Skift Take
Music lovers have returned to festivals with a vengeance, however they’ve additionally develop into pickier and extra environmentally aware. So tourism authorities should adapt to their new priorities.
Music lovers have returned to festivals in massive numbers this summer season after their Covid-induced pause, an infinite boon for locations counting on these occasions to draw guests and speed up their tourism restoration.
Jamaica is a type of locations, with its well-liked and profitable Reggae Sumfest serving to enhance customer numbers to the nation. Jamaican Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett credited the July occasion for bolstering its tourism rebound, with the island setting a file for many vacationer arrivals in a single summer season.
“It was the primary time the occasion was staged in individual for the reason that pandemic, and attracted quite a few worldwide guests to the island throughout its busy summer season journey season,” Bartlett stated in regards to the Caribbean’s largest music pageant, which had attracted as many as 10,000 guests to the nation previous to the pandemic.
“The success of this Reggae Sumfest is a testomony to the return of journey, particularly for occasions.”
The return of Brazil’s Rock in Rio pageant earlier this month additionally supplied a much-needed enhance to Rio de Janeiro’s tourism trade, attracting guests from all of Brazil’s states and 31 international locations. Roughly 60 p.c of the 700,000 attendees for the offered out occasion, which injected $323 million (1.7 billion reais) into the native economic system in 2019, got here from exterior of the town.
“Through the summer season of 2022, there was an enormous demand for occasion journey,” stated Joseph DeMarinis, CEO of BookSeats.com, a platform that allows eventgoers to ebook customized packages for tickets and lodging. Music followers have spent nearly thrice extra on journeys for 2022 occasions than those who befell in 2019.
The return of big crowds additionally presents vital challenges for music festivals which have lengthy struggled to go inexperienced. However organizers are taking steps to be extra sustainable although. Glastonbury requested the roughly 200,000 attendees at this 12 months’s occasion to decide to a inexperienced pledge to fight littering. In the meantime, Rock in Rio has set a aim of turning into a zero-waste occasion whereas limiting the usage of plastic cups and straws.
“Increasingly more individuals (are paying) consideration to touring in a sustainable approach,” stated Tomas Loeffen, managing accomplice at Pageant Journey, an Amsterdam-based firm arranges journeys to occasions throughout Europe.
Loeffen additionally believes vacationers are much less occupied with commonplace journey packages.
“One other pattern we see is individuals having extra particular wants than ever earlier than, which makes commonplace packages — pageant ticket, bus and tenting — not sufficient for them anymore,” Loeffen stated. “They want to select very particular issues like sooner or later of additional tenting or a breakfast bundle within the pageant prepare.”
Relating to the longer term, DeMarinis anticipates the summer season 2023 season shall be even bigger, particularly for vacationers desirous to attend music occasions worlwide. Loeffen believes that would be the case.
“In pre-Covid years, we noticed a rise (in vacationers) visiting festivals,” Loeffen stated. “And for 2023, we anticipate this to proceed. It will likely be the primary regular 12 months, with individuals having fewer commitments to meet up with and no ticket rollovers.”