Member of the Faculty of Mazandaran University, Iran.
Abstract
Villages and cities are increasingly willing to share their culture and nature with tourists through the development of events. Holding these events generates income in local communities. This article seeks to investigate the role of event tourism as a tool for diversification and sustainable economic development of local communities. The Goltan Flower Festival investigation as a case study revealed that more than half of the visitors are satisfied with the way the festival was held, are interested in visiting again and recommending it to their friends. On the other hand, tourism strengthens the economy of the local community. In this example, the cash flow created by half of the festival visitors with/without overnight stay was more than the average cost of domestic trips of each household in Iran, to maintain loyal customers and use event tourism as a tool to diversify the local economy. In the first step, motivational factors affecting attendance at the event should be identified in order to accurately adjust marketing and tourism development plans according to the needs of the target market. The results of the factor analysis of 37 motivational items on 287 visitors identified 6 factors of Gol Gholtan and family, cultural exploration, socialization, locality, novelty and escape for the participation of tourists in this festival.
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