Residents' socio-economic perceptions of an international fair

Abstract

Events allow a community to celebrate its uniqueness, promote itself, develop local pride and enhance its economic well-being. Events also have the potential to negatively affect the social and cultural environment in hosting destinations. Therefore, it is important to examine possible impacts events have. This study aims to examine residents' perceptions of the socio-economic impacts of an international fair on the host community, and if these perceptions vary according to socio-demographic characteristics. The results indicate that residents perceive the fair to create community cohesion, increase the place image, foster family togetherness and results in economic benefits. Results also suggest that residents perceive the fair resulting in economic and social costs. It is also found that there are significant variations across select demographic characteristics of the residents in terms of their perception of the impacts of the fair. The study ends with a discussion of findings and theoretical and managerial implications.