racing spectators in Taiwan. When designing the promotion
programs it is necessary to identify the target market [5]. In addition, the present study suggested that the sport event
organizers should consider the site accessibility, event program, promotion strategies, and the demographic
backgrounds of the spectators when planning their marketing strategies.

References
[1]. Ashley, F. & Song, C. (1995). Sport Marketing Quarterly, (4), 3, 27-32.
[2]. DeSchriver, T. D. & Jensen, P. E. (2002). Journal of Sport Management, 16 (4). 311-330.
[3]. Hansen, H., & Gauthier, R. (1989). Journal of Sport Management, 3(1), 15-32.
[4]. Zhang, J. J., Pease, D, G., Hui, S. C., & Michaud, T. J. (1995). Sport Marketing Quarterly, 4 (4) , 29-39.
[5]. Mullin, B. J., Hardy, S., & Sutton, W.A.. (2000). Sport Marketing. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

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