Strengthening Community Relationships: Key to Successful Festival and Special Events

Festival and special events are one of the fastest growing types of tourism attractions. Even in small towns of less than one thousand people, it is not uncommon to see two to three major festivals held per year (Engler, 1994). Because of their proliferation and the magnitude of some of these events, it has been suggested that festival and special events are one of three major categories of tourism attractions (Getz, 1991). As such, festival and special events can complement the other two major categories of ambient attractions, such as climate, scenery, culture, hospitality, and wildlife, and permanent attractions, such as theme parks, historical sites, sports facilities, convention centers, and sacred sites.