Visiting Friends and Relatives Travel: Unveiling Hidden Drivers Behind Festival Attendance and Experience

This research note unveils a pivotal, yet underexplored, aspect of festival attendance: the impact of visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel. Employing data from a 2019 attendee survey at the Taste of Little Italy Festival, Toronto, it reveals that 23.3% of respondents were engaged in VFR travel, exhibiting higher spending, yet often providing lower evaluations of their festival experience. The nuanced relationship between VFR travel, spending patterns, and festival experience opens a new avenue for exploration for festival researchers and practitioners. This note aims to encourage festival researchers and practitioners to consider the implications of VFR. A more comprehensive understanding of this topic could reveal strategies to engage this stable demand source, influencing not only event management strategies but also enhancing cultural engagement and community attachment. The note underscores the opportunity for festivals to engage residents and their visitors to optimize both economic and experiential outcomes.