The impact of an outdoor and wine festival on established businesses in the Breede Valley region, Western Cape, South Africa

Abstract

This study focuses on the impact of the Breedekloof Outdoor and Wine Festival on established businesses in the Breedekloof region in the Breede Valley of the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The Breede Valley region is located in the Cape Winelands District near Cape Town. The event industry in this region is relatively undiscovered but in recent years has been revealed to be a major catalyst for tourism and economic development. It is therefore vital to ascertain the association between established businesses and the hosting of events to determine whether businesses in the region benefit from this festival. The article highlights whether the festival created opportunities for business growth and whether businesses seized the opportunities the event created. Established businesses consisted of wine cellars/estates, accommodation establishments, restaurants/cafés and travel and tour operators. Quantitative methods, specifically survey questionnaires were used and administered to 22 established businesses in the Breedekloof region, using census sampling. The results demonstrated that most established businesses did not take advantage of the festival as an opportunity to increase sales and create publicity and these businesses were indeed those that saw no change in revenue. Leveraging business opportunities presented by an event may be beneficial and should not be overlooked