As the director of the Funchal International Film Festival I must say there are clear benefits to the local economy derived from visitors coming to the venue. The concept of cultural tourism resides essentially on the fusion between the cultural proposals (including arts and entertainment) with the social components (from its historically richest till night life…) in an attractive tourist destination. A film festival that takes place in such a location it’s easier to promote since the necess...

The previous articles provided the context for the growing film festival tourism phenomenon.  In this last installment, more specific information is provided about the participants in festival tourism, the services  provided by the few agencies in this new niche market, and the characteristics of the film festivals that would most likely benefit from film festival tourism.As noted before, comprehensive Canadian research on US festival tourism enthusiasts, including those groups who reported 60...

The continued expansion of film festivals and their financial support by public authorities is well known. There are clear economic and political benefits derived from investing in cultural events since more visitors come to the venue of the festival and support the local economy through expenditures on lodging, meals, local products and other leisure activities. Further, support for the arts is an appealing political activity since there are no controversies involved and provides prestige for ...