Swing Dance Festivals: The positive effects of a different type of tourism

Abstract

[eng] Swing Dance Festivals have become a big phenomenon in Europe. Hundreds of swing dancers travel every year around Europe to attend these locally held cultural events. Nevertheless, there is little information involving the main features of its organization, nor regarding the motivation factors driving dancers to travel to attend them. The purpose of this research is to raise awareness on the dimensions of this niche market in Europe and provide future Swing Festival organizers the key knowledge to create a product able to attract both local and foreign participants and meet their expectations by taking into account their specific travel motivations. Using both statistical data analysis and a bibliographic review, this study has introduced the main aspects of Swing Dance Festivals in Europe to set some basic knowledge and has gauged its positive impacts on the host cities. The use of Social Media and swing event listing sites for its promotion, together with the integration of distinctive cultural aspects of the destination in the event configuration, was found to be key to attract tourists. This is derived specifically from the high socialization purpose, diversity embracement,and inclusiveness as basic values present in Swing as a culture and therefore part of its dancers' identity and service consumption patterns.