Transcript Festival Planning & Community Involvement The Case of

Festival Planning &
Community Involvement
The Case of Lisdoonvarna
Fiona Tobin
John Herlihy
Institute of Technology, Tralee
AOIFE Conference 2003
Friday, November 7th
Brandon Hotel, Tralee
Presentation Structure









Today’s Tourism Industry
National Tourism Policy
Ireland’s Planning Policy
Sustainable Tourism Planning
Festival Planning
Role of the Community in Festival Planning
Case Study: Lisdoonvarna
Conclusions
Recommendations
Today’s Tourism Industry





Tourism: analysis and prognosis
WTO Tourism 2020 Vision Statement
1.56 billion international arrivals
Europe as largest receiving region (717m)
5.9m arrivals to Ireland in 2002 (+ 2003)
National Tourism Policy




National Policy Review Group
Arrivals could reach 10m by 2012
Festival and Cultural Events Initiative
Funding for overseas marketing initiatives
Ireland’s Planning Policy
Regional Tourism Policy
 Shannon Development
 Special Interest focus
 Rural Proofing
County Clare Tourism Policy
 ITIC County Clare Report Findings (2001)
 High tourism profile
Clare County Tourism Development Strategy
 High Quality Tourism Product
 Niche Products
 Tradition of festivals and events
County Clare Festivals
Sustainable Tourism Planning




Subtle Relationship
The importance of convergence
Tourist / Host / Environment
Regenerating the rural area
… natural or man-made attractions amenities
and facilities, marketing and information
services and transport are all tangible
elements of the rural tourism product, yet the
intrinsic qualities of the rural environment,
such as a sense of space, peace and
tranquillity, or a place to escape are also vital
ingredients ...
Sharpley & Sharpley (1997)
Festival Planning
 Evolution of planning process
 Plans should be modified to fit destination
 Need for formalised process
Community Involvement
 Academic support, Getz/Jamal, Mitchell
 WTO, Osaka Milennium Declaration (2001)
 Wilcox’s 5 Stances
Wilcox’s 5 Stances
Is Community Best
Practice possible?








Glastonbury:
Level 5 of Wilcox achieved
High levels of consultation and consensus
£35 m local economy
130 local business stalls
25% of all staff were local
£600,000 donated to local charities
Volunteer administered recycling centre
Lisdoonvarna 1978-1983





Ireland’s first 3 day outdoor music event
Excess demand year on year
Cumulative organisational problems
1981 peak, ten fold growth
Change in festival orientation over time
Emerging Problems?
‘… hundreds of the large foreign attendance
described the facilities as the worst they
had ever experienced.
Like many Irish there, I had nothing to
compare them with …’
Tomás Mac Ruairi, Journalist (1978)
Loss of Control?
‘… festival organisers had warned ticket
buyers in advance about the dangers of
overcharging but could only suggest that
they complain to the National Prices
Commission when they returned home …’
(Irish Independent, 1980)
1983 Festival
 Festival ambiance had changed
 Ill conceived contingency security plan
 Drowning incident
Outcomes






Profile boost for area
Economic benefits
New relevance to modern day music fans
Highlighted new tourist product
Need for more professionalism
Community Involvement
Lisdoonvarna 2003
 One day event, 4 stages, same location
 National promoters and event organisers
 Original promoters acting as local consultants




Few public meetings
Doolin Community Partnership formed
Local authorities express concern
County Council dissatisfied with proposal
Lisdoonvarna Planning File
‘ … no mention is given to the potential
damage to our tourist trade built up over the
years by the people of Doolin …’
(Doolin B&B owner, 2003)
‘ … the fears, pain and anxiety experienced 20
years ago are very much alive …’
(Elderly Doolin resident, 2003)
Festival Licence Refused





Site deemed suitable
Surrounding region and infrastructure not
Relocation to RDS
Regional loss of €3-4 million
Was this move essential?
Revisiting Wilcox
Conclusions
1. To 2020, record growth levels for global, regional and
national tourism are forecast.
2. Moving forward, festival and event activity will contribute
significantly to this growth.
3. Planning policy advocates consideration of local
environment restrictions and all potential impacts,
particularly in rural areas.
4. Involvement of local community at all stages of the
festival planning process is key.
5. Lisdoonvarna and Doolin held 2 conflicting views of the
festival. Clear goal incompatibility, poor application of festival
planning procedure.
Recommendations
1. At rural level, local knowledge is key and a prerequisite to planning success.
2. Comprehensive local consultation must also form part
of this process.
3. There needs to be a fit between host stakeholder and
events organiser objectives.
4. Selling an event purely on economic merit is not
enough. Conflict will develop if communities fail to see
evidence of organiser evaluation of the wider impacts.
Recommendations
5. The capacity of the local area and its service
infrastructure should dictate the scale of the planned event.
6. The festival planning process should be set in motion
well in advance of the statutory 16 week licence application
procedure timeframe.
7. The festival planning process should be a continual
learning experience for all stakeholders.
8. The 3 C’s approach should apply:
COMMITMENT COMPROMISE CONSENSUS