Tourism destination development: economic impacts evaluation due to intercultural food festivals

Abstract

The design and realization of events has become a relevant activity because it can accelerate the growth of European tourist destinations. Events provide a new demand for goods and services, which, in addition to local consumption, leads to an increase in revenues and employment. Moreover, when an event becomes an attractor, it generates new motivations for visiting a destination in addition to the traditional ones, which are generally linked to the presence of natural resources. While the issue can rely on extensive literature today, it established itself only at the end of the last century. Many authors have addressed the issue of the economic impact of events, amongst whom Grado, Strauss and Lord (1998) and Dwyer (2002). Other economists who have dealt with the assessment of the economic impact of events in general are: Laesser, Stettler, and Rutter (2003) and Dwyer, Forsyth, and Spurr, (2006). Few have addressed the issue of events for the economic growth of small tourist destinations, often not considered by international tourism demand. Starting from these considerations, it was decided to analyse the development of a micro-location in Sicily, namely San Vito Lo Capo, which has witnessed a strong development thanks to a food and wine event. According to an ad-hoc survey carried out during the "Cous Cous Fest" in 2012, the economic impact on productive sectors was calculated by using input-output tables. The results show that, besides having increased the number of tourists and the flow of daily visitors to the event, the Festival has contributed to raising incomes and creating jobs at the destination.