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The Impact of a Festive Event on Residents’ Quality of Life
Marc LeBlanc
École de kinésiologie et de récréologie, Ceps, Université de Moncton
Moncton, E1A 3E9, New Brunswick, Canada
marc.leblanc@umoncton.ca
François de Grandpré
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to measure the impact of a large scale event on residents’ quality
of life in an essentially rural area of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Initially
developed in 1994, the World Acadian Congress (WAC) is organized every five years in a
different region inhabited by Acadians. The 2009 WAC was held in the Acadian Peninsula, an
area encompassing 102 communities with an overall population of 55,000 residents.
Respondents said that the Congress brought a feeling of wellbeing in the region, improved
quality of life in the community, and contributed to their personal happiness and wellbeing.
Respondents did not perceive any negative impacts from the WAC, as indicated by the low
scores given to loss of privacy, inappropriate behaviours, and disturbance of daily life.
Overall, the presence of the World Acadian Congress proved to be beneficial for the quality
of life of residents in the Acadian Peninsula.
Keywords: tourism, social impact, event, festival, Acadian, World Acadian Congress
Introduction
Festivals are becoming increasingly popular in different regions of the world (Getz, 1993
&1997; Thrane, 2002; Gusoy, Kim & Uysal, 2004) and this type of event is an important
tourism development tool in these areas (Goeldner & Ritchie, 2000). The popularity of
festivals can be explained by the fact that tourists are attracted by them and local residents
agree to invest human and financial resources in them.
The willingness to organize a festival results in the presence of organizers who perceive its
advantages. Mayfield and Crompton (1995) studied the reasons why such organizers choose
to stage festivals. They identified eight impact categories, namely recreation/socialization,
culture/education, tourism, internal revenue generation, natural resources, agriculture, external
revenue generation and community pride/spirit. Gursoy, Kim and Uysal (2004) also studied
organizers’ perceptions of the impacts of festivals or events and combined them into four
categories: community cohesiveness, economic benefits, social incentives, and social costs.
Moscardo (2007) analyzed the role of festivals and events in regional development and
identified “building social capital” and “enhancing community capacity” as two of the three
major benefit categories (the other being economic). Small (2007) identified six underlying
dimensions of the social impacts of community festivals: inconvenience, community identity
and cohesion, personal frustration, entertainment and socialization opportunities, community
growth and development, and behavioural consequences. Durrett (2008) states that a festival
can even promote resilience “through sharing values, interests and traditions central to the
host community” (p. 107), adding that “such festivals are thus an expression of local identity