The influence of an international festival on visitors' attitudes toward diverse cultures

Abstract

Interactingwith people fromother countries can enhance our knowledge of cultural diversity and provide an international perspective. There are many ways of enhancing cultural understanding, one of which is attending international festivals.While research on festivals is fast growing, visitors' attitudes toward diverse cultures is a relatively unexplored subject. This study used a visitor attitude scale to investigate visitors' behavioural, cognitive, and/or affective components of diversity attitudes. The research focused on measuring visitation frequency, stay-time at the event, similar event participation, cultural interest, and overseas travel experience contributing to any observed differences in visitors' attitudes. The visitors' intention to travel overseas after attending this festival was also investigated. A total of 195 visitors were surveyed on site at an international festival in a Midwestern city in the us, with 176 providing usable data. The findings suggest that international festivals play an important role in improving visitors' awareness, appreciation, and acceptance of diverse cultures. Specifically, visitation frequency, the time spent at the event, and personal interest in cultures have significant influence on attitudes. These findings have implications for future researchers and event organisers.