Examining the Impacts of Mega-Events on Urban Development Using Coupling Analysis: A Case Study of the Boao Forum for Asia
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School of Tourism, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
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School of Economics, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
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School of Tourism Management, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China
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Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Zhuhai 519000, China
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School of Geographical Sciences, Guangzhou University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China
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Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2020, 12(2), 730; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12020730
Received: 24 December 2019 / Revised: 11 January 2020 / Accepted: 16 January 2020 / Published: 19 January 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Restaurant Sustainable Strategic Management (SSM))
Mega-events, as a strategic approach taken by entrepreneurial governments, have the ability to transform the image of a city. This study explores mega-events and their relationship to urban development by developing a coupling coordination degree model and using the official statistics of Qionghai, China, from 2010 to 2015. The results of this study show that the dynamic of coordination between mega-events and urban development is a classical S-shaped growth curve. In the coupling system, this study also reveals that relevance index and the economy, as sub-indicators, make significant contributions to mega-events and urban development, respectively. Finally, the researchers concluded that the international large-scale events can significantly promote the urban development in host cities. This study reveals theoretical issues and practical implications for policy makers and event managers to achieve integrated and coordinated development between mega-events and urban development.
Keywords:
mega-event; urban development; coupling analysis; Boao Forum for Asia