Discovering the Dynamics and Impact of Motorcycle Tourism: Insights into Rural Events, Cultural Interaction, and Sustainability

This study explores the dynamics of motorcycle tourism in rural areas and its potential contribution to sustainable and regenerative development. A bibliometric analysis of management-related publications was conducted using the Web of Science Core Collection, focusing on topics such as tourism, motivation, rurality, and motorcycling. VOSviewer software (version 1.6.20) was employed to support this analysis. Based on the literature, a theoretical framework was developed, leading to four research hypotheses that aimed to empirically examine the relationships between cultural motivation, community interaction, type of accommodation, event location, and tourist behaviour. To test these hypotheses, structured questionnaires were distributed in person during rural motorcycling events in Portugal, yielding a valid sample of 233 respondents. The data were analysed using SPSS 28 software via statistical methods to reduce dimensionality and identify latent structures, chi-square tests, and logistic regression. The results confirmed all four hypotheses, highlighting the importance of cultural motivation for return intentions, community interaction for perceived authenticity, accommodation type for destination recommendations, and event location for overall satisfaction. The study also identifies gender-related differences and reinforces the value of immersive, co-created experiences in enhancing the competitiveness of rural destinations. This theoretical contribution supports the advancement of motorcycle tourism as a sustainable niche while offering practical guidance for inclusive and regenerative tourism planning.