Establishment of a UFO Festival Change Tourism in Roswell - Assignment Example

Event Management Questions Name Institutional Affiliation Event Management Questions How did the establishment of a UFO Festival change tourism in Roswell? Why was there opposition from some people about the proposal for a UFO Festival in Roswell? The development of Roswell as a tourist destination follows the mysterious crash of an unknown object and the numerous conspiracy theories that sprang from the incident. In particular, the crash drew a lot of attention on an international level attracting the media, governments, and the society. It is the much media coverage that enhanced the significance of the special occasion and thus led to the growth of Roswell as a tourist destination. The UFO is an annual festival that provides the attendees with the opportunity to experience the culture of Mexico and expand their curiosity on Alien information. The numerous speakers entertain the crowds on extraterrestrial information and the possibility of aliens which revolves around the belief that the unknown object belonged to some aliens. It is important to realise the transformation of Roswell, particularly its tourism from the occurrence of the event and it's becoming a tourist destination. As provided in the literature, special festivals such as the UFO are a rapid form of tourism expanding continually. The example of UFO includes the ever increasing number of attendees following an increased motivation to participate in such events. In the past, tourism in Roswell focused on the museum, historical architecture, and art. Moreover, the southern rocky mountain provided attractive sites for tourism. However, the Roswell UFO incident and its much publicity changed the form of tourism to become entirely centred on UFO and aliens as evident from the themes of the events, performances, and costumes. The imperative is the economic gains of the celebration marked by an increase in household income and revenue generation. Opposition against the observance of the festival develops from the nature of the event. In this case, the festival centres on some rumours of the possibility of aliens hoping to motivate the curiosity in people to visit the destination. The building of tourism on half-truths and deception denies honour for the people and prevents the availability of the facts of the occurrence. As such the massive funding to organise the event without any real proof fails to provide an adequate economic reason to observe the UFO. Moreover, the characteristic of the festival makes it a one-time experience for the tourist without much motivation to continue visiting the site annually. Therefore, it fails to account for the various constraints by the people and the council in managing such as a hallmark event. Why might a destination develop an events portfolio as a strategy? Illustrate your answer with an example. Event portfolio makes a powerful means of attracting potential tourist by providing them with adequate information about the events coverage including particular activities. A portfolio paints a picture of the events by mentioning specific activities, destinations, prices, and accommodations. It may also provide pictorial and videos that emphasise the attractive features of the tourist destination. It effectiveness includes its feature of providing a story covering the particulars of the target to enhance the knowledge of the potential consumer. It also functions by feeding the motivation of the visitors to engage in a tourism activity. The imperative of an event portfolio as a strategy is its abilities to engage and communicate to different visitors attracting them to one destination but hosting various activities that interest the different groups of the consumer. Moreover, it reinforces the brand of the destination promoting its identity to the potential visitors and the locals. With the portfolio, there is the advantage of reduced perceived risk by the potential consumer improving the attractiveness of the site. The Oktoberfest in Munich Germany provides an example of the use of an event portfolio as a strategy for the destination. The particulars of the event are availed through the website which features the dates of the festival including the start and end date. More important is the availability of information of past and future Oktoberfest events providing the potential tourist with adequate information about the destination and its history such that they appreciate the celebrations by learning of its aim and objectives. Through the portfolio, it is possible to learn of the expected number of visitors, both locals and international. Consequently, the information enhances the curiosity of the tourist attracting them to these sites. From the portfolio, the potential visitor learns of the numerous attractions including the amusement rides, games, stalls, and traditional foods and attires, beer festival and the Bavarian culture. The availability of colourful pictorials capturing the various events serves to enhance the appeal of the tourists, especially by making the visitor aware of what to expect. It is through the event portfolio that the visitor manages to make a budget, booking reservations in the beer tents and accommodation facilities, plan their schedules, and pick locations of their interest. How has White Night changed the image of cities that have staged this event? The observance of the white night festival celebrates the art of the destination. In particular, the timing of the event follows the climatic pattern where there is an extended period of the twilight. Although the origins of the event mention Saint Petersburg, Russia, it has been staged in major cities such as Paris, Tel Aviv, Italy, Toronto, Melbourne, Britain, Malta, Iceland, Chicago, and Halifax. The hosting of the event in the aforementioned cities has brought up significant transformations that are both advantageous and disadvantages. Focusing on Paris, the beginning of the event marked the process of rediscovering the city along an artistic paradigm. Currently, the event features a particular theme focusing on the indulgence, engagement and absorption of both the local and imported talents. Through the event, Paris has become a city that embraces the various form of art and celebrates the artistic experiences. Similar to Paris, white night in Melbourne transforms the city through art. It attracts huge crowds brought together to appreciate the power of art and relation among people. The festival in Tel Aviv, Chicago and Italy centres on the art and culture through artistic performances, illuminations of the city, culture representation including food and attires, theatre performances, dance, and music. A common factor evident in all white night events is the celebration of local artistic talents and the inclusion of international art experiences. Moreover, there is an attraction of people to a common place to enjoy and celebrate the influence of art on their lives, an experience that is lacking in the daily city life. An important factor is displays of artistic pieces in the form of collections or live performances that provides the people with an identity of their culture. In addition, the opening up of the city’s amenities to the public provides a shift from the business-like image accorded to cities to cultural and artistic centre. Drawing from the nature of the participants including families, the city provides a lifetime experience influencing the engagement of its people to the world of art and its various facets. How have the exhibitions staged at the Bendigo Art Gallery changed that city’s image and encouraged tourism? Traditional tourism of Bendigo focused on the historical buildings and sites that represent historical events and features of the city. An example is the Castlemaine digging national park a site where gold mining took place. However, with the rise of the need to boost tourism as an economic venture, the city of Bendigo introduced an art gallery to attract more visitors to the area. The Bendigo art gallery focuses on representing the culture of the people rather than presenting heritage sites. Therefore, the development of the art gallery changed the image of the city from a history kind to a present and continuous cultural experience destination. In particular, it represents various exhibitions from both international and local artists. The dynamic approach of the gallery provides a channel to experience the social aspects of the Australian communities through the exhibits. It is also important to recognise key events hosted by the art gallery including the Golden Age of Couture (1947- 1957), the White Wedding Dress (2011) and the Grace Kelly: Style Icon (2012). The hosting of these fashion events has continually attracted massive numbers of visitors as well as revenue generation for the city. Moreover, the gallery provides the growth of the city as a tourist destination through the various forms of art including theatre experiences such as opera, Shakespeare, vaudeville, live music and comedy. The opening up of the gallery led to the springing up of other relating business around the city including restaurants and accommodation facilities such as the Masons of Bendigo. It is also an imperative influence to the growth of the infrastructure of the city following the daily visitors attracted to the gallery. More important is the ability of the gallery to promote branding of the city as a tourist destination. The availability of a positive brand influenced the proposal by the greater Victorian region to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games. As evident from the exhibitions hosted in the destination, Bendigo art gallery has revolutionised the tourism in the city by incorporating local and international talent as well as the integration of cultures. How has the film festival at Lone Pine changed its image and contributed to sustainable tourism? The Lone Pine festival celebrates the films that feature the Lone Pine, Sierra Nevada, and Alabama hills. These regions represent iconic features of the West of America captured in films and which perform an imperative role in the tourism industry. The filming of these stories preserves the culture of the Westerns which shape the lifestyle of the American citizens. Moreover, the event provides the attendees with an opportunity to appreciate and experience filmmaking about these destinations. In understanding the role of the Lone Pine film festival in sustainable tourism, it is important to consider its three primary roles of reshaping the western-style into a heritage, the choosing of the filming sites to enhance the motivation of visitors to these destinations, and the development of an evolutionary image of these locations. The filming sites of the Lone Pine project multiple destinations to the audience both local and international. The geographies represent these destinations in a similar approach as that of an event portfolio. The imperative is that with numerous movies, there is the availability of multiple imaging of these regions leading to a parallel increase in tourists. A typical advantage towards sustainable tourism in the localities is the collaboration by the locals in improving the infrastructure of the sites through the filming profits. Consequently, the improved attractiveness of the areas leads to an increase in the number of visitors. Moreover, the aspect of heritage develops through the presence of actors and film producers attending the festival and interacting with the locals. It is the presence of the famous personalities in these places that promote their destination image. The channelling of funds from the film festival to the construction of the Lone Pine film Museum advances the attraction of visitors to the sites where with the museum various forms of art are made available. Moreover, the establishment of the museum leads to other tourism related business such as restaurants, motels, and bar. The availability of these accommodations influences the growth of sustainable tourism in the region focused on western-theme filming. Read More