Service recovery and leisure events: implications from the cancellation of Ironman® New Zealand 2012

Service recovery is a crucial consideration for event organizers when an event is cancelled or deviates from its advertised format. Despite its importance in leisure provision, service recovery has received limited attention in previous leisure events research. In addition, links between service recovery and risk management have not been well explicated. This paper explores amateur participants' perceptions of the service recovery efforts of event organizers following cancellation of Ironman^® New Zealand 2012 due to severe weather. Interviews revealed that participants perceived the event organizer's service recovery efforts favourably, yet many indicated they would not return to the event in future. This research emphasizes the need to strategically integrate service recovery techniques into risk management planning for leisure events. In addition, it highlights how participants' preferences for compensation should be clearly understood by event organizers and integrated into a strategic service recovery plan.