Impact of EURO 2012 on People’s Attitudes Towards Travelling to Ukraine

Abstract

This study uses the case of EURO 2012 European Soccer Cup in Ukraine to examine the importance of sporting mega-events to host countries. The paper explores the economic, political, and psychological impacts of mega-event hosting. The study's main objective is to avoid the inefficiencies of a traditional supply-oriented approach to measuring the impacts of sporting mega-events. Instead of a traditional economic analysis, interviews were conducted with potential travelers. Interviewees with and without prior knowledge of EURO 2012 were asked about their attitudes towards traveling to the Ukraine. They were then read a few brief facts about Ukraine hosting EURO 2012, and interviewees were again questioned about their likelihood of traveling to the Ukraine. This study provides a new method for estimating the impact of hosting a mega-event on people's intentions to visit the host country.