Follow, follow, follow: analysing the motivations for attending small-scale events abroad

ABSTRACT Rationale/purpose: This research attempts to measure the motivation for football fans to travel abroad for short periods on multiple occasions to attend small-scale events. Design/methodology/approach: Fans of an English football team who travelled to away matches in the 2019/20 Europa League were surveyed (n = 235). A Sport Short Visit Tourism scale is developed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results and findings: The results found that there were 11 factors, measured by 31 variables, when considering the motivation to travel. Most notably, the results indicated that the experience of the trip was more important than the football match itself. Indeed, the fear of missing out was the most significant factor, particularly in those aged below 40. Research contribution: This study has expanded the current literature regarding sport tourism to cover a new context: fans of a club travelling for a short period to attend a specific small-scale event.