Arts Festival Offerings: What Do Market Segments Prefer? Evidence from a South African National Arts Festival

Abstract

This research assesses visitors' push and pull motives for attending the Innibos National Arts Festival in South Africa. The results show that segmenting visitors on the basis of their motives is a useful market segmentation tool, as it produces a clear and direct profile and understanding of different types of visitors and their preferences as regards festival offerings. The study is the first to identify the stalls visitors preferred at the festival. It shows that, when managed correctly, stalls selling arts and crafts, food and drinks, and so on, enhance the overall festival experience. The study consequently proposes a typology of arts festival visitors to Innibos (Curious wanderers, Loyalists, and Socialites) that may be applicable to other arts festival markets. The results of this research can be used by Innibos and other festivals to better cater to the needs of the market.