The socio-cultural impacts of water sports tourism in Newquay

Abstract

Tourism in Newquay is not a relatively new concept. Visitors have been travelling to the town for over a hundred years for recreational purposes. There has been very little research conducted in relation to the socio-cultural impacts of the water sports tourism market upon Newquay. The main aim of the study is to gain an insight into the socio-cultural impacts that water sports tourism has had upon the local community. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with various stakeholders within the local tourism market. For example: local business owners, local residents, tourists, the police and local council members. The findings indicated that the majority of tourists were partaking in water sports tourism as a secondary motivation. The predominant motivation for visiting Newquay was to experience the nightlife. Three key themes were discovered from the research undertaken. The first being alcohol related anti-social behaviour having an extremely negative effect upon the image of the town. The second revealed that the locals did not approve of the hedonistic "party" tourists but welcomed water sports tourists. The third theme reflected that water sports tourism creates a very positive image for Newquay. The conclusion decided that water sports tourism gave Newquay a very positive image. This could be used to help Newquay rebrand itself once again as a family friendly destination.