Definitions and Measurements of Festival and Event Impacts - Coursework Example

Definitions and measurements of festival and event impacts Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 Discussion 3 Impact Themes 4 Chronological foci of impact assessment 5 Geographical foci of impact assessment 7 Methodologies of impact assessments 8 Types of authors 9 Conclusion 9 10 References 11 Introduction In the present contemporary era, festivals and events are becoming increasingly popular and are used by many countries and cities to attract investments, tourists and to improve the economic and social functionalities of the destination. The main objective of this essay is to define and measure the different positive as well as negative impacts of festivals and events on the social, economic, political and environmental aspects of the host community. For this purpose, the current trends related to festivals and events are identified and discussed. The dominant themes for festivals in various locations across the world are identified and the impacts of these events are measured through the use of different criteria and metrics for impact measurement. For the purpose of the intended study, some real life examples of festivals and events which are recognized on an international platform are discussed and their impacts are identified and evaluated. Existing literature in this domain of study are referred to as a way of supporting the arguments and propositions presented in this essay. This essay is suitably conceded by summarizing the discussion and highlighting the key findings from the analysis. Also, the importance of the festivals and events in the contemporary world and the far reaching benefits of the same are focused on in the concluding remarks. Discussion Festivals and events have become essential components of the social lives of people and the economic position of different countries across the globe. The festivals and events act as strong vehicles to improve the economic position of a country by boosting the inflow of tourists and investments (Bonet, 2003). Also, these play a crucial role in impacting the cultural and political aspects of different event destinations. Since, the events and festivals are assuming significant roles in enhancing the economy and the social image of a location, therefore, more and more countries are focusing on organizing and hosting festivals and events (Acheson, 2003). Impact Themes The main impact themes selected for evaluating the effects of festivals, programs and events can be categorised into four main sub types which are economic, political, social and environmental impacts. Economic: The festivals and events help to boost the local economy and improve the image of the destination location. Often the main impacts that the holding of festivals in a destination have is that of tourism development. The increase in the inflow of tourists into a location automatically generates revenue for the location creates new employment opportunities and attracts investments from domestic as well as foreign businesses and enterprises (Small and Edwards, 2003). It can also be mentioned in this respect that the national and international festivals and events act as public goods which add value to the economic position of a location (Dwyer, 2000). Social: The events and festivals help to develop a sense of community and belonging among the people in a society. Also, the people involved in the organization and hosting of the festivals and events often experience the potential to impact the communities in a positive manner. The events and festivals also have the power to bring a large number of people together for a common purpose which helps to increase the cohesiveness within a society (Crary, 2009). The festivals act as conglomerate incidents which reinforce the social ties among people within a society. At a basic level, festivals and programs add to the social experiences by creating an enjoyable experience for the audiences and spectator groups. Satisfaction, identity and image creation, volunteering, skills and participation are the common metrics that can be used to measure the social impacts of festivals and events (Masterman, 2004). Political: The political impacts of festivals and events can be best measured by analyzing the impacts on the overall community functionalities and values (Yeoman, 2004). The development of the local community acts as a positive factor that helps in reducing the political distortions in the region. As such, most of the countries aim at organizing different multicultural and multi sports events with the aim of attracting more tourists and investments into the country and developing a politically supportive landscape within the location (Felsenstein and Fleischer, 2003). Environmental: Colbert (2000) suggests that any kind of unplanned or unintended or unplanned environmental effects like pollution and traffic congestion may reduce the positive value of festivals and events. Some of the common environmental impacts of festivals may be the impact on the mode of participation and travelling for attending these events. The reduction in the personal carbon footprints, the modifications in the consumption behaviours of the audience groups before and after the participation in these events, changes in the amount of waste formed in the event measured on the basis of a per event participant scale, changes in the recycled amount of waste measured per attendee of the event are the common metrics used for measuring the environmental impacts of programs and festivals (Prentice and Andersen, 2003). Chronological foci of impact assessment As per the views of Cowen (2002), the chronological foci of the assessment of the impacts of festivals and events can be placed on the marketing aspects of the festival and the changes formed before, during and after the festivals and events took place (Cowen, 2002). Throsby (2004) has assessed that the marketing impact of the Olympic Arts Festival hosted in Sydney in the year 2000 had marginal effects on the main promotions of the Olympic Games and as such this event was accepted as a distinct program by the people (Throsby, 2004). This constrained the impacts of the program on the primary audience groups of the Olympic Games to be hosted that year. Tyrrell and Johnston (2001) published their study on the impacts of another event, the Cultural Olympiad which was hosted in 2010, on the community in Vancouver. This study was based on a review of the literature and documents published on the topic of Olympic and hallmark events and used a lessons learned approach to understand the impact of the event on the social and economic position of Vancouver (Tyrrell and Johnston, 2001). The Manchester Commonwealth Games of 2002 is considered to be a Culture shock program. Crompton, Lee and Shuster (2001) have assessed that the Commonwealth Games has acted as a high performing event with both short term and long term impacts on the city, audience groups, local communities and cultural organizations. The authors have evaluated the impact of the program on the social changes measured by the organizational as well as individual levels. This research is based on the use of survey methods through the administration of questionnaires on participants of the program, and qualitative and explorative interviews conducted with the key stakeholder groups and a review of the forms used to monitor the performance levels of the events. Other scholars like Barrow (2000), have focused on assessing the impacts of the cultural programs on the ability of the program to address the defined aims as per the diversity of engagement within the local communities (Barrow, 2000). The evaluation also takes into consideration, the metrics like the levels of investment inflows and the development of cultural forms within the society. As per the work of Fredline and Faulkner (2000), participatory mapping methodologies are used for these types of evaluation of culture shock programs (Fredline and Faulkner, 2000). Geographical foci of impact assessment The impact assessment for festivals and events has been done by many authors over the years of the development of different national and international festivals and events. For example, a study carried out by Dwyer (2000) deals with the analysis of the attitudes of the visitors and the local people towards the social, cultural, environmental, economic and political impacts of the international festivals of Sidmouth. The author has used the focus group study and extensive visitor surveys with the local people of the location to determine the reactions and attitudes before, during and after the festival was organized in 3 years, respectively. This study concluded that the socio cultural, political and economic impacts of these kinds of international festivals are most widely recognized within the local community behaviours and reactions (Dwyer, 2000). Similarly, authors like Richards, Hitters and Fernandes (2002), have carried out studies on the Edinburgh Festival and argued that the social, cultural and community benefits of the festivals can be measured by focusing on the narrow economic impacts like reliability, utility and comparability of the impacts (Richards, Hitters and Fernandes, 2002). The focus of a study conducted on the Commonwealth Games by Wood (2006) indicate that the benefits of this kind of multisport events are high for the economy, community, society as well as the stakeholder groups (Wood, 2006). Other authors like Richards and Wilson (2004) have examined the National Arts Festival in South Africa and concluded that this festival has played a profound role in the transition of the country to democracy (Richards and Wilson, 2004). The political impacts of the National Arts Festival have been studied by Kim and Uysal (2003) through the use of a qualitative historical study in which it has been found out that this arts festival has acted as a way of expressing the political resistance by the overall community of the country (Kim and Uysal, 2003). Many other scholars like Delamere, Wankel and Hinch (2001) have discovered that cities like Edinburgh where cultural festivals are commonly held have profited culturally and socially from these events (Delamere, Wankel and Hinch, 2001). Methodologies of impact assessments Most commonly, the researchers who have conducted research on how the festivals impact different destinations, have used focus group studies and structured interviews and surveys with the key stakeholders like the organizers, local people and the audience groups, as the most appropriate methodologies for defining and assessing the impacts and their levels (Auld and McArthur, 2003). Qualitative research methodologies are used for this kind of social research because the behavioural aspects are critical in measuring the social and cultural effects of event organization on the local communities and audience behaviours (Fredline, 2000). The quantitative research techniques are used to analyze the economic aspects of the impact of organizing the festivals and events. The quantitative research methods and data help to analyze the economic impacts of festivals by comparing the economic conditions before, during and after the festivals as measured on quantifiable terms and metrics (Derrett, 2000). The selection of metrics for the purpose of assessment is critical in these studies. Types of authors The literary works and studies conducted by a wide number of researchers in the domain of festival and event organization suggests that there are far reaching impacts of festivals, events and programs on the host community as well as on the audience groups. The festivals and events are no longer seen as mere sources of pleasure, leisure activity or entertainment but they are gaining more importance in the areas of regional development, culture development, social and political cohesion formation and economic development. The authors like Crompton, Lee and Shuster (2001) suggest that the host environment for the events and festivals are often positively and negatively impacted by the festivals (Crompton, Lee and Shuster, 2001). The negative impacts are mostly recognized in the area of environmental concerns where the common externalities include traffic congestion, pollution, increase in waste products and carbon emissions through the use of different facilities and equipment for hosting the shows. Nevertheless, most of the scholars have agreed to the point that the positive impacts of the festivals and events on the host communities and the audience groups efficiently outweigh the negative impacts of the same (Brown, Var and Lee, 2002). Conclusion Thus, it can be summarized from the above discussion and analysis that the impacts of different kinds of festivals and events including sports events, cultural programs etc. are multidimensional and varying in nature. The impact levels vary according to the degree of participation of the audience groups, the scale of organization of the events, the pre defined objectives of the event, the status quo of the programs, and the existing social, economic, political and environmental conditions of the location. The impacts of the festival and other programs on the location and audience groups can be measured through the use of different metrics and can be studied through qualitative and quantitative primary research methodologies. It can be identified that the social, economic, environmental and political effects of the festivals, programs and events hosted in the current global scenario cannot be ignored because the positive impacts are of high degree and long term. References Acheson, K. 2003. A Handbook of Cultural Economics. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. Auld, T. & McArthur, S. 2003. Does event-driven tourism provide economic benefits? 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