Third International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies

Abstract

One may wonder why there has been such a tremendous growth in amateur sport event participation. Does it make participants happier? One line of happiness research has focused on Subjective Well-Being (SWB) as a measure of an individual’s subjective evaluation of his/her own state of happiness. Previous research has paid attention to factors that positively influence an individual’s happiness. Health and personal growth have been found to be empirically significant factors (Delle Fave et al., 2011). These factors may also be related to participation in amateur sport events. Bestial is an obstacle competition and a running event held in Arucas on Gran Canaria. The race is organized in four different classes including one class for disabled. A sample of 700 participants answered questions about behavior, attitudes and SWB. Most research on SWB and events has been on cultural events but more research is needed in a sport event context (Richards, 2014a). The main research questions addressed by this study center around SWB and to what extent the individual’s SWB is related to the individual’s need for personal growth and frequency of race participation. The results show significant relations between SWB and attitudes towards personal growth and between SWB and frequency of sport event participation. There are no significant relations between SWB and sex, income, age or disabilities. In the conclusions, the trend towards more active tourism is discussed in relation to the importance of personal growth for a happy life.