Residents' Reactions to the Staging of Major Motorsport Events Within Their Communities: A Cluster Analysis

An understanding of host community reactions to the impacts of special events is important for public and private sector organizations involved in the support and promotion of these events. This is because, in the case of recurring events in particular, a lack of support by a majority of the resident population, or even significant minority groups, could threaten their existence in the future. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, by understanding the factors that are related to residents' reactions to an event, efforts could be made to minimize negative impacts, thus ensuring that their quality of life is not undermined and, again, minimizing threats to the event's continuation. This article presents the results of a cluster analysis of the perceptions held by residents in two cities of the impacts of a motor race staged within their community. Similar patterns were found in both cities with a number of different reactions observed, ranging from very negative to very positive. The clusters were then examined on a number of independent variables to establish profiles of the types of residents most likely to hold certain perceptions of the events.