Comparative analysis of Olympic and Paralympic tourists

Abstract

The main goal of this paper is to identify the differences in behaviour and expenditures of the Olympic and Paralympic tourists during the XXII Olympic Winter Games. The analysis showed that these two tourists’ flows differed in terms of the objectives of the trip, the reasons for travel, the level and structure of spending. Olympic visitors were classified as the primary sports tourist profile. Paralympic tourists explained their visit to the Games as a concomitant event and relate mainly to the profile, which was called by Weed (2008) “the tourists interested in sport”. It was also found that tourists’ daily spending during the Olympics was significantly higher than Paralympic visitors’ expenditures and amounted approximately US$ 259 vs. US$ 191.