Gold Coast Show Event - Case Study Example

QUALITATIVE REPORT SHOW Student’s name Code & Course Professor’s name University City Date Introduction Festivals are valuable ways of expressing the human social and cultural domains. The success and performance of the event and tourism industry are greatly dependent on these aspects (Assaker & Hallack, 2013). It is therefore undeniably important to explore on the rationale that propels festival attendances. Arguably, many attendees are driven by the satisfaction they acquire from attending a festival; this satisfaction being highly associated with a given motivation. Festival attendance, notably Gold Coast Show, can be determined significantly by the satisfaction attendees accrue from their motives such as competitions, music and foodstuff (Rajesh, 2013). In relation to this, negligible evidence exists with regard to attendee future visits to festivals comparable with a particular one (Lee & Hsu, 2014). As such, this study seeks to provide a forecast with respect to how attendees behave, prior to holding festivals in future. The study distinctively indulges in bringing out the determinants of better performance in the future of hosting festivals. Examining motivation, demographics, attendee behavior, information resources, satisfaction and challenges will present invaluable insight pertaining attendee motives. Generating reliable information concerning tourists and non-tourists in line with these determinants will ensure predictability of future behaviors by attendees. Approximately 5,000 people attended the Gold Coast Show. From these, a hundred were randomly chosen as they left the event. The random sampling involved every third person and the timing ensured the satisfaction of the attendee was well captured. Literature Review Crompton and McKay present useful information concerning visitor motives during festival attendance in their article ‘motives of visitors attending events’. They argue that, theoretically, personal decision-making is influenced by pull and push factors (Costa et.al, 2004). The conceptual framework digs deeper into the escape-seeking contrast in the development of tourism in various tourist destinations (Crompton & McKay, 1997). In their research, three events were used, that were attendee by people from varied cultural backgrounds. The sample results gave a clear message that there are four main drives for festival attendance namely; gregariousness, group socialization, cultural exploration and recover equilibrium. Nicholson and Pearson (2001) argue that many people attend festivals and events mainly to escape monotony of daily routines and getting cultural experiences. This is in contrast to what such events offer in terms of food, beverages and general entertainment qualities. The researchers sampled four events in New Zealand that were not related to each other. Two of the events majored on food and beverage, one comprised of traditional music while the last one was an airshow. It was therefore evident that people are driven by escape and culture as opposed to quality assurance when making choices to attend specific festivals or events (Anderson & Lundberg, 2013). Kitterlin and Yoo pay particular attention to festival motivation and loyalty factors. They analyzed ten motivation factors, twelve loyalty factors and thirty festivalscape factors. The escape factors were examined with respect to the guest’s characteristics such as nativity or repeat of a visit. It was found that festivalcapes are meaningful in determining a visitor’s loyalty and motivation behavior. Examination on the type of guest significance; whether local resident or repeat visitor also yielded impressive results although it diverged from existing literature that present a distinction between the two with respect to their behaviors (Kitterlin & Yoo, 2014) Methodology The study was conducted at the Gold Coast Show event, by use of a questionnaire presented to individuals leaving the event, on a random basis. A hundred individuals were engaged in the study, with every third person selected randomly being presented with the questionnaire. The questionnaire covered the demographics of the attendee being interviewed, the motives leading to their attendance, satisfaction levels and the likelihood of their attendance in the next event. Data Analysis Process Sample analysis was done using t-tests and correlation. The t-test would be used to compare the relationship between tourist and non-tourist motivation and satisfaction from the event. The correlational analysis will be used as a determinant to whether this year’s festival attendance will have any impact on next year’s event. The methodology used was quantitative, giving figures to attitudes, values and beliefs by the interviewees. Figures from 1 to 5 were used, with 1 indicating strong disagreement while 5 indicating strong agreement. Results Demographic Profile of Attendees The findings showed that there were 48 men and 52 women in the samples. Among them, there were 52 tourists and 48 non-tourists. Correspondingly, 46 people were aged between 18 to 30 while 31 were aged between 31 and 40; 12 were aged between 41 and 50, 8 between 51 and 60, 2 between 61 and 70 and only one participant was aged above 70. With respect to income, most people fell between 0 to 50,000, 19 earned between 100,000 and 150,000 while 23 earned above 150,000. Another 23 fell in the category of between 50,000 to 100,000. The demographic profile indicates that the show was more prevalent among people aged 18-30, women, low income earners, the married and never married groups and tourists. Demographic profile Table1: Demographic Profile Variables Categories Values Age 18-30 46   31-40 31   41-50 12   51-60 8   61-70 2   70+ 1       Gender Female 52   Male 48       Income $0-$50,000 34   $100,001,$150,000 19   $150,000+ 24   $50,001-$100,000 23       Relationship Currently single 10   De facto 19   Married 33   Never married 38       Tourist Status No 48   Yes 52   N= 100 T-test values and attendance motives results Table2: Means, SD Table & P value Table       Descriptives Sample Non-tourists M Tourists M T-test   M SD M SD M SD P value Esc 3.83 1.18 3.79 1.17 3.87 1.21 0.76 KGS 3.14 1.35 3.98 0.86 2.37 1.25 0 EGS 3.88 0.99 3.83 1.06 3.92 0.93 0.65 Nov 3.93 0.99 4.00 0.99 3.87 0.99 0.5 Cult 3.48 1.31 2.79 1.09 4.12 1.17 0 EvAttr 3.83 0.93 3.65 0.98 4.00 0.86 0.06 Sat 3.70 1.14 3.73 1.33 3.67 0.94 0.81 Int 3.09 1.41 3.50 1.35 2.71 1.38 0.00 From above, mean satisfaction for the sample was 3.7; intention to re-attend the event was 3.09 with a correlation of 0.41. Tourist mean satisfaction was 3.67, intention to re-attend 3.41 with a correlation of 0.17 Non-tourist mean satisfaction was 3.72; intention to reattend was .5 and a correlation of 0.63 There exists a positive correlation between attendee satisfaction and their intention to reattend the event. This is so because; the more an attendee is satisfied, the higher their probability of reattending. The tourists display a significantly low correlation which could mean that satisfaction is a minimal determinant of their intention to reattend the event. The number of women who were sampled were 52, meaning that the event was female-dominated. Similarly, many people who attended the vent fell under the category of those who were never married, hand in hand with the married. Respondents who earned less than 100,000 annually were 57. Standard deviations were divergent. The general sample recorded a high standard deviation towards spending time with friends. Non-tourists deviated towards escape while tourists were congruent to the general sample. Conclusion There is a great attraction towards new experiences pertaining to the non-tourists and the general sample. This is a reflection that the two groups attended the show to escape from the monotony of everyday routines. Providing these groups with interestingly refreshing activities will ensure better attendance in future. Tourists were more inclined towards cultural experiences. It is therefore evident that the organizers need to invest more in bringing a mix of cultures to the event while including activities that will rejuvenate the non-tourists. Correlation findings are a clear indication that a satisfied attendee will probably attend a subsequent event. In line with this, tourists are less likely to re attend the event based on their recorded low correlation while non-tourists are more probable to re attend judging from their high correlation. Recommendations The event organizers are therefore recommended to try to capture the attendees aged between 18-30. Research should be done concerning the favorites of this age so as to ensure they are well satisfied in the subsequent events. The main reason for giving specific attention to this group is that as the demographic profile of the attendees indicates, it had the greatest turnout to the event. They will further need to familiarize themselves with the needs and requirements of each group. Dealing with non-tourists for instance, they will need to have a strong cultural taste in the next year’s event to raise the satisfaction levels among the tourists. Needs of women, the never married and married groups as well as low-income earners should be reviewed to in order to maintain their high turnout. They also need to maintain the satisfaction levels among the non-tourists so as to have their assurance of attending all the subsequent events. In conclusion, the organizers have to reflect on the causes of low turnouts especially among people aged 41-70, high-income earners and single people. This will make it possible to arrange the next event in such a way that it captures all groups. It is evident hereby; that the event caters for the needs of low-income earners more that it does higher income earners. Catering for all needs will guarantee a better attendance for the next event. Reference list Andersson, T. D., & Lundberg, E. (2013). Commensurability and sustainability: Triple impact assessments of a tourism event. Tourism Management, 37, 99-109. Crompton, J & Mckay S. (1997) Motives of Visitors attending festival events: Elsevier ltd. Kitterlin, M., & Yoo, M. (2014). Festival motivation and loyalty factors. Tourism & Management Studies, 10(1), 119-126. Lee, T. H., & Hsu, F. Y. (2013). Examining how attending motivation and satisfaction affects the loyalty for attendees at Aboriginal festivals. International journal of tourism research, 15(1), 18-34. Nicholson, R & Pearce, D (2001) Why Do People Attend Events: A Comparative Analysis of Visitor Motivations at Four South Island Events. Journal of Travel Research Rajesh, R. (2013). Impact of tourist perceptions, destination image and tourist satisfaction on destination loyalty: a conceptual model. Pasos: Revista de turismo y patrimonio cultural, 11(3), 67-78. Read More