Satisfaction, considered the connection “between expectations and experiences”, is a key variable influencing tourist behavior and destination competitiveness. The number and satisfaction of incoming visitors are considered central elements in increasing economic impact as the study of the economic effects of large sports events remains a dominant research paradigm. Moreover, a case study perspective on such a topic has not, to the best of our knowledge, been explored by scientific literature. The perspective is an original one, considering that many studies attempt to surpass the international dimension of sports events. Given the lack of knowledge about participants of international mega-events held on the autochthonous premises in Romania and the particular context of the pandemic, our empirical study aimed for an exploratory perspective on the satisfaction of domestic visitors of the sports mega-event UEFA 2020, which was also hosted exceptionally also in Bucharest in June 2021. However certain researchers agreed that economic effects from mega-events remain difficult to determine while others also emphasized economic efforts connected to mega-event organization. Studies emphasized the influence of sport mega-events in increasing tourist arrivals and consequently promoting a destination’s image and even contributing to enhancing national branding opportunities. , a mega sport event’s potential to generate tourist attractiveness has been a topic of high interest for researchers during the last years allowing authorities to better plan, manage and market such destinations. Events may attract visitors coming from nearby locations, or they may trigger worldwide tourism flows.

Lacking important urban tourist attractions and competing with other mature European urban destinations, mega sport events may represent an opportunity for autochthonous large cities to increase tourist attractiveness and maintain leisure travel even during periods of travel restrictions.Įvent tourism represents a travel domain that displays various spatiotemporal dimensions and may consolidate in a sustainable way the social, cultural and economic development of a region as a sometimes constant element overlapping a country or a city. These options may be valuable input for future adapted marketing strategies for sport event tourism in Romania. Occupation and age were the main variables determining accommodation preferences as well as satisfaction with souvenir prices. Supporters coming from rural areas opted for VFR accommodations while retirees and elderly supporters preferred hotels. Most of them expressed dissatisfaction with souvenir, food and drink products sold within the stadium area but were satisfied with the COVID-19 measures and their costs. The main results emphasize a large participation of Romanian football supporters who came specifically for the event. An extended survey focusing on the autochthonous participants was applied to gather data and then further computed using SPSS software through crosstabulations and associated statistical analysis adapted for nominal and ordinal variables. Motivated by the novelty of the event which was organized for the first time in the Romanian capital city and motivated by the exceptionally restrictive context imposed by the sanitary crisis, the aim of this study was to analyze domestic tourist participation in and satisfaction with this event.

Mega sport events were among the very few types of events still attracting tourists during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and represented an exceptionally attractive tourism opportunity for Bucharest through the matches scheduled for the UEFA 2020 championship.

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