Examining the legitimacy of ethnic cultural festivals: development and validation of a measurement scale for residents’ perception of host destinations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Ethnic-cultural festivals are considered public celebrations aimed at preserving and celebrating the ethnic culture of communities established in a region after migration. This research aims to measure and explore the dimensionality of residents’ perceptions of the legitimacy of ethnic cultural festivals. The study used 16 semi-structured interviews and literature research to generate the initial measurement items. Subsequently, exploratory factor was carried out with 338 residents of the cities of Blumenau and Santa Cruz do Sul (both in Brazil) to explore the underlying structure of legitimacy. Confirmatory factor was subsequently applied with 365 residents of the same cities to carry out the final validation of the proposed scale. The findings provide evidence that legitimacy in festivals can be measured with two constructs: social legitimacy using a 15-item scale and cultural legitimacy using 9 items. A scale on legitimacy is a welcome addition to the literature and can serve as a basis for future research on the topic. Furthermore, the scale provides a valid and reliable instrument for destination hosts to understand how the community gauges a festival's legitimacy and thus has a guiding element in event planning.