Essay: Appropriate planning & effective promotion is key to the success of festivals

According to Bowdin (2011, p.121) “the time frame in which an event strategic plans operate will vary from destination to destination, but 5-15-year planning horizons are not uncommon”.
The author arguments that the event organiser needs to make a preliminary feasibility report in the initiation phase, which includes de viability of the event and the resources required. Within the situational analysis, the decisions made on the event tourism goals should underpin to be set for a destination. This should reflect the various perspectives of key stakeholders in the event area such as tourism bodies, the destination’s community, government agencies associated with areas such as the arts and sport and major event organisers. A SWOT analysis should also be carried out by assessing the situation that a destination faces in its efforts to develop event tourism. Following this, in the development of event tourism goals is essential to understand the basis for establishing event tourism visitation targets as well as insights into destination branding positioning efforts that an event strategy may be required to support. The implementation of event tourism, in order to be successful depends on crucial factors such as financial support, ownership, bid, event sector development service, coordination, event/destination promotion services. The evaluation and last phase are fundamental for any strategy. At the destination level, the broad goals that have been set for the event tourism and the objectives associated with those goals will form the basis of any evaluation that takes place.
Similar to Bowdin, Soteriades & Dimou (2011) in an article titled “Special Events: Framework for Efficient Management” also designed a framework for events ‘overall planning. Efficiency means having a comprehensive approach to influence all parameters and factors considered as being crucial for events success. A strategic plan is needed in order to consistently ensure higher standards of event product delivery and to appeal to ever more demanding customers. (Soteriades & Dimou (2011).
More recently, Shone & Parry added that “Planning is the process by which the manager or organiser looks towards the event to discover what various courses of action are available to arrange it, and which course of action would be best”.
Figure 4: Authors ‘work, Source: Shone & Parry, 2019
By analysing the planning process of the relevant literature mentioned above, it is noted that proper planning is essential to ensure the success of any event. All three planning processes are intended to aid destination managers and tourism policymakers in adopting an integrated approach to events tourism (Soteriades & Dimou, 2011) and can be used to refine future event tourism development efforts (Bowdin et al. 2011).
An example of a successful strategic planning can be the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. According to Visit Britain, “between July and September 2012 the UK welcomed 8.9milion visits from overseas, with overseas visitors spending £6.4 billion in the country. With the positive economic gain, destination image and reputation of Britain after the 2012 Games, Visit Britain launched a destination marketing campaign, “Great Britain”, highlighting the best of Britain by promoting culture, heritage, field and sport. The aim was to turn spectators into visitors. According to Dawe, Chief Executive of Visit Britain stated that “From the moment the bin was won, our intention was not just to promote the few weeks of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, but to make full use of the opportunities to promote Britain before, during and after Games-time, to reach new customers in emerging markets and to refresh Britain’s appeal in established markets”.
The UK festival market
By referring to the example above, the UK is a country that uses DMOs successfully to promote destination development, weights its potential and takes full advantage of the positive impacts of festivals and events. It has been estimated in 2012 data, that the UK 670 events and 200 top festivals contribute about £450 million to the economy just from the tickets, transport costs, fare and accommodation costs. (Skoultsos, 2014). According to BVE (Business Visits and Events), the UK event industry is a world leader in organising events around the world. This sector is currently worth £ 39.1 billion for the country. (BVE) Events are Great report, it is also claimed that the UK event industry is worth £39.1 billion, representing 35% of the UK visitor’s economy. The events sector is served by 25 thousand companies, employing 530 thousand people”. In the same report by dividing the events by segment, shows that the United Kingdom has more than 7000 large outdoor events each year, already recognised as the leader by Europe and the United States. (Evens are Great)
Visit Britain estimates that the UK’s unique culture and heritage attract £4.5 billion worth of spending by inbound visitors annually, equivalent to more than a quarter of all international visitor spending. Mintel (2018) also estimates the value of the UK music concerts and festivals market to be £2,459 million. This growth is being driven by more events, higher ticket prices and a rise in the number of music tourists from overseas. As the value of the Pound remains to the advantage of overseas audiences, it is encouraging them to attend UK festivals. According to UK Music, there were 12.5 million music tourists in 2016 up from 10.4 million in 2015”. (cited by Mintel). In 2017 it was estimated that British citizens spent £1,187 million on tickets for live music concerts and £331 million on festivals. This is up from £1,064 and £296 million respectively in 2016. This excludes spend on secondary tickets and additions such as refreshments and merchandise.
UK Tourism Strategy
After the London 2012 Games, Visit Britain launched a strategy called “Delivering a Golden Legacy”: a growth strategy for inbound tourism 2012-2020. This strategy aims to attract 40million international visitors a year, spending £31.5 billion, by 2020. The approach builds on the unparalleled showcasing of Britain around the world during the Games and shows how aligning marketing and Government policy can deliver an economic legacy. Reaching 40 million visitors by 2020 would generate £8.7 billion additional foreign exchange earnings at today’s prices, and support more than 200,000 other jobs. (Visit Britain, November 2012).
The strategy drives four key elements: “Enhancing Britain’s image by playing to Britain’s strengths – heritage, traditional and contemporary culture – and addressing perceived weaknesses such as natural beauty food, vale and welcome; increase distribution through the travel trade; Extend the product offering and improve Britain’s VISA process; Increase aviation capacity to promote new air routes, particularly from emerging markets” (Visit Britain, 2012). This strategy sets out an ambitious goal for Britain. It will require an even higher level of cooperation across Government, the UK and overseas tourism industries and the national tourist boards in order to ensure that Britain is fit to compete and succeed in the global race for tourism. (Visit Britain, 2013).
Finally, existing and new events should consider following the trends in the global market and be part of local tourism products in order to be efficient (e.g. optimisation in the use of resources) and competitive by the ability to achieving quality (e.g. satisfaction of public, participants and stakeholders). Appropriate planning and effective promotion can be the key to festivals utilisation at regional, national and international levels. Thus, event tourism is a very competitive market, and a strategy will have positive outcomes if it is appropriately funded and has the support of entire participants.
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