Socio-economic effects of trade fairs on host cities from a citizens' perspective: The case of Thessaloniki, Greece

Purpose>Trade fairs have crucial socio-economic, cultural and political impacts. This paper aims to explore these multi-faceted effects at the local level from a citizens' perspective.Design/methodology/approach>The economic, social, environmental and socio-cultural effects of trade fair...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of event and festival management 2023-02, Vol.14 (1), p.113-133
Main Authors: Kourkouridis, Dimitris, Frangopoulos, Yannis, Kapitsinis, Nikolaos
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cities
Citizen participation
Cultural identity
Economic development
Economic impact
Field study
Infrastructure
Perceptions
Tourism
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Summary:Purpose>Trade fairs have crucial socio-economic, cultural and political impacts. This paper aims to explore these multi-faceted effects at the local level from a citizens' perspective.Design/methodology/approach>The economic, social, environmental and socio-cultural effects of trade fair activity are studied by employing the case study of Thessaloniki International Fair. These impacts are examined based on the views of people in the local community of the host area, conducting a fieldwork survey with questionnaires.Findings>The analysis, based on descriptive statistics, factor analysis and induction statistics, indicates that the economic, environmental and socio-cultural effects of trade fair activity on the city are largely viewed positively by residents of Thessaloniki. Differences in representations of fair's impacts are evident in what specific groups, according to age, educational level and occupation, expect from trade fair activity.Originality/value>While fairs' effects have been examined by studies in economics, sociology and politics, providing useful insights about the inter-linkages between trade fairs and host cities, they tend to pay little attention to citizens' perceptions on fairs' socio-economic implications. This paper enriches the literature on trade fairs' effects by adopting a citizens' perspective, being among the first studies to focus on representations, perceptions and views of residents of the host city to examine fairs' socio-economic implications.
ISSN:1758-2954
1758-2962
DOI:10.1108/IJEFM-10-2022-0078