Film festivals have become an increasingly popular method of generating economic benefit to communities, yet there is little mention of this festival segment in the academic literature. Seen as a meeting place between filmmakers, distributors, and viewers, film festivals can be an important factor in enlivening local cultural life, building a town, city, or region's image, and fostering its attractiveness for tourism and thus its economic development. In addition to providing a cultural experience for the local community, and providing economic benefits as a tourist draw, film festivals provide a service to the film industry by supplying a forum for filmmakers to show their films and film buyers and distributors to view them. This article reports on a study of film festival attendees that was undertaken to evaluate the success of a regional film festival and assist film festival managers and sponsors in future planning. Attendee characteristics and festival experience were evaluated, as well the festival's economic impact on the local community. The article also provides an overview of unique characteristics of the film festival industry.

No abstract

Cultural heritage tourism has emerged as both an important economic tool and marketing tool when seeking a competitive advantage in the tourism industry. This study examined the economic impact a heritage railway has on a regional rural economy, namely the Great Smoky Mountains railroad (GSMr), a member of American heritage railways. Findings revealed the GSMr has exerted a profound effect on the region. It has contributed significantly to the regional economy, and has provided excellent value for the services rendered based on visitor satisfaction ratings. It has helped to diversify the regions tourism offerings, enhance its uniqueness and revitalize its tourism industry. Results from this study will assist GSMr management in the future planning and development of its heritage railway train excursions and marketing strategies.

Folkmoot USA is a 2-week annual large-scale international folklore festival celebration held in western north Carolina attracting approximately 75,000 attendees. This study examined the economic and fiscal impact of the 2007 Folkmoot USA international festival, developed an attendee profile to assist Folkmoot management and other area tourism professionals in their future planning and decision making, and compared findings to a similar study conducted in 2001. The IMPlAn (Impact Analysis for Planning) software modeling system and database was used to analyze more than 1,000 questionnaires collected from attendees, performers, and festival management during the 2-week festival. Findings revealed that the 2007 Folkmoot USA festival events induced spending on lodging, food and beverage sales, transportation, retail sales, and entertainment by attendees and performers, in addition to the operational expenditures of the festival itself. This spending infused the local economy by an estimated $4,025,684, increased state and local tax receipts by an estimated $343,702 and generated 56.6 jobs, reflecting an 88.8% increase in total economic impact over the previous study conducted in 2001. The profile of attendees of the 2007 festival revealed a shift of demographics to an older, largely female population compared to the 2001 study, information which is vital to the planning of future events and the overall sustainability of the festival.