The social impact of the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival : a comparison between white and coloured communities

Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.The primary objective of this study was to determine the social impacts of arts festivals with reference to the KKNK and to make a comparison between the different cultures (white and coloured). This goal was achieved by firstly conceptualising culture. Secondly, a literature study was conducted in order to examine the social impacts of events. Thirdly the results of the empirical research were discussed, and lastly conclusions were drawn from the research and recommendations were made with regard to the social impacts of events, as well as further research. From the literature, social impacts were defined as the changes in the norms and values of society that are more apparent in the short-term. It was noted that when tourists vacate to a specific destination, visible impacts are notices. Events can, however, provide employment opportunities, promote international peace and pride, as well as promote educational and cultural experiences. It can also lead to increased levels of irritation, crime, drug and alcohol abuse and cultural change. These positive and negative impacts were measured by means of a questionnaire, as adapted from Fredline. The objective of the questionnaire is therefore to measure whether the community is positive or negative towards the festival, and whether there were any differences in the social impacts when comparing the results of the white and coloured communities. The questionnaire was distributed amongst the community members of Oudtshoorn, based on a stratified sampling method, followed by a random sampling method. A total of 258 questionnaires were completed, 110 from the white community and 148 from the coloured community. Two factor analyses were performed to determine the social impacts factors in order to determine differences in the social impacts on the white community and the social impacts on the coloured community. The first analysis resulted in eight factors and accounted for 58.1% of the total variance and was labelled as: community issues, negative impacts, everyday living, social opportunities, economic impacts, community rights, visitors and environmental impacts. The second analysis resulted in four factors that accounted for 59.54% of the total variance and were labelled according to similar characteristics which included: development opportunities, community involvement, motivational factors and social risks. Means and standards deviations had been determined, after which the affected sizes were determined to explore the differences between the social impacts on the white community and on the coloured community on the dimensions of the various factors as determined in the factor analysis. It is clear that there is a small affect (0.2-0.4) on the two communities.Master