This thesis seeks to understand the social impacts that festivals have on their host communities. It focuses on community festivals as one type of event which have a particularly strong connection to their host community. Community festivals are traditionally organised by and for the local community, and often celebrate a theme that has developed from within the community itself. Community festivals provide members of a community with opportunities to engage in socialisation, entertainment and the establishment of social networks, which can contribute to the enhancement of community cohesion and the building of social capital within a community. Additionally, they can provide tourism benefits such as increased visitation and promotion of a destination’s image. However, there is the potential for negative social impacts to result from the hosting of a festival, including traffic congestion, overcrowding, vandalism and increased antisocial behaviour. This thesis seeks to understand the perceived social impacts of community festivals from the perspective of the resident population. Six important questions are addressed in this thesis: 1) what are the underlying dimensions of the social impacts of community festivals?; 2) what are a host community’s expectations and perceptions of the social impacts of a festival?; 3) are there distinct subgroups within a community who differ in their feelings towards a festival?; 4) do these subgroups hold differing perceptions of the social impacts of community festivals?; 5) can the Social Impact Perception (SIP) scale be used to measure residents’ perceptions of the social impacts of community festivals?; and 6) what are the implications of this research for the planning and management of future community festivals? In order to explore these issues, this study draws on literature from the areas of tourism and sociology. It is from the tourism literature, more specifically on events, that community festivals are introduced as the focus of this thesis. The sociological literature on communities reinforces the importance of the ‘community’ in community festivals, and examines the role that festivals can play in contributing to community development, community wellbeing and the enhancement of social capital. Two community festivals were studied, one in Western Australia and the other in Victoria, Australia. Data were collected from residents in each of these two communities at one point in time following the staging of their festival. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used, including semi-structured interviews, focus groups, observational techniques, document analysis and a residents’ perceptions questionnaire. The results revealed that there are distinct subgroups within a community who choose to be involved with their festival in a range of ways and who perceive the social impacts resulting from the festival quite differently. These subgroups have been labelled the tolerators, economically connected, attendees, avoiders and volunteers. Whilst holding varied perceptions of the positive and negative nature of the impacts and levels at which they occur, residents perceive the social impacts of community festivals to occur within six impact dimensions: inconvenience, community identity and cohesion, personal frustration, entertainment and socialisation opportunities, community growth and development, and behavioural consequences. Those residents who participate in the festival, either as volunteers or attendees, tend to be those who are most positive about the festival and its impacts. This participation in the community provides opportunities for social transactions, relationship building and the development of social networks, which in turn have positive outcomes for community wellbeing and the development of social capital. This research has a number of implications for the management of future community festivals, in respect to providing a better understanding of residents’ perceptions of the social impacts a festival creates; towards better satisfying the diverse needs of distinct community subgroups; and related to how festivals can be used to contribute to community wellbeing and the enhancement of social capital. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/225982 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Small, Katie E., University of Western Sydney, College of Business, School of Marketing |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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