During the last decade, music festivals are increasingly used as an important motivator to attract visitors, giving riseto a more sustainable tourism growth in hand with cultural stimulation for the cities. This resea...During the last decade, music festivals are increasingly used as an important motivator to attract visitors, giving riseto a more sustainable tourism growth in hand with cultural stimulation for the cities. This research paper aims toaddress the motives and barriers of music festival visitors travelling to attend two music events in the second largestGreek city of Thessaloniki in Northern Greece. The main objective of the research paper is to determine the visitors’motivation for choosing to attend each festival and thereafter the challenges they face during their visit in the city.This exploratory research study focuses on two distinct and popular music festivals namely Reworks Festival andStreet Mode Festival. Both events share three main characteristics: (1) They host both international & Greekprofessional artists;(2) they are primarily privately funded;and (3) they have achieved a consecutive 10 years ofsuccessful presence in the city attracting thousands of visitors each year. The research methodology is based on thecollection of qualitative data by conducting one to one interviews with festival visitors. Findings of the analysis ofthe two festivals direct at identifying the commonalities & differences in tourists’ drives and obstacles in regards totheir festival attendance and visit in the city of Thessaloniki. In both cases, it is inferred that both festivals have alot of further untapped potential, as unique city branding tools, adding value to the destinations and extending thetourism season. Conclusions can contribute to building more concise and sustainable destination tourism strategiesand, therefore, more successful and sustainable events, with long-term benefits, ranging from local to nationallevels.展开更多
文摘During the last decade, music festivals are increasingly used as an important motivator to attract visitors, giving riseto a more sustainable tourism growth in hand with cultural stimulation for the cities. This research paper aims toaddress the motives and barriers of music festival visitors travelling to attend two music events in the second largestGreek city of Thessaloniki in Northern Greece. The main objective of the research paper is to determine the visitors’motivation for choosing to attend each festival and thereafter the challenges they face during their visit in the city.This exploratory research study focuses on two distinct and popular music festivals namely Reworks Festival andStreet Mode Festival. Both events share three main characteristics: (1) They host both international & Greekprofessional artists;(2) they are primarily privately funded;and (3) they have achieved a consecutive 10 years ofsuccessful presence in the city attracting thousands of visitors each year. The research methodology is based on thecollection of qualitative data by conducting one to one interviews with festival visitors. Findings of the analysis ofthe two festivals direct at identifying the commonalities & differences in tourists’ drives and obstacles in regards totheir festival attendance and visit in the city of Thessaloniki. In both cases, it is inferred that both festivals have alot of further untapped potential, as unique city branding tools, adding value to the destinations and extending thetourism season. Conclusions can contribute to building more concise and sustainable destination tourism strategiesand, therefore, more successful and sustainable events, with long-term benefits, ranging from local to nationallevels.
