A systematic literature review was conducted to answer research questions on festival marketing in tourism marketing within the local creative economy. The focused research questions are: 1.

What are the characteristics and forms of festival marketing implementation in tourism marketing based on the local creative economy across various destination contexts?

Research on festival marketing within local, creative-economy-based tourism marketing has been widely published; however, this literature review focuses on relevant studies. This study draws from papers or proceedings indexed in MDPI, IEEE, Taylor & Francis, and Elsevier, all of which are listed in Scopus. The study covers the period from 2020 to 2025 to ensure the research remains relevant to the present time.

The studies are papers written in English and must include the keywords “festival marketing,” “tourism,” “local creative economy,” “digital marketing,” and “systematic literature review.” Table 1 details the selected papers, including author information, references, publishers, and publication years, thereby providing a comprehensive overview of the reviewed papers.

The research question is based on the keywords “festival marketing,” “tourism,” “local creative economy,” “digital marketing,” and “systematic literature review,” with the criteria being English-language papers with full-text access published between 2020 and 2025. The selection of papers meeting these criteria used the inclusion and exclusion methods described in Table 2.

Using specific categories and keyword searches, the researchers identified 133 papers indexed in Scopus (MDPI, Taylor & Francis, ScienceDirect). They then applied a publication year filter from 2020 to 2025, resulting in 22 articles that met the criteria and were written in English. The PRISMA flowchart illustrating the article selection process is presented in Figure 1.

22 articles were selected from Scopus-indexed journals and conference proceedings from 2020 to 2025. Research on festival marketing in tourism marketing based on the local creative economy, by publication year from 2020 to 2025, is as follows: 2020 (23%), 2022 (9%), 2023 (18%), 2024 (9%), and 2025 (14%). he distribution of selected articles by publication year is illustrated in Figure 2.

The initial systematic search identified 133 articles published between 2020 and 2026 in various selected databases. After removing duplicates and applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 100 articles were selected.

Further screening based on relevance yielded 88 articles that were evaluated for suitability. Subsequently, 56 articles were evaluated for suitability through a full-text review. Finally, 22 articles were included in the analysis, ensuring that the selected studies were highly relevant and aligned with the research objectives. This study employed a qualitative narrative synthesis approach therefore, statistical meta-analysis, risk-of-bias assessment, and sensitivity analysis were not conducted.

Festival marketing is widely used as a tourism marketing strategy based on local creative economies in various countries. Most literature identifies that the most dominant festivals are those based on culture, cuisine, and the arts, which serve not only as tourist attractions but also as a medium for destination marketing communication. Thus, festivals are typically designed to highlight local distinctiveness and strengthen the region’s cultural identity.

In terms of implementation, three main approaches are identified in the literature. First, the event-based marketing approach, where festivals serve as the primary promotional tool to attract tourist visits during a specific period. Second, the experiential marketing approach, which emphasizes creating emotional and participatory experiences for tourists. Third, the community-based tourism approach actively involves the local community in organizing the festival.

The implementation of festival marketing is contextual and influenced by geographical, cultural, and local policy factors, leading to variations in scale, quality, and objectives. This study explains that while the concept of festival marketing is universal, its implementation practices are highly dependent on a destination’s characteristics. Table 3 summarizes the role and implementation of festival marketing within local creative economy-based tourism across the reviewed literature.

The table above illustrates that festival marketing serves not only as a promotional tool but also as a destination differentiation strategy. However, its contextual nature underscores the need for a more integrated strategic model to ensure that its implementation is not sporadic.

This research question aims to evaluate the extent to which festival marketing, as an experiential marketing strategy, can have a tangible impact on tourist behavior and the performance of tourism destinations, particularly those based on the local creative economy. The effectiveness of festival marketing on tourism performance across four key dimensions is synthesized in Table 4. A.

Effectiveness on tourist engagement

Festival marketing enhances tourist engagement because festivals offer immersive experiences in which tourists are directly involved in the cuisine, culture, and arts. Festival marketing fosters emotional bonding, creating an emotional connection with the tourist destination; furthermore, it offers a participatory experience where tourists are not merely spectators but active participants in the activities.

Festival marketing engagement is reflected in social media interactions (likes, shares, UGC/user-generated content), longer time spent on social media, and direct participation in festival activities.

Festival marketing has proven to be the primary driver of increased tourism visits, particularly in the short term (event-based tourism). Some impacts of festival marketing on tourist visits include a surge in tourist arrivals during the event, increased repeat visits, and the expansion of the tourist market, both domestic and international. The effectiveness of festival marketing on visits is also influenced by the scale of the festival and the promotions conducted leading up to and during the festival, the accessibility of the location, and collaboration with stakeholders such as the government, communities, and SMEs. D.

Effectiveness on the Economic Impact of Tourism

Festival marketing contributes both directly and indirectly to the local economy. The direct impact of festival marketing includes increased revenue for SMEs, particularly in the culinary, handicraft, and merchandise sectors. Additionally, direct impacts include higher hotel occupancy rates and increased transportation demand. Meanwhile, the indirect economic impacts of festival marketing include the creation of both temporary and permanent jobs and the strengthening of the local economic ecosystem.

Although festival marketing has both direct and indirect impacts on the economy, its economic effectiveness also depends on good event management, the equitable distribution of economic benefits not concentrated solely on specific parties and the sustainability of the program so that it is not merely seasonal or temporary.

This research question examines the factors that influence the success and failure of festival marketing implementation in tourism marketing. Table 5 presents the determinants of success and failure in festival marketing based on evidence from the systematic literature review. A.

Factors Contributing to the Success of Festival Marketing

The success of festival marketing is influenced by the authenticity and strength of local identity, the quality of event planning and management, digital marketing and promotional strategies, collaboration among stakeholders, accessibility and infrastructure, and the tourism experience.

Authenticity and the strength of local identity are achieved by highlighting local culture—such as dance, music, and traditions—and promoting creative economy products like cuisine, crafts, and local fashion. Thus, with the authenticity of the destination’s local identity, it becomes easier to create a unique value proposition and differentiate the destination.

The quality of event planning and management includes program planning—such as concepts, themes, and content duration. Operational management involves logistics, security, crowd control, and time and schedule management. When all planning runs smoothly, it enhances the success factors of the festival marketing initiative itself.

Digital marketing and festival promotion strategies can be implemented through social media, influencer collaborations, and diverse creative content such as videos, storytelling, and live streaming. These strategies are expected to boost the success factors of the festival marketing campaign.

Collaboration among stakeholders also significantly impacts the success of this festival marketing, as collaboration among the government, SMEs, local communities, academics, and the media will boost tourists’ confidence in the event.

Accessibility and festival marketing infrastructure also enhance the success of festival marketing; easier transportation to the venue makes it more convenient for tourists, while facilities such as restrooms, parking, and accommodations provide greater comfort, and easily accessible tourism information will increase tourist visits.

The tourism experience at a marketing festival differs from other forms of tourism, as tourists will have unique, interactive experiences during the festival, Instagram-worthy moments to encourage them to post about the destination on their social media, and the development of emotional engagement as the marketing festival unfolds. B.

Factors Leading to the Failure of Festival Marketing

The factors leading to the failure of festival marketing are the opposite of the factors contributing to its success. These failure factors include a lack of differentiation and unique value in the tourist destination, weak or off-target promotion, poor event management, minimal involvement of the local community, infrastructure and access issues, and a lack of sustainability.

A lack of differentiation in festival marketing can occur when the festival is too generic, lacks a strong local identity, or copies a concept without adapting it to the local context, thereby reducing its appeal to tourists and making it difficult to compete with other destinations. Weak or off-target promotion can result from a lack of digital marketing, preventing the destination from effectively positioning itself with its audience on social media; additionally, an unclear target audience will lead to low awareness and visitor numbers. Poor event management can manifest as overcrowding or, conversely, sparse attendance, unclear event schedules, and poor coordination among organizers. Consequently, this will lower tourist satisfaction. Limited local community involvement—such as the exclusion of local SMEs—leads residents to feel disconnected from the event, thereby reducing the sustainability and local economic impact of festival marketing. Infrastructure limitations and poor access hinder tourists from visiting and returning. The results of this systematic literature review indicate that the factors contributing to the success and failure of festival marketing do not exist as two separate poles, but rather lie on a single spectrum of opposing forces (mirror factors). In other words, nearly all determinants of success can become sources of failure when not managed optimally. These findings indicate that the effectiveness of festival marketing is largely determined by the quality of execution, not merely by the presence of these elements. The points above are summarized in the table below.

The results of this systematic literature review indicate that the factors contributing to the success and failure of festival marketing do not exist as two separate poles, but rather lie on a single spectrum of opposing forces (mirror factors). In other words, nearly all determinants of success can become sources of failure when not managed optimally. These findings indicate that the effectiveness of festival marketing is largely determined by the quality of execution, not merely by the presence of these elements.

The primary focus of this question is to examine the synergistic role (integration effect) of these three elements in creating tourism destinations that are not only popular but also resilient and sustainable. A.

The Role of Festival Marketing as an Integrative Platform

Festival marketing functions as an experiential promotional medium that provides direct experiences for tourists, a space for interaction among tourists, MSME actors, and communities, and a showcase for the local creative economy. Festival marketing is not merely an event but an integrated marketing ecosystem that connects various actors in the tourism sector.

This research question posits that festivals serve as catalysts for the local economy, amplified by digital marketing, thereby fostering sustainable tourism. In this framework, festivals act as the platform, the creative economy as the content or value, digital marketing as the amplifier, and sustainability as the outcome. The integration of festival marketing, the creative economy, and digital marketing for sustainable tourism development is further summarized in Table 6.

The implications of this research can be seen from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Regarding theoretical implications, based on the four research questions, it is evident that festival marketing has evolved into a multidimensional phenomenon. In RQ1, the implications of festival marketing vary depending on the type of destination (urban vs. rural), the scale of the festival, and the level of local creative economy involvement. Festival marketing, as a context-dependent marketing strategy rather than a universal model, aligns with the objectives of contextualized tourism marketing theory. Regarding RQ2, the effectiveness of festival marketing in enhancing tourist engagement, brand awareness, and economic impact is not linear; rather, it is mediated by the quality of experience, social interaction, and cultural authenticity. This reinforces the relevance of the experience economy and value co-creation theories, as the relationship between engagement and economic outcomes remains under-explored in the literature. In RQ3, the success of festival marketing is determined by a combination of internal factors (event quality, management, innovation) and external factors (policy support, infrastructure, community participation). However, the literature remains fragmented in its discussion of these factors, necessitating a more integrative theoretical framework based on a multi-stakeholder and systems-thinking approach. In RQ4, integrating festival marketing, the local creative economy, and digital marketing creates sustainable destinations. Theoretically, this points toward the concept of a digital-enabled creative tourism ecosystem; however, the literature is limited in discussing how this integration operates dynamically and sustainably.

In terms of practical implications, there is a gap between the potential and the implementation of festival marketing in the field. In RQ1, many festivals are still designed uniformly without considering local characteristics. Consequently, practitioners need to adopt a place-based strategy, tailoring festival design to local cultural identity, creative economy capacity, and tourism market preferences. Regarding RQ2, while festivals have proven to increase engagement and awareness, their economic impacts are often uneven. This highlights the need for more inclusive mechanisms for distributing economic benefits and strengthening linkages between festivals and local SMEs. Regarding RQ3, festival failures are often caused by a lack of coordination among stakeholders and weak management. Therefore, a collaborative governance model is required, along with enhanced human resource capacity in event management and digital marketing. Meanwhile, regarding RQ4, digital integration remains superficial (e.g., limited to social media promotion) and has not reached a strategic level. Consequently, this implies the need for an end-to-end digital ecosystem integration (pre-event, during-event, post-event) and the utilization of data for decision-making (data-driven tourism marketing).

Based on all the research questions, several limitations of this study are as follows: regarding RQ1, limitations in the literature mean that the representation of festival characteristics does not yet cover the full range of global contexts, particularly in developing destinations, which could potentially lead to bias in the generalization of the implementation model. Regarding RQ2, most studies employ a descriptive approach, so the relationship between festival marketing and economic impact remains correlational rather than causal, which makes the lack of quantitative data a major obstacle. Regarding RQ3, the identification of success and failure factors remains partial and has not been integrated into a comprehensive model, leading the literature to emphasize success factors over failure factors (success bias). Regarding RQ4, discussions on the integration of digital technology and the creative economy remain limited to the conceptual level, with little empirical evidence on the long-term effectiveness of this integration.

Future research will be recommended based on the results of all RQs. For RQ1, research needs to develop a typology or classification of festival marketing based on destination context, thereby generating a more adaptive implementation model. For RQ2, empirical studies using quantitative, longitudinal methods are needed to test the causal relationship between engagement and economic impact, as well as the effectiveness of festivals in building tourist loyalty. For RQ3, future research should develop an integrative model of festival marketing success factors encompassing managerial, social, technological, and policy dimensions. For RQ4, future research should explore the integration of advanced technologies (AI, big data, smart tourism), hybrid festival models (offline and online), and the role of social commerce in the local creative economy.