گردشگری و اوقات فراغت (Jan 2024)
Review on Event Tourism Research: Understanding Social and Conceptual Structures, Identifying Current and Future Trends
Abstract
Tourism events, in addition to aiding destination marketing, can bring about numerous positive economic implications for destinations and tourism businesses. Consequently, event tourism attracts the attention of stakeholders and destination managers, as well as captivates researchers, leading to the advancement of research in this domain. The objective of this research is to conduct a quantitative review of event tourism studies to better understand the conceptual and social structures of this field, as well as its current and future research trends. Accordingly, a bibliometric analysis was adopted in this research. To achieve this aim, 2014 event tourism articles were retrieved from the Web of Science database and visualized using VOS viewer software. The research findings indicate that the number of article publications peaked in 2019 with 206 articles, while citations peaked in 2021 with 6783 citations. Moreover, the findings identify the top articles, researchers, journals, universities, and countries based on citation volume. By employing co-authorship analysis, the study illustrates international collaboration networks in this field, with the United States exhibiting the highest level of collaboration with other countries. Additionally, co-occurrence analysis of keywords identifies the most prominent research topics and delineates new trends in this area. Increased attention to small-scale and cultural events compared to large-scale sporting events, a focus on marketing, consumer behavior, tourist experience, and the role of technology represent significant emerging trends in event tourism that could attract researchers' attention. 1. Introduction The world has been moving towards utilizing events to attract tourists in the past three decades (Kelly and Fairley, 2008). Recently, various cities and towns have added events such as exhibitions, performances, thematic markets, festivals, and events to their offerings as tourist attractions in order to both attract tourists more successfully and prolong their stays (McKercher and Du Cros, 2003). Destination managers have realized the necessity of augmenting their tourism offerings with novel, exciting, pristine, and unparalleled attractions (Connell, Page, and Mair, 2015). Tourism events can serve as powerful tools for attracting tourists and creating an image and awareness of the region in the minds of tourists (Kovalenko, Dias et al., 2023). Events breathe life into attractions and invigorate them; otherwise, tourists' experiences become repetitive and tedious, gradually reducing visitor numbers (Getz and Page, 2016; Kruger and Saayman, 2017), to the extent that they have become a key component of tourism products in many destinations (Getz, 2016). In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in the academic community's attention to research related to event tourism. With the expansion of event tourism research, the literature in this field requires more comprehensive review studies than ever before. Despite qualitative review studies conducted in the field of event tourism (Getz, 2005; 2008; 2012; 2016), there is still a gap in the literature for a quantitative study that examines the structures of event tourism and can provide an overview of this research field. Since bibliometrics is a quantitative method that evaluates and reviews the existing body of research in a field or research topic and can identify research trends and highlight knowledge gaps (Kryszak et al., 2023; Thukral & Jain, 2021), the present study aims to conduct a bibliometric review of event tourism research to not only demonstrate conceptual and social structures but also introduce the overall status of research conducted in this field to date, as well as gaps and future research trends. Consequently, the present study seeks to address the following questions: 1) What trend has quantitative publication and citation of event tourism research followed in recent years? 2) Which articles, journals, researchers, countries, and universities have been the most cited in the field of event tourism? 3) What has been the status of international collaboration in this field? 4) Which keywords have been the most frequent in this field, and what has been the conceptual structure of event tourism? 2. Literature Review There is no clear consensus on the classification and determination of key terms in these definitions. Since an event can gather people for a specific purpose, some researchers in this field define events based on their objectives. Another group of scholars emphasizes the unique aspects and characteristics of each event in their definition. In a comprehensive definition by Zhu (2007), events are phenomena that signify and delineate individual and collective realities. According to Jacqueline (2019), events are categorized based on their content, such as historical, geographical, and cultural events. Such contents can include music, film, performances, being in a specific location, or occurring at a specific time. The purpose of events should be clear and should not contradict existing institutional objectives. Getz (2008) refers to event tourism as a form of travel with special interests, where individuals travel to see an event or attend one during their journey. Examples include religious ceremonies, art exhibitions, music concerts, and other cultural festivals, which are significant attractions for residents and tourists and play a fundamental role in reviving other arts and cultural elements. According to Mair (2015), events are special occasions that rarely occur and have a specific duration, offering participants opportunities beyond their everyday lives. Pross (2005) also defines event tourism as short-term periods filled with engaging and exciting activities, usually held in a geographical or historical area. Therefore, events are unique celebrations that occur in a specific place and at a particular moment to fulfill specific needs. The most comprehensive definition of events in the tourism literature was proposed by Getz in 1991. He defines events from the perspectives of organizations and consumers: from the organization's perspective, events are phenomena that occur once or repeatedly outside of sponsorship programs and organizer activities, and from the consumer's perspective, events are opportunities for social, cultural, and recreational experiences that typically differ from the conventional and ongoing life of the local community (Abbas et al., 2021). According to Getz (2008), planned events are spatial and temporal phenomena, each uniquely designed and programmed due to the interaction between the environment, individuals, and management systems. One of the significant attractions of events is that they are never the same, and you have to be there to fully enjoy the unique experience that an event offers. Therefore, if you miss it, it's a missed opportunity. Virtual events, or events that communicate with people through media, also provide different interests and values for the tourism industry and offer a different type of event experience (Zhou, 2007). Similarly, regarding the types of events, there are many disagreements. Bridge (2007) enumerates the typology of event types as follows: local events, major events, prominent events, and mega-events. As the dimensions and size of events increase, so do their effects. Connell, Page, and Mair (2015) provide the following classification of events: Cultural events: festivals, carnivals, memorials, and religious events; Political events: summits, royal occasions, and political events; Business and trade events: conferences, exhibitions, trade shows, and markets; Educational and scientific events: conferences; Sports events: non-professional, professional, spectators, participants, and recreational; Private events: weddings, parties, gatherings, and celebrations. Eckulica et al. (2012) categorize events into various types, including tourism events, urban events, competitions, weddings, mega-events, and prominent events. Another typology proposed by Barker (2003) divides events into three categories: business events, cultural programs, and sports programs. Boudin et al. (2006) present another taxonomy consisting of ten parts: 1) business, 2) festivals, exhibitions, cultural events, 3) social events (community-based), 4) outdoor events, 5) entertainment, festivals, live music, 6) concerts, theater, and shows, 7) sports events or sports spectators, 8) charity events, fundraising, voluntary activities, 9) party and wedding planning, and life cycle-related events, and 10) special events. Servetti and Piva (2015) argue that events can vary significantly in scale, complexity, and the number of stakeholders involved. Larger events tend to have broader and more numerous objectives and stakeholders. Additionally, events are classified based on their social construction, performance, and their roles in governmental policies and corporate strategies. Sometimes events are classified based on their form and program, a concept referred to as social construction. By anticipating the economic benefits derived from the spending of tourists and visitors at festivals, various private and governmental agencies can utilize these events as a new source of income for local businesses and taxation. Moreover, besides the economic advantages, festivals, by offering diverse cultural events, are perceived to enhance infrastructural facilities, transportation, etc., as part of the destination's quality and residents' quality of life, contributing to their improvement. However, stringent and effective mechanisms are required by policymakers to minimize the negative social impacts of events, paving the way for reputation building and destination and event enhancement (Campón et al., 2019). 3. Methodology This research is of a descriptive-analytical nature and has utilized bibliometric methodology. Bibliometric analysis is a quantitative analytical method used to examine the progress of a research field (León-Gómez et al., 2021), employing quantitative and statistical techniques such as descriptive analysis and visualization of conceptual, intellectual, and social structures (Mukherjee, Lim et al., 2022). In this study, descriptive, co-authorship, and co-citation analyses have been employed. For data analysis and visualization, as well as illustrating existing scientific patterns, the VOS viewer software has been utilized (Van Eck & Waltman, 2010). To retrieve data in this research, the Web of Science database and its subsets, which include high-quality journals, have been utilized (Rai et al., 2021; Hassan Shah et al., 2022). Initially, to determine the scope of the search, appropriate titles, abstracts, and keywords based on the literature review of the research under consideration were selected. Then, no starting point was determined for the search in terms of time, and all articles in the field of event tourism up to December 31, 2023, were utilized. The keywords used for the search were "Event tourism," "Event," and "Tourism." In the first stage of data analysis, information from 3349 articles was extracted and retrieved from the database. In the second stage, criteria for the desired output were applied to discard irrelevant research. The first output criterion in this research was to classify articles into review and research categories. In the second stage, considering that the aim of the research is to examine the international trend of articles in the field of event tourism, articles' language was restricted to English, and articles before 2014 were retained for analysis. 4. Results The findings of the research indicate that although the number of publications increased quantitatively until 2019, it has decreased in recent years, possibly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of many major events, especially sporting events. Descriptive analysis findings show that the article by Getz (2008), titled "Event Tourism: Definition, Evolution, and Research," with 1081 citations, has been the most cited article in the field of event tourism. This is due to the conceptualization of event tourism in this research, which has been cited by many other researchers. With 1990 citations resulting from ten research studies in the field of event tourism, Getz can be considered the most cited and perhaps the most significant researcher in the field of event tourism. The Journal of Tourism Management, with 9677 citations, has been the most influential journal in this field. The most cited country among the active countries in event tourism is the United States of America, with 12462 citations. However, Griffith University, Australia, with 3587 citations, has ranked first among the most cited universities in event tourism. This indicates the concentration of several top researchers in this field at this university, as well as the university's significant activity in event tourism, as Florida and Washington State Universities rank fourth and fifth, respectively, among the most cited universities. Co-authorship analysis also showed that the United States had the most connections and collaborations with other countries in research, with 46 more links. Co-citation analysis displayed the most frequent keywords and, based on the temporal trend, illustrated the conceptual structure of event tourism research. 5. Conclusion The research shows a diversification of topics explored, with an emphasis on sports events, including major ones like the Olympics, alongside a growing interest in smaller-scale events. Commercial and festival tourism, as well as cultural events, have garnered significant attention thematically, with festival attendance being a key motivator for tourists. Recent studies have shifted focus towards marketing aspects within event tourism, aligning with previous research emphasizing the role of events in destination promotion and branding. Consumer behavior and marketing strategies in event tourism are highlighted, underscoring the need for a comprehensive understanding of both supply and demand dynamics. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the importance of human resources in event management, an aspect that has received less attention in research. Emerging concepts like tourist experiences and value co-creation are identified as crucial areas requiring further investigation, given their potential to enhance event experiences and destination development. A shift towards active tourist participation in events signifies a broader transformation in tourism paradigms, emphasizing value co-creation and active engagement over passive observation. This shift has implications for the definition of cultural tourism and its intersection with event tourism, as tourists increasingly seek immersive and participatory experiences in cultural events and festivals.
