Festival Tourism and Cultural Events: A Multidimensional Review of Impacts, Sustainability, and Contemporary Challenges

This study aims to examine festival tourism as a multidimensional phenomenon by analyzing its economic, socio-cultural, environmental, and managerial dimensions, with a focus on sustainability, community participation, and contemporary challenges such as digital transformation.The results show that festival tourism plays an important role in local and regional development by increasing economic activity, promoting cultural exchange, and enhancing destination image. However, it also creates negative impacts, including environmental degradation, pressure on infrastructure, cultural commodification, and unequal distribution of benefits. The findings further indicate that community participation is a key factor in festival sustainability, as residents’ support depends on perceived benefits and quality of life. In addition, digital technologies have significantly expanded access to festivals and changed patterns of cultural participation, especially after the COVID-۱۹ pandemic.In conclusion, festival tourism should be managed within sustainable frameworks to balance economic growth, environmental protection, and social well-being. Integrated approaches such as the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) model can improve long-term sustainability and ensure mutual benefits for both host communities and visitors.

کلیدواژه ها:

festival tourism ، sustainability ، cultural festivals ، economic impact ، community participation ، COVID-۱۹ ، digital transformation ، destination development