Advancing the 5E's in festival experience for the Gen Y framework in the context of eWOM

Abstract

Abstract The study queries whether providing a memorable music festival experience will encourage Gen Y attendees to share their experience via electronic word of mouth (eWOM) for a small island destination (SID) and a music festival. The study advances the 5E’s framework in festival experience for Gen Y by adjusting the dependent variable of interest to that of eWOM. The adjustment to the model framework is done in order to address some prominent challenges of confined island economies with regard to festival production, such as: restrictive market access, limited capital for promotions, and the need for generational market succession to sustain tourist arrivals. The research uses the case study of the Aruba Electric Festival, which was created by tourism officials in order to increase Gen Y tourist arrivals without deflecting other generational cohorts from arriving to the island. The study recognizes the importance of creating a music festival experience that would influence attendees’ intentions to promote the event and destination via eWOM, thus increasing market reach and decreasing promotional expenses. The data was assessed using a structural equation model. The results reveal that if festival organizers craft an overall memorable music festival experience that incorporates the 5Es, then Gen Y attendees are likely to provide positive eWOM for the festival and the destination. The results address some immediate industry concerns of Aruba’s destination managers and festival organizers.