Constraints to attend events across specialization levels

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the constraints to attend salsa events and festivals across salsa dancing specialization segments. Design/methodology/approach – In‐depth interviews with salsa dancers from three salsa specialization levels were carried out. Findings – Specialization level acted as a predictor of salsa event attendance and there appears to be an event career associated to progress in salsa dancing specialisation, which eventually branched out to a tourist career. Moreover, there was a relationship between the types of constraints and recreation specialisation level, with participants negotiating constraints frequently in order to ensure event attendance. Research limitations/implications – The interviews were carried out on participants in a mid‐size town in southern England, where the range of competing leisure activities is limited. In addition, the study focused on one recreational activity and one type of event. Practical implications – Several implications for the marketing of events and festivals can be drawn. First, marketers of salsa events should tie closely with providers of salsa classes and marketers of salsa classes need to provide opportunities for salsa dancers to attend events. Second, marketing strategies aiming at helping recreationists overcome constraints should be different according to the level of specialization. Third, given the nature of constraints faced by the less experienced recreationists, efforts to attract individuals earlier in the specialization path may be fruitless. Originality/value – This paper is one of the first to explicitly examine the relationship between specialization and constraints to perform behaviors associated to a recreational activity.