Event Management: Analyzing Push-Pull Theories and Event Motivations

This report provides an in-depth analysis of event management, focusing on motivational theories and dimensions that influence event attendance. It examines the push and pull theorizing framework, highlighting internal and external factors that drive participation. The study also explores the seek-escape dichotomy and identifies seven key motivational dimensions, including family closeness, socialization, escape/recreation, event newness, excitement and enjoyment, and cultural events. These dimensions are analyzed based on various demographic factors such as age, sex, nationality, and income. The report further investigates event-specific attributes and motivations behind attending music festivals, emphasizing the importance of value for money, accessibility, and information availability. The findings suggest that motivations vary across different event types and are influenced by a complex interplay of individual characteristics and event attributes. The report concludes by recommending further research on motivational diversity and data analysis methods within the field of event management.

Running head: Event Management 1
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In the study of Motivational theories, the push and pull theorizing is the primary framework used
to formulate and test motivations for event attendance. In this framework, the push factors are
considered to be those internal factors that make one travel while the pull factors are the external
factors that make one visit some places or take part in some activity. The seek-escape dichotomy
is another theory usually used in event motivation. This theory asserts that the wish to seek
essential rewards and that to get out of typical environment makes one be involved in leisure
activities. Seven motivational dimensions were identified from various studies as discussed
below.
The dimension of family closeness has an active cultural component. Here, senior married
people were found to spend more time with family compared to young couples. Concerning
nationality, the South Americans and the Asian tourists valued time with family than the
Canadian and U.S guests. It was noted that individuals with lower income appreciated more time
with their families unlike those whose annual house income is high. On the basis of sex, females
were found to spend more time with the family as than males.
The other motivational dimension ascertained was socialization. This shows interaction with
people either external socialization which is interaction with new people in the event or internal
socialization which is interaction with familiar people. Unlearned visitors valued socialization
compared to the learned, visitors from local regions liked socialization unlike visitors from
without, people with low income, and the young who had more time with friends (Lee, Lee, &
Choi, 2011). The motivation to escape or recreate is the desire to relax and refresh both
physically and mentally from the day-to-day life pressures. Escape is affected by sex where
female preferred getting away for a while than males, Age-wise the young (18-25) preferred
getting away from daily routine than those above 30 years (Tkaczynski, & Rundle-Thiele, 2011).

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The study also ascertained event newness as a motivation to attend an event. This is the desire to
find out current and different familiarities and sustaining interest. Female guests got moved
without difficulty by event newness than male guests. Also, those visiting for the first time
esteemed event novelty than the regular visitors. The desire for excitement and enjoyment of
visitors to experience entertainment and the atmosphere of a given event and enjoy it were also
found out to be event motivators. The unmarried or single people, the young and those out of
region attended the festive than their respective equivalents.
Most of the international visitors and older people valued cultural events as a motivation to
attend various events. Their desire was to increase cultural knowledge, get involved with various
cultures and interest in historical and cultural activities. From various studies, it was concluded
that in attracting festive visitors, event-specific attributes were very crucial. The question is
whether people attend events with different motivations. The research concluded that people
attend events because of what the event offers and not just for the sake of it.
The study also examined the motivations behind the attendance of music festivals. The attributes
that were valued by people when deciding on the music festival to attend were found to be
affected by the value for money, accessibility, and availability of information. Based on the
results of various researchers, motivations to attend the two festivals - music and cultural differ
slightly. Some are present in one, and those present in both have different relative importance
attributed to the event.
This study identifies essential factors for event motivation. It also ascertains seven motivational
dimensions for different reactions to events. Motivation is affected by age, sex, nationality,

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marital status and education. Further research is recommended on motivations to attend music
and diversity and in different data analysis methods.

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References
Lee, J. S., Lee, C. K., & Choi, Y. (2011). Examining the role of emotional and functional
values in festival evaluation. Journal of Travel Research, 50(6), 685-696.
Tkaczynski, A., & Rundle-Thiele, S. R. (2011). Event segmentation: A review and research
agenda. Tourism management, 32(2), 426-434.