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For citation: Maksüdünov A. (2020). Economic and Socio-Cultural Impacts of the World Nomad Games. Ekonomika
regiona [Economy of region], 16(2), 586-596
http://doi.org/10.17059/2020-2-19 UDC 334.02
A. Maksüdünov
Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; e-mail: azamat.maksudunov@manas.edu.kg)
ECONOMIC AND SOCIO-CULTURAL IMPACTS OF THE WORLD NOMAD GAMES 1
The World Nomad Games (WNG) is a new form of large-scale events in the world. Thus, little empirical research is focused on understanding perceived impacts of the WNG and behavioural tendencies of the host community. The research aims to reveal the perceptions of the local people regarding the possible impacts from hosting the World Nomad Games in two different localities of the Kyrgyz Republic. The impacts of the WNG were measured using a survey conducted among local residents based on face-to-face interviews. The study examines data collected from two localities in the Kyrgyz Republic: 384 surveys from Bishkek, the capital city of Kyrgyzstan (first group), and 286 interviews from Issyk-Kul region where the WNG were held (second group). According to the results, the local residents have positive perceptions about the impacts of the WNG and support hosting this event in Kyrgyzstan. The residents believe that the WNG result in the economic development, revitalization of the tourism sector, increased infrastructure investments. Moreover, the positive impacts include preservation and development of local cultures, host country promotion and enhancement of the country's image. However, hosting the WNG created different impacts in different localities. In this context, for the Bishkek sample, the economic dimension was the most important factor, while for the Issyk-Kul sample the cultural dimension came to the forefront.
Keywords: world nomad games, large-scale event, economic impact, socio-cultural impact, host community, residents' perceptions, face-to-face interview, Bishkek, Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan
Introduction
Large-scale events have different formats such as the Olympic Games, World Championship according to the type of sport, and Festivals. The World Nomad Games (WNG) as a large-scale competition differs from the aforementioned events, as the WNG focus on ethnic sports. The idea of organizing the WNG has been put forward in order to fill this gap and create an environment that would enable people to represent their ethnic sports. Thus far, the World Nomad Games have been organized three times. The first WNG were held in 2014 on September 9-14 with more than 700 participants from 19 countries on the shore of Issyk-Kul Lake in Kyrgyzstan. This event gave local people the opportunity to see their own cultural richness that has become a source of pride. It showed the world the greatness of nomadic civilization and values of nomadic world. Therefore, it was decided to organize the WNG once every two years. The second WNG were held in 2016 on September 3-8, and the third WNG were organ-
1 © Maksüdünov A. Text. 2020.
This article was prepared on the basis of the conference paper of Maksudunov A. O., Residents' Perceptions of the Impacts of Large-Scale Sport Events: Example of World Nomadic Games // Proceedings of "3rd International Turkic World Tourism Symposium" April 20-22, 2017.
ized in 2018 on September 2-82. In 2020, Turkey will host the next WNG.
Hosting large-scale events has some negative consequences as well as significant positive impacts for the host country. Local residents' perceptions toward hosting large-scale events are very important in terms of successful outcomes [1]. In general, the countries are encouraged to host such events due to various economic factors like tourism revitalization, increased foreign exchange inflows, development of local businesses, and non-economic factors such as improvement of the country image and cultural diversity [2, 3]. Most of the studies in this field have focused primarily on the economic effects [4, p. 237]. In other words, communities support such events because of their economic benefits. However, it is essential to examine socio-cultural and environmental impacts of large-scale events in order to create long-term positive economic impacts [5, 6, 7]. Therefore, it is important to investigate the host population's perceptions toward economic and non-economic impacts of the WNG.
2 WNG Regulation Secretariat. Retrieved from: http://world-nomadgames.com/en/page/Secretariat/ (Date of access: 21.01.2020).
The effects of large-scale events can be analysed based on the economic indicators, as well as on the opinions of the participants or residents attending the event [8, 9, 10, 4]. In particular, the measurement of the residents' perceptions plays an important role in the planning, development and implementation of such events in the future. In this context, the main purpose of this research is to reveal the perceptions of the local residents regarding the possible effects of the WNG. More specifically, using empirical data collected from two different localities, this study focuses on the following research questions:
RQ1: Do local residents support the WNG in general?
RQ2: How do the residents' perceptions differ in different localities?
RQ3: Are there any differences in the residents' perceptions depending on the demographic features?
Overview of the World Nomad Games and the Host Country
Kyrgyzstan is a small country in Central Asia with a population of about 6 million people and a total area of 198,5 . Its neighbours are: Kazakhstan to the north and northwest, Uzbekistan to the southwest, Tajikistan to the south and P.R. China to the south-east. The World Bank reports that in 2018 the country's gross domestic product (GDP) was 8.0 billion dollars and gross national income (GNI) per capita was 1220 dollars 1. The national economy is mainly dependent on the service industry (51 % of GDP)2. Tourism is identified among the priority sectors; Kyrgyzstan is one of the major tourism destinations in Central Asia.
Since 1991, the Kyrgyz Republic has been working on new strategies for integrating the country into international economic and political systems. In this context, the World Nomad Games are one of the main activities, contributing to the development of tourism and enhancement of the country's image and promotion. The Kyrgyz Republic initiated the WNG in 2012 at the summit of the Turkic Countries. The WNG is a socio-cultural and sportive event, which was presented by the Kyrgyz Republic on a global scale. The main purpose of the WNG is to revive and preserve historical cultural heritage of the nomadic people's civilization
1 The World Bank. Retrieved from: https://data.worldbank.org (Date of access: 21.01.2020).
2 The Ministry of Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic. Retrieved
from: https://mineconom.gov.kg (Date of access: 21.01.2020).
of the world through strengthening of cultural relations between the participating countries3.
The World Nomad Games have already been organized three times. The next WNG are planned to be held in 2020 and hosted by Turkey. The first WNG were held September 9th through 14th, 2014 at Kyrchyn, which is 40 km far from the town Cholpon-Ata in the north of Kyrgyzstan. At the first event 771 athletes from 19 countries competed in 9 disciplines. Such countries as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Altai, Mongolia, Korea, China, Russia and others participated in these games.
These indicators increased in the second WNG that were held from September 3rd through 8th, 2016. At the second time, 1.200 athletes from 62 countries competed in 25 disciplines. Besides the aforementioned states, USA, European Countries, Brazil and Japan and other countries took part in the competition.
The third WNG were held from September 2nd through 8th, 2018 at the same location in Kyrgyzstan with the participation of 1976 athletes from 74 countries. The number of disciplines has also increased up to 37 in the third WNG.
The WNG have increased the number of visitors from neighbouring countries as well as from countries far abroad. 40.000 foreign visitors attended the first WNG; this number increased by 100 % and reached 80.000 in the second WNG. However, in 2018, the number of foreign visitors decreased compared to the previous games and estimated around 60.000. In addition, foreign media (250 in 2014, 650 in 2016, 604 in 2018) broadcasted the WNG around the world to millions of viewers (from 250 million to 500 million). Thus, the Games have contributed to the promotion of the Kyrgyz Republic, its culture and ethnic sports, and increased the international recognition of the country as a tourism destination. These events have been shared on social media, reaching hundreds of thousands of people. While there is no information regarding the first WNG, in 2016 at least 1 million people followed the Games only on Facebook. A total of 1200, 1500 and 1130 artists and volunteers participated in the organization of the first, second and third WNG, respectively.
As seen, the award fund was 16 million Som in 2014, 27 million Som in 2016 and 28 million Som in 2018, respectively. Similarly, the number of medals has increased from 109 to 594. For the organization of the WNG 3 million, 30.5 million and
3 WNG Web Site. Retrieved from: http://worldnomadgames. com/kg/ (Date of access: 21.01.2020).
* The table was prepared according to the reports of the WNG Regulation Secretariat, the Ministry of Culture, Information and Tourism of the Kyrgyz Republic.
** 1 USD $ = 69,7 Kyrgyz Som. Retrieved: http://www.nbkr.kg/index.jsp?lang=ENG (Date of access: 21.01.2020).
Table 1
Some Indicators of the World Nomad Games*
Indicators 2014 2016 2018
Dates 9-14, September 3-8, September 2-8, September
Number of participating countries 19 62 74
Number of disciplines 9 25 37
Number of athletes 771 1200 1976
Number of medals 109 387 594
Total award fund, million Som** 16 27 28
Expenditures, million $ 3 30.5 67,5
Number of tourists, thousand people 40 80 60
Number of artists and volunteers 1200 1500 1130
Members of the media 250 650 604
Number of audience members by TV broadcasting, million people 230 500 900
Number of audience members by social network sites (Facebook) NA 1 000 000 NA
Number of horses used in horse games 230 500 NA
67.5 million dollars were spent in 2014, 2016 and 2018, respectively. The expenditure issue has been the subject of debate during and after the WNG. Some argue that the WNG will compensate for these expenditures by providing more economic and socio-cultural benefits in the future. Others claim it is not appropriate to host such expensive event in these conditions; therefore, they do not support the WNG. No consensus has yet been reached about supporting the WNG in the society.
Literature Review
Large-scale events are cultural, commercial and sporting events which have a dramatic character, mass popular appeal and international significance [11, p. 1]. Such events have significant economic, cultural and social impacts on the host country or city. These impacts can be positive or negative. Some of the existing literature assessed the effects of large-scale events based on economic indicators [12, 3], while others evaluated them based on the opinions of host communities [2, 13, 4, 14, 15], foreign and local participants and organizers [16, 8, 17].
Jackson explored residents' perceptions of special event tourism at a destination. In particular, the research examined the residents' perceptions of the social, economic and environmental impacts of such event after conducting 162 surveys. The results reveal that residents support events that contribute socially and economically to the destination. Even though people are also concerned about the negative impacts, they are willing to cope with these negative impacts as long
as the perceived benefits exceed the negative impacts [2].
Kapareliotis et al. measured the impacts of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games based on infrastructure improvements and economic development. The data was collected among 1000 Beijing residents. As a result, the research analysis identified three major dimensions: general improvement of the city, impact on tourism and other possible impacts. According to the people of the Beijing city, the Olympic Games have improved the tourism infrastructure and, thus, have influenced the economic development [13].
Pranic et al. conducted a study on the social impact of the 2009 World Men's Handball Championship (WMCH09) in Croatia, examining a total of 92 surveys. According to the respondents, hosting WMHC09 strengthened the national identity and national pride. However, most respondents disagreed with the statement that hosting WMCH09 increased the number of leisure, cultural and shopping facilities. Moreover, in terms of negative social impacts, the co-hosting of WMHC09 resulted in missing the opportunity to use public monies to construct facilities for which there is a greater public need (schools, healthcare centres, etc.) [4].
Another study in this field was conducted on a cultural event named 'Kolache Festival' in the USA among Texas 348 residents. The authors examined the relation between psychological sense of community and perceived social impacts of the festival events. According to the results of the research, four dimensions for the psychological sense of the
community and three dimensions for the social effects of the festivals emerged. The social effects dimensions of the festival are community benefits, individual benefits and social costs. The research findings revealed a positive relationship between psychological sense of community and perceived social impacts of the festival events [15].
Liu explored the social impact of large-scale sports events perceived by Shanghai 450 residents. These major events include Formula 1, NBA China, Shanghai Marathon, etc. The paper revealed six dimensions for perceived social impacts of sporting events which are image and status, international exchange and cooperation, economic and tourism development, infrastructure development, inconvenience of life, environment pollution and security concern. The research found that image and status and international exchange and cooperation dimensions differ according to gender, in other words, female residents have higher perception on both dimensions compared to male residents [18].
Khodr examined the effects of a large-scale event in the case of 15th Asian Games in Doha in 2016. The data were obtained from the in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted with 26 tourism and sports authorities, academicians and authorities involved in the organization of the event. According to the results, the main benefits of hosting such event for Qatar were economic sustainability, diversification, and development of tourism sector. Moreover, event-hosting will improve the country's image, branding it is a popular tourist destination [19].
Knott et al. assessed the effects of 2010 FIFA World Cup event in South Africa. The study is based on 27 in-depth interviews conducted with related parties and experts. According to the respondents, hosting mega-events plays an important role in nation-brand development for the host. Strategic nation-branding has identified seven focus areas to benefit from sporting events: media, local people, stakeholder partnerships, tourism experience, design, sustainable development and homeowner-ship [20].
Xie & Sinwald developed a study based on 26 in-depth interviews among organizers of various festivals, concerts and events in the US, Ohio. According to the results of the research, respondents support such events for many benefits, especially economic ones. Moreover, the authors emphasized the social impact of such events. According to the respondents, participation in such events creates opportunities for people to socialize and provide educational opportunities for visitors [21].
Some studies on the impacts of hosting a large-scale event have focused on the perceptions of visitors. Nadeau et al. examined tourist views of the host country during Olympic Games of 2008 in Beijing. The study investigated three images: country, destination, and mega-event. The research results revealed that the aforementioned images are important and related. In addition, the findings showed that tourists perceive China positively in terms of the country and people competencies, while it is viewed less positively in terms of country character. As a destination, tourists see China positively for its built environment, but less positively for its natural environment. Similarly, Olympic Games are characterized by positive experiential and logistical beliefs, while beliefs about security are less positive [16].
The studies based on the perceptions of residents, visitors and organizers reveal that large-scale events directly affect the economic and social life of host communities. The cost-benefit analysis of hosting large-scale events is being done almost in all hosting countries. Especially this issue is very important for small economies. In developing countries, staging a major sporting event requires substantial investment, so the majority of local people believe that the public money should have been invested in creating social projects and constructing new schools. In other words, if residents welcome a particular event, managers are more willing to host it. As a developing country, Kyrgyzstan has limited opportunities. It is necessary to focus on primary events to be selective. Therefore, it is crucial to measure the impacts of the WNG.
Data and Methodology
The WNG is a new form of large-scale events in the world. Thus, there is little empirical research focused on understanding perceived impacts of the WNG and behavioural tendencies of the host community. As large-scale events have multifac-eted impact on host communities, it becomes extremely important to understand local residents' perceptions toward these kinds of events. When a local community supports hosting a large-scale event, it will have more chances to succeed and be more fruitful.
Questionnaire Design. The questionnaire to measure the impacts of a large-scale event was developed based on existing literature. The questionnaire consisted of two parts. The first part of the questionnaire comprised demographic questions such as gender, age, marital status, income, employment status, education, questions relating to the economic benefit from the tourism sec-
Table 2
Sample Profile
Variables Bishkek Issyk-Kul
F % F %
Gender Female 189 49,2 158 55,2
Male 195 50,8 128 44,8
Age 18-25 178 46,4 71 24,8
26-35 72 18,8 74 25,9
36-45 57 14,8 59 20,6
46-55 45 11,7 50 17,5
Above 56 32 8,3 32 11,2
Monthly Family Income 30 000 Som and less 233 63,7 236 88,4
30 001-60 000 Som 106 29,0 21 7,9
60 001 Som and more 27 7,4 10 3,7
Education High School 119 31,0 86 30,1
Vocational School 52 13,5 87 30,4
University 213 55,5 113 39,5
Employment Status Active worker 166 43,2 136 47,6
Student 141 36,7 50 17,5
Other 77 20,1 100 35,0
Marital Status Married 187 48,7 201 70,3
Single 197 51,3 85 29,7
Following the WNG Yes 296 77,1 234 81,8
No 88 22,9 52 18,2
Income from Tourism Yes 38 9,9 28 9,8
No 346 90,1 258 90,2
tor, and questions testing if the respondents follow the WNG. The second part of the questionnaire contained 22 items which were measured on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). These items were generated from previous studies [22, 13, 4, 18]. Initially, the questionnaire was designed in the Kyrgyz language. The pilot study was conducted among 20 respondents in order to adjust the questions. Then, a bilingual person whose mother tongue is Russian translated the questionnaire into the Russian language. Lastly, the survey was implemented according to the respondents' preferred language.
Data Collection. The data were collected from two different localities in the Kyrgyz Republic. The first group is from Bishkek, the capital city of the Kyrgyz Republic, and another is from Issyk-Kul region, where the WNG were held. Before the survey, the size of the main population was determined. According to the National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic, in 2016 the total population of Bishkek city was 958500 and the population of Issyk-Kul region was 4701001. The sample
1 National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic. Retrieved from: http://stat.kg/kg/statistics/naselenie/ (Date of access: 06.12.2016).
size consisted of 384 respondents from Bishkek and 286 interviewees from Issyk-Kul region. The surveys were conducted using face-to-face interviews. The questionnaire forms were distributed during November-December, 2016 in Bishkek, and in January, 2017 in Issyk-Kul region. Potential respondents were identified and surveyed through by my students and I.
Sample Profile. Table 2 shows the general profile of the sample in details. It can be seen that 49 % of the respondents are female for the Bishkek sample. For the Issyk-Kul sample, 55 % are female. The most represented age group for the Bishkek sample is 18-25 (46 %) and for the Issyk-Kul sample is 26-35 (26 %). According to the income distribution, about 64 % of respondents in Bishkek have monthly family income of less than 30.000 Som. At the same time, 88 % of respondents in Issyk-Kul have less than 30.000 Som.
Bishkek is not only the administrative centre of the Kyrgyz Republic, but also the city where the main businesses are concentrated. Issyk-Kul is one of the seven regions and one of the main tourist destinations in the Kyrgyz Republic. In terms of education, university degree is the most represented group in both samples (56 % for Bishkek and 40 % for Issyk-Kul). According to the employ-
Table 3
The Results of the Factor Analysis for the Bishkek Sample
Factor Labels and Items FL Eigenvalue VE (%) (a)
Factor 1 — Infrastructure and Economic Development 6,479 19,488 ,864
Increased community development investments ,751
Improved the tourism infrastructure ,701
Improved economic conditions of the country ,695
Increased leisure facilities ,692
Increased trade for local business ,684
Increased the number of foreign visitors ,613
Improved the infrastructure of the country ,586
Enhanced international recognition of the country as a tourism destination ,548
Factor 2 — International Recognition and Image 2,239 16,025 ,769
Enhanced the international recognition of Kyrgyzstan ,777
Enhanced the country's image ,687
Increased the opportunity to inform hosting country in the World ,650
Increased the international friendship ,562
Factor 3 — Cultural and Social Integrity 1,542 11,102 ,798
Increased the interest in ethnic sports ,702
Enriched the local residents' spirit ,692
Enhanced national pride of the residents ,594
Provided an incentive for the preservation of the local culture ,507
Factor 4 — Social Costs 1,172 10,552 ,678
Attracted interests of terror organizations ,797
Caused environmental damage ,747
Increased social conflict between supporters and non-supporters ,669
Caused excessive spending on new infrastructure ,590
Total Variance (%) 57,167
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) Test of Sampling Adequacy: 0,882 The Bartlett's Test of Sphericity: x2 = 2,803E3; df=190; p =0,000
ment status, 43 % of the Bishkek sample and 48 % of the Issyk-Kul sample are currently employed. About 49 % of respondents in Bishkek and 70 % in Issyk-Kul region are married. The majority of the respondents (77 % in Bishkek and 82 % in Issyk-Kul) directly participated in the WNG or followed them. About 10 % of the survey participants from both samples have a direct income from the tourism sector. In general, it can be said that the samples are sufficient in terms of representing the population.
Data Analysis. The obtained data were appropriately coded and computerized for further analysis. An explanatory factor analysis was used to determine the main dimensions of the possible WNG impacts. The Cronbach's Alpha value of the used scale was found to be 0.870 for the Bishkek sample and 0.833 for the Issyk-Kul sample. An independent sample t-test and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to test for patterns of the WGN impacts across the demographic variables.
Results and Discussion
To examine the dimensions underlying the perceived impact of the WNG by the residents of two different localities, two separate factor analyses with Varimax rotation were applied to the Bishkek and Issyk-Kul samples. Varimax rotation has been chosen because it maximizes the variation in all factors in the classification and assessment of the factor groups. The eigenvalue greater than 1 and the minimum 0.50 factor loading criterion were used. This research also tested the effect of the demographic variables on the perceived impacts of the WNG by using t-test and one-way ANOVA. The significant differences are given for two samples separately.
Perceived Impacts of the WNG in Bishkek
The result of the factor analysis for the Bishkek sample is given in Table 3. The Bartlett's Test of Sphericity was significant (x2 = 2,803E3; df = 190; p = 0.000). During the analysis, two
Table 4
Descriptive Statistics of the Factors for the Bishkek Sample
Factors N Min Max Mean S.D. Sig.*
Factor 1 — Infrastructure and Economic Development 384 1 5 3,5670 ,78155 ,000
Factor 2 — International Recognition and Image 384 1 5 4,0517 ,69461 ,000
Factor 3 — Cultural and Social Integrity 384 1 5 4,0858 ,66098 ,000
Factor 4 — Social Costs 384 1 5 2,5234 ,89928 ,000
1 — Strongly Disagree................2..................3...................4...................5 — Strongly Agree
* Mean values are significantly different from '3- neutral' at p<0.05 level
items (08: the WNG increased the understanding of the visitors' culture and 018: the WNG increased prices of products and services) on the scale were eliminated because they did not meet the minimum 0.50 factor loading criteria. The factor analysis was conducted again with the remaining items. A total of 20 items were loaded on four factors and these factors explained 57.1 % of the total variance. Cronbach a coefficients ranged from 0.678 to 0.864 and were considered to be satisfactory.
The first factor is titled infrastructure and economic development; it accounted for 19.4 % of the total variance. Among the perceived impacts of the WNG for the Bishkek sample, this factor appeared as an important one. In other words, the majority of the residents believe that hosting the WNG leads to revitalization of trade, development of the tourism sector, enhancement of infrastructure, leading to economic development.
The second important factor is labelled as international recognition and image; it explained
16.0 % of the total variance. The third factor is cultural and social integrity, which accounts for
11.1 % of the total variance. The fourth one is social costs, which comprises negative impacts of the WNG. Nearly 10 % of the total variance is explained by this factor.
Table 4 presents descriptive statistics related to the dimensions of the WNG impacts for the Bishkek sample. The factors' mean values difference from «3-Neutral» score was tested using One Sample t — test.
According to the results, the residents in Bishkek believe that the WNG improved infrastructure and increased economic development (mean = 3,6; sd. = ,78; p = ,000), enhanced international recognition of the Kyrgyz Republic (mean = 4,1; sd. = ,69; p = ,000) and increased cultural and social integrity (mean = 4,1; sd. = ,66; p = ,000). On the other hand, the residents in Bishkek do not support the negative impacts of the WNG. People do not agree (mean = 2,5; sd. = ,89; p = ,000) with the items related to social costs of the WNG.
This research also tested the effect of the demographic variables on the perceived impact
of the WNG. The significant differences for the Bishkek sample are given in Table 5. According to the test results, no significant difference was found on the dimension social costs by the demographic characteristics. Some significant differences were found on the other dimensions. Gender affected only one factor cultural and social integrity, as the female residents' perceived impacts are more positive on this dimension. There is also significant difference between the income groups regarding the second factor, which is cultural and social integrity. The groups with income less than 30.000 Som and with income between 30.000-60.000 Som are characterized by the more positive perceived impact compared to the residents with income above 60.000 Som.
The perceptions of the respondents following the WNG are more positive compared to the respondents that do not follow the WNG on three out of four factors: infrastructure and economic development, cultural and social integrity and international recognition and image. Other demographic characteristics such as age, marital status, working status and education level did not affect any of the perceived impact factors. All of them equally support the WNG.
Perceived Impacts of the WNG in Issyk-Kul Region
Table 6 represents the result of the factor analysis for the Issyk-Kul sample. The Bartlett's Test of Sphericity was significant (x2 = 1,667E3, df = 190, p = 0.000). During the analysis, two items (08: the WNG increased the understanding of the visitors' culture and 015: the WNG accelerated the development of tourism infrastructure) on the scale were eliminated because they did not meet the minimum 0.50 factor loading criteria. The factor analysis was conducted again with the remaining items. A total of 20 items were loaded on five factors; these factors explained 58.3 % of the total variance. Cronbach a coefficients ranged from 0.562 to 0.848 and were considered to be satisfactory.
According to Table 6, there are five dimensions of the perceived WNG impacts for the Issyk-Kul
Table 5
Significant Differences in the Perceived Impact by the Demographic Characteristics
Demographic Characteristics Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3
Gender Female Male ,13177*
Income, in Som > 30 000 Som 60 001 Som < ,32796*
30 001 — 60 000 60 001 Som < ,34003*
Following the WNG Yes No ,27860* ,23137* ,22990*
* Mean difference is significant at p < 0.05 level
Table 6
The Results of the Factor Analysis for the Issyk-Kul Sample
Factor Labels and Items FL Eigenvalue VE (%) (a)
Factor 1 — Cultural Integrity and Image 5,913 20,025 ,848
Enriched the local residents' spirit ,744
Enhanced the country's image ,731
Increased the opportunity to inform hosting country in the World ,731
Enhanced national pride of the residents ,680
Enhanced the international recognition of Kyrgyzstan ,623
Provided an incentive for the preservation of the local culture ,579
Increased the interest in ethnic sports ,571
Increased the international friendship ,558
Factor 2 — Tourism Development 1,852 11,156 ,655
Increased the number of foreign visitors ,806
Enhanced international recognition of the country as tourism destination ,639
Increased leisure facilities ,612
Factor 3 — Economic Development 1,447 9,296 ,708
Increased community development investments ,783
Increased trade for local business ,639
Improved economic conditions of the country ,553
Factor 4 — Social Costs 1,276 9,224 ,659
Caused environmental damage ,806
Increased social conflict between supporters and non-supporters ,752
Attracted interests of terror organizations ,714
Factor 5 — Infrastructure and Prices 1,182 8,649 ,562
Increased prices of products and services ,750
Improved the general infrastructure of the country ,586
Caused excessive spending on new infrastructure ,557
Total Variance (%) 58,350
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) Test of Sampling Adequacy: 0,849 The Bartletts Test of Sphericity: x2 = 1,667E3; df = 190; p = 0.000
sample. Among the dimensions of the perceived impacts of the WNG for the Issyk-Kul sample, cultural integrity and image factor appeared to be an important one. This factor explains 20.0 % of the total variance. The second important factor is labelled as tourism development; it explained 11.1 % of the total variance. The third factor is economic development and nearly 9.3 % of the total variance is explained by it. The fourth one is labelled as social costs that accounts for 9.2 % of the total variance. The last factor is infrastructure and prices, which accounts for 8.6 % of the total variance.
Table 7 presents descriptive statistics related to the dimensions of the WNG impacts for the Issyk-Kul sample. The factors' mean values difference from «3- Neutral» score was tested using One Sample test. According to the results, the residents in Issyk-Kul also believe in the positive impacts of the WNG. The residents' perceptions in Issyk-Kul toward impacts of the WNG are similar to residents of Bishkek. They also support the idea that the WNG increased cultural integrity (mean = 4,1; sd. = ,55; p = ,000), accelerated tourism (mean = 3,9; sd. = ,63; p = ,000), economic development (mean = 3,5; sd.= ,73; p = ,000) and infrastructure
1 — Strongly Disagree.................2.....................3....................4..................5 — Strongly Agree
* Mean values are significantly different from '3 — neutral' at p < 0.05 level
Table 8
Significant Differences in the Perceived Impact by Demographic Characteristics
Table 7
Descriptive Statistics of the Factors for the Issyk-Kul Sample
Factors N Min Max Mean S. D. Sig.*
Factor 1 — Cultural Integrity and Image 286 1 5 4,1340 ,55239 ,000
Factor 2 — Tourism Development 286 1 5 3,9085 ,62958 ,000
Factor 3 — Economic Development 286 1 5 3,4720 ,73309 ,000
Factor 4 — Social Costs 286 1 5 2,4907 ,78876 ,000
Factor 5 — Infrastructure and Prices 286 1 5 3,6486 ,68780 ,000
Demographic Characteristics Factorl Factor2 Factor3 Factor5
Age 26-35 -,28822*
26-35 above 56 -,30912*
Education High school Vocational school -,29907*
Following the WNG Yes No ,28687* ,34259* ,40259*
* Mean difference is significant at p < 0.05 level.
(mean = 3,6; sd. = ,68; p = ,000). Local people in Issyk-Kul region also do not agree (mean = 2,5; sd. = ,79; p = ,000) with the items related to social costs of the WNG.
The significant differences of the perceived impact of the WNG by the demographic variables for the Issyk-Kul sample are given in Table 8. According to the test results, no significant difference was found on the dimension of social costs by the demographic characteristics. Some significant differences were found on the other dimensions.
The age groups affected only the first factor, which is cultural integrity and image. 26-35 age group's perceived impacts are less positive compared to the age groups 46-55 and above 56. There is also a significant difference between the respondents' perceptions related to the fifth factor regarding their educational level. The residents with vocational school education have positive perception compared to the residents with high school education. The perceptions of the respondents following the WNG are positive as compared to the respondents that do not follow the WNG on three out of five factors: cultural integrity and image, tourism development, economic development, infrastructure and prices. Other demographic characteristics such as gender, income, marital status and working status did not affect any of the perceived impact factors for the Issyk-Kul sample. All of them equally support the WNG.
Conclusions and Recommendations
The World Nomad Games as a large-scale event is a new phenomenon, which has started in Kyrgyzstan, one of the representatives of the nomad culture in the world. In addition, it is a first
example of a large-scale event in this region. This paper focused on economic and socio-cultural impacts of the event. Hosting large-scale events depends not only on financial and administrative resources, but also on local residents' support. In transition countries, the residents consider the alternative cost of the financial resources spent on such events and favour the allocation of funds for appropriate projects. Kyrgyzstan, as a Post-Soviet transition country, has to pay attention to this fact and maintain balance while financing social and economic projects. Thus, it is very important to investigate local residents' perceptions towards impacts of large-scale events in a hosting country. Recent studies on transition countries also argue the same issue [4, 23].
According to the empirical results of this study, in general, the local residents have positive perceptions about the WNG impacts and support hosting this event in Kyrgyzstan. The residents believe that the WNG result in the economic development, revitalization of the tourism sector, increased infrastructure investments. Moreover, the positive impacts are in the dimensions of preservation and development of local cultures, host country promotion and enhancement of the country's image. These results coincide with the results in the published academic literature [2, 13, 4]. In addition, the local residents have not perceived negative impacts of the WNG yet. However, the effects of large-scale events are not always immediately visible, or, for the residents, the perceived benefits exceed the negative impacts. The number of negative effects may increase in a long-term. In general, the local residents support hosting the WNG and think that this event is beneficial
to Kyrgyzstan. The positive perception of the local residents will make it easier for Kyrgyzstan to continue organizing the WNG. Therefore, Kyrgyzstan should continue to organize this large-scale event and transform it into a worldwide organization.
Hosting the WNG created different impacts in different localities. In this study, for the Bishkek sample, the impacts of the WNG resulted in four dimensions, which are infrastructure and economic development, cultural and social integrity, international recognition and image and social costs. Among the perceived impacts of the WNG for the Bishkek sample, the most important ones were in the dimension infrastructure and economic development. On the other hand, there are five dimensions of the perceived WNG impacts for the Issyk-Kul sample. They are: cultural integrity and image, tourism development, economic development, social costs, infrastructure and prices. Among the dimensions of the perceived impacts of the WNG for the Issyk-Kul sample, cultural integrity and image factor appeared to be the most important. It can be said that these differences emerged due to the characteristics of the localities, which are included in this study. Bishkek is the capital of Kyrgyzstan, the financial and economic centre of the country. At the same time, Issyk-Kul region is the most important tourist destination of Kyrgyzstan and the host region of the WNG. For this region, the cultural dimension comes to the forefront, and tourism development is determined as a separate dimension. It means that in rural areas people pay more attention to cultural values than to economic benefits. The research results are consistent with existing literature [13, 18, 24, 25]. In the following years, Kyrgyzstan should organize the WNG in different localities of the country. This way, other localities will be able to take advantage of the positive effects of the WNG. Moreover, the event should not be limited to only one country.
Liu (2016) in his study argued that perceived impacts of large-scale events may significantly differ in terms of residents' demographic features [18]. In our study, the significant differences were found in some dimensions according to the demographic characteristics for both sample groups. For example, the female residents' perceived impacts in Bishkek were more positive on the dimension cultural and social integrity compared
to the male ones. Another important issue for the Bishkek sample is that as the level of income increases, the perceived impact on the dimension cultural and social integrity becomes negative. In other words, the respondents with low income give more importance to cultural and social integrity and are more positive about the impact of the WNG on this issue. Moreover, the respondents who follow the WNG directly or on TV perceived positive impact on the dimensions infrastructure and economic development, international recognition and image and cultural and social integrity. Unlike the Bishkek sample, for the Issyk-Kul sample there is no significant difference in the cultural dimension according to the gender and income variables. However, there were differences related to age and education level. The higher age groups' perceived impact on the dimension cultural integrity and image was more positive compared to the young age groups. In addition, the residents with vocational school education have more positive perception on the dimension infrastructure and prices compared to the residents with high school education. Moreover, for the respondents who follow the WNG directly or on TV, the perceived impact on the dimensions cultural integrity and image, tourism and economic development was more positive. There was no significant difference in the dimension social cost according to the demographic characteristics for both sample regions.
The research findings allow to make suggestions aimed at successful organization of such events in the future and achievement of the expected benefits. In general, the local residents support hosting the WNG. So, in the future, this event should be held in different localities of the country, even in different countries. However, it is important to consider some issues. First, it is essential to conduct the economic benefit and cost analysis of hosting the WNG and share the results with the local residents. It is important to be transparent on the issue. Secondly, it is necessary to take precautions against the negative impacts of the WNG. Finally, there is considerable scope for future research on issues related to the hosting of the WNG. Especially, it is important to consider different sample groups, including local people, foreign visitors and organizers, in order to test whether the perceptions repeat.
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Author
Azamat Maksüdünov — PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University; Scopus Author ID: 57205208715: ORCID: 0000-0002-5010-513X (56, Chyngyz Aitmatov Ave., Bishkek, 720038, Kyrgyzstan; e-mail: azamat.maksudunov@manas.edu.kg).
