This book explores the links between tourism and festivals and the various ways in which each mobilises the other to make social realities meaningful. Drawing upon a series of international cases, festivals are examined as ways of responding to various forms of crisis - social, political, economic - and as a way of re-making and re-animating spaces and social life. Importantly, this book locates festivals in the constantly changing, socio-economic and political contexts that they always operate in and respond to - contexts that are both historical and modern at the same time. Tourism is bound closely together with such contexts; feeding and challenging festivals with audiences that are increasingly transient and transnational. Tourism interrogates notions of ritual and tradition, shapes new spaces and creates, and renews, relationships between participants and observers. No longer can we dismiss tourists simply as value neutral and crass consumers of spectacle, nor tourism as some inevitable commercial force. Tourism is increasingly complicit in the festival processes of re-invention, and in forming new patterns of social existence.

This edied work explores the linkages between tourism and festivals and the various ways in which each mobilises the other to make social realities meaningful. Drawing upon a series of international cases, this book examines the festivals as ways of responding to various forms of crisis.

Festivals and events vary from small, neighbourhood celebrations through to mega gatherings, and both can be attractive to tourists. They come with their own unique challenges and opportunities however, which means destinations must carefully consider their responsibility to local people, and host them in a sustainable manner. Covering important issues such as the marketing, branding and promotion of events, this book also unravels the opportunities and challenges associated with sustainable festivals and events. It uses an array of case studies and a global author team to provide an important resource for tourism and event researchers and professionals.

Festivals have burgeoned in rural areas, revitalising old traditions and inventing new reasons to celebrate. How do festivals contribute to tourism, community and a rural sense of belonging? What are their cultural, environmental and economic dimensions? This book answers such questions - featuring contributions from leading geographers, historians, anthropologists, tourism scholars and cultural researchers. It draws on a range of case studies: from the rustic charm of agricultural shows and family circuses to the effervescent festival of Elvis Presley impersonators in Parkes; from wildflower collecting to the cosmopolitan beats of ChillOut, Australia’s largest non-metropolitan gay and lesbian festival. Festivals as diverse as youth surfing carnivals, country music musters, Aboriginal gatherings in the remote Australian outback, Scottish highland gatherings and German Christmas celebrations are united in their emphasis on community, conviviality and fun.

At the interface between culture and tourism lies a series of deep and challenging issues relating to how we deal with issues of political engagement, social justice, economic change, belonging, identity and meaning. This book introduces researchers, students and practitioners to a range of interesting and complex debates regarding the political and social implications of cultural tourism in a changing world. Concise and thematic theoretical sections provide the framework for a range of case studies, which contextualise and exemplify the issues raised. The book focuses on both traditional and popular culture, and explores some of the tensions between cultural preservation and social transformation. The book is divided into thematic sections - Politics and Policy; Community Participation and Empowerment; Authenticity and Commodification; and Interpretation and Representation - and will be of interest to all who wish to understand how cultural tourism continues to evolve as a focal point for understanding a changing world.

The Routledge Handbook of Events explores and critically evaluates the debates and controversies associated with the rapidly expanding domain of Event Studies. It brings together leading specialists from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, to provide a state-of-the-art review on the evolution of the subject. The first edition was a landmark study which examined how event research had evolved and developed from a range of different social science subject areas and disciplines. The Handbook was the first critique of the extent to which the subject had developed into a major area of social science inquiry. This second edition has been fully updated to reflect crucial developments in the field and includes brand new sections on ever-important aspects of Event Studies such as: anthropology, hospitality, seasonality, knowledge management, accessibility, diversity and human rights, as well as new studies on ‘the eventful city’ and the benefits of events in older life. The book is divided into four inter-related sections. Section 1 introduces and evaluates the concept of events. Section 2 critically reviews the relationship between events and other disciplines such as the contribution of economics, psychology and geography to the critical discourse of Event Studies. Section 3 focuses on the business, operational and strategic management of events, while the final section crucially focuses on critical events as a new paradigm within the burgeoning literature on Events. It offers the reader a comprehensive and critical synthesis of this field, conveying the latest thinking associated with events research, edited by two of the leading scholars in the field. The text will provide an invaluable resource for all those with an interest in Events Studies, encouraging dialogue that will span across disciplinary boundaries and other areas of study. It is an essential guide for anyone interested in events research.

Festival and Event Tourism Impacts provides a comprehensive review and analysis of the multi-faceted impacts that festival and events have on a host community, whether positive or negative, and offers recommendations for communities for the successful management of this kind of tourism. Opening chapters define festival and event tourism impact concepts utilized in the field and their evolution throughout the years, followed by an exploration of the current issues facing communities. The second part discusses sustainability and environmental issues that affect destinations and communities as a result of festival and event impacts. Subsequent chapters outline further impacts and finally address cutting-edge event tourism development and impact management strategies and considerations such as innovative management approaches, sustainability, and social responsibility, for example, and identify future trends and issues within a multidisciplinary global perspective. A variety of geographical locations are exemplified throughout as well as a range of diverse event types including the Formula One Grand Prix in Monaco, Pope Francis’ visit to Mauritius in 2019, and the 29th Summer Universiade in Taiwan, among many others. Drawing on the knowledge and expertise of highly regarded academics from around the world, this will be of great interest to all upper-level students and researchers in Tourism, Hospitality, Events, and related fields.