WHO ARE THE BIG SPENDERS AT A MOTORCYCLE EVENT ?

Africa Bike Week, considered South Africa’s premier biking event, attracts large numbers of bikers, especially Harley-Davidson bikers, and bike enthusiasts from across the country. This study investigated these visitors and their spending behaviour. As background to the study, we provide a broad survey of the literature on socio-demographic and behavioural determinants of spending. Motorcycle tourism has received international research attention, especially in the US, but to date has been neglected in South Africa. Our study helps to fill this gap, particularly as regards biker and spectator characteristics. We found that more behavioural than socio-demographic variables influenced spending at this event. Visitors’ motorcycle behaviour and group composition had a significant effect on higher spending. The analysis identified three new determinants of spending: the travel motives lifestyle, event attractiveness and event novelty. Event organisers can use this information to increase spending and enhance the economic impact of motorcycle tourism in South Africa.


INTRODUCTION
Motorcycling is rarely mentioned in the tourism literature, but motorcycle tourism is a large and growing market with considerable economic value (Sykes & Kelly, 2012;Scholtz, Kruger, Saayman & Saayman, 2013).This type of tourism takes various forms, from individuals or groups arranging their own biking holiday to tours organised by clubs or professional companies.It implies travel where the main motive is to experience any form of motorcycling, whether as a participant or a spectator.It includes the three major categories of motorcycles used for touring, namely cruisers, touring bikes and short tourers (Sykes & Kelly, 2012), and can involve group tours or solo bikers, whether organised by businesses or independently (Motorcycle Tourism Strategy, 2013-2016).Motorcycling trips may include participation in sporting events or attendance at events organised for commercial gain and/or charity, or independently organised motorcycling (adapted by Sykes and Kelly, 2012, from Lamont's definition of bicycle tourism, 2010).
Motorcycling is a popular leisure activity, with over 360 000 registered motorcycles recorded in South Africa in 2009(Road Traffic Management Corporation, 2009).According to the Arrive Alive campaign (2006), the number of motorcycles increased by 23.73% from 2005 to 2006.However, the official updated record is unknown.In 2011, South Africans bought 34 112 motorcycles, which does not account for all off-road bikes, quad bikes and all-terrain vehicles, as these motorcycles are registered only with the Department of Transport (Venter, 2012).One of the outcomes of the increased interest in motorcycles has been the organisation of large motorcycle rallies and events, which bring motorcyclists and motorcycling enthusiasts together for a specific cause and to share their culture, lifestyle and love of bikes.These events can be leveraged to attract more bikers to a destination and encourage them to stay on for a touring holiday (Motorcycle Tourism Strategy, 2013-2016).
The DJ Run was one of the first motorcycling events held in South Africa.This world-famous motorcycle race between Durban and Johannesburg started in 1913, with the main goal being to win the coveted Schlesinger Vase -a large silver trophy.Numerous motorcycle events are now held annually, attracting bikers from across the country.A well-known one is the Buffalo Rally, first held in 1969 at Bathurst in the Eastern Cape, which covers a broad spectrum of local, provincial and national events.Some others are the Rhino Rally, Impala Rally and Paradise Rally.Africa Bike Week, held annually at Margate during the month of April, is considered South Africa's premier biking event.Its primary focus is to attract as many bikers, especially Harley-Davidson bikers, and bike enthusiasts as possible from across South Africa (Harley-Davidson Africa, 2013).Each year it attracts approximately 25 000 visitors and bikers and its economic value in 2013 was R110 million, based on visitors' spending alone (Scholtz et al., 2013).
Realising the size and economic potential of this lucrative market, many destination marketing organisations and agencies are seeking to attract bikers, with some targeting motorcyclists exclusively (Walker, 2011).However, as with any other market segment, to target this segment effectively and increase their spending it is necessary to understand who they are, what their needs are and how these needs can be fulfilled, especially since little research presently exists (Walker, 2011;Sykes & Kelly, 2012).The total economic impact of an event is a function of both the direct and indirect expenditures of visitors (Lee, Lee, Lee & Babin, 2008) and it is therefore important to understand their spending behaviour at the event and the determinants of such behaviour (Mok & Iverson, 2000).Saayman and Saayman (2011) advise that understanding these determinants will give organisers more comprehensive information about the variables that influence visitor spending, which they can use for various purposes, including planning and marketing.
The aim of this research was therefore to investigate the socio-demographic and behavioural determinants that influence visitor expenditure at Africa Bike Week in South Africa.There is currently, to the authors' knowledge, no existing literature on motorcycle tourism in South Africa.This research, the first to analyse a South African motorcycling event of this magnitude in terms of visitor expenditure, therefore helps to fill a gap in the current literature.It provides answers to questions such as:  Who is the Africa Bike Week visitor? What motivates visitors to attend the event? What are the influential socio-demographic, behavioural and travel motive determinants of visitor spending at the event? Are there more significant socio-demographic than behavioural determinants?These findings will give event organisers a more comprehensive view of the variables that influence visitor spending at a motorcycle event.They can use the information to increase visitor spending and ultimately increase the economic impact of South Africa's motorcycle tourism and motorcycling events.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Events play an integral part in the South African tourism industry and economy (Fenich, Hermann & Hashimoto, 2012).The economic impact of events is a well-researched field; however, South Africa's niche event sector has received limited attention (Tassiopoulos & Haydam, 2008).Page and Connell (2009) define a niche market as an identifiable group of consumers with particular characteristics, needs or desires.Niche markets are targeted by designing products and services to appeal to their special interests.The interest in motorcycles has increased over the past 20 years, broadening this specialised market (Way & Robertson, 2013).Motorcycle events can be regarded as niche events attracting a niche market with an interest in either riding or admiring motorcycles.Motorcycle events and rallies can vary in size, from minor events attracting less than one hundred people to major events attracting thousands of visitors with significant spending power (Walker, 2011).
The desire to understand the spending behaviour of visitors to events has thus been a longstanding goal for marketers and organisers (Stewart, Smith & Nicholson, 2003).Some of the main concerns include how much is spent, where that expenditure is directed to, where it is sourced from and what determinants influence this spending behaviour (Pearce, 2011).According to Craggs and Schofield (2006), a wide range of socio-demographic and behavioural factors influence visitor spending and can be used to identify the important determinants of this spending.However, since events differ according to type, location, theme, duration, target market and so on, the same factors may not be applicable or significant for all visitors.As shown in FIGURE 1, the success of a motorcycle event is determined by aspects such as the motorcyclist (socio-demographic profile, club affiliation, group composition, type of motorcycle owned, etc.), the type of event (rally, mass ride, breakfast run, social and charity event, club event, etc.) and the spending of the visitors attending the event.The success of a motorcycle event may be seen as the outcomes that the event needs to achieve.These outcomes all have a spending implication, with visitors making the highest contribution.By investigating the motorcyclists' socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics and their motives for attending the event, as well as the theme, duration and location of the particular event, we can identify the variables that most influence their spending, i.e. the determinants of that spending.Visitor spending is greatly influenced by, for example, the duration of stay during the event, the group size and the number of people paid for (Saayman & Saayman, 1997).These spending behaviours are responsible for the monetary success of the event, as spending has a multiplier effect, for example by creating jobs (Saayman, Saayman & Du Plessis, 2005).Visitor spending is therefore one of the first input variables to consider when determining the economic impact of an event.
Tables 1 and 2 present a summary of existing research on individual visitor expenditure levels.It is clear from these studies that this expenditure has been seen as dependent on either sociodemographic or behavioural variables, depending on the type of tourism activity or event attended.It is also clear that different socio-demographic and behavioural variables influence visitor spending on different tourism products, attractions and events.The influential determinants of visitor expenditure at motorcycling events have, however, to date received only limited attention.Studies on motorcycling in the US dominate the literature and topics include: aspects of safety (Elliott, Baughan, Broughton, Chinn, Grayson, Knowles, Smith, & Simpson, 2003), environmental aspects of motorcycles (Leong, Muttamara & Laortanakul, 2002), ethnographic aspects (Schouten & McAlexander, 1995), cultural significance (Packer & Coffey, 2004), escape to rurality (Jachimiak, 2006), gender consumer behaviour (Martin, Schouten & McAlexander (2006), value of charity runs (Rabinowitz, 2007), spirituality (Litton, 2008), and adventure motorcycling (Price-Davies, 2011).Miller (2012)   share similar personality traits and often lease or own at least one luxury car.Miller (2012:42) observes that 'Globally, Harley-Davidson customers typically have strong character traits and a strong desire for success and to express their personalities'.
With regard to bikers' motives for attending motorcycle rallies or events, Price-Davies (2011) found that bikers take part in the Kudu Expeditions for the sense of adventure, determination to be part of an epic adventure, personal challenge, to test their capabilities, for self-discovery, to break away from their daily routine, and to socialise and meet new people.Rabinowitz (2007) found that bikers in a South African charity run were motivated by adventure, charitable generosity, the desire to make people aware of these events, and group affiliation.Crowther (2007) found that bikers in the Isle of Man TT Races were motivated by competitiveness, the cultural experience, the love of motorcycle riding, the sense of freedom and escape from their daily routine.Their motives for attending or taking part in motorcycle events were therefore influenced by the type of event.In one of the few studies of the economic implications of motorcycling events, Nale, Rauch and Barr (2003) found that Harley-Davidson owners were mostly male with a fairly high disposable income and consequently high spenders at the event.These results are consistent with findings by Broughton (2007) and Way, Roberts and Turner (2010), who also found that motorcyclists are generally sociable and often travel in groups, are aged 50 and older, affluent, predominately male (although the proportion of female motorcyclists is increasing) and in professional occupations.Motorcyclists' spending habits include not only spending on their bike, but also on consumables (for example fuel and oil), accommodation on biking trips, and biking events (for example rallies, bike shows and races).They are not a homogeneous group but vary considerably in profile and their spending can be linked to demographics (Broughton, 2007;Walker, 2011).Young bikers (under the age of 40) spend considerably more on events and accommodation than older bikers, while high-earning professionals spend more on consumables, accommodation and motorcycle events (Broughton, 2007).
The lack of current literature on South African motorcycling events necessitates research in this field.Our investigation of the determinants of visitor spending at a major South African motorcycling event, Africa Bike Week, will have benefits for overall event success.Benefits of visitor spending at events have been researched by Vaughn, Farr and Slee (2000), Stanley, Rogers, Smeltzer and Perron (2000), Frochot and Morrison (2001), Szymanski (2002), Chalip and McGuirty (2004), Petrick (2004), Preuss (2005), Frechtling (2006), Wilton and Nickerson (2006), Fredman (2008), Visser and Hoogendoorn (2011), and Van der Merwe, Slabbert and Saayman (2011), to name but a few.The benefits include:  identifying the niche market segment for these types of events,  attracting the higher-spending visitors,  setting up more specialised marketing campaigns,  developing cost-effective branding and image creation,  creating individual, group or club packages to increase length of stay,  improving the management of event 'extras' such as shows and music,  diversifying available products by attracting more exhibiters,  increasing the variety and contribution of sponsors' expenditure,  encouraging the cooperation of the local community,  developing sustainable infrastructure for the area,  creating more temporary jobs, and  fostering relationships with existing tourism attractions.

Spending determinant
Finding(s) Author(s) Nationality Influence of nationality on higher spending is inconclusive.Svensson et al. (2011) German tourists tend to be lower spenders; tourists from Great Britain tend to be higher spenders.
Alegre et al. ( 2011), Barquet et al. (2011) Tourists from Great Britain, the Netherlands, Germany and elsewhere in Europe spend more than Swedish, Danish and Finnish tourists.

Marcussen (2011)
Visitors using car or motorbike tend to be higher spenders.
Visitors using bus, train or ship tend to be lower spenders.

Svensson et al. (2011)
Information sources Use of internet as source of information positively influences higher spending.
Marcussen (2011), Svensson et al. (2011) Visitors who hear about event/destination by word of mouth tend to be lower spenders.

Travel package
Tourists who book all-inclusive holiday package tend to be lower spenders.
Tourists who only book transport and accommodation tend to be higher spenders.Alegre et al. (2011) * Full names of these South African events: Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon, Telkom Midmar Mile, Pick n Pay Cape Argus Cycle Tour (currently known as the Cape Town Cycle Tour).

METHOD OF RESEARCH
As this was a quantitative study, a structured questionnaire was used to collect the data.This section describes the questionnaire, the sampling method, the survey and the statistical analysis.

The questionnaire
The questionnaire used in the survey was divided into three sections.Section A determined the socio-demographic details of visitors to Africa Bike Week (gender, age, home language, annual gross income, group size, number of people financially responsible for, province of origin, spending, level of education, marital status, mode of transport and number of previous attendances).Section B determined their motives for attending the event, measuring 30 motivational aspects on a 5-point Likert scale where 1 indicated not at all important, 2 slightly important, 3 important, 4 very important and 5 extremely important.The aspects included in this question were based on the works of Walker (2011), Rabinowitz (2007), Price-Davies (2011) and Crowther (2007) and adapted for Africa Bike Week.This section also determined the number of rallies and other motorcycling events the visitors had attended, who they were travelling with, how they had heard about Africa Bike Week, whether they visited tourist attractions and what other events they were planning to attend during 2013.Section 3 determined their motorcycling preferences in terms of brand, size, club affiliation, age first exposed to motorcycles and who exposed them to motorcycles.

Sampling method and survey applied at Africa Bike Week
A survey was conducted at Africa Bike Week in Margate from 26 to 29 April 2013.Attendees were approached by trained fieldworkers who asked the attendees to complete the questionnaires.One hundred and fifty questionnaires were distributed every day over a three-day period.A total of 474 completed questionnaires were obtained out of a possible 500, resulting in a 95% return rate.According to Israel (2009:6), in a population of 100 000 (N), 398 respondents (n) are seen as representative.The organisers say that approximately 25 000 visitors attended Africa Bike Week, so the total number of completed questionnaires was more than adequate.The dependent variables are total spending and spending per person and only questionnaires with responses that had complete spending information could be included in further analysis.This resulted in a total of 419 usable questionnaires.

Statistical analysis
Microsoft Excel was used to capture the data and SPSS (SPSS Inc, 2013) to analyse it.The analysis was performed in five stages.First, a general profile of the visitors to Africa Bike Week was compiled.Second, a principal axis factor analysis, using an Oblimin rotation with Kaiser normalisation, was performed on the 30 motivation items to explain the variance-covariance structure of a set of variables through a few linear combinations of these variables.The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was also used to determine whether the covariance matrix was suitable for factor analysis.Kaiser's criteria for the extraction of all the factors with eigenvalues larger than one were used because they were considered to explain a significant number of variations in the data.In addition, all items with a factor loading above 0.3 were considered as contributing to a factor, and all with loadings lower than 0.3 as not correlating significantly with this factor (Steyn, 2000).In addition, any item that cross-loaded on two factors with factor loadings greater than 0.3 was categorised in the factor where interpretability was best.A reliability coefficient (Cronbach's alpha) was computed to estimate the internal consistency of each factor.All factors with a reliability coefficient above 0.6 were considered to be acceptable in this study.The average inter-item correlations were also computed as another measure of reliability -these, according to Clark and Watson (1995), should lie between 0.15 and 0.55.
Third, the dependent (predicted) variables are total spending and spending per person, which were calculated by summing the respondent's spending on the various components.This yielded the total spending, which was then divided by the number of people for whom the respondent was paying during the trip, to calculate the spending per person.The dummy variables (sociodemographic, behavioural variables and motives) were coded 1 and 0 to be included in the regression analyses.Fourth, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (rho) was used to explore the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variables (total spending and spending per person).According to Pallant (2010:134), a value of 0 indicates no relationship, a value of 1.0 indicates a perfect positive correlation, and a value of -1.0 indicates a perfect negative correlation.Cohen (1988:79) suggests the following guidelines to interpret the values between 0 and 1: small effect: r=0.1 medium effect: r=0.3 and a large effect: r=0.5.
Fifth, backward regression analyses were performed to identify the determinants of visitor spending.In the regression analysis, R 2 gives the proportion of variance in spending that is explained by the predictors included in the model.An R 2 of 0.25 or larger can be considered as practically significant (Ellis & Steyn, 2003:53).The adjusted R 2 indicates how much variance in the outcome would be accounted for if the model had been derived from the population from which the sample was taken and also takes into account the number of explanatory variables in the model (Field, 2005:723).The adjusted R 2 therefore gives an idea of how well the regression model generalises and, ideally, its value needs to be the same or very close to the value of R 2 (Field, 2005:188).The results from the statistical analyses are discussed in the next section.

RESULTS
This section provides an overview of the profile of the respondents, discusses the results of the factor analysis (motives) and presents the results of the backward regression analyses (total spending and spending per person).
They had matric as their highest level of education (50%) and earned between R20 001 and R140 000 (21%) per annum or more than R552 001 (18%) per annum, while the remaining respondents (61%) indicated a medium to high earning per annum.Most were accompanied, either by their friends (42%) or their club (27%).Half of them were affiliated to clubs and half of these clubs were located in Gauteng.Some had first been exposed to motorcycles by friends (38%) and some by parents (25%).Well over half (59%) stated that they would visit other tourist attractions in the area.Word of mouth was the main source of information for most of them (63%), while nearly a third relied on magazines (27%).
The typical respondent in our sample took part in five rallies per annum and rode a Harley-Davidson or Suzuki motorcycle, had been exposed to motorcycles at the age of 17 and now owned two motorcycles, was attending Africa Bike Week for the second time, and was paying for three persons and travelling in a group of seven to eight persons, with five bikes, who stayed five nights in the area of Margate and spent R8 380 as a group.

Results from the factor analysis
The pattern matrix of the principal axis factor analysis using an Oblimin rotation with Kaiser normalisation identified five motivational factors, which were labelled according to similar characteristics (TABLE 3).These factors accounted for 64% of the total variance.All had relatively high reliability coefficients, ranging from 0.74 to 0.93.The average inter-item correlation coefficients, with values between 0.48 and 0.93, implied internal consistency for all the factors.All items loaded on a factor with a loading greater than 0.3 and the relatively high factor loadings indicated a reasonably high correlation between the factors and their component items (Steyn, 2000).The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy of 0.95 indicated that the patterns of correlation were relatively compact and yielded distinct and reliable factors (Field, 2005:640).Barlett's test of sphericity reached statistical significance (p < .001) in both cases, supporting the factorability of the correlation matrix (Pallant, 2007:197).
Factor scores were calculated as the average of all items contributing to a specific factor (mean value) in order to interpret them on the original 5-point Likert scale.As TABLE 3 shows, the following motives for attending the Africa Bike Week were identified: adventure (Factor 1), event novelty (Factor 2), escape and socialisation (Factor 3), lifestyle (Factor 4) and event attractiveness (Factor 5).With a mean value of 4.23, adventure was the most important motive, followed closely by escape and socialisation (4.21), event attractiveness (4.13) and lifestyle (3.71), and event novelty (3.45) the least important.Source: Authors' analysis

Results from the correlation analysis and Spearman's rho
The questions had multiple-choice responses or were answered on a 5-point Likert scale and the dummy variables were coded 1 and 0 as shown in TABLE 4. These variables were included in the regression analyses to determine which had the greatest influence on total spending and spending per person at Africa Bike Week.The relationships between the variables indicated in TABLE 4 and total spending and spending per person were investigated by using Spearman's rho.
The following variables had a small or medium relationship with total spending at the event:  Socio-demographic variables: The province KwaZulu-Natal (rho = -.39,n = 467, p = .001)had a medium, negative correlation, indicating that local residents tended to spend less.
Gauteng province (rho = .15,n = 467, p = .001)and marital status (rho = .12,n = 446, p = .013)had small, positive correlations, indicating that visitors from this province and married visitors tended to spend more. Behavioural variables: Six variables had small, positive correlations: number of bikes in the travelling group (rho = .17,n = 405, p = .001),group size (rho = .14,n = 390, p = .005),number of people paid for (rho = .22,n = 424, p = .000),length of stay (rho = .29,n = 408, p = .000),number of previous attendances (rho = .14,n = 436, p = .003)and number of other rallies or events attended per year (rho = .18,n = 405, p = .000),indicating that visitors who travelled in larger groups (of people and motorcycles), were financially responsible for more people during the event, spent more nights in the area, had previously attended Africa Bike Week more times, and attended more rallies and similar events per year tended to spend more.Travelling in one's own car (rho = -.13,n = 438, p = .005)had a small, negative correlation, indicating that visitors who travelled by car rather than by motorcycle tended to spend less. Preferred type of media: Newspapers had a small, negative correlation (rho = -.14, n = 439, p = .004),indicating that visitors who were informed about the event through this marketing medium tended to spend less. Motorcycle behaviour and preferences: Three variables had small, positive correlations: Harley-Davidson ownership (rho = .14,n = 313, p = .014),size of the motorcycle (rho = .19,n = 334, p = .001)and number of motorcycles owned (rho = .21,n = 368, p = .000),indicating that visitors who owned a Harley-Davidson, had a larger motorcycle and owned more motorcycles tended to spend more.
 Exposure to motorcycles: Exposure to motorcycles by friends (rho = -.10,n = 474, p = .183)had a small, negative correlation, indicating that visitors who were first exposed to motorcycles by their friends tended to spend less. Travel motives: Three variables had small, positive correlations: adventure (rho = .11,n = 446, p = .016),lifestyle (rho = .13,n = 421, p = .006)and event novelty (rho = .15,n = 453, p = .000),indicating that visitors who attended the event for these reasons tended to spend more.
The following variables had a small, medium or large relationship with spending per person at the event:  Socio-demographic variables: The province KwaZulu-Natal (rho = -.34,n = 405, p = .000)had a medium, negative correlation, indicating that local residents tended to spend less.
 Behavioural variables: Number of people paid for (rho = -.35,n = 409, p = .000)had a medium, negative correlation, indicating that visitors who were financially responsible for more people tended to spend less.Two other variables, length of stay (rho = .19,n = 362, p = .000)and travelling with friends (rho = .15,n = 398, p = .004),had small, positive correlations, indicating that visitors who spent more nights in the area of Margate and travelled with friends tended to spend more. Preferred type of media: Similar to the results obtained for total spending, newspapers had a small, negative correlation (rho = -.13,n = 386, p = .008),indicating that visitors who were informed about the event through this marketing medium tended to spend less. Motorcycle behaviour and preferences: Three variables had small, positive correlations: Harley-Davidson as preferred motorcycle (rho = .22,n = 283, p = .000),size of the motorcycle (rho = .14,n = 303, p = .013)and number of motorcycles owned (rho = .15,n = 329, p = .007),indicating that visitors who preferred Harley-Davidson motorcycles, had a larger motorcycle and owned more motorcycles tended to spend more.
 Exposure to motorcycles: Exposure to motorcycles by friends (rho = -.11,n = 409, p = .028)had a small, negative correlation, indicating that visitors who were first exposed to motorcycles by their friends tended to spend less.

Results from the backward linear regression analyses
Backward regressions were performed to assess the impact of a number of variables on the likelihood that our Africa Bike Week sample's total spending and per-person spending would increase.The model contained the independent variables indicated in TABLE 4 that were dummy coded as 1 and 0. In the backward linear regression the significant variables for the visitors explained 23% and 19% of the variance for total spending and per-person spending respectively.The significant results are discussed below.

Backward linear regression: Determinants of total spending
In the case of visitors' total spending, as indicated in TABLE 5, group size (bikes and people), people paid for, KwaZulu-Natal, length of stay and times attended were the only significant variables, F(6, 150) = 7.574, p < .000.The signs of the beta coefficients indicate that visitors who travelled with more motorcycles in their groups (beta=0.50,p = .038),who were financially responsible for more people during the event (beta=0.23,p = .003),who spent more nights in the area of Margate (beta=0.22,p = .004)and who had previously attended the event more times (beta=0.06,p= .045)tended to be higher spenders.Visitors who travelled with more people in their group (beta= -0.53, p = .030)and who were from KwaZulu-Natal (beta= -0.17, p = .028)spent less at the event.Source: Authors' analysis

Backward linear regression: Determinants of spending per person
In the case of spending per person, as indicated in TABLE 6, people paid for, length of stay, Harley-Davidson as favourite motorcycle brand and KwaZulu-Natal as province of origin were the significant variables, F(4, 247) = 16.670,p < .000.Visitors who spent more nights in the area of Margate (beta=0.21,p = .001)and who indicated that Harley-Davidson was their favourite motorcycle brand (beta=0.16,p = .011)tended to spend more per person at the event.Visitors who were financially responsible for more people during the event (beta= -0.39, p = .000)and who were local residents from KwaZulu-Natal (beta= -0.15, p = .020)tended to be lower spenders.

FINDINGS, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The first finding helps to answer our first question, about who the Africa Bike Week visitor is.The profile of the Africa Bike Week visitor in our study is consistent with findings by Broughton (2007), Way et al. (2010) andMiller (2012), who found that visitors attending motorcycle events are more mature and are mostly categorised as 40-to 50-year-olds.
The second finding answers the question about what motivates this visitor to attend.Of the five motives we found, three were identified for the first time in this study.Motives for attending or taking part in motorcycling events that have been identified in the literature include adventure (Price-Davies, 2011;Rabinowitz, 2007), escape (to break away from daily routine) (Crowther, 2007;Price-Davies, 2011) and socialisation (Price-Davies, 2011).Source: Authors' analysis Lifestyle, event attractiveness and event novelty are therefore new to this field.Interesting to note is that the motives with the highest mean values are intrinsic to the bikers and these are still more important than the event-specific motives, implying that these events are primarily a means to fulfil a more important need.This finding therefore supports the sport literature on this topic, although this is not a sport event.
The regression analyses produced the third finding, which is that more behavioural determinants (group size, length of stay, number of people paid for, times attended, preferred motorcycle brand and motorcycle behaviour) than socio-demographic determinants (province of origin and marital status) influenced visitor spending at the event.
The following behavioural variables were significant determinants of spending.Matching the findings of Seiler, Seiler, Hsieh and Hsieh (2002), Saayman, Krugell and Van der Merwe (2007), Streicher and Saayman (2010) and Saayman and Saayman (2011), length of stay was found to exert a significant influence on visitor spending (both total spending and spending per person).
Visitors who stayed more nights in the area where the event was held tended to be higher spenders.This contradicts the finding by Downward and Lumsdon (2003), Cannon and Ford (2002), Sun and Stynes (2006) and Mehmetoglu (2007) that decreasing spending per day was related to longer duration of stay (in these studies, cost sharing may have played a part).Group size had an effect: paying for a higher number of people led to higher total spending, but lower spending per person.This finding for spending per person supports the finding by Kruger, Saayman and Ellis (2010) that visitors who pay for fewer people during an arts festival tend to spend more.Visitors in larger travel parties tended to spend less, which is consistent with findings by Saayman and Saayman (2008), Kruger, Saayman and Ellis (2012), Saayman and Saayman (2012), Svensson, Moreno andMartin (2011), Alegre, Cladera andSard (2011) and Barquet, Brida, Osti and Schubert (2011).However, the opposite was found by Seiler et al. (2002), Lee (2001), Marcussen (2011) and Thrane and Farstad (2011).Travelling with more bikes in the group led to higher spending at the event, which supports findings by Broughton (2007) and Way et al. (2010).However, as mentioned in the literature review above, the influence of the number of bikes in motorcyclists' travel parties on expenditure levels is a new finding.Repeat visitors, i.e. those who had attended Africa Bike Week previously, spent more than first-timers, which is consistent with the findings by Gyte and Phelps (1989), Long and Perdue (1990) and Marcussen (2011).Use of the newspaper for information about the event was associated with lower total spending and spending per person.The influence of printed media on visitor spending has not previously been found (see TABLE 1).Attending more rallies and similar events during the year led to higher spending.Saayman and Saayman (2006) and Kruger (2009) also found that visitors who attend similar events tended to be higher spenders, and Broughton (2007) and Way et al. (2010) found that motorcyclists spend considerable sums to attend biking events.
Travelling with friends to the event was associated with higher spending.The influence of group composition on spending has not previously been found.None of the travel motives had an effect on spending per person, but the travel motives lifestyle, event attractiveness and event novelty were associated with higher total spending.These motives and their influence on visitor spending are new to this research field.
Certain motorcycle behaviour variables were significant determinants of spending.Visitors who owned a Harley-Davidson motorcycle tended to be higher spenders at the event, which supports findings by Nale et al. (2003).As Harley-Davidsons are such a prestigious brand, and consequently expensive, the owners can usually be classified as affluent consumers, with a high disposable income.Although visitors who owned a larger motorcycle and those who owned a higher number of motorcycles showed positive correlations, the results of the regression analyses indicated that these variables had no significant influence on higher spending.These variables have not previously been found as determinants of spending.
Several socio-demographic variables were significant determinants of spending.Local residents (originating from KwaZulu-Natal) tended to be lower spenders at the event, which supports similar findings in South Africa by Kruger (2009), Saayman et al. (2007), Slabbert, Saayman, Saayman andViviers (2008) and Saayman and Saayman (2008), associating province of origin (location) with spending levels.Gauteng province and marital status correlated with total spending and spending per person, and these findings support those of Cannon and Ford (2002), Lee (2001), Long and Perdue (1990), Saayman et al. (2007) and Marcussen (2007), who found that visitor spending increases with travel distance, i.e. that non-local visitors spend more, and those of Streicher and Saayman (2010), who found that married visitors tend to spend more.
A finding related to the methodology is that the determinants varied depending on the dependent variable used.More variables were identified for total spending than for spending per person.Researchers should take this into consideration when conducting this type of research: the approach will depend on whether the main aim of their research is to help organisers increase overall visitor spending or spending per individual.The latter seems to be the better approach.
On the basis of our results and findings, we offer the following recommendations for increasing visitor spending at Africa Bike Week.First, the results indicated that visitors to this event are affluent, mostly male, in a professional occupation, and prefer to travel in groups.This implies that cities or destinations should not hesitate to host these events, since these visitors are likely to be big spenders.
Second, since an increase in length of stay is positively associated with higher spending, special packages should be considered that include accommodation and discounts on, for example, local tourist attractions, restaurants and bars and merchandise.These could encourage visitors to stay longer and explore the surrounding area and thus contribute to the local tourism industry.Packages could also encourage visitors from further away to travel to attend the event.
Third, since larger travel parties with more bikes tend to be bigger spenders, incentives should be offered for travelling in larger groups; for example, new clubs could be started, and prizes, such as discounts or vouchers for merchandise or biking gear or an amount sponsored to a charity of their choice, could be offered for the largest club representation at the event.Fourth, since repeat visitors tend to be higher spenders at the event, the above recommendations could also encourage current and prospective visitors to return, which will influence the sustainability of the event.Fifth, since visitors who attend other rallies and similar events during the year tend to be higher spenders and attending these types of events appears to be part of their way of life (which is supported by the motive lifestyle that was found in this study), organisers and marketers could use this to their advantage and market Africa Bike Week at motorcycle clubs and at various motorcycle events and rallies held throughout the year.This could prove to be a cost-effective way to attract newcomers and more visitors from surrounding provinces, which should become a priority, since non-local visitors tend to be higher spenders.Marketing messages should emphasise the relaxation, escape, fun and adventure associated with riding in a group to the event as well as the special features of the event for example Harley-Davidson and motorcycle merchandise, entertainment and the mass ride.
Sixth, since visitors who own Harley-Davidsons tend to be affluent higher spenders loyal to the brand, Africa Bike Week should strongly promote their affiliation with and sponsorship of the brand to encourage more Harley-Davidson visitors to attend the event.Other motorcycle brands should be approached to display their products, as to attract the non-Harley-Davidson bikers, and potentially increase their spending at the event.This will also ensure more sponsorship for the event, attracting more visitors and expanding the event.
Lastly, the results of this research can be used to expand motorcycle tourism in the country.For example, since most of our sample travelled from distant locations, in particular Gauteng, en route rest stops should be set up.Apart from being a safety precaution, these will enable bikers to experience the scenery and tourist attractions on the way and increase the multiplier effect of biker spending.These rest stops and tourism attractions along the routes should be marketed online as well as to the clubs.On a larger scale, motorcycle tours exploring South Africa's biodiversity and cultural heritage should become part of the national tourism development agenda, whereby a variety of motorcycle routes can be developed, contributing to the thrill and experience associated with the motorcycle tourism sector.

CONCLUSION
The purpose of this research was to identify the determinants of visitor spending at Africa Bike Week, a major motorcycle event in South Africa.This was the first time that the determinants of visitor spending at a motorcycle event in South Africa were identified, thereby helping to fill a gap in the motorcycle tourism literature regarding the profile, motives and spending behaviour of bikers and bike enthusiasts.The results indicated that the nature of the visitor and the event had a significant influence on the determinants that influence higher spending, with more behavioural than socio-demographic variables influencing spending.Particularly significant behavioural variables identified were the visitors' motorcycle behaviour and group composition.
The study identified three new determinants of spending: the travel motives lifestyle, event attractiveness and event novelty.More research in these areas is recommended.Answering the question posed in the title of this paper, our study showed that the big spender is typically a biker who travels with a group with a large number of bikes, spends several nights in the area, has attended the event several times and is a Harley-Davidson fan.We recommend that similar research be conducted at other motorcycling events and rallies in the country, to enrich the literature on the niche market of motorcycle tourism in South Africa.

FIGURE 1 :
FIGURE 1: Outcome based analysis of motorcycle events Source: Authors' illustration based on available literature profiled Chinese Harley-Davidson bikers and found that they are successful entrepreneurs between the ages of 35 and 55 who