Festival Planning & Community Involvement The Case of Lisdoonvarna

1. Festival Planning &Community InvolvementThe Case of Lisdoonvarna Fiona Tobin John Herlihy Institute of Technology, Tralee AOIFE Conference 2003 Friday, November 7th Brandon Hotel, Tralee

2. Presentation Structure • Today’s Tourism Industry • National Tourism Policy • Ireland’s Planning Policy • Sustainable Tourism Planning • Festival Planning • Role of the Community in Festival Planning • Case Study: Lisdoonvarna • Conclusions • Recommendations

3. Today’s Tourism Industry Tourism: analysis and prognosisWTO Tourism 2020 Vision Statement  1.56 billion international arrivals Europe as largest receiving region (717m) 5.9m arrivals to Ireland in 2002 (+ 2003) National Tourism Policy National Policy Review Group Arrivals could reach 10m by 2012  Festival and Cultural Events Initiative  Funding for overseas marketing initiatives

4. Ireland’s Planning PolicyRegional Tourism Policy Shannon Development Special Interest focus Rural ProofingCounty Clare Tourism Policy ITIC County Clare Report Findings (2001)  High tourism profileClare County Tourism Development Strategy High Quality Tourism Product Niche Products Tradition of festivals and events

5. County Clare Festivals

6. Sustainable TourismPlanning  Subtle Relationship  The importance of convergence  Tourist / Host / Environment  Regenerating the rural area

7. … natural or man-made attractions amenities and facilities, marketing and information services and transport are all tangible elements of the rural tourism product, yet the intrinsic qualities of the rural environment, such as a sense of space, peace and tranquillity, or a place to escape are also vital ingredients ...Sharpley & Sharpley (1997)

8. Festival Planning Evolution of planning process  Plans should be modified to fit destination Need for formalised processCommunity Involvement Academic support, Getz/Jamal, Mitchell WTO, Osaka Milennium Declaration (2001) Wilcox’s 5 Stances

9. Wilcox’s 5 Stances

10. Is Community Best Practice possible? Glastonbury: Level 5 of Wilcox achieved High levels of consultation and consensus £35 m local economy  130 local business stalls  25% of all staff were local £600,000 donated to local charities Volunteer administered recycling centre

11. Lisdoonvarna 1978-1983 Ireland’s first 3 day outdoor music event Excess demand year on year Cumulative organisational problems 1981 peak, ten fold growth Change in festival orientation over time

12. Emerging Problems? ‘… hundreds of the large foreign attendance described the facilities as the worst they had ever experienced. Like many Irish there, I had nothing to compare them with …’ Tomás Mac Ruairi, Journalist (1978)

13. Loss of Control? ‘… festival organisers had warned ticket buyers in advance about the dangers of overcharging but could only suggest that they complain to the National Prices Commission when they returned home …’ (Irish Independent, 1980)

14. 1983 Festival Festival ambiance had changed Ill conceived contingency security plan Drowning incident Outcomes  Profile boost for area  Economic benefits New relevance to modern day music fans Highlighted new tourist product Need for more professionalism  Community Involvement

15. Lisdoonvarna 2003 One day event, 4 stages, same location National promoters and event organisers Original promoters acting as local consultants Few public meetings Doolin Community Partnership formed  Local authorities express concern County Council dissatisfied with proposal

16. Lisdoonvarna Planning File ‘ … no mention is given to the potential damage to our tourist trade built up over the years by the people of Doolin …’(Doolin B&B owner, 2003)‘ … the fears, pain and anxiety experienced 20 years ago are very much alive …’(Elderly Doolin resident, 2003)

17. Festival Licence Refused Site deemed suitable Surrounding region and infrastructure not  Relocation to RDS  Regional loss of €3-4 million Was this move essential?

18. Revisiting Wilcox

19. Conclusions1. To 2020, record growth levels for global, regional and national tourism are forecast.2. Moving forward, festival and event activity will contribute significantly to this growth.3. Planning policy advocates consideration of local environment restrictions and all potential impacts, particularly in rural areas.4. Involvement of local community at all stages of the festival planning process is key.5. Lisdoonvarna and Doolin held 2 conflicting views of the festival. Clear goal incompatibility, poor application of festival planning procedure.

20. Recommendations 1. At rural level, local knowledge is key and a pre-requisite to planning success.2. Comprehensive local consultation must also form part of this process. 3. There needs to be a fit between host stakeholder and events organiser objectives.4. Selling an event purely on economic merit is not enough. Conflict will develop if communities fail to see evidence of organiser evaluation of the wider impacts.

21. Recommendations5. The capacity of the local area and its service infrastructure should dictate the scale of the planned event.6. The festival planning process should be set in motion well in advance of the statutory 16 week licence application procedure timeframe. 7. The festival planning process should be a continual learning experience for all stakeholders.8. The 3 C’s approach should apply:COMMITMENT COMPROMISE CONSENSUS