RECN 344 Event Management Week 12 Lecture 2

RECN 344: Event Management Week 12 Lecture 2: Exam preparation help session (Part 2)

Crompton’s travel motives • Socio-psychological motives (‘push factors’) • Escape from a perceived mundane environment • Exploration and evaluation of self • Relaxation • Prestige • Regression • Enhancement of kinship relationships • Facilitation of social interaction

Motives to attend events • Cultural motives (pull factors’) • Novelty • Education • Crompton & Mc. Kay (1997) found that festival attendees had multiple motives • Seeking, rather than escaping more important for festival attendees – ‘Pull’ rather than ‘Push’ factors

Crompton’s travel motives • Four main components in pleasure vacation • State of disequilibrium • Break from routine • Behaviourial alternative: stay at home, pleasure trip, travel for other purposes (e. g. VFR, business) • Motives (source of disequilibrium) which help determine nature/destination of the pleasure vacation • Continuum: primarily socio-psychological – cultural

Introduction to serious leisure • Three forms of leisure: • Casual leisure, project-based, serious leisure: • “the systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer core activity that people find so substantial, interesting and fulfilling that … they launch themselves on a [leisure] career centred on acquiring and expressing a combination of its special skills, knowledge and experience (Stebbins, 2009, p. 5) • Casual – no career development; immediately/intrinsically rewarding, no special training • Project-based – short-term, one off or infrequent

What makes leisure serious? • The occasional need to persevere • Danger, hardship (physical or embarrassment) • Negotiation of constraints • Significant personal effort, using their specially acquired knowledge, training, experience and skill

Social identity and serious leisure • Green & Jones (2005) outline serious leisure career stages, where a leisure-related identity might be established • Presocialisation: acquire knowledge about the social world and the activity • Recruitment: entry to the social world • Socialisation: an ongoing process where the participant learns the norms, values, roles and unique ethos of the SL activity • Acceptance/identity confirmation: accepted as part of the group

What makes leisure serious? • Differences in the levels of commitment and devotion • Devotees/core devotees – highly devoted • Moderate devotees – moderately committed and interested • Participant - lower level of commitment • May reflect career stage • For devotees: • “the lifestyle of the participants in a given serious leisure activity expresses their central life interest there and forms the basis for their personal and communal identity” (Stebbins, 2001, cited in Getz, 2013, p. 67)

Events and community impacts • Events and event tourism can transform communities, either positively or negatively • “While there are clearly significant economic benefits to communities that host them, festivals are primarily social phenomena with the potential to provide a variety of predominantly social benefits” (Arcodia & Whitford, 2006, p. 15) • A range of inter-related concepts, but many related to the development of social capital

Strategic event marketing process • Broad overall direction • Long term, rather than short term focus • Involves careful analysis of internal resources and external environment Image from: Allen et al. , 2011, p. 261 10

Strategic event marketing • Marketing provides a range of benefits for all events: • Provides a framework for decision making • Identify a target market, their needs and wants, to better design a satisfying event experience • Research competing events (location, benefits, timing etc) and identify unique selling proposition

Strategic event marketing • Marketing provides a range of benefits for all events: • Predict attendance and prepare for demand • Establish pricing strategy/price point • Decide on promotional and media strategy • Establish the metrics to judge the success of the event

Festivalscapes (Lee et al. , 2008) • Draws on servicescape model • Environmental dimensions include: • Ambient conditions – temperature, noise, music, odor, air quality • Space/function – layout (proxemics), furnishings • Signs, symbols & artifacts – signage, interpretation, decor • Lee et al. (2008) suggest that emotional responses to these elements will determine event satisfaction and loyalty 13

Festivalscapes (Lee et al. , 2008) Findings: Visitors judge festivalscape on 7 environmental dimensions, and some of these affect emotions, satisfaction & loyalty • Programme content had a significant positive effect on positive emotion and satisfaction • Food influences positive emotions and satisfaction • Facility quality had an effect on negative emotion • Staff dimension had an effect on negative emotion, but no effect on positive emotion or satisfaction 14

Image from: Lee et al (2008, p. 62).

Economic impact assessments • Limitations with most Economic Impact Assessments (EIAs) • Generally focus on the ‘new money’ attracted and new investment • Often ignore the true costs of events, esp. debt (e. g. interest on loans) • Don’t dwell on the distribution of costs & benefits, which are rarely equitable • Easy (often essential) to exaggerate benefits before event

Economic impact assessments: misleading presumptions • To justify events, or obtain grants, it is necessary to ‘prove’ their economic benefits • EIAs completed to legitimize event in eyes of public • All festivals and special events create economic benefits • Many events have limited economic benefits on regions, especially if they largely cater to residents

Economic impact assessments: misleading presumptions • Construction of new facilities for mega-events is a benefit • Money for construction is diverted from other uses • Costs of maintenance/servicing debt is high • Events/festivals are for everyone; all visitors are alike • Some locals not interested in events • Some events attract high spending tourists, some not

Economic impact assessments: misleading presumptions • Events create lots of employment • Much labour provided by volunteers • Short term, part time work, or added to existing workloads

Economic impact assessments: misleading presumptions • All expenditure by all event-goers can be counted as economic benefits • How much would be spent by visitors anyway? • What are locals not spending money on instead? • ‘time switching’? • Multipliers are often used incorrectly • Tendency to focus on broad benefits, not costs or leakage

Economic impact assessments: misleading presumptions • All expenditure by all event-goers can be counted as economic benefits • How much would be spent by visitors anyway? • What are locals not spending money on instead? • ‘time switching’? • Multipliers are often used incorrectly • Tendency to focus on broad benefits, not costs or leakage

Economic multipliers (Getz, 2013, p. 366)

Maximising the multiplier affect • The multiplier can be maximised by reducing leakages • Reducing imports • Local ownership • Source of labour • Ratio of labour to capital investment • e. g. visitor expenditure higher in hotel and creates more jobs, but B&B is locally owned and uses local suppliers

Maximising economic benefits to locals • Attract more tourists to the area specifically for an event • Attract external grants and sponsorships • Make it easier for visitors to meet their needs through local suppliers • Make event long enough/attractive enough to encourage overnight stays • Ensure enough accommodation available to allow this to happen

Events and community impacts • Events and event tourism can transform communities, either positively or negatively • “While there are clearly significant economic benefits to communities that host them, festivals are primarily social phenomena with the potential to provide a variety of predominantly social benefits” (Arcodia & Whitford, 2006, p. 15) • A range of inter-related concepts, but many related to the development of social capital and sense of place

Events and community’s sense of place • Effective festivals reveal a community’s sense of place: • Distinctiveness, stories, histories, values etc • Through festivals these meanings are shared with visitors and residents: • Confirm meanings/values with existing residents • Share meanings/values with new residents, new generations

Events and community’s sense of place • Problems occur when: • Communities are heterogeneous & values not shared • Focus of festival is tourism, rather than locals • See Week 3 Lecture 3 Community meanings

Social capital • Social capital involves “features of social organisation, such as networks, norms, and trust that facilitate co-ordination and co-operation for mutual benefit” (Putnam, 1993, cited in Arcodia & Whitford, 2006, p. 4). • Social capital is the ‘glue’ that holds communities together, through: • Strong networks, relationships that facilitate mutual or cooperative behaviour • Shared norms and values • High levels of trust and reciprocity • Sense of goodwill and co-operation

Social capital • At core of social capital are social relationships built from positive interactions • When social capital is well used it increases… when not used it is depleted • Social capital is self-reinforcing • Social capital is not owned by anyone – it is a ‘public good’ and exists at a community, rather than individual level

Social capital • Community festivals can facilitate the development of social capital by: • Having fun, socialising, celebrating shared life of community (communitas) • Increasing liveability quotient – positivity through break from daily grind • Sharing sense of place/ pride in place – sharing values • Developing community resources

Good luck!