Mitigating Seasonality in Regional Tourism: Tourism Practitioners’ Reflections on Sport Events

Seasonality, one of the most outstanding characteristics of tourism, is recognized as a significant challenge for regional tourism, impacting the local economies and limiting sustainable development. Among the strategies that literature suggests in order to alleviate its negative effects is the organization of events. In particular, the holding of sport events has gained recognition as an essential element for all-year round tourism development. However, a deeper understanding of how tourism practitioners (who are those that face the personal and financial difficulties of sea-sonality) perceive the potential of sport events to smooth its challenges has not yet been explored enough. This study aims to fill this gap by examining tourism practitioners’ views on the role of sport events, particularly running ones, in mitigating tourism seasonality. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with tourism practitioners from selected regions of Greece who, as active stakeholders, shared their perspectives in the development of regional tourism through the year round. The data gathered from these interviews was analyzed using thematic analysis. The results indicate that most of the respondents recognize seasonality as a significant challenge and they share a common concern regarding its adverse effects on both regional tourism and on their local businesses. Themes of survival and sustainability emerged consistently, emphasizing the need of implementing various initiatives, apart from sport events, to mitigate its effects. This study contributes to the broader discussion on seasonality, focusing on its economic and social impli-cations, particularly from the perspective of tourism professionals. It also provides practical recommendations for destination managers on utilizing sport events as a tool for promoting tourism during off-season periods. Finally, the findings highlight the need for localized and collaborative initiatives to address seasonality issues and support sustainable development.