Event Tourism and Cultural Tourism

Issues and Debates

Larry Dwyer, Eugenia Wickens

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781135741631
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Industry
• Index: Business

Event and cultural tourism as a social practice is a widespread phenomenon of global socio-economic importance. The purpose of the book is to bring together current thinking on contemporary issues relating to the management and marketing of cultural events and attractions. The contributions to the book provide interesting perspectives on a number of topics including innovation in festivals, destination and event image, cultural events and national identity, religious festival experiences, effective management and marketing of events.

The book is divided into two broad themes: event tourism and cultural tourism. The Cultural Tourism theme covers issues such as: socio-cultural and environmental impacts of tourism development; tourist experiences, motivations and behavior; development of cultural tourism; hosts and guests; Community participation; living heritage; and destination image and branding. The Event Tourism theme covers issues such as economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts; tourist experiences, motivations and behavior; development of event tourism; event management and sponsorship; destination image and branding; and planning and marketing hallmark events.

The book is in response to the increasing demand for empirically-based case studies on event and cultural tourism and will appeal to both academics and practitioners. Case studies are also ideal as teaching material for both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes internationally.

This book is a special double issue of the Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management.

Event Tourism and Cultural Tourism: Issues & Debates: An Introduction

LARRY DWYER
School of Marketing, Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

EUGENIA WICKENS
Department of Travel and Aviation, Bucks New University, High Wycombe Campus, Buckinghamshire, England

This special issue of Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management contains 13 articles selected from those presented at the 2008 International Conference, “Cultural and Event Tourism: Issues & Debates,” held November 5–9 in Alanya, Turkey. The conference was jointly hosted by the Faculty of Business at Akdeniz University and the School of Sport, Leisure, and Travel at Buckinghamshire New University, England. The conference venue was the Belediye Kültür Merkezi in Alanya, Turkey.

The aim of the conference was to provide hospitality and tourism scholars, practitioners, and other stakeholders with an opportunity to explore and debate contemporary and future issues relating to the planning and management of event and cultural tourism. The conference offered a unique networking opportunity for scholars, industry experts, practitioners, government officials, and policymakers to exchange ideas and information.

Conference Themes

The “Cultural Tourism” theme covered: Economic, socio-cultural, and environmental impacts of tourism development; tourist experiences; tourist motivations and behavior; development of cultural tourism; hosts and guests; community participation; living heritage; and destination image and branding.

The “Event Tourism” theme covered: Economic, socio-cultural, and environmental impacts; tourist experiences; tourist motivations and behavior; development of event tourism; event management and sponsorship; destination image and branding; and planning and marketing hallmark events.

Event Tourism

Articles in the event tourism section of this issue were selected for their interest and relevance to researchers and other stakeholders in the area of event tourism. A total of eight articles were selected in the area of event tourism.

In their article “Building a Preliminary Model of Event Management for Rural Communities,” Capriello and Rotherham explore a network-based stakeholder approach for marketing and managing community-run events and festivals with a focus on the implications for regional development. They adopt a qualitative case study method in order to explore selected social networks and stakeholders’ power relationships. Their case study is based on a series of local events in rural communities between the Orta and Maggiore Lakes in Italy. The empirical findings emphasize the importance of event organizers’ skills and abilities in working with stakeholders. The commitment and trust of key players in the local hospitality and leisure industry are found to be critical for success and dependent upon shared goals. From the research, a model for the event industry is proposed in which networking processes with stakeholders help explain organisers’ problem-solving activities. The theoretical framework applied facilitates the analysis of key aspects related to event management such as strategic marketing planning, product innovation, and socio-economic impact.

Florek and Insch, in their article “When Fit Matters: Leveraging Destination and Event Image Congruence,” develop a framework for conceptualizing and managing destination and event image congruence. Building on the foundations of Roth and Romeo’s product-country image fit matrix, a framework for categorizing the interactions between destination and event image is presented that can be applied to leverage positive, relevant associations and rebalance less positive associations of both types of images. The usefulness of the matrix is shown through an in-depth case study of the image rebalancing program of the FIFA 2006 host country Germany. This case and others demonstrate the suitability of the framework for managing, and more importantly leveraging image congruence in this context. Implications for managers and researchers derived from applying the framework are also discussed.

In her article titled “Innovation and Creativity in Festival Organizations,” Larson contributes to our understanding processes of innovation and creativity in festival organizations. Her focus is on the internal work of renewing the festival. Three case studies of Swedish festival organizations demonstrate how festival workers attempt to renew the festival product. Processes of renewal include various ways of encouraging new ideas and creative solutions, such as brain-storming, imitation of similar products, and influences from the external environment. Three main processes of renewal were identified: institutionalized, incremental, and emergent. The study further elaborates on the emergent process of renewal, thus identifying incremental and improvised renewal. Different factors contributing to or hindering innovations are distinguished; the demands of potential visitors, the management’s view on renewal, the team’s view on renewal, the organisational culture, and change of managers and staff.

Cultural festivals can assist local communities in showcasing cultural attributes and can offer the chance to strengthen a sense of identity, according to Buch, Milne, and Dickson in their contribution, “Multiple Stakeholder Perspectives on Cultural Events: Auckland’s Pasifika Festival.” The Pasifika Festival, held annually in Auckland, New Zealand, is a celebration of the city’s Pacific Island communities. Drawing on audience and stallholder surveys, and interviews and meetings with festival organizers, the authors provide a multiple stakeholder perspective on the festival experience and what it means to those who are part of it. The article also addresses the important question of how to conduct robust, cost-effective research in large festival settings, focusing on the use of online survey tools.

Soteriades and Dimou in an article titled “Special Events: A Framework for Efficient Management,” begin by noting that the academic literature suggests that events have a positive contribution to the host area, including both tangible and intangible outcomes. This study reviews the related literature, identifies key issues in events tourism management and highlights the need for a systematic framework for managing events. The aim is to propose a conceptual framework that enhances efficient events management, in order to optimize their contribution to wider development objectives. From a destination perspective, it is suggested that a value-chain approach and a network analysis could provide an appropriate basis for this exploration model and would contribute to efficient events management, in order to optimize beneficial outcomes.

In their article “Utilizing the VICE Model for the Sustainable Development of the Innibos Arts Festival,” van Niekerk and Coetzee focuses on a need to ensure the continuous and sustainable growth of the Innibos Arts Festival in South Africa, while balancing the needs and demands of the visitors to the festival, the tourism industry as a whole, and the surrounding community with a focus on the environment. Continuous growth of festivals in South Africa is ensured as government supports and promotes this as part of its strategy for economic development. However, the sustainability of the festivals has come under scrutiny as many of these festivals compete for similar tourism markets. Destination managers and developers all over the world, but specifically in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, have identified the VICE model as a critical success factor in the sustainable development of any tourism destination. Equitable interaction among the visitors, industry, community, and environment (VICE) must occur before the tourism destination will be sustainable. The VICE model is used to identify the profiles, demands, and needs of the visitors to the festival, the role and impact of the event on the industry and businesses, the impact on the Nelspruit community and environment and how these elements should synergise in order to ensure sustainability. Self-completion questionnaires were used to determine the sustainability of the festival. The results of the study indicated that the VICE model has been successfully utilized in the study of the Innibos Arts Festival. It highlights critical areas in the different categories of the VICE model that require attention and development. The successful management and development of these critical aspects will ensure the sustainability of the festival. The authors conclude that the VICE model can be utilized to ensure the sustainability of festivals generally.

Events can affect a destination image. Mendes, Oom Do Valle, and Guerreiro, in their article “Destination Image and Events: A Structural Model for the Algarve Case,” consider this issue for Portugal’s top tourism destination. In looking to develop the traditional sun and beach tourism, the Portuguese government launched the Allgarve program in 2007 with the aim of positioning the region as a premier tourism destination, promoting the cultural industry as a modern and competitive component of the regional economy. Using partial least squares modeling, the authors explore the relationship between the image projected by Allgarve and the image of Algarve as a tourism destination. Results show that the programme has had a positive and reasonably strong influence on the destination image. In terms of affective elements, findings show that these were not easily perceived by tourists, as anticipated by the Allgarve programme. An important outcome of this study is to contribute towards better management of future editions of the Allgarve program.

The final event tourism article in this issue is “Cultural Event as a Territorial Marketing Tool: The Case of the Ravello Festival on the Italian Amafi Coast,” by Simeon and Buonincontri. The authors begin by emphasizing that destination managers creating cultural events employ territorial marketing policies to make a destination attractive. These cultural initiatives are able to strengthen the local identity and to enhance the distinctive resources, both tangible and intangible, of an area. This article analyzes the event Ravello Festival as a tool of territorial marketing to increase the competitiveness of the Amalfi Coast and Ravello, becoming a distinctive symbol of the territory. The authors first focus on the Ravello Festival, examining its history, management and supply system. Ravello as tourist destination product (TDP) in which the Ravello Festival and the local resources are considered the fundamental elements is subsequently examined. The authors also consider the Ravello Festival strengths highlighting their coherence with the development strategy of Ravello. The strategic role of Ravello Festival is emphasized, as a quality event able to promote Ravello as a “city of music” in the world.

These articles provide interesting perspectives on a number of topics in the area of event tourism, some of which have been unduly neglected by researchers. The articles make a genuine contribution to our knowledge of tourism and events. They also call forth areas for further research. It is hoped that other researchers will take up some of the research challenges that are highlighted.

Cultural Tourism

Articles in the cultural tourism section of this issue were selected for their interest and relevance to researchers and other stakeholders in the area of cultural tourism. A total of five articles were selected in the area of cultural tourism.

Issues pertinent to the theme of tourist motivation and behavior are explored by Bakir and Baxter in their article, “Touristic Fun: Motivational Factors for Visiting Legoland Windsor Theme Park.” The authors argue that whilst there is rich literature on motivation, little has been written on what motivates families to visit family theme parks. Contributing to our knowledge on visitors’ motivation, the article addresses the shortcomings in the literature by discussing the motivation constructs of families for visiting Legoland Windsor. The case study made use of semistructured interviews and nonparticipant observations. Adopting Strauss’ version of grounded theory the article discusses the construct of “fun” that emerged as the main motive for the study’s participants. Fun is deconstructed into its “push—pull” parts using traditional and revised push—pull frameworks. The methodology employed in their study will be of interest to academics undertaking similar investigations in other tourist attractions and in other parts of the world. Furthermore, the discussion of the motivation constructs of families visiting Legoland Windsor will be of interest to the marketing managers of such cultural attractions.

In their article “Turkey as a Heritage Tourism Destination: The Role of Knowledge,” Alvarez and Korzay discuss the perceptions of Spanish nationals regarding Turkey as a tourism destination. The key aim of their empirical study was to determine whether respondents’ knowledge and awareness related to the culture and ancient civilization of Turkey is instrumental in creating a more positive image for the country. As the authors explain, Turkey has been affected in the past by its image as a cheap mass tourism destination and is currently attempting to reposition itself as a heritage destination. Drawing upon empirical data collected through a Web questionnaire, the authors also discuss the sources of information used by respondents, and which sources were related to respondents’ greater knowledge and more positive perceptions of Turkey as a tourism destination. Implications for the marketing and promotion of Turkey as a heritage destination are also considered in the final parts of the article. The article concludes that the promotion of destinations such as Turkey with its rich history and culture should be based not only on directly promoting the attractions and monuments, but also on increasing the knowledge regarding this historical and cultural legacy. The article represents the growing interest in the relationship between knowledge regarding the history and culture of a place and perceptions of a place as a heritage tourism destination. It will be of particular interest to academics undertaking similar investigations in other Mediterranean countries.

In her article “Balancing Tourism and Religious Experience: Understanding Devotees’ Perspectives on Thaipusam in Batu Caves, Selangor, Malaysia,” Kasim argues that the excitement of making profit from religious tourism should not be allowed to overshadow its traditional role of promoting spiritual healing and piety. Using Malaysia as a study context, the article presents and discusses qualitative findings from an open-ended questions survey on Hindu parents of University Utara Malaysia students. The discussion reveals the meaning and importance of Thaipusam amongst the devotees, the balance of tourism and religious activities while at the sacred site as well as issues, concerns, and improvements required to increase their quality of experience in Batu Caves. The analysis shows that understanding the significance of a religious event amongst its followers will preserve the real purpose of religious travel and provide insights of a balanced management approach of a religious tourism destination. The article concludes with a discussion on the implications of the empirical findings on the management of a religious tourism destination. This contribution furthers our understanding of religious or faith-based tourism experiences and is good example of pro-poor tourism.

Although the theme of religious tourism is also addressed in Simone-Charteris and Boyd’s article, their main focus is on issues concerning the development and promotion of politico-religious tourism. In “The Potential for Northern Ireland to Promote Politico-Religious Tourism: An Industry Perspective,” the authors argue that tourists who have interest in political and religious attractions share similar motivations and often visit similar sites. This connection between religious and political tourism is evident in Northern Ireland where political attractions tend to reflect a religious perspective and religious attractions tend to echo a political view. The article discusses the views of public and private tourism sector organizations on the development and promotion of “politico-religious” tourism in the Province, and explores the different players’ willingness to collaborate. One of the key findings of Simone-Charteris and Boyd’s study is that the relationship between public and private sector organizations is an uneasy one, and that there are some barriers that need to be overcome before trust is instilled and cooperation can take place. Although this is case study of tourism in the Province, the study will be of interest to destination managers and researchers involved in similar work on political and religious tourism in other parts of the world.

The final article in this issue focuses on the Shangana Cultural Village project in South Africa. Briedenhann’s article, which is based on qualitative research, considers “The Potential of Small Tourism Operators in the Promotion of Pro-Poor Tourism.” The article begins by noting that work undertaken in the field of pro-poor tourism focuses predominantly on the large tourism actors and their potential role in the alleviation of poverty through the development of sustainable supply chains and joint venture arrangements. Employing qualitative methods such as semistructured interviews and participant observation, Briedenhann’s study explores the role that could be played by the small operators who collectively comprise the bulk of the South African tourism industry. The article argues that the Shangana project, which was built upon the cultural and natural assets of a poor rural community with limited growth options, made significant contributions in terms of both economic and livelihood benefits. The article concludes that small tourism operators can play a significant role in the alleviation of poverty through tourism. This case study makes a significant contribution to our understanding of pro-poor tourism development in countries such as South Africa.

All articles in this special issue provide interesting perspectives on a number of topics in the area of cultural tourism development, management, and marketing. This diverse set of articles will certainly appeal to both academics and practitioners.

The special issue has benefited from the help of many people. We are immensely grateful to the contributors and the reviewers who assessed the articles.

Building a Preliminary Model of Event Management for Rural Communities

ANTONELLA CAPRIELLO
Department of Business Studies and Environment, University of Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy

IAN D. ROTHERHAM
Tourism and Environmental Change Research Unit, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, United Kingdom

This article considers a network-based stakeholder approach for marketing and managing community-run events and festivals with a focus on the implications for regional development. A qualitative case study method was adopted in order to explore selected social networks and stakeholders’ power relationships. The case study was based on a series of local events in rural communities between the Orta and Maggiore Lakes in Italy. The empirical findings emphasize the importance of event organizers’ skills and abilities in working with stakeholders. The commitment and trust of key players in the local hospitality and leisure industry were critical for success and depended on having shared goals. From the research a model for the event industry is proposed in which networking processes with stakeholders help explain organizers’ problem-solving activities. The theoretical framework applied facil...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• 1. Event Tourism and Cultural Tourism: Issues & Debates: An Introduction
• 2. Building a Preliminary Model of Event Management for Rural Communities
• 3. When Fit Matters: Leveraging Destination and Event Image Congruence
• 4. Innovation and Creativity in Festival Organizations
• 5. Multiple Stakeholder Perspectives on Cultural Events: Auckland's Pasifika Festival
• 6. Special Events: A Framework for Efficient Management
• 7. Utilizing the VICE Model for the Sustainable Development of the Innibos Arts Festival
• 8. Destination Image and Events: A Structural Model for the Algarve Case
• 9. Cultural Event as a Territorial Marketing Tool: The Case of the Ravello Festival on the Italian Amalfi Coast
• 10. "Touristic Fun": Motivational Factors for Visiting Legoland Windsor Theme Park
• 11. Turkey as a Heritage Tourism Destination: The Role of Knowledge
• 12. Balancing Tourism and Religious Experience: Understanding Devotees' Perspectives on Thaipusam in Batu Caves, Selangor, Malaysia
• 13. The Potential for Northern Ireland to Promote Politico-Religious Tourism: An Industry Perspective
• 14. The Potential of Small Tourism Operators in the Promotion of Pro-Poor Tourism
• Index