Will they come again? A study of events and repeat visitation

Event organisers invest considerable effort in developing, promoting and conducting events with the expectation that not only will new participants be attracted to future events but also that those who have attended will make repeat visitations. This study addresses this issue by investigating the type of events that attract repeat visitation and the possible reasons for these repeat visitations. Getz's (1997) typology of events is used to classify the events, which were used in the data collection for this research. The study utilises data collected in an origin-based survey to explore which events attract repeat visitors and what motivates this repeat visitation. Whilst marketing literature, and to some degree, tourism literature, have examined repeat purchase and repeat visitation, events literature has not dealt with this to any great extent.

While there has been increased examination of the motivation and behaviour of event visitors (Mohr, Backman et al. 1993; Uysal, Gahan et al. 1993; Crompton and McKay 1997; Tang and Turco 2001) there has been relatively little examination of repeat visitors to events. The emphasis within studies on repeat visitation has been on satisfaction with those events rather than a consideration of a wider range of influencing factors (Gitelson and Crompton 1984; O'Neill, Getz et al. 1999). Those factors may include an interest in a particular type of event, influence of family and friends, whether it is a local community event, the cost - value factor and a variety of other reasons.