Musikfestivaler som turistiskt dragplåster
en fallstudie på Sweden Rock Festival
Music festivalsMusic tourismSweden Rock FestivalLocal impactEconomic developmentMusikfestivalerMusikturismSweden Rock FestivalLokal påverkanEkonomisk utveckling
Lately, more and more music festivals have emerged in Sweden. People?s desire and need to visit these events only seems to increase. Cultural tourism and music tourism has developed into a significant and important part of the experience industry and it employs more and more people within the tourism industry. The purpose of this paper is to investigate which effects this can have on the local community. Focus is held on the touristic and economic impact on the nearby municipality and region.The paper is based on a case study on Sweden Rock Festival, which is one of Swedens largest music festivals with a heavy-metal direction. Sweden Rock Festival is located in the south of Sweden in a small municipality called Sölvesborg. Sölvesborg has about 17 000 inhabitants and each year some 33 200 festival visitors decend on the area to attend the festival. To investigate the touristic and economic impact that Sweden Rock Festival has on Sölvesborg, interviews have been conducted. These interviews have been done by either telephone or by e-mail with people from the municipality, the Sweden Rock Festival organization and people with connections to the local business life. Also, two experienced festival attenders have been interviewed to investigate the visitors use of the area?s supply of tourism attractions besides Sweden Rock Festival.The study has shown that Sweden Rock Festival has contributed to putting Sölvesborg on the touristic map and increased the awareness and knowledge about the area. New camping sites and restaurants have opened and many companies benefits on the vistitors that Sweden Rock Festival attracts. The tourism- and travel industry on the destination has increased its sales and more job opportunities have been created. As a conclusion, the study shows that it can be viewed as a good idea to use music festivals as a means to increase a destinations touristic and economic value.