Residents' and tourists' motivations, attachment, and perceived impacts at U.S. festivals: a national panel study

This study sought to: 1) determine the extent to which motivations and festival attachment explain residents' and tourists' perceived social impacts of a festival, 2) assess which dimension of these constructs is the best predictor of social impacts among residents and tourists and 3) examine whether residents and tourists perceive social impacts differently. No prior research has examined motivations, festival attachment, and perceived impacts concurrently between residents and tourists. A national panel survey was distributed through Amazons Mechanical Turk and data was analyzed using CFA, SEM, and MANOVA. Results show the most powerful predictor of impacts to be festival identity for residents and social interaction for tourists. Festival attachment was significant in predicting some perceived social impacts. Significant differences were found in residents and tourists perceptions of social costs, social interaction, and community benefits. Implications are both theoretical and practical to assist in managing appropriately for perceived impacts of festivals.