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Recent economic and organizational trends indicate a shift in the area of the experience planning. More and more companies begin to pay attention to the transformative potential when designing and executing the festival experiences. The recent research of the hospitality sector indicates that transformative experience motivates clients to return for the repeat. With the modern diversity of entertainment-focused events, any event manager is aiming to achieve a loyal customer base that would be interested in a repeated experience. Consecutively, the analysis of the key characteristics that determine the transformative component of an event is relevant for the industry professionals.
This paper contains a comparative analysis of the two articles that present separate perspectives on the transformative power of organized events. The first one discusses the subject matter in application to the festival experiences, touching on the well-known worldwide summer entertainment trend. The second one examines the ways transformative power can be found in organized leisure and tourism using the gay ski week in Queenstown as an example. Naturally, the perspectives of the articles differ due to the specifics of festivals and organized sports activities, and the added element of the LGBT community-centric entertainment in the second case. Firstly, this paper depicts and examines the key issues, depicted in two articles, and its approaches to the topic. Then, the analysis aims to compare and contrast these perspectives to enhance my understanding of the transformative potential of the events. I then summarize the findings of the analysis and how those might affect my planning of events moving forward.
The first article’s goal is to develop an understanding of the events as potential vehicles for personal transformation. Not only do the authors recognize the existence of such potential, but they believe it can lead to a deliberately planned and achieved result. Thus, their research is dedicated to how transformative experience can be designed and applied to festivals. Such understanding is of obvious interest to festival organizers and event managers and is within the article conceptually backed by popular psychology and principles of experience economy.
The article’s perspective on the transformative experience can be considered somewhat radical. It defines it as an experience that has an everlasting impact on a person, altering their outlook on life due to the sheer emotional intensity (Riva, 163). This approach includes both positive and negative connotations of life-altering intense memories, that can, depending on the details, be flourishing or traumatic. Said experiences cause an individual to develop epistemically and expand personally in a single rapid transformation. Thus, it is fundamentally different from the gradual psychological change and emphasizes the power behind a singular experience (Jackson, 3312). Logically, in the entertainment industry the goal is to design and carry out positive transformative experiences, as opposed to the negative ones. Within this approach, the personal transformation in question could look like a shift in a lifestyle or an obtainment of a new and life-long passion or hobby.
Other important aspect of the transformative component within the leisure experiences is, according to the article, the contrast between the event the question and the general daily experience of a tourist. To be transformative, an event has to drastically differ from what a client is accustomed to, which provides significant opportunities for the application of the idea in a festival setting (Neuhofer et al., 5). Musical festivals are known for its guests gathering in groups together on a somewhat regular basis to relive the festival experience. The relationship between the concept of transformative potential and the specifics of the festival organization is incredibly organic (Brown and Sharpley, 702). Since the organizers of musical festivals already engage in marketing their events as “one-in-a-lifetime”, if delivered on this promise, transformative power of said event follows naturally.
The article then proceeds to approach the idea of the transformative experience through the lens of positive psychology. If regular psychology deals with consequences of the past failures and attempts to prevent said failures in the future, positive psychology is concerned with the idea of achieving happiness and success (Hwang and Sobin, 2218). Popular psychology is then applied to the transformative experiences of tourists’ through PERMA and its five components: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. It is stated that the PERMA framework can be used as a more detailed objective reference for brainstorming the potentially transformative event ideas.
The article’s understanding of the economic aspect of the framework is tied to the experience economy. It relies on the idea that consumers are willing to pay more for memorable experiences as opposed to simple goods and services, and to return for more (Jahn et al., 332). Such, from a practical point of view, the event organizers are encouraged to invest into the transformative potential of the festivals to generate greater revenue, partially ensured by this principle.
Research methodology used for the first article is its of qualitative variety, with in-depth interviews being conducted with the participants to evaluate and examine their transformative festival experiences. To ensure the maximum possible honestly and information exchange, the interviewer utilized open-end questions and recorded the results directly from participants, without paraphrasing or facilitation. The collected material was then analyzed by the authors of the article through the PERMA positive psychology framework. The overall nature of the research is to act as a guideline for event organizers, particularly for festivals, who would like to incorporate transformative potential in their event design.
The second article discusses the transformative power of tourist experience within a significantly more specific context. It centers the analysis around a Gay Ski Week, organized in Queenstown, New Zealand, and reports on the empirical research conducted throughout the event. Other than simply presenting a study of a transformative power behind a specific experience rather then a group of experiences, the second article focuses on a separate group of tourists.
The topic of LGBT tourism is a separate study field within entertainment studies and event organization. By definition, it caters to the highly marginalized group of clients where an experience with oppression and exclusion from public and cultural life is a unifying experience. It is reasonable to assume, that an emphasis on inclusivity and demonstration of acceptance of non-heterocentric lifestyles in provided entertainment is a key value source for this group of customers. When an event is designed to be inclusive of or even targeted at the LGBT audience, the emotionally charged values of radical self-acceptance and celebration of internal freedom naturally follow. This is the framework in which the second article discusses the transformative power of the exemplary event.
One of the first sections of the article examines the historical context for the emergence of LGBT tourism. It is tied to the in-community necessity for the existence of safe spaces, where the members would not be persecuted for their non-heterosexual lifestyles. Consecutively, for gay people collective socializing and participation in shared entertainment activities is part of the formation of their shared identity. And, when the identity becomes a focal point for social persecution, the response is often the desire to reclaim it loudly and openly, for the world to see (Matteuci, 15). Thus, the LGBT entertainment sub-culture acts as a vehicle for protest and self-celebration that often manifests in “ritualized occasions of collective celebration in the public eye” (Coetze et al., 2). Despite the world becoming more accepting of LGBT identities every year, for tourists from the community the availability of LGBT-specific entertainment is often an important factor in leisure decisions.
Context established within the second article specifies the lack of homogeneity within the LGBT community that puts under one umbrella people from otherwise drastically difficult demographics. It recognizes the limitations of existing studies that have historically been prioritizing cis white gay men as the subjects of research (Collins and Drinkwater, 770). Such tendencies significantly limit the representative value of these single-target studies, as different sub-groups of the community often have different preferences in tourism. Furthermore, these preferences are sometimes largely caused by the varying levels of discrimination applied to different members of the community. Namely, the homogenous research lacks intersectionality and accounts for how gender dynamics, anti-trans sentiments and general anti-LGBT sentiments in many non-White countries shape the priorities of the affected groups.
The article’s key statement is the inherent transformative potential LGBT tourist activities present for its attendees by virtue of being an act of celebration of one’s identity. Firstly, the factor of geographical distance of isolated tourism areas from homes of closeted or semi-closeted LGBT people decreases the stress factors associated with being out. The attendees that are driven to such deliberately accepting and somewhat performatively celebrating spaces the most often experience marginalization in daily life. They are seeking out the opportunity to experience freedom of self-presentation and exploration of sexual identity and consider the opportunities for that an important factor when planning a holiday. Consecutively, for these groups of tourists the sheer nature of tourist event, when executed correctly, provides them with intense positive emotions of internal and external validation. Furthermore, for many these emotions are at least relatively new, and the specifically LGBT tourism for them is a coping mechanism with casual discrimination or event hiding.
Research methodology for the second article combines quantitative and qualitative research with literature review. The review acts as a prelude to the actual analysis, laying up the groundwork of the existing research in the field and highlighting the weaknesses and limitations in said research. The empirical studies based on questionnaires and surveys of the attendees of Queenstown’s Gay Ski Week lie in the core of the paper. These quantitative findings are later built upon with qualitative accounts of the personal experiences of the attendees who recall the validation and internal safety they felt while on the holiday.
I now intend to compare and contrast the key findings and approaches depicted in the two articles by examining the similarities and differences between these two sources. In this section, I also explain the reasons behind choosing these two articles specifically. As future event organizer, I aim to fully evaluate the two perspectives and its relevance to the subject of the transformative power and potential exhibited by leisure activities and events.
Firstly, both articles approach the topic of the transformative potential of the leisure experiences and events and examine how said potential can be explained structurally. Both could be used as a point of reference for the organizer wishing to deliver a transformative, once-in-a-lifetime experience. The sources are equally willing to recognize and research the psychological benefits that can be acquired by a client in a holiday setting, away from their daily routine (Getz, 27). Yet, overall, the number of differences between the two perspectives outweighs the number of the similarities.
To begin, the first article takes into account a much broader group of people, than a second one. Although one might argue that festival attendees are a demographic of its own, the target market of said evens can always be expanded and the qualification requirements are less necessary, than when talking about LGBT tourists. For similar reasons, it is reasonable to assume that the first study would have less difficulties with acquiring a respondent base for the interviews. To contrast, there can be many reasons because of which an LGBT person would not want to participate in a study specific to the activities associated with their identity.
Secondly, the two sources pursue different objectives and incorporate different research methods in the respective processes. The first article aims to be a guide of creating a transformative value within the festival organization process and largely focuses on the appropriate metrics for the job. The second article is more of an exploration of the existing tendencies and patterns and has fewer practical implications, focusing on the academic study of the group of people and its activities instead.
Finally, although both studies discuss the transformative potential of touristic activities, the sources focus on different areas of tourism. Organizationally, there are multiple differences between structures of musical festivals and thematic events held within the established resorts. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume, that different event organizers could find one of the sources more useful in comparison with the other, depending on their area of focus.
In conclusion, the transformative power of events and experiences is a value source that should not be underestimated. Customers across all demographics are willing to pay more for the holidays that would stay with them in the future and provide them with lasting memories. Yet naturally, customers from marginalized and ostracized communities exhibit greater then average interest in such services and can be considered one of the key parts of the target market.
To engage in transformative event planning responsibly, an organizer has to be mindful of the impact intense emotions might have at the audience. For the musical festivals and concerts it is not unheard of, and now increasingly common, to employ medical professionals available at the premises. It is one of the main responsibilities of the event organizer to ensure the safety and comfort of the attendees.
This comparative analysis has helped me to enrich my understanding of the emotional, cultural and even social power event organization might entail. The findings of the two researches equipped me with substantial knowledge of the nature and benefits of transformative experiences in event planning. I therefore hope that going forward I will be able to incorporate these findings into my organizational activities and design impactful and inclusive transformative events.
References
Brown, Alyssa Eve, and Sharpley, Richard. “Understanding Festival-Goers And Their Experience At UK Music Festivals”. Event Management, vol 23, no. 4, 2019, pp. 699-720. Cognizant, LLC. Web.
Coetzee, Willem J.L. et al. “Transformative Potential Of Events – The Case Of Gay Ski Week In Queenstown, New Zealand”. Tourism Review, vol 74, no. 5, 2019, pp. 1081-1090. Emerald. Web.
Collins, Alan, and Drinkwater, Stephen. “Fifty Shades Of Gay: Social And Technological Change, Urban Deconcentration And Niche Enterprise”. Urban Studies, vol 54, no. 3, 2016, pp. 765-785. SAGE Publications. Web.
Getz, Donald. Event Studies Theory, Research And Policy For Planned Events. Routledge, 2020.
Hwang, Johye, and Soobin Seo. “A Critical Review Of Research On Customer Experience Management”. International Journal Of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol 28, no. 10, 2016, pp. 2218-2246. Emerald. Web.
Jackson, Caroline et al. “Discovering Lived Experiences Through Descriptive Phenomenology”. International Journal Of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol 30, no. 11, 2018, pp. 3309-3325. Emerald. Web.
Jahn, Steffen et al. “Temporary Communitas And Willingness To Return To Events”. Journal Of Business Research, vol 92, 2018, pp. 329-338. Elsevier BV. Web.
Matteucci, Xavier. “Flamenco, Tourists’ Experiences And The Meaningful Life.”. Managing Quality Of Life In Tourism And Hospitality, pp. 10-23, 2018, CABI. Web.
Neuhofer, Barbara et al. “Experience Design And The Dimensions Of Transformative Festival Experiences”. International Journal Of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol 32, no. 9, 2020, pp. 2881-2901. Emerald. Web.
Riva, Giuseppe et al. “Transforming Experience: The Potential Of Augmented Reality And Virtual Reality For Enhancing Personal And Clinical Change”. Frontiers In Psychiatry, vol 7, 2016, pp. 162-164. Frontiers Media SA. Web.
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