The importance of cultural events for the promotion of the territory: the case study of the medieval fair in Torre de Moncorvo

An event is an occasion, planned and organized with a specific goal, which occurs at a particular time and place, for a target audience. The multitude of factors inherent to its creation and organization lead to endless classifications, dividing them into categories, interest area, audience types, periodicity, program, objectives, and so on. Due to an event’s ability to generate new flows of people, they can economically boost a city, a neighbourhood or a street, making it an excellent opportunity for local development and promotion. Many events do create a large influx of people over their lifetime, but their effects can be much broader by the ability to stimulate information through the media by putting the promoter’s name and location in the public mind and giving a positive image about the promoter and/or the destination where the event takes place. This motivates the influx of new people to the destination in order to attend the event. However, many are also attracted by the destination itself, influenced by the increase of information in the media, thus intensifying future visits. The case presented here concerns the municipality of Torre de Moncorvo that has been focusing on the Medieval Fair, a large annual event. The objective of this study is to estimate the economic impact of the Medieval Fair, using secondary data, through the consultation of specialized bibliography and through information available from different entities involved, and using primary data, in a quantitative approach, with surveys to exhibitors and visitors during the Medieval Fair. With this study and the results achieved, the promoter will be able to devise strategies for the enhancement of the event, seeking to attract more visitors, increasing the average length of stay of tourists, their loyalty to the destination, and boosting local economy and job creation.This work is financed by national funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., under project reference No. UID/B/04470/2020.