Segmenting urban festival visitors’ employing expectation: Comparing between planned and unplanned festivalgoers

Abstract

Though planned visitors have historically been shown to be attracted to urban public festivals due to their proximity to the area and to the attractions, unplanned visitors have not been investigated in the festival context. This paper attempted market segmentation based on two classifications of previous planning: before visit and expectation of festival experiences. Survey respondents were divided into two groups of unplanned and planned festivalgoers, and factor analysis was employed to identify festivalgoers’ expectation factors of the festival experience. Utilizing a K-means cluster analysis, a total of six segments were obtained. Each group showed a different combination of festival expectation styles. ANOVA results presented distinct demographics between the festivalgoer cluster groups and confirmed different levels of festivalgoers’ satisfaction and inclination to recommend. The results suggest that festival organizers should comprehend the characteristics of their target market and implement appropriate marketing strategies to enhance festivalgoers’ satisfaction and to improve their likelihood to recommend such events.