National identity and cultural festivals in postcolonial destinations

Abstract

The number of cultural festivals organised globally has increased primarily due to their significance in celebrating and promoting community values, ideologies, identity and continuity. This mixed-method study aims to understand the role national identity and the associated emotions play in cultural festivals. It first investigates the rationale of organising festivals to celebrate postcolonial hybrid identities via a qualitative approach in Study 1, specifically regarding the ‘Macao International Parade’. It further tests a proposed framework via a quantitative approach in Study 2, which investigates the relationships between national identity, festivalscapes, festival satisfaction, hedonic value and re-patronising intention. This study implies that the cultural festival in Macao not only recognises a unique moment in history, but also contributes to strengthening the hybrid identity in postcolonial Macao. Based on these findings, both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.