Integrative Response on Festivals Essay Example for Free

Integrative Response on Festivals Essay The organization of a festival brings a positive economic impact on the community. Not only does the community as a whole benefit from the economic effect but also the individuals gain significantly from the organization of festivals. These effects are more pronounced as the beneficial effects get replicated. A festival is a usually a series of cultural events, celebrations or entertainment organized by an association, group, person or a company. Included in these are concerts, carnivals, exhibitions or even a circus. The maximum number of days usually limited to 15 days. Shorter festivals like many church festivals are less than 3 days. From another standpoint, festival is a period of time that is set aside for feasting or celebration. On the other hand festivals are an organized series of acts and performances, say we have a film festival. Usually festivals have the involvement of the local community and are focused on a theme. It may be an annual event like the annual camping event that is held near Sydney every Easter. Usually, these events attract a number of visitors to the venue; this can range from mere 150 to 5,000. There are some unusual festivals also like the Luton Festival of Transport that attracts 1100 classic cars, buses, bikes and other interesting road vehicles. The organization of festivals brings significant economic benefits to the local community. The benefits to the local community occur because of the spending that is done by the organizers themselves and the visitors to the area. From the macroeconomic perspective the GDP of the area goes up and so also the tax collection from the community. Moreover, these festivals help create jobs and bring in additional income by way of wages and salaries. There are several festivals that have operating expenditures of over $1million and have a total attendance that is more than 5 times the strength of the local community. There are different sources of funding, some have the backing of government agencies, some have the backing of non-government agencies and some are entirely sponsored by corporations. These funds help the economy. The federal government, the local government and the municipality share the increase in taxes. The increase in GDP usually provides a direct boost to restaurants, recreation and accommodation. Moreover, the persons or groups that are involved in the cultural, recreation and community events get a boost. Examples of festivals that have brought significant economic benefits to their communities are The Blue Skies Music Festival (Clarendon), Mudcat Festival (Dunnville) and Olde Sandwich Towne Festival (Windsor). Let us take the microeconomic perspective of the organization of festivals. Most of the hotels in the area often turn away potential bookings. What does this mean? This means that there is an increase in demand for hotel bookings. There is an outward shift in the demand curve. At the same rates, more hotel bookings are demanded during festival periods. Some hotels anticipating increased demand raise the room rates. In other words there is an overall increase in the revenues for the hotels. Similarly, there is an increase in the demand for local transport and other services. This increase in demand is not just limited to those industries that are directly related to the festivals. When the performers, organizers or journalists experience increased income, then in accordance to their marginal propensity to consume their consumption also increases. This creates the multiplier effect of new expenditure and income (Raj. R, 2003). To sum, festivals invigorate the economy of the community. They benefit businesses, government and individuals. Festivals bring in a flow of funds and this removes the ennui of the local economy. Reference: Raj. R, 2003, Impact of Festivals on Cultural Tourism, retrieved on: January 13, 2007, from: www. nottingham. ac. uk/ttri/pdf/conference/raj%20razaq. pdf