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1. Introduction
The past decade has seen a rapid growth in the events industry, playing a vital role in the economy, culture and development of Britain. The events sector in the UK is currently worth over £36 billion per annum to the national economy, sustains over 530,000 full-time jobs and attracts visitors and expenditure on an international level (Business Visits and Events Partnership, 2010). Promoting and sustaining an equitable and successful events sector is of high importance to the UK, and an increasing amount of research and literature has been published over the past years to raise standards within the industry.
The dynamics of consumer behaviour is of growing importance to market research in the field of tourism and events. Through the identification of consumer patterns, motivations and conventional behaviour, it is possible to keep ahead of changes in consumer taste and ensure the event meets the market demand (Swarbrooke and Horner, 2003). The study of visitor motivation is one of many subdivisions in the field of consumer behaviour, enabling us to successfully understand why visitors choose to attend an event.
According to Crompton and McKay (1997), the identification of visitor motivation is key for modelling the event to satisfy visitors at festivals and events. For the purpose of this study, motivation can be defined as “a process in which an individual’s needs and desires are set in motion” (Rakes and Dunn, 2010, p. 79). The behavioural concept of motivation is a continuous process (Khuntia, 2010). Therefore, it is important to conduct constant research in the field of motivational studies to successfully keep up to date with the market of live events and festivals, guiding further expansion and development. As outlined by Iso-Ahola (1982), motivations are established when an individual identifies activities that they could, should or might partake in, specifically those that are conceivably satisfying. It is entirely obtainable for an event to successfully satisfy the needs and demands of many different interests, but first it is important to understand these integral needs and demands set by event visitors (Getz, 2007).
Previously, the extent of research into visitor motivation has only drawn conclusions on why visitors choose to attend events, and has not yet definitively examined the motivational factors exhibited in individual segments of...