THE ATTRACTION POWER AND SPENDING IMPACT OF THREE FESTIVALS IN OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND

Authors: LEE S.¹; CROMPTON J.L.²

Source: Event Management, Volume 8, Number 2, 2003 , pp. 109-112(4)

Publisher: Cognizant Communication Corporation

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Abstract:

Ocean City is a traditional resort community stretching for 10 miles along a barrier island on the coast of Maryland. Tourism is the basis of the town's economy and the reason for the community's existence. It is estimated that more than 8 million people visit the resort each year. The full-time resident population of the town is approximately 7000. However, visitors and part-time residents swell this number to 300,000 in the height of the summer season. The resort community hosts three annual major festivals: Springfest, Sunfest, and Winterfest. The primary goal of the festivals is to stimulate the local tourism economy during the shoulder and off-season months. The study reported here compares and contrasts the geographic and economic spending profiles of visitors to the three different festivals. The research question investigated was, ``Do major festivals held at different times of the year in the same community exhibit similar attraction power and generate similar economic impacts?''

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: *Department of Tourism & Hospitality Management, Woosong University, Korea 2: †Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences, Texas A & M University

Publication date: 2003-01-01

More about this publication?

Event Management, an International Journal, intends to meet the research and analytic needs of a rapidly growing profession focused on events. This field has developed in size and impact globally to become a major business with numerous dedicated facilities, and a large-scale generator of tourism. The field encompasses meetings, conventions, festivals, expositions, sport and other special events. Event management is also of considerable importance to government agencies and not-for-profit organizations in a pursuit of a variety of goals, including fund-raising, the fostering of causes, and community development.