ABSTRACT

Over the past decade, the analysis of sociocultural impacts of festivals and festival tourism has been increasingly considered in tourism and events research (Crespi-Vallbona & Richards 2007; Getz 2010; Mair & Whitford 2013). However, as a review of the existing literature reveals, this particular strand of research is still in its infancy. While the economic impacts of festivals have been subject to research since the 1980s (see, for example, Gartner & Holecek 1983; Ritchie 1984), the study of sociocultural effects is a more recent phenomenon. Equally, as Zifkos (2015) pointed out, sociocultural aspects have usually been neglected within the sustainability policy and planning of festivals, with emphasis being placed on economic aspects instead (Crespi-Vallbona & Richards 2007; Brown & Trimboli 2011). This shortcoming needs to be addressed given the well-documented importance of community support for the – not least economic – sustainability of events and event tourism (see, for example, Gursoy & Kendall 2006). In this chapter, the authors develop a tool based on available research to analyse the interdependencies of sociocultural impacts and thereby enable the development of policy for the sociocultural sustainability of festivals. A short case study serves to demonstrate the practical applicability of the model.