Theoretical foundations of festival tourism research

Abstract

Contemporary trends in tourism highlight the increasing significance of event-based formats, with festival tourism emerging as a particularly dynamic and promising direction. Festival tourism involves participation in large-scale artistic, gastronomic, historical, religious, or musical events, which serve as catalysts for tourist flows, instruments for preserving cultural heritage, and tools for regional branding. In recent years, festivals have also increasingly been positioned as platforms for social dialogue, intercultural communication, and the construction of a positive image of destinations in the global arena. The subject of this study is festival tourism as a distinct form of tourist activity that combines cultural participation, social interaction, and the economic stimulation of localities. The goal of this article is to systematize theoretical approaches to the analysis of festival tourism and to identify its core classification features, structural components, and developmental trends in the context of global challenges. The objectives include: clarifying the conceptual essence of festival tourism, outlining its key functions and influencing factors, and examining international practices of its implementation. The research methodology is based on general scientific methods: systems analysis to explore the specific features of the field's development; comparative analysis to identify relevant international models; and structural analysis to elaborate a typology of festival formats. Key results include an in-depth analysis of the factors shaping demand for festival tourism, its typological features, institutional development frameworks, and emerging participatory formats. Conclusions: Festival tourism is defined as a multidimensional socio-cultural phenomenon that combines event-based experiences, the creative economy, communicative practices, and territorial identity. It demonstrates substantial potential for enhancing the tourism attractiveness of regions, fostering intercultural cooperation, building sustainable destination brands, and reinforcing local economies under conditions of global transformation.