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Our festival, Their festival”: the local perceptions of festival sustainability in Zanzibar festival portfolio

Dev Jani (University of Dar es Salaam Business School, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania)

International Journal of Event and Festival Management

ISSN: 1758-2954

Article publication date: 14 July 2023

Issue publication date: 27 October 2023

308

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore local residents' perceptions of sustainability of different festivals making festival portfolio in Zanzibar.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used multiqualitative methods and comparative case analysis that made use of in-depth interviews, observation and focus group discussion as the data collection techniques. Thematic content analysis was used to describe festivals from residents' point of views.

Findings

The results indicate residents to perceive two broader types of festivals: Ours and Theirs that have different impacts on sustainability of the festivals.

Research limitations/implications

The ours and theirs dichotomy of festivals from residents' perspectives extends the conceptualization of festivals. In line with the event portfolio framework, the emerged types of festival aid event planners with understanding and managing the events with the aim of making the festival and the destinations sustainable.

Originality/value

The bifurcated perception of festival ownership provides a complimentary theoretical lens that can be applied to explain the festival workings and management that emphasize the need for places to have festival portfolio catering for different segments.

Keywords

Citation

Jani, D. (2023), "“Our festival, Their festival”: the local perceptions of festival sustainability in Zanzibar festival portfolio", International Journal of Event and Festival Management, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 460-474. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEFM-10-2022-0086

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

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