Measuring the Economic Value and Social Viability of a Cultural Festival as a Tourism Prototype

Abstract

Cities with an important historical cultural heritage are aiming to strengthen their appeal to tourists by organizing numerous complementary activities, such as music festivals, in an attempt to consolidate and enhance their image as cultural sites and diversify the flow of tourism demand. This paper estimates the willingness to pay for a music festival in the city of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and analyses the results according to the socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics of audiences and tourists. The authors use the contingent valuation method, an appropriate technique for valuing non-market public goods, yet one that has scarcely been employed in the case of cultural goods of a temporary nature, such as a music festival. The findings to emerge may prove useful in understanding the demand for these goods, as well as in measuring the social viability of these tourist projects if willingness to pay is taken as an estimate of derived social benefit. This outcome may prove suitable input for a cost–benefit analysis.