Remote communities stay vulnerable in the face of major socioeconomic challenges. Tourism is often seen as a way to stimulate local economies and increase attractiveness of peripheral destinations, while events are considered to be one of the tools to promote tourism. In this regard, local collaboration is deemed to be crucial for facilitating development in spatially remote areas, where social context plays an important role in formation of entrepreneurial networks. By using the case of a local community festival Aldrei fór ég suður (AFS) in Ísafjörður, Iceland, I investigate relationship between the festival and local tourism entrepreneurs and define opportunities that the festival might provide for sustainable development of the area. Based on data collected from 24 interviews, findings suggest that the impact of AFS on local businesses varies depending on the category of business, its location, seasonality and target group, whereas the festival also contributes to enhancement of destination image, extension of tourist season and attraction of new categories of visitors. Following theoretical framework of social capital and social embeddedness, the main role of the festival is found to be related to enhancement of community pride and contribution to social change within community. On the other hand, results demonstrate general lack of willingness to collaborate and suggest an increased risk of overembeddedness given the self-reliant nature of the festival and its reluctance to commercialization. Discussed suggestions for sustainable destination development include co-branding, packaging for extended stay, transportation options and usage of empty housing for temporary accommodation.

Одним из многообещающих способов продвижения современных городов и регионов России сегодня является событийный туризм. В его основе лежит главный мотивирующий фактор – символическое событие (ивент), которое отличается своей неординарностью, эмоциональной составляющей, а также имеет определенный резонанс для общества и территории проведения. Благодаря реализуемым событиям возрастает количество упоминаний о городе в СМИ, развивается сфера «HoReCa», туроператорами создаются увлекательные маршруты. В итоге формируется позитивный имидж Екатеринбурга, обеспечивается рост его узнаваемости внутри страны и за ее пределами. Согласно теме исследования мы рассмотрели потенциал событийного туризма как инструмента продвижения территории для внешних целевых аудиторий на примере текущего состояния рынка событийных мероприятий в Екатеринбурге и определили, что городу не хватает не только уникального турпродукта, но и грамотной политики продвижения событий для нерезидентов. Это создает риск недозагруженности и нерентабельности мероприятий, провоцирует финансовые и репутационные потери для организаторов и города в целом. Сегодня можно наблюдать положительную динамику лишь отдельных наиболее перспективных массовых событий, ежегодно привлекающих все большее число иногородних участников. / One of the most promising ways to promote modern cities and regions of Russia today is the event tourism. It is based on the main motivating factor - a symbolic event (event), which is distinguished by its eccentricity, emotional component, and also has a certain resonance for the society and the territory of the event. Thanks to the ongoing events, the number of mentions of the city in the media increases, the sphere of "HoReCa" is developing, tour operators are creating fascinating routes. As a result, a positive image of Yekaterinburg is formed, and its recognition within and outside the country is ensured. According to the research topic, we considered the potential of event tourism as a tool for promoting the territory for external target audiences by examining the current state of the event events market in Yekaterinburg and determined that the city lacks not only a unique tourist product but also a competent policy of promoting events for non-residents. This creates a risk of underloading and unprofitable activities, provokes financial and reputation losses for the organizers and the city as a whole. Today we can observe the positive dynamics of only some of the most promising mass events, attracting an increasing number of nonresident participants every year.