FREDERIC DIMANCHE From attractions to experiential marketing: The contributions of events to “NEW” Tourism 1. Introduction The study of events in the tourism literature started with the pioneering work of Getz in the 1980s. Following his lead, numerous studies were conducted and books written to document and explain the growing importance of events and festivals as tourism products and attractions and to explain event management practices. This chapter will focus essentially on the marketing roles events play for cities, regions and countries. Special events have grown in the tourism industry as indispensable product alternatives for many destinations. From small towns staging traditional cultural events to large cities competing to host mega- events such as World’s Fairs or Olympic Games, events have been used as products to generate additional visits to a destination. Indeed, “mega-events” can “yield extraordinarily high levels of tourism, media coverage, prestige, or economic impact for the host community or destination” (Getz, 1997, p. 6). To support Getz’s assertion, the following quote from Tom Ylkänen, Vice Chairman of the European Travel Commission’s (ETC’s) Market Intelligence Group, strongly illustrates the importance of events for European tourism in 2006: "Europe is well on its way to achieving yet another year of positive growth. Performance to date has been boosted by a whole host of events that have taken place in Europe this year, from the Winter Olympic Games in Turin, to the FIFA World Football Cup in Germany, the Ryder Cup in Ireland, and numerous events linked to famous artists and musicians – such as the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt’s birth, Mozart’s 250th and Picasso’s 125th." Those events served European tourism, not only by attracting visitors to the destination and generate economic benefits, but by helping develop awareness for Europe, position and brand it. 2. The traditional roles of events The traditional role of events has been to add to the attractiveness of a destination. They are part of the product portfolio of a destination. As such, they generate additional visits or can convince visitors to stay longer in a destination. Also, they increase visitor satisfaction by offering an alternative to the “normal” attractions offered by the destinations. Hede and Jago (2005), for example, reported that the Mama Mia! Musical in Melbourne generated visits to the city of Melbourne: 67% of the respondents said that the musical was the primary reason for their visit, and 4.7% visited the city for the first time. But events are also a showcase of what the destination can offer; they demonstrate the quality of services that the destination can provide. Hede and Jago showed that the correlation between attending the Musical and satisfaction with Melbourne was strong. Twenty five percent of the respondents even stated that the event changed their perceptions of Melbourne, mostly in a positive fashion. They can also be used to limit the effect of seasonality in a tourism destination. For example, winter resorts such as Kitzbühel in Austria, may host professional tennis or golf events, in part to attract media attention and visitors to the destination in the low season, summer. On the other hand, a summer destination like Cannes, on the French Riviera, counts on business events to increase hotel occupancy rates in the shoulder and winter seasons. Such events can also be used as incentives to attract new markets and first-time