Tourism employment of celebrations and occasions
Every action, practice or circumstance within the country has a certain impact on this country, whether this impact is positive or negative. From this standpoint, countries seek to make their occasions and celebrations have a positive tourism impact that brings certain benefits to the country. To this end, they practice many means and provide a set of elements that help create a fertile ground that is a solid foundation in making their occasions and celebrations have a positive tourism impact. From this standpoint, we should first know the extent to which celebrations and occasions can be considered to have a tourism impact?
There is no doubt that occasions and celebrations have a tourism impact for several reasons:
1- Celebrations and occasions lead to the advancement of cultural and artistic heritage and its preservation.
2- Celebrations and occasions are an important factor in openness to other cultures and the exchange of cultures.
Events and celebrations are an effective element in cultural development. The celebration or occasion attracts the attention of elected bodies, public authorities and the private sector.
Celebrations can play an important and prominent role in bringing in hard currency into the country through foreign tourists visiting the country to attend an event or celebration.
Getting to know the most prominent features of the country in terms of cultures, archaeological and historical sites.
The event or celebration is in itself a cultural element that imposes itself more and more within any cultural strategy or policy, so the ministries of culture in the countries of the world are keen to ensure that cultural organizations, including the events they organize throughout the year, are a means of cultural development that is a tributary of sustainable development.
There are artistic cultural traditions that emphasize the importance of events and celebrations of all kinds in always providing the cultural and artistic movement with something new, as new visions, ideas and innovations cross-pollinate with each other, to provide an ideal cultural scene and essence.
While natural tourist attractions vary from one country to another, some countries and cities work to encourage tourist demand by organizing events and occasions that pave the way for tourist demand parallel to these events. These events vary between concerts, musical events, cultural festivals, tournaments and sports competitions. Some of these events may target a specific audience, while others may go global. There are many models that cities adopt in order to attract tourists.
Some of these events are held periodically or annually, which ensures that tourists return year after year. In the past, cities used to avoid hosting the Olympic Games, for example, because they lost millions of dollars in organizing them. The most prominent examples were the Munich Games in 1972, which lost $178 million, and the Montreal Games in Canada, which lost $692 million.
But Los Angeles changed the equation in 1984 and made $215 million in profits from organizing the Olympic Games. After that, cities began to compete fiercely to host the Olympic Games, not only to make profits, but also to promote tourism for these cities in the long term.
Many communities see tourists increasingly participating in their celebrations, and while tourism can have positive aspects, celebrations are often affected by it, as is the case with traditional performing arts. The continuity of social practices and rituals, especially celebrations, can also depend to a large extent on the general socio-economic conditions. Preparations, production of costumes and masks, and care for participants often entail significant expenses, which may not be possible in times of economic crisis.
([1]) د. محمد فريد وجدي ، السياسة والسياحة : مدخل الى التنمية السياحية الرشيدة ل كولن مايكل هول ، المجلس الاعلى للثقافة ، وزارة الثقافة ، مصر ، 2012، ص257.
([2]) أسود قادر احمد ، الاثر الاقتصادي للسياحة البيئية على الاقتصاد المحلي ، لإقليم كردستان- العراق ، ط1 ، منشورات زين الحقوقية ، 2016 ، ص26-ص30.
([3]) د. محمد البغدادي ، جغرافية السياحة في العراق ، ط1 ، وزارة التعليم العلي والبحث العلمي ، بغداد ، العراق ، 1990، ص 50-ص 52.
[4] Decision- Making ” Journal of Convention & Event Tourism, Vol . 7No. 1, pp . 23-24
([5]) د. رؤوف محمد علي الانصاري ، السياحة في العراق ودورها في التنمية والاعمار ، دار الكتب والوثائق الوطنية ، بغداد ، 2013 ، ص 101.
( ) د. رؤوف محمد علي الانصار
