The Importance of Events and Festivals in Sydney for Regional Development

Question:

Discuss about the Relationship between Event Industry and Regional Development in Sydeny.

According to Luonila and Johansson (2015), tourism and major event agencies are enhancing the State’s economy through securing major events and attracting no. of visitors to Sydney. The present essay is focused on amalgamating the economic, social and environmental form of evaluation into one framework regarding the events of Sydney. Moreover, the manner in which significant international exposure is provided to the county which hosts international events and reaps the advantage of perceived monetary awards.

It has been confirmed by CEO Business Events Sydney that regional NSW is attaining economic benefits from global events. The international caving community is holding the 17^th International Conference of Speleology in this week as part of which explores the Blue Mountains.There are many events held in Sydney to cater to the requirement of regional, economic and cultural development of the city. The main events of the area are-

Mardi Grass- the Mardi Gras event is always Colorful and cheerful, characterized by an optimistic and party like mood, and the Liverpool Street is one of the best vantage points of the city in this event, and same provide jobs to local people. Funding and sponsorship of the event come from local government, private business and entrepreneurs.The event is conducted to restore the classic beauty of the area by giving the message of preservation of natural beauty which supports environmental development.

Sydney Harbor Regatta- the event is very much similar to the yacht race from Sydney to Hobart that begins on any day of boxing in any given calendar year. The Sydney Harbors Regatta is held in March every year and is an iconic event in the area. The regatta event showcases approximately more than 300 yachts with an average of 2500 yacht crew. It is the main source of income for local people living there as many people living in nearby places earn excess income from tourist and visitors to the event. The same leads to economic sustainability in the life of people living there.

Sydney Royal Easter Show- a few years ago the Sydney Royal Easter Show was discontinued from the Moore Park at one stage. However the show was relocated to Sydney Olympic Park. The show was welcomed in the city and was embraced by the residents of the area. The event offers the Great animal show, along with a different range of showbags. (Destination NSW. Events. 2017)

Major Events generate Economic Growth and boost Tourism in Sydney

The events industry in Australia offers significant economic benefits to Sydney. Every event generates a strong tourist yield, given the fact that any event leads to the high daily expenditure of participants. According to the views of Rogers and Davidson (2015), the contribution of events in business is much more than tourism expenditure. Apart from the tourism benefits, events also have wide and enduring benefits related to employment and industry development. Events help many companies operating in the area to deliver their goals; launching new ideas, identifying festival trends, and equipping people to meet the challenges. Festivals and events add to the well being of the community in a number of ways; this ranges from creating and enhancing the sense of nationalism which further contributes to recognition of social identity among people and provides various other opportunities for building relationships and networks that generate social capital. It can also be suggested that community involvement in festivals and events support learning and skills development which contribute to increase the community capacity as well as enhancing economic development. Many events are held just to imbibe the culture of the area for generations to come.

Regional Development

The relationship between event industry and regional development can be specified simply economic. As per the words of Mairand Whitford (2013), the factors which mainly are influenced by these events are increased employment, education, welfare, equity and another cultural dimension of community life. It has also been assessed that successful event planning enhances positive economic stimulus in the region. Thus, the same leads to the fact that increasing expenditures, development and maintenance of employment and labour supply continuously enhance the standard of living. In January 2500 Amway China gated will enjoy Dolphin watching and sand boarding in Port Stephens.The last year 2600, international delegated visited Hunter Valley for enjoying motorbiking, hot air ballooning and sampling wine in vineyards. The advantage which is attained through these events is that social and cultural elements meet the events of the city. These interactions lead to social inclusion enhanced mental health and well being, strong community relationship and attainment of a higher level of collective identity.

Events create opportunities for employment by increased government expenditures in the area. Events also attract tourists from across the world which in turn leads to increased business in the area.

Cultural Development

Food is a major drawcard as an event such as Kidopia Festival; which is a festival for families with music, food, rides and much more; Orange wine festival; which is known for cool climate wines, talented chefs and delicious local produce; Sydney festivals; which celebrate the arts. These festivals contribute economic stimulus to the region and enhance cultural and social interaction. The art and culture of Sydney are exhibited in these events in an appropriate manner, and the same provide strength to regional development. It is often witnessed that many events held in Sydney promote the culture of the city by demonstrating the same in events.

Positive and Negative Impact of Festivals and Events in Sydney

Figure 1: Conceptual Model of Significance of Events

(Source: Getz and Page, 2016.)

Environmental Development

Many events in Sydney are conducted to issue awareness regarding the environmental dangers that are posed by mankind. According to the words of Bernus and Nemes (2013), the government of Sydney organizes various rallies and stage shows in order to make the people aware of their activities. The Government is planning to make “Sustainable Sydney” by 2030. For the purpose of responding effectively to the environmental challenges faced by Sydney, the government aims to detail various activities and operations in the local area. The main objective is to lead by example in areas by playing an influential and engaging role by strong collaboration from government, the private sector and the community.

Figure 2: The positive and Negative impact arising from various events and festivals

(Source: Page and Connell, 2014)

As per Getz and Page (2016), since the World War II, Australia has experienced a boom in festivals and parades that were staged in the respective communities. Although there is very little available International data on the growth of special event sector, statistics available from across the globe indicate that the size growth has been escalating since then. There is also increase in the number of events that are now being staged in Sydney. Moreover, the value of sponsorship for the commercial event has increased significantly over the last decade. Similarly,events, particularly mega-events such as the sports event, have escalated since the 1960s. It must be noted that many times the economic and regional benefits accounting from hosting of any event are often exaggerated in order to receive funding from the government. This lashes out all the significant benefits accounting for any event. The foremost objective of the event is to address the issues of a particular area and to promote the economic motive of the city. In the race of receiving funds, the organizers often distract from the main objective.

This essay showcases the relationship between Event Industry, and regional development presents an analysis of some events and their contribution for the same purpose. In particular,the report explores the factors that are associated with the efficiency of festivals and events to enhance the social and cultural facets of the regional community. In some cases, it also appeared that in need to display economic benefits of some events and gaining and maintaining government funding resulted deviating the event from its main objective. Thus, it is important that the events are carried out within the framework devised for them so that they involve community involvement and long-term positive regional development outcomes.

References

Bernus, P. and Nemes, L. eds. 2013. Modelling and methodologies for enterprise integration: proceedings of the IFIP TC5 Working Conference on Models and Methodologies for Enterprise Integration, Queensland, Australia, November 1995. Springer.

Destination NSW. Events. 2017. [Online]. Available through< https://www.destinationnsw.com.au/events>. [Accessed on 30^th November 2017].

Getz, D. and Page, S.J. 2016. Progress and prospects for event tourism research. Tourism Management. 52, Pp.593-631.

Getz, D. and Page, S.J. 2016. Event studies: Theory, research and policy for planned events. Routledge.

Luonila, M. and Johansson, T. 2015. The role of festivals and events in the regional development of cities: Cases of two Finnish cities. Event Management. 19(2), Pp.211-226.

Mair, J. and Whitford, M. 2013. An exploration of events research: event topics, themes and emerging trends. International Journal of Event and Festival Management. 4(1), Pp.6-30.

Page, S. and Connell, J. eds. 2014. The Routledge handbook of events. Routledge.

Rogers, T. and Davidson, R. 2015. Marketing destinations and venues for conferences, conventions and business events(Vol. 14). Routledge.