How Local Festivals Affect the Destination Choice of Tourists

This study investigates whether local festivals can be a tourist attraction in their own right and encourage tourists to visit a particular tourist destination. It examines 17 of the 30 festivals held on Jeju Island, Korea, as a case study. It also identifies links between the festivals and tourists' perception of Jeju Island. The results of the study suggest that the more the tourists were aware of the festivals, the more likely they were to consider the festivals as an important factor in their destination choice. The level of satisfaction from attending the festivals was directly proportional to the level of overall satisfaction of the destination. Recommendations are provided for the successful management of festivals at a destination to attract more tourists including “systematization of the festivals” and “self-supporting festivals.” This study contributes to research into the role of festivals as a main tourism catalyst not only as a supporting event for the tourism industry in a well-developed tourist destination.