The effect of loyalty to the national team on the level of risk-taking of Iranian tourists towards the host of the Asian Cup (2019 UAE)

During various sports competitions in different countries, security has always been one of the most basic concerns of those responsible for organizing competitions. Considering the growing development of the sports tourism industry and the economic, cultural, social and political benefits of this industry, the need to pay attention to the security of sports tourists is felt more and more. Considering the growing development of the sports tourism industry and the economic, cultural, social and political benefits of this industry, the need to pay attention to the security of sports tourists is felt more than ever. The large gathering of people in big sports events has made them a potential target for terrorists (Zekolin, 2009: 6). Big sports events have provided a suitable platform for terrorists to convey their message about evil and hatred of the society. The four causes of security incidents that can have adverse effects on the tourism system are: incidents related to crimes, war, terrorism, and political and social unrest. Tourists can be classified based on their perception of risk towards a typical trip and specific destination, as well as their awareness of a specific type of risk. In addition, Sonems and Grafe (1998b) classified tourists into two risk[1]taking and risk-averse groups using the notion that people may have different understandings of risk (Pizam, Mansfeld, 2006: 231). have done by using the role of tourists to identify types of travel risk groups, people who have traveled 1. PhD Student in Sport Management, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran. * Corresponding Author: Email: farhad. fathi@yahoo, com 2. Associate Professor, Sport Management Department, Faculty of physical education and sport science, University of Tabriz and Tehran, Tabriz and Tehran, Iran. 3. Associate Head - School of Sport, Health and Exercise Science, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, less tend to accept high levels of risk (Lapp, Gibson, 2008: 742) and learn how to be risk averse. (Lepp, Gibson, 2003: 610). Understanding spectator behavior is essential to increase knowledge about why people participate in sporting events. One of the most important variables in the understanding of sports consumers is the concept of "loyalty". The purpose of this study is to analyze the perception of risk perception of the destination, according to the background of risk perception, as the perception of risk related to the trip to the host of the 2019 Asian Cup with the influence of fan loyalty to the national team among Iranian tourists. Being aware of the audience's potential understanding of this event can help to convey the message of preventing harmful rumors and trying to increase the arrival of visitors to the host country during the games. Examining this issue according to the following conceptual framework can be valuable. The current research is descriptive-survey and practical in terms of purpose. The statistical population of this research was the fans of the Iranian national team in the Asian Cup 2019. The data collection tool in this research was the loyalty questionnaire of Mousavi et al. (2012), the travel risk type questionnaire of Floyd et al. The sense of understanding the risk was the goal of Sonmez and Grafe (1998) during the match of Esteghlal Tehran - Sanat Naft Abadan (December 16, 2017) from the Premier League series, week 14 and Persepolis - South Pars Jam game (December 23, 2017) from the League series. Top, it was broadcasted on the 15th week, when 380 questionnaires were usable. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods (simple regression test) were used to analyze the obtained data using SPSS 22 software. The results show the type of travel risk (β=0.337 and P<0.01), the previous travel experience to the UAE (β=0.387 and P><0.01) and the previous experience of attending the Asian Nations Cup (0.498). = β and P >< 0.01) have the ability to predict the feeling of understanding the risk of the destination. Also, the feeling of understanding the risk of the destination has the ability to predict the desire to travel to the UAE (β=0.438 and P
<0.01). On the other hand, attitudinal loyalty has been able to predict the desire to travel to the UAE (β=0.398 and P><0.01). According to the findings of the current research, the factors affecting the perception of risk from the destination in the current research are the type of travel risk, the experience of previous trips to other parts of the world, the experience of traveling to the host country of the Asian Nations Cup games for the perception of risk from The Iranian tourist destination had a significant effect. Security is one of the important components of attracting tourists for the promotion and development of this industry, which has a tremendous impact on tourism and decision-making by tourists to travel and visit فصلنامه علمی مطالعات بازاریابی ورزشی دوره سوم، شماره دوم ، تابستان 1۴۰1 153& historical, natural and sports places. Considering the large number of domestic and foreign sports tourists present at sports tourism events and destinations, there should always be this mindset that sports events can be part of terrorist goals and other security-disrupting factors, and the safety of tourists can potentially be at risk. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt preventive measures and strategies by the officials, managers and operators of the field of sports tourism. Various factors and conditions can affect the safety of sports tourists. The results of the current research indicate that the organizers of the Asian Nations Cup have been able to provide appropriate risk management for international tourists in terms of creating confidence and lack of feeling of risk towards the host country and sports event. One of the important and highly effective aspects of sports tourists is to identify the levels of risk perception of the destination and the factors affecting it through risk management in the destination, which can be a suitable stimulus in the field of sports tourism. In other words, managers of domestic sports events can increase the number of tourists by taking into account the individual characteristics of tourists, including considering the social and cultural context and the economic status of the destination and origin, as well as the components of destination attraction and loyalty. Undoubtedly, considering the above elements in the planning of sports events will minimize possible injuries and psychological peace of tourists. On the other hand, the planners of sports tourism tours can be aware of the mentioned elements to prepare future plans for sending inactive sports tourists to international sports events.