Issues, patterns and strategies in the development of event portfolios: configuring models, design and policy

Abstract

Whilst the use of event portfolios as a multipurpose policy tool is increasing worldwide, academic attention on this phenomenon remains sparse. In response, the purpose of this review paper is to identify the major issues in the use of portfolios by host communities and destinations aspiring to become eventful and delineate the emergent development patterns and strategies. The paper postulates the core dynamics that can enable capacitybuilding in event portfolio development and suggests a network framework for setting up a holistic portfolio policy with systemic management properties. This framework provides a theoretical scaffolding to contextualize the first formalized city portfolio strategies. Based on this discussion, four major issues are identified: portfolio configurations, leveraging, sustainability, and community capacity-building. Policy implications are drawn that theorize the surfacing portfolio development models, design logics and strategic approaches. The effects on social structures are considered in terms of how they determine the longevity, legitimation, and institutional embeddedness of event portfolios. The paper proffers that event portfolios represent a multi-dimensional phenomenon and highly versatile policy tool with manifold configurations. Their sustainable growth requires a shift in event-tourism thinking from the hitherto focus on single major events to managing multiple events for achieving multiple purposes.

Essays in event leverage: the strategic use of event leverage in host destinations

“…Thus, little is known about how to develop relationships or collaborative efforts among event stakeholders when seeking to leverage a destination's event portfolio. Indeed, the limited examples in the literature have shown event portfolios to be unsuccessfully implemented (Pereira, Mascarenhas, Flores, & Pires, 2015; and where some success can be claimed, the process of implementation was ad hoc, lacking a formal strategy and coherent vision, and so the outcomes were really fortuitous Ziakas, 2018;. The need to understand how relationships impact the leveraging of event portfolios motivated Research Objective 3.…”

“…Viewing a destination's events as a portfolio allows destinations to have a more integrated approach to the strategic use of events, with greater potential to maximise resources and optimise benefits (Ziakas, , 2014b. By having an overarching theme that connects the events within the portfolio, the destination is better able to plan and utilise its limited resources to achieve multiple outcomes by employing joint strategies (Ziakas, 2014b(Ziakas, , 2018.…”

“…Ziakas (2014) produced a model to emphasise the interconnected nature of planning, implementing, and leveraging an event portfolio. An event portfolio provides the potential for events to be crossleveraged with other events in the portfolio Ziakas, 2014bZiakas, , 2018. Cross-leveraging is where events can be used to support each other (Ziakas, , 2014b(Ziakas, , 2018.…”

“…An event portfolio provides the potential for events to be crossleveraged with other events in the portfolio Ziakas, 2014bZiakas, , 2018. Cross-leveraging is where events can be used to support each other (Ziakas, , 2014b(Ziakas, , 2018. However, the creation and maintenance of an event portfolio can be a complex and complicated undertaking.…”

“…Indeed, destinations are increasingly using events Ziakas, 2018), either stand-alone or as a part of an event portfolio, to achieve certain strategic goals.…”