Study Notes on Events and Tourism by Dr. Katie Schlenker

Events and Tourism

Dr. Katie Schlenker

UTS Business School

Part 1: Understanding Event Tourism

Definitions of Event Tourism

  • Event tourism can be defined as:
    • Definition by Getz & Wicks (1993): “the systematic planning, development and marketing of festivals and special events as tourist attractions, catalysts and image builders.”
    • Definition by Getz (1997): “the planning, development and marketing of events as tourist attractions to maximise the number of tourists participating in events as either primary or secondary attractions.”

Market Segment Definitions

  • Event tourism is characterized by several definitions:
    • Market Segment (Getz, 1997): A market segment consisting of those people who travel outside their home community on a temporary basis to participate in or attend an event.
    • Primary Purpose of Visit (Turco, Riley & Swart, 2002): Individuals who visit a destination specifically to participate in or view an event.

Growth of Event Tourism

  • There has been a significant push by governments and destinations to develop event tourism over the past decade. This is driven by various uses and outcomes, such as:
    • Destination Promotion and Positioning: Boosting the profile of a location through media attention.
    • Destination Imaging and Branding: Creating or altering the perception of a destination that lacks significant physical landmarks.
    • Stimulating Visitation: Drawing in tourists through events.
    • Combating Seasonality: Scheduling events in off-peak seasons to attract visitors year-round.
    • Product Development: Using events to develop destination offerings.

Specific Uses of Event Tourism

  • Destination Promotion
    • Events can lead to increased media attention, raising a destination's profile, even with one-off events.

  • #### Destination Positioning

    • Annual hallmark events play an important role, providing differentiation through unique offerings.

Example: The Dish

  • Represents a case of successful event tourism strategy from Parkes, Central West NSW.
    • Elvis Festival: An event that revitalizes the destination's image and tourism profile.

Co-Branding Strategy

  • Definition: The process of linking the identity and brand of one event with the identity and brand of a location, creating a synergetic relationship beneficial for both.
  • Application: In Queensland, different events are co-branded to enhance tourism imagery and appeal.

Factors Contributing to Successful Branding of a Destination

  • An event assists in branding where there is:
    • Compatibility between the event and the destination.
    • Cooperative planning among stakeholders.
    • Strong community support.
    • Adequate media coverage.
    • Longevity of events, ensuring sustainability and recognition over time (Jago, Chalip, Brown, Mules & Ali, 2003).

Outcomes of Successful Event Branding

  • Positive branding efforts can result in:
    • Extended length of visitors' stay at the destination.
    • Increased geographic dispersal of visitors, not confined to a single area.
    • Higher visitor yield, enhancing economic benefits for the destination.

Examples of Events and Their Classification

  • Satellite Events: E.g., Margaret River Gourmet Escape, promoting food and wine tourism.
  • Fringe Events: E.g., complementary lesser-known events that enhance the overall appeal of larger events.

Addressing Seasonality Problems

  • Strategies to combat tourism seasonality include:
    • Scheduling events to extend tourism seasons, particularly during low visitor periods (e.g., Thredbo).

Refreshing Destination Experience

  • Events can revitalize the tourism experience for repeat visitors, ensuring continual engagement with the destination's offerings.

Part 2: Event Tourism Strategy Development

Definition of Strategy

  • Strategy (Getz, 1997): An integrated set of policies and programs intended to achieve the vision and goals of the organization or destination.

Steps in Strategic Planning Process (Allen et al., 2005)

  1. Stakeholder Input
  2. Destination Tourism Strategy
  3. Situational Analysis
  4. Development of Event Tourism Goals and Objectives
  5. Creation of Organizational Structure
  6. Development of an Event Tourism Strategy
  7. Implementation of Event Tourism Strategy
  8. Evaluation of Event Tourism Strategy

Step 1: Situational Analysis

  • Involves examining:
    • Strengths: Existing advantages within the destination.
    • Weaknesses: Limitations or challenges facing the destination.
    • Opportunities: Potential growth or development avenues.
    • Threats: External factors that could negatively impact event tourism.

Elements of Situational Analysis

  • Examine:
    • Existing stock of events.
    • Venues, sites, facilities, and supporting services.
    • Human resources within the destination.
    • Political support for events.
    • Community support for events.

Exploring Opportunities and Threats

  • Consider:
    • Potential partnerships with other stakeholders.
    • Competition from other destinations.
    • Market tastes and preferences.
    • General economic conditions affecting tourism.

Establishing Goals and Objectives of Event Tourism

  • Goals should define the role of events in enhancing:
    • Destination Promotion: How events can increase visitation.
    • Branding: Establishing or enhancing a destination's brand image.
    • Visitor Length of Stay: Strategies for keeping visitors engaged.

Example Goals and Objectives

  • Goal: Expand the tourism season.
    • Objective: Attract/create new events during winter/autumn when few to no events exist.
  • Additional Goal: Further develop a 10-year event calendar to converging intent to travel to Tasmania, with objectives specifying:
    • Support for selected existing events.
    • Leveraging events to enhance the tourism brand.

Measuring Progress Towards Goals

  • Quantifiable objectives include:
    • Number of successful bids made.
    • New events commenced.
    • Tourism income generated.
    • Level of usage of tourism services (e.g., accommodation).
    • Visitor length of stay measured in days.
    • Volume and type of media coverage.
    • Employment generated by event tourism initiatives.

Agencies Involved in Achieving Goals

  • Various groups responsible for achieving a destination's event tourism goals include:
    • Government tourism organizations.
    • Major event agencies.
    • Business event agencies.
    • Strategies must support cooperation, collaboration, and financial stability (e.g., grants, sponsorship).

Example of Effective Agency: Destination NSW

  • Role: Lead agency for promoting tourism and major events in New South Wales (NSW).
    • Focused on marketing Sydney and NSW as premier tourism destinations, securing major events, and achieving growth in the visitor economy by 2030.

Options for Event Strategy Selection

  • Three potential strategies:
    1. Creation of new events to attract visitors.
    2. Development of existing events to enhance visitor experience.
    3. Bidding for high-profile ‘mobile’ events that can attract international attention.

Building a Portfolio of Events (Getz, 2005)

Portfolio Categories:
  • Occasional Mega-Events: High demand and value; these events attract significant tourists.
  • Periodic Hallmark Events: High demand, high value; create a lasting identity.
  • Regional Events: Medium demand; may include one-time or periodic events to establish community engagement.
  • Local Events: Low demand and low value; typically community-run events that engage local audiences.

Making Strategy Reality

  • Consider possible actions, including:
    • Financial support for event initiatives.
    • Development of bids and proposals for prospective events.
    • Supporting the event sector through education, research, and partnership development.
    • Enhancing promotional activities for both events and the destinations involved.

Ongoing Review Process

  • Review and amend strategies as needed, ensuring adaptability to changing circumstances and stakeholder input.

Challenges in Event Tourism

  • Potential issues:
    • Underutilization of events in product development and marketing could lead to missed opportunities.
    • Lack of integration of events into the broader tourism marketing framework.
    • Absence of a diverse portfolio of events resulting in less visitation.
    • Critical success factors may be overlooked, such as local community support and cooperative planning among stakeholders.