Event attendance motives, host city evaluation, and behavioral intentions: An empirical study of Rio 2016

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the event attendance motives and the underlying mechanism through which event attendance motives influence positive word-of-mouth (PWOM) and revisit intentions. It also investigates how event attendance motives differ by gender. Design/methodology/approach: A self-completed survey administered in English among visitors to the 2016 Olympic Games generated 230 valid responses. Partial least squares-based structural equation modeling was applied to test research hypotheses. Findings: Event attendance motives of esthetics and escape positively influence host city evaluation. Host city evaluation positively influences PWOM and revisit intentions. Host city evaluation mediates the relationship between event attendance motives (esthetics and escape) and behavioral intentions (PWOM and revisit intentions). Male Olympic tourists show significantly lower means in the motives of social bond and escape when compared with female Olympic tourists. Originality/value: This study adds to the body of knowledge concerning Olympic tourists, their motives and behavioral intentions. Research findings indicate that event attendance motives influence PWOM and revisit intentions through the mediating effect of host city evaluation. Considering the noticeable paucity of gender analysis weakens the understanding of the Olympic tourist behavior, this study contributes to the literature by examining gender differences in Olympic attendance motives.