Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration Commons^™

Understanding The Motivations To Attend The Blue Ridge Gay Pride Festival In Asheville, North Carolina, Denise Adams

All Theses

Local festivals and events are important tourist resources for a destination. They enhance economic benefits of the host area, improve the sense of community, and provide unique experiences to residents and tourists (Getz, 1997). Economically, tourism itself is recognized as the largest export earner in the world and an important provider of monetary exchange and employment, and over the last decades has sustained growth and increased diversification of product offerings (WTO, 2004). With this broadening of the market, various niches have emerged within the tourism sector including gay tourism. Gay consumers are deemed to be of special interest for the …