Visiting Fortaleza: motivation, satisfaction and revisit intentions of spectators at the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup provides opportunities to attract visitors to host cities and for local residents to enjoy event-related celebrations. This paper directs attention to Fortaleza, in the north-east of Brazil, where a survey was conducted of 285 spectators to identify the relative importance of enjoyment and competitive outcomes as motives to attend games at the 2014 World Cup. The study also examined the relationship between motivation, event setting and event satisfaction and whether any differences in these relationships existed between local and visiting spectators. In the case of visitors to Fortaleza, factors that influence intentions to revisit the city were also examined. Although satisfaction did not have an impact on visitation intentions, visitors were strongly influenced by competitive motives associated with the team they support. In comparison, local residents were more motivated by event excitement. The need to recognize the propensities of different types of spectators and the complexity of the relationship between spectators and the event setting are discussed.