Evaluating the Creative Economy Applying the Contingent Valuation Method: A Case Study on the Greek Cultural Heritage Festival

Abstract

The effectiveness of the economic policies implemented by a country/region directly affects its economic growth potential. Cultural Heritage Festivals are a sector of the creative economy that, by promoting culture, may have a significant impact on national/regional sustainable economic development. This study assesses the implementation of the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) and the estimation of the Willingness To Pay (WTP) demand curve, using data collected for the Kalamata Dance Festival as a case study, in order to evaluate creative economy investments. The results obtained indicate that the CVM is an appropriate method for evaluating festivals and suggest that females, spectators with high incomes and high educational levels, and visitors to Kalamata (non-residents) show an increased Willingness To Pay. These findings can be useful to cultural heritage festival organizers in developing appropriate policy strategies: targeting the social groups with the greatest Willingness To Pay; adjusting the pricing mechanism accordingly; modifying annual memberships/donations/sponsorships, indirect resources, and tax revenues and grants; and optimizing investments and allocating resources. Furthermore, the findings of this study will be particularly useful for Greece in designing relevant cultural sustainable development policies for exploiting the potential of the Cultural Heritage Festival, in synergy with the tourism sector, which already contributes a major share to the country’s GDP.

1. Introduction

According to ref. [1], experts worldwide have recognized the significance of assets, particularly intellectual capital (IC), knowledge, and creativity, as crucial drivers of intelligent, sustainable, and inclusive economic and social progress. This recognition stems from the growing impact of assets on economic growth and development, especially in the digital age. It implies a shift in economics, moving away from relying on assets and traditional production factors for external competitive advantages towards leveraging intangible assets and people’s core competencies for internal competitive advantages. Specifically, ref. [2] proposed that development should be approached with a focus on being smart, sustainable, and inclusive, taking into consideration the needs of humans. This should direct our efforts towards creating a world that is fair, environmentally friendly, and prosperous. Ref. [3] suggests that knowledge, creativity, and innovation are the catalysts for economic progress. As a result, intellectual capital plays a role in fostering growth and development. Ref. [4] proposes the establishment of inventive sectors primarily built upon resources, like intellectual capital. This approach would ensure a stronger footing for progress, fostering the exploration and interplay of various connections amidst social, cultural, and environmental aspects of development. Further, ref. [1] also states that cultural–creative industries allow intellectual capital to foster the positive outcomes expected to be obtained and developed in the context of sustainable development based on knowledge and innovation.

Ref. [5] recognizes culture as the fourth pillar of sustainable development. Culture is related to development in two ways: first, through the economic perspective of culture (such as cultural heritage assets, cultural tourism, etc.); and second, through the interconnection of culture to education, public policy, local economy, social cohesion, etc. [5,6,7]. Furthermore, the EU has pointed out in [8] that culture is a strategic sector for the sustainability of Europe, setting the New European Agenda for Culture.

Refs. [9,10] state that further research on the relationship between intangible cultural heritage, tourism, and sustainable development is required. A recent, related study on Greece [11] showed that wine tourism could lead to sustainable development in the Peloponnese region, while [12] highlighted the contribution of the Rhodes folk festival to local sustainable development.

Recent literature focuses on studying the factors linking culture to a country or region’s economic growth, development, and innovation [13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20]. Moreover, as stated in [21], cultural heritage plays a vital role in promoting environmental, social, cultural, and economic progress. Considering this, ref. [22] also highlights the growing exploration of cultural heritage’s significance in urban and regional regeneration, as well as sustainable development. This aligns with the ongoing international discourse on revitalizing the concept of sustainability. Additionally, cultural heritage can counteract the negative impacts of cultural globalization and act as a driving force for sustainable economic development. Culture cannot be defined simply as a homogenous and clearly defined sector. The UNESCO definition [23], which is the most widely accepted, states that “Culture should be regarded as the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group, and that it encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs”. UNESCO has the most widespread classification, treating festivals as a separate domain.

Ref. [24] introduced the concept of the creative economy, which is broader than all the previous definitions, extending to 15 industries including art, science, and technology. Ref. [25] uses the term ”Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI)”, defining cultural sectors as “those that produce and distribute goods or services which, at the time of their production, are considered to have a particular characteristic, use or purpose, which contains or conveys modes of cultural expression, regardless of their commercial value” and referring to creative industries as “those that use culture as their constituent element and have a cultural dimension, despite the fact that their products are primarily of functional utility”. Mapping CCI was difficult, given the divergence of national and international approaches. The mapping of CCI, based on the methodology followed by Eurostat, is a realistic approach, using the available European statistical tools and combining European and international approaches and concepts of cultural and creative industries. The purpose of this methodology is to create a unified framework from various theoretical approaches, with reference to already existing statistical tools. In the cultural sector, there are ten subsectors: visual arts, performing arts, cultural heritage, audiovisual and multimedia, archives, libraries, architecture, advertising, art industry, books, and press. Festivals, according to EU measurements [26] mapping, are a subsector of performing arts.

Festivals and the tourism event industry are among the fastest-growing forms of tourism, which are often used in policy to attract visitors, with the aim of reducing seasonality and increasing revenue traffic as an indirect form of marketing [27]. Furthermore, festivals are thought to contribute socially and economically by attracting income and tourism at the local and national levels as well [28]. Cultural festivals have taken on a growing role in the cultural sector [29] and there are some destinations already well known because a festival takes place there [30].

Cultural heritage investments/projects have positive, multidimensional consequences (economic, social, indirect) that increase the well-being of the entire local/regional community. Therefore, the need to evaluate cultural investments is undeniable.

Various valuation methods could be used for the socio-economic valuation of cultural heritage projects and can be categorized as:

(a)

Revealed Preference (RP) methods are based on the actual behavior of the users of heritage goods and services in the marketplace, whose applicability is limited to only a few ecosystem products and services. The RP methods are the following:

-

The Travel Cost Method (TCM) measures the willingness of individuals to travel to a cultural heritage site or festival, etc.

-

Hedonic Pricing (HP) is a method that investigates the Willingness To Pay (WTP) associated with attributes that correspond to the overall value. It is used primarily for real estate and environmental issues.

(b)

Stated Preference (SP) methods are survey-based methods where respondents are asked directly about their WTP in a certain scenario. They can be applied to all types of cultural heritage goods and services; therefore, they are the methods used most often in literature. However, it should be noted that they are often criticized for being based on hypothetical scenarios and because their implementation is complex and resource consuming [31]. As noted by [32], the SP methods are the following:

-

The Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) is a survey-based method attempting to explain the WTP of participants in a hypothetical scenario using direct questions.

-

The Choice Experiment (CE) is a method based on a questionnaire whose main purpose is to discover WTP when several features change simultaneously.

The CVM is used to assess a cultural event due to its popularity and advantages that overcome the complexity and limitations of CE [33].

An indirect impact of cultural heritage is an increase in tourism. The relationship between culture and tourism is the most visible aspect of the contribution of culture to local development and growth. Tourism is a complex of economic activities with a strong interconnection with cultural heritage, as it depends on the quality and availability of local cultural heritage [34]. Europe is the most visited continent in the world, with 672,000,000 arrivals in 2017. Of total world tourism, 51% is directed to Europe, which had an 8.4% increase in visits in 2017. Therefore, tourism is an important sector for Europe and contributes 5.5% to its GDP, or 11% if its indirect impact is also calculated. This figure is largely due to the cultural wealth of Europe, which has the highest density of cultural heritage in the world. According to UNESCO [28], 413 of the 1092 cultural and naturalistic sites are in Europe. Historic buildings, heritage sites, cultural diversity, gastronomy, tourism infrastructure, etc., are some of Europe’s competitive advantages, which are vital for the tourist traffic to a destination.

Cultural heritage constitutes one of the main, relatively unexploited development challenges for Greece that could turn into a key driver for economic growth. In Greece, tourism is an important sector, which has increasing trends. Visits increased by 8.2% in 2017 and accommodation and catering turnovers increased by 10%. Traveler overnight stays reached 213,516,000 in 2017, an increase of 10.2% compared to 2016 and 8.1% compared to 2018. The regions with the largest inbound travel traffic flows are (hotel and camping arrivals, 2017) Attica, Crete, the Southern Aegean, and Central Macedonia. For overnight stays, however, this order changes, as Crete comes first, followed by the South Aegean, the Ionian Islands, Central Macedonia, and Attica. Finally, the receipts are again concentrated in five regions, with, however, a change in the ranking order. First in receipts is the Southern Aegean, followed by Crete, Attica, Central Macedonia, and finally, the Ionian Islands. These five regions account for 83% of overnight stays, 76.4% of visits, and 88.9% of receipts [35]. Therefore, the touristic upgrade of the Peloponnese region (where the Kalamata Dance Festival, on which this study focuses, is held) is of major importance.

Furthermore, due to the severe economic crisis that Greece has been facing since 2010, it is imperative for the Greek public administration to focus on achieving social goals using very limited resources and prioritizing cultural investments accordingly. This study aims to assess the use of the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) and estimate Willingness To Pay (WTP) to evaluate cultural heritage projects/investments, applying it to the “Kalamata Dance Festival”.

The study confirmed the suitability of the CVM for the socio-economic valuation of festivals. It also indicated the key demographic characteristics for estimating WTP (gender, educational level, local/visitor), hence assisting organizers in setting relevant strategies to increase potential revenues and ensure the festival’s sustainability. Further research replicating this study for other Greek festivals could provide very useful results that could initiate the establishment of a holistic Cultural Strategic Plan for Greece based on quantitative socio-economic data assessment.

The rest of the paper is organized as follows: First, a literature overview of the main valuation studies of cultural heritage goods is presented, with emphasis on the CVM’s applications to festivals. Then, the methodology, which was applied as follows, accompanied by a comparative assessment of the results obtained relative to those of previous studies. Finally, the main conclusions and their potential implications are discussed, along with thoughts for further study and research.

2. Literature Review

Ref. [36] argues that the CVM has frequently been applied in various academic fields for estimating the value of nonmarket goods [37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44]. Furthermore, ref. [31] states that the CVM is the most popular method for evaluating the preferences of participants in a survey that expresses their Willingness To Pay for the consumption of cultural goods or services. By applying the CVM, economic, social, and indirect consequences are quantified in monetary terms and the evaluation results can be used for setting priorities, optimizing investments, and allocating resources.

The CVM assumes that consumers have well-defined preferences for public goods and that demand can be measured by the number of goods they are willing to sacrifice to obtain one unit of the good [45]. The CVM is widely used to assess the value of cultural goods covering a wide range of topics. The most common ones are:

• Festivals, such as [46], where it was emphasized that the results could assist stakeholders in understanding the value created by the festival and making better decisions.
• Museums, such as the famous study of the “Galleria Borghese” in Rome, where many scenarios were applied (such as admission fee–ticket value, services provided, and access time). This research provided practical information for museum managers and policymakers [47].
• Historical buildings and monuments, such as the study of Fort Robiliano, where the Total Value (TEV) was determined to be approximately EUR 9,632,700 [48].

Recent studies analyzing cultural assets using the CVM [49] surveyed residents’ valuation of protecting Uiseong Gama Ssaum, a traditional Korean style of competition, as an at-risk folk activity. The estimated worth of safeguarding this practice was USD 6.06. Results demonstrated that respondents’ sense of cultural singularity was positively correlated with their willingness to support conservation financially. Investigators concluded that this research meaningfully appraised the economic value of endangered folk contests and justified preserving such traditions by providing a quantified standard for assessment. Ref. [50] explored methods to quantify people’s willingness to pay extra for goods and services that are more environmentally friendly in historic areas like Caceres, Spain. [36] found that visitors would pay on average USD 33.28 more for sustainable management of Geomun Oreum, a volcanic rock formation in South Korea. In addition to estimating economic value, the researchers examined the relationship between tour guide explanations and participants’ stated intentions to pay. Ref. [51] determined the value of conserving fireflies (Lampyridae) in Muju County, South Korea, was USD 16.58 on average, and that pro-environmental attitudes made others more open to contributing financially to firefly protection. The connection between education and willingness to support conservation was also investigated. According to [52], citizens are willing to pay USD 20.83–23.60 per person annually to protect the Li River. Using logit models, the value of preservation was determined and factors that influence Willingness To Pay in both hypothetical and real-world situations were examined. The findings confirm the effectiveness of the CVM method and offer valuable insights to guide government funding and ongoing initiatives for preserving the Li River sustainably.

There are many advantages to the CVM, primarily its flexibility, its acceptance, and its wide application by the research community, and the ease and effectiveness of the method [53,54,55]. Ref. [56] noted that despite the advantages of the CVM method, it has been criticized for having a hypothetical bias that can ultimately result in overestimating the value of nonmarket goods. To minimize the limitations of the CVM, previous CVM studies have reaffirmed respondents’ answers by adding a series of confirmation questions called “real-world” questions [57]. The most significant challenges faced by the method are the hypothetical scenario, the design of the questionnaire, and the correct application [58]. If the CVM is applied correctly (proper questionnaire design, inclusion of all relevant factors, and correct application), then evidence metrics could be provided [31].

2.1. The Application of CVM to Festivals

Festivals are among the fastest-growing forms of tourism, which are often used to attract visitors with the aim of reducing seasonality and increasing domestic traffic as an indirect form of marketing [27].

The CVM has been used in the past to assess the value of festivals and events, either by comparison with other methods (e.g., travel cost method) or by incorporating the means into models investigating economic impact or cost–benefit analysis.

Ref. [59] was one of the first researchers who implemented the CVM to estimate the economic value of the “Adelaide Grand Prix”.

Recent studies show that festivals of 10-day duration or less, in medium-sized areas, attract tourists of high economic and educational levels and have large economic benefits in the areas [60].

To compare two different methods for the assessment of a cultural heritage site and to capture their differences, ref. [61] assessed the value of two urban political institutes using the CVM and TCM. The main results of the study were that TCM is not suitable for multidimensional experiences because the entire experience of the trip is valued, not only the visit to a cultural heritage site.

Another music festival valuation study is that of [41], who calculated the use and non-use value of the “Way Out West” festival in Gothenburg using the CVM. The total value of the festival was estimated to be EUR 10,400,000.

In the study of [62], the CVM was used to assess the WTP of spectators, including locals, of a classical music festival in Santiago de Compostela. The results of the study showed that the WTP of tourists is higher than that of locals. In conclusion, the study states that the WTP estimates can be useful for estimating the social benefit of an event or festival and include a cost–benefit analysis, and a certainty analysis or pricing mechanism placement [46].

In the assessment of the “Yeongju Korean Seonbi Culture Festival” by [63], the main goal was to showcase the practical implications of local festivals to sustainable development. The findings of the study showed that previous visits, some demographic factors, and the quality of the festival environment are significant factors that affect the Willingness To Pay (WTP).

There is an extensive literature review by [64] on the use of the CVM in Arts and Culture. In the study, he points out that this method has been used for the valuation of political goods and, if used correctly, can offer a great deal to the valuation of cultural goods, such as festivals.

Ref. [65] determined the WTP of festival attendees at the Aardklop festival. They showed that attendees are less willing to pay than they were ten years earlier, concluding that future research should be oriented towards identifying specific audience segments with higher payment intentions.

Ref. [66] evaluated the festival experience of the Serralves Fiesta using the CVM. The results showed that females and people over 53 years of age are more willing to pay for the festival. The research proposed that an organized system of donation and sponsorship could contribute to the sustainability of the festival.

2.2. The Kalamata Dance Festival

We use the “Kalamata Dance Festival” as a case study in this research. For the last 26 years, the Kalamata Dance Festival has been the leading contemporary dance event in Greece. It is a ten-day festival and includes performances, seminars, and other parallel events. In 2018, which is also the reference year of the study, 14 performances took place at the Dance Palace, with a total revenue of EUR 40,037. The twenty-eight (28) events that took place on the auspices of the festival included eight outdoor dance performances, three dance seminars, a workshop, a masterclass, a photography exhibition, and a musical evening. The pricing policy included: a EUR 15 general admission to the main hall; and a EUR 12 reduced price (for students, the disabled, and members of the Dance Workers Union and the Greek Choreographers Union); while seminar participants were also eligible for a reduced price (EUR 10). The dance seminar had a participation fee of EUR 350, while participation in the masterclass was an additional EUR 50. The income from the dance seminars reached EUR 21,580. The parallel events (outdoor performances, photo exhibition, and the musical evening) had free entry. These took place in the central square of Kalamata as well as in the area outside of the Dance Palace.

During the Festival, a canteen operated on the premises of the Palace, with a total income of EUR 2530, and a souvenir shop with an income of EUR 777.

It is estimated that a total of 10,000 people attended the festival, while 11 foreign dance groups participated. Nine (9) foreign dancers attended the seminar and took part in some of the performances, while three Greek dance groups also participated in the seminars.

For the Festival, a total of 11 permanent employees of the municipal company FARIS were employed, 30 people were hired with short-term contracts, and, finally, 44 volunteers offered their services.

The total expenses of the festival reached EUR 410,000, while the main sources of income over and above the direct income (tickets–canteen–gifts) were from the Ministry of Finance (EUR 400,000), the Municipality of Kalamata (EUR 55,0000), and sponsorships (EUR 68,500).

The main strengths of the Kalamata Dance Festival lie in the linking of dance with other arts and the inclusion of the local community, with the aim of expanding the festival throughout the year through a variety of different activities.

3. Methodology

The CVM bases its fundamental theoretical framework on welfare economics (utility maximization) and links WTP values to the functioning of individual preferences. It is based on the collection of information from the area of and individuals involved in the case study, with the aim of determining the maximum monetary contribution–compensation (Willingness to Pay–Willingness to Accept, WTP–WTA) for a cultural asset (direct monetary valuation). This method combines the Utility Function with econometric theory, i.e., the theoretical background of the utility model provides the framework for interpreting a CVM study. Ref. [31] distinguished eight different phases involved in the practical application of Stated Preference studies such as the CVM:

• Identifying key questions. What is being valued and what are the questions to be answered by the study?
• Determination of the research method. Choose from face-to-face, mail, and mixed methods.
• Selection of population and sample. Determining the target population of the study, as well as the sample size.
• Questionnaire design. In this phase, the type of questions, the method of attraction, and the means of payment (tax, entrance fees, donation, etc.) are determined.
• Questionnaire testing, redesign, and final study conduct.
• Econometric analysis. Usually, the supply curve is estimated to explore determinants of WTP. The supply curve is related to the number of visits, income, educational level, and other explanatory variables.
• Conducting validity and reliability checks.
• Aggregation of results from the sample to the total population and the creation of a report of results.

The present case study focused on the Kalamata International Dance Festival, in which the Contingent Valuation Method was applied, with the aim of a financial valuation of the festival from the assessment of the WTP declared by the participants during the festival. The festival is structured as a cultural asset that could be a cultural tourism attraction and could be considered a capital asset for the city of Kalamata. It can also be seen as an intangible investment in the city’s cultural image, inducing sustainable economic growth through the multiplier effect, increasing the well-being of the city residents, and diminishing any potential negative effects of tourism, due to the highly specialized audience of the festival (high income and well educated as confirmed by the study).

The goal of the study is to estimate the demand curve of the festival and the consumer surplus. For this purpose, a questionnaire was created to capture non-use values.

The questionnaire created (presented in Appendix A) was divided into three groups of questions. Before applying the questionnaire to the full sample, a test was conducted with the cooperation of approximately 20 participants to assess its clarity and effectiveness. The questionnaire was tested by experienced researchers, who pointed out its large size, and thus the size was reduced so as not to disorient the participants. Closed-type multiple-choice questions were used in the questionnaire. The first group captured the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents; the second group the participants’ perception of the importance of cultural heritage (and the festival in general) to the local economy; and the third group of questions referred to their Willingness To Pay in a specific scenario.

Use and non-use prices were estimated through WTP, using the amounts chosen by respondents as a means of payment to become spectators of the festival. The study evaluated the hypothetical question of whether spectators would be given some privileges, such as discounts, prime seats, and souvenirs while supporting the festival too. The question was set in the form of close-ended multiple choices: EUR 10, EUR 20, EUR 40, EUR 80, and EUR 100.

To address the problem of hypothetical bias regarding participants’ actual WTP, different questions were evaluated concerning the importance of the festival and their experience of the festival. To measure the non-use value of the participants, a question reviewed the valuation of the respondents’ overall experience at the festival, set in the form of the following close-ended multiple choices: EUR 20, EUR 40, EUR 80, EUR 100, and EUR 150.

Since the success of CVM field research is highly dependent on understanding the hypothetical scenarios, the research was conducted on-site during the festival by experienced researchers for ten days after receiving a special permit from the organizers and the mayor to conduct this survey. Following the performances, the researchers distributed the questionnaires to respondents themselves, so that they could assist them in answering any questions, and so that they could communicate the goals of the research to them as well.

A mixed method was used to conduct the study. The researchers distributed questionnaires on all the days of the festival to respondents who were willing to fill them out on-site. They also collected electronic addresses (email addresses) from respondents who chose to fill out the questionnaire electronically (Google survey). A total of 169 questionnaires were collected, of which 136 were valid. Thirty-three (33) questionnaires were collected via email, of which 17 were valid. The table below shows the variables used in the study in detail and merges the socio-economic characteristics and the perceptions of the respondents in relation to the festival.

To examine the potential effects on WTP of several potential predictors of the former, a binary logistic regression modeling approach was followed [67] due to the dichotomous nature of the response variable. Regression analysis is essential to detect and address multicollinearity among the predictor variables to ensure the validity and robustness of the fitted regression model. To perform covariate selection and to avoid multicollinearity issues upon fitting the binary logistic regression model, a backward elimination stepwise procedure was followed, eliminating the least statistically significant independent variable from the model equation at each step, resulting in a regression equation including only the statistically significant independent variables.

Further to addressing multicollinearity issues in our model fit, we additionally assessed stability and robustness in the parameter estimation results by introducing a control variable and re-estimated the regression model with the added control variable. The comparison of estimates between the initial model and the updated one can assist in determining the robustness of the initial fitted model.

The methodological steps used are in accordance with [49,51,52].

4. Results

The sample of the study consisted of 169 answered questionnaires, randomly collected as the spectators left the festival. There were 153 valid questionnaires and the main sample characteristics are presented in Figure 1 below. An interesting characteristic of the sample is that 78% of the visitors are tourists, i.e., they are not residents of Kalamata, and 61% of them noted the dance festival as their main reason for visiting. Unfortunately, the participation of the residents of Kalamata in the festival is particularly low. Women make up 71.24% of the total sample, a particularly large percentage, which is confirmed by many studies. Women attend more cultural events, and this trend is increasing in the dance industry. The sample surveyed is characterized by a high educational level, with 75.8% of those sampled being graduates of higher education, and 40% of them holding a master’s or a doctoral degree. Regarding the income of the visitors, there is a dispersion among the seven income categories, which, however, were at low to moderate levels, since 62.7% are concentrated in the first three categories (up to EUR 24,999). The age stratification of the sample holds no surprises. Sixty-five percent of the audience is between 20 and 49 years of age, almost evenly distributed among the three age categories (20–29, 30–39, 40–49). The demographic factors that were found to influence the WTP are in accordance with previous studies [62].

Reviewing the spectators’ perceptions of the importance of cultural heritage to the local economy, it was found that 75% of the sample surveyed considered festivals very important for local development, and 20% quite important, which complies with previous findings in the literature [64]. As far as the Kalamata Dance Festival is concerned, Figure 2 below demonstrates that:

▪

55% of the sample surveyed considered the scope of the festival international, 31% panhellenic, and 14% local.

▪

78% of the visitors believe it has economic value for the local community.

▪

55% consider it an obligation of the state and the municipal authority to finance the festival, while 40% consider that, due to the economic crisis, alternative sources of funding must be sought (NGOs, private sector, international organizations, etc.).

▪

The acceptance rate of the hypothetical scenario is extremely high and reaches almost 90%.

▪

Regarding the financing of the Dance Festival, opinions differ.

In the third and last set of questions, the scenario revealing the Willingness To Pay of the visitors surveyed is captured. Figure 3 below depicts the demand curve of the direct users of the festival, as it shows the probability of consumer choice for the various valuation offers. In this way, consumer surplus is calculated as the area enclosed by the coordinate axes and the demand curve.

An analysis of the Willingness-To-Pay segmentation based on the socio-economic characteristics of the viewers demonstrates the special characteristics of cultural consumption, as presented in

Table 1. WTP by socio-economic characteristics.

C2. Age		C3. Education		C4. Working Status		C5. Annual Income
13–19	58.46 €	Junior high school	88.00 €	Self employed	64.50 €	Up to 9999 €	69.00 €
20–29	70.63 €	High school	51.67 €	Student	65.20 €	10,000–14,999 €	68.42 €
30–39	62.97 €	College	55.38 €	Retired	64.74 €	15.,000–24,999 €	56.07 €
40–49	68.67 €	Technical school	70.00 €	Household	60.00 €	25,000–34,999 €	53.13 €
50–59	45.26 €	University	66.55 €	Public servant	59.41 €	35,000–49,999 €	59.33 €
60+69	58.24 €	Master	57.50 €	Private Employee	65.87 €	50,000–74,999 €	101.43 €
70+	104.00 €	Phd	92.22 €	Part-Time Employment	80.00 €	75,000 €+	73.00 €
				Unemployed	20.00 €
C6. Gender		C7. Residence
Male	69.09 €	Local resident	53.44 €
Female	61.83 €	Visitor	66.92 €

below. It can be seen that:

-

The age groups with the greatest Willingness To Pay are 70+ and 20–29 years of age.

-

Regarding educational level, PhD holders value the festival more.

-

Willingness To Pay does not seem to fluctuate according to occupation, unlike income, since households with an income of EUR 50,000–74,999 show a greater Willingness To Pay.

-

Visitors are more willing to pay than the residents of Kalamata.

-

Community support for the festival is the only way to ensure its sustainability and increase its impact on society. This is according to [68], who showed that without the support of the local community, the impact of a Festival is reduced, even if it attracts many tourists, thus compromising its sustainability.

-

Since only 20% of the spectators were residents, it is evident that the local community should implement measures to attract local people to commit to and become part of the festival.

To estimate the cumulative Willingness To Pay, the number of total spectators of the festival should be considered, which, according to the official festival organizer (municipal enterprise “Faris”), was estimated at approximately 10,000 for 2018. The total social benefits are therefore valued as follows:

Total viewers × average WTP = cumulative WTP

10,000 × 63.92 = 639,200

The costs for organizing the Kalamata International Dance Festival in 2018 amounted to EUR 410,000. Considering the cumulative social costs and benefits, it is concluded that the benefits outweigh the costs of the festival.

A willingness equation was created with WTP as the dependent variable and Age (C2), Education (C3), Working Status (C4), Income (C5), Gender (C6), and Residence (C&) as independent variables. (C1 is the constant term). The sample descriptive statistics are presented in

Table 2. Descriptive statistics.

	C2	C3	C4	C5	C6	C7
	Age	Education	Working Status	Income	Gender	Residence
Average	30–39 years	bachelor	College	15,000–24,999 €	female	visitor
Median	30–39 years	bachelor	High School	15,000–24,999 €	female	visitor
Maximum	70+ years	phd	Phd	75,000+€	female	visitor
Minimum	13–19 years	Junior high school	High School	0–9999€	male	local resident
Skewness	0.325301	−1,071,562	0.128609	0.740049	−0.916698	−1,385,459
Kurtosis	2.272167	3.438250	1,445,549	2.585033	1.840336	2.919498
Jarque-Bera	5.718151	28.71025	1,582,581	14.17731	28.23699	46.10683
Probability	0.057322	0.000001	0.000366	0.000835	0.000001	0.000000
Sum	374.0000	563.0000	3,900,000	297.0000	102.0000	113.0000

below.

In order to examine the interrelations between the independent variables, Pearson’s correlation coefficients between the various combinations of variables have been calculated as presented in

Table 3. Pearson’s correlation coefficients for the independent variables.

		C2	C3	C4	C5	C6	C7
		Age	Education	Working Status	Income	Gender	Residence
C2	Age	1
C3	Education	0.03754	1
C4	Working Status	0.25564	−0.16572	1
C5	Income	−0.00155	0.03140	−0.09761	1
C6	Gender	−0.00525	0.15314	0.16969	−0.16448	1
C7	Residence	0.14712	−0.05088	0.26328	−0.13587	0.34720	1

below.

The correlations reveal that there are no significant interrelations between the independent variables of the logistic regression model, except for the correlation between variables C6 and C7 (r = 0.3472).

As the dichotomous payment form was used in the questionnaire, the logit approach was considered the most appropriate [31,69]. Therefore, the Logit model was used. Τhe estimation results are presented in

Table 4. Binary logit model estimation results.

Independent Variable	Coefficient	Std. Error	z-Statistic	p-Value
C(7) Residence	0.925	0.591	1566	0.012
Dependent variable: WTP; Initial fitted independent variables: Age (C2), Education (C3), Working Status (C4), Income (C5), Gender (C6), Residence (C7)

below. Specifically, we fitted the binary logistic regression model, utilizing the WTP variable as the dependent variable and the variables in Table 2 as independent variables. To enhance the robustness of the model estimation and inference, a backward selection method has been used, initially fitting the complete model and removing the least significant independent variable at each step. Through an examination of Table 4, after the backward elimination stepwise procedure, only the variable of “residence” was found to be statistically significant at the 5% significance level and positively related to the Willingness To Pay. This indicates that visitors are more willing to pay to attend the performance of the Kalamata Dance Festival than residents (beta coefficient = 0.925; p-value = 0.012 < 0.05).

The robustness of the fitted logistic regression model was ensured by the inclusion of only statistically significant independent variables in the final estimated model, avoiding issues of multicollinearity in this way. To further check the robustness of our approach, an updated model was fitted to the data, including the control variable of “Nationality” (C8) as a predictor of WTP. The results of parameter estimates were found to be like the initial regression model, especially the estimate of the statistically significant variable of “Residence” (C7), indicating that our model is robust.

5. Discussion

Ref. [70] showed that cultural background contributes positively to sustainable development. Furthermore, it is well accepted that festivals increase local social and economic well-being. They are also widely used as a means of increasing regional development and expanding tourism products [71,72]. The Kalamata Dance Festival is a successful example of an International Festival (78% of the spectators are non-residents/tourists) that promotes sustainable culture and tourism.

Festivals are a way of promoting culture as a means of social provision. Therefore, many municipal authorities have organized festivals to strengthen their local image and to attract visitors who are particularly interested. To that end, it is crucial to note the importance of festivals remaining economically independent. A major problem of this specific festival is its dependence on public grants. Thus, the findings of this study could be used to encourage the adjustment of the festival’s pricing mechanism, promote an increase in its revenues, and thus contribute to its sustainability. An increase in donations/sponsorships, and canteen and souvenir shop revenue would enhance the financial viability of the festival. Quantifying a festival’s economic value is very important, as it provides valuable information to policymakers concerning the festival’s sustainability and supports the country’s efficiency in allocating cultural sector resources through the formulation of corresponding sustainable development strategic plans at the local and national levels.

The results of this study confirm the suitability of the CVM for assessing the economic value of festivals. The demographic characteristics show that attendees who are female, have a high income, and have a high level of education demonstrate an increased Willingness To Pay. In addition, they show that visitors are more willing to pay than the residents. The involvement of the local community is imperative for the sustainability of the festival. The individual attendee’s WTP was estimated to be EUR 63.92, the festival’s value was estimated to be EUR 639,300 (when the annual number of festival visitors reached 10,000), while the relevant organizational costs were EUR 410,000. Other financial sources should also be considered, such as increases in admission fees, the adjustment of various existing fees, as well as a sponsorship and marketing plan targeting attendees with higher payment intentions.

The study had certain limitations, which can be addressed in future research. A larger sample could further verify the results obtained. As the sample of the study was primarily focused on attendees, future research could extend to residents, etc., and could be compared to the results obtained.

Furthermore, analogous studies could be conducted for other Greek festivals. A comparison of the results could initiate the development/establishment of a holistic Cultural Sustainable Development Strategic Plan for Greece, based on quantitative data analysis. This plan needs to address the gap identified by [73], that most Cultural Heritage project analyses do not address sustainability concretely. In most cases, only the economic component is highlighted, leaving out the social and environmental dimensions interpreting the impacts of cultural-led projects, mainly in terms of tourism and real estate impacts.