ognizant Communication Corporation

Event Management, Vol. 10, pp. 185-196
1525-9951/07 $60.00 + .00
Copyright © 2007 Cognizant Comm. Corp.
Printed in the USA. All rights reserved.

Victoria Management School, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

The distribution of events is primarily equated with ticketing. Ticket distribution involves the booking and purchasing mechanisms that link the event and the attendees. This article analyses the distribution channel structures for three ticketed events in Wellington, New Zealand. It takes a comparative approach and presents data from a survey of attendees at these events. Advance ticket buying behavior dominates with tickets mainly purchased through ticketing agents; in-person booking is preferred, followed by telephone, mail, Internet, and fax channels. Tickets are also distributed direct to members and there is some bundling of packages through tourism intermediaries. Event attendees' preferences for different distribution channels are influenced by convenience, availability, membership relationships, personal service, and their location.

Key words: Event; Distribution channel; Ticket

Address correspondence to Karen A. Smith, Ph.D., Victoria Management School, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington 6001, New Zealand. Tel: 64 4463 5721; Fax: 64 4463 5180; E-mail: karen.smith@vuw.ac.nz

Department of Sports Management, Recreation Management, and Physical Education, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA

This article compares two major systems of measurement in the service quality literature: disconfirmation measures and performance-only measures in a festival setting. It also examines the effect of service quality dimensions on satisfaction and future intentions in two service quality measures for first-time and repeat visitors. The results show that the performance-only measure predicts a structural model better than the disconfirmation measure. There were differences between first-time and repeat visitors in terms of the strength of the relationship among service quality, satisfaction, and future intention. First-time visitors were more likely than repeat visitors to count on the quality of the festival to be satisfied. On the other hand, repeat visitors were satisfied with factors other than service quality.

Key words: Disconfirmation; Performance-only; Quality; Satisfaction; Future intention

Address correspondence to Joohyun Lee, Assistant Professor, Department of Sports Management, Recreation Management, and Physical Education, 112 Tully Gym, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA. Tel: (850) 644-3061; Fax: (850) 644-0975; E-mail: jlee@coe.fsu.edu

¹Department of Arts and Event Management, Arts Institute at Bournemouth, Dorset, UK
²The Business School, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, UK

Recent debate on the quality of arts events has concentrated on the requirement to deliver against a complex range of political, social, and cultural criteria with an emphasis on the external partnerships that are forged. Yet those aspects of quality over which event organizers have more direct control have been accorded minor examination. The authors believe that operational effectiveness is key to service quality in the cultural context, and seek to demonstrate that a balanced consideration of both process and product is vital to fully deliver quality arts events. This article identifies areas of emergent research and practice and focuses on issues in the front-of-house environment where the breakdown of service quality is a real concern, using the experience of one UK not-for-profit arts organization as a case study to illustrate potential management responses.

Key words: Service quality; Operations management; Arts events; Front-of-house; Ticketing

Address correspondence to Zuleika Beaven, Department of Arts and Event Management, Arts Institute at Bournemouth, Wallisdown, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5HH, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1202 363306; Fax: +44 (0)1202 363335; E-mail: zbeaven@aib.ac.uk

*Based on a working paper originally presented at the Research Stream of the 14th IFEA Europe Conference: Festivals and Partnerships: Policy, Management and Marketing, March 3-5, 2005, Amsterdam.

¹Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation, and Resource Studies, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
²Division of Tourism Studies, College of Economics, and Commerce, Kyungnam University, Masan City, Korea
³Hotel and Restaurant Management, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI, USA
⁴Department of Tourism Management, Keimyung University, Daegu, Korea

The main purpose of this study was to determine the underlying dimensions associated with activities undertaken by festival visitors and to discover any significant differences in these dimensions by distinct types of visitors attending a national cultural festival. A total of 335 participants obtained by a systematic random sampling method were used for analysis. Factor analysis delineated five possible activity factors and K-means cluster analysis distinguished three distinct groups of visitor. To examine the validity of the clusters, analysis of variance and discriminant analysis were performed. The results of the two analyses showed that there were significant differences in the three clusters on the activity factors. Additionally, the chi-square statistic revealed that the three clusters were substantially different in age, total spending, and past visit. Based on the significant findings, marketing implications and recommendations are discussed.

Key words: Festivals; Activity preferences; Factor/cluster method; Market segmentation

Address correspondence to Kakyom Kim, Ph.D., Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation, and Resource Studies, 139 Natural Resources Building, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mi 48824, USA. Tel: (517) 432-0284; Fax: (517) 432-3597; E-mail: kimkakyo@msu.edu

¹Department of Science and ²Department of Social Sciences, Augustana Faculty, University of Alberta, Canada

Wildlife festivals are growing in popularity and warrant additional studies of festival visitors. However, comparisons of visitor demographics, motivations, activities, and local expenditure patterns between festivals are difficult because different methods of measurement are used. By using a comparative approach, this study evaluates, with the same methods, the visitor characteristics of two similar wildlife festivals in Western Canada. While providing site-specific context, this study notes variations in total local expenditure patterns, visitor motivations, and visitor activities that result from, in part, different visitor demographics, activities offered, other attractions, and rates of overnight stays. Visitors to these festivals were slightly older age and had high educational levels than the general public, which was consistent with visitors to other wildlife festivals and ecotourists in general.

Key words: Wildlife festival; Birds; Expenditures; Economic impact; Visitor characteristics

Address correspondence to Glen Hvenegaard, Augustana Faculty, University of Alberta, 4901-46 Avenue, Camrose, Alberta T4V 2R3, Canada. Tel: (++1) 780-679-1574; Fax: (++1) 780-679-1590; E-mail: glen.hvenegaard@ualberta.ca

International Centre for Tourism Hospitality Research, School of Services Management, Bournemouth University, Dorset, UK

The Autonomous Community of Galicia, Spain and its regional capital city Santiago de Compostela have a well-developed and successful convention industry. This research outlines the reasons for its success, and, taking a stakeholder perspective, explores ways in which the region can ensure continued growth. Using primary data based on interviews with different stakeholders from the public and private sectors, a number of issues are examined in relation to potential for growth. These include the current perceptions of the destinations success, the role of the conference and exhibition centers and promotion of the destination, increasing competition, and human resources. The study concludes with recommendations for improvements for the Galician convention industry, and a discussion of how these issues might be relevant for other convention destinations.

Key words: Conventions; Galicia; Stakeholder perceptions; Potential growth

Address correspondence to Professor Adele Ladkin, International Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research, School of Services Management, Bournemouth University. Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB, UK. E-mail: aladkin@bournemouth.ac.uk