Festival and event tourism research: Current and future perspectives

Abstract

This opinion piece considers the future of research into festival and event tourism based on current gaps in the literature and the author's view of key directions that this research is likely to take. Six key areas are highlighted: (1) overcoming the tendency for non-tourism related research on festivals and events to be under-researched, or their links with tourism exaggerated; (2) the need to extend the theoretical foundations of management to festival and event tourism; (3) gaps in sustainability research connected to festivals and events tourism; (4) examining the ongoing relevance of and challenges for traditional festivals and events in a modern, digital age; (5) the importance of understanding sub-cultures, social worlds and serious leisure; and (6) the potential to go beyond disciplinary boundaries and even transcend them, through interdisciplinary and postdisciplinary approaches, as well as the need to explore new methodologies.