History
Ekka is an annual event that is based on agriculture in the Queensland area of Australia. The event was earlier known as Royal Queensland Show that used to be held at Brisbane Showground. The event is eventually run by The Royal Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland. It is one of the largest events that takes place in Queensland and has an annual footfall of more than 400,000 visitors. The event comprises of various competition and showcasing the cattle along with food and wine festivals. It also consists of a sideshow alley, night time firework displays and show bag pavilion (Van der Wagen & White, 2018 pp- 28).
The event was held first when Queensland was separated from New South Wales in the year 1859. The first exhibition happened in the year 1876, which drew around 17,000 visitors. The exhibition was held with respect to timber and the first attraction was the timber bridge that was built by William Pettigrew. In 1906, a new grand stand was opened that was designed by Claude William Chambers, which was later renamed as John Macdonald, as he was one of the long-serving members of the Royal National Association. In the year 1920, the exhibition was visited by Prince of Wales and gave the permission to the association to change its name Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (Bhatt, Manadhata & Zonlot, 2014 pp- 39).
The main purpose of the show was to show the industrial and agricultural exhibits so that new and latest technologies for ploughing and harvesting can help the agricultural sector. The cattle animals are also showcased, which has been done since 1964 so that visitors can get a proper knowledge regarding them. The show had also been cancelled twice, once in 1919 during the Spanish flu pandemic when the ground was used to build temporary hospitals and in 1942 during the Second World War (Quinn, 2013 pp- 25).
An event can only take place with the proper stakeholders who needs to be involved in a proper manner so that it can turn out to be successful. The organizers of the event plays an important part in the success of the event, as they arrange all the necessary items that would be required to attract the visitors. Ekka is managed by the Royal National Agricultural board where the organizers make it a point to check the place before the event is being held. They also manage the activities that will be held in each year so that the event can have some attractive activities (Smedema, Vlotman & Rycroft, 2014 pp- 18).
Literature Review
The volunteers are appointed so that they can help in carrying out the activities in a smooth manner. The volunteers are divided in to teams and are given the task of managing certain divisions within the event location. This ensures that there is a smooth flow in which the event is being conducted. It also helps in overseeing that the operations of the event are being conducted in a smooth manner. The volunteers also guide the visitors who are visiting the event for the first time so that they can have a better experience (Bosona & Gebresenbet, 2013 pp- 35).
The sponsors of the event help in providing the financial assistance so that it can result in making the event successful in nature. The sponsorships also result in attracting more number of people towards the event. Ekka is sponsored by many top brands such as Woolworths Group, XXXX Castlemaine Perking Brewery and Coca-Cola apart from other brands. It is also sponsored by top media houses such as the Courier Mail and Uber as well. To increase the level of tourism in the country with the help of the event, Tourism and events Queensland along with Brisbane Tourism supports the event. This helps the event to take place in a successful manner (Cavallo et al., 2014 pp- 774).
The government also plays an integral role in making the event successful, as they provide the right right of financial assistance and the necessary grants that will be required for the the event to continue in a smooth manner. The association with the government also allows Ekka to be conducted in a proper manner, as it helps in gaining more number of volunteers and the use of the public properties as well. It also helps in the economic development of the area, as many dignitaries are accompanied with the government official towards the event (Bochtis, Sorensen & Busato, 2014 pp- 72). The visitors or the tourists help in increasing the foreign currency in the market due to a huge influx of finance. The stalls that are presented in the Ekka allows the tourists in understanding the different culture with the help of the different food items along with artefacts and the agricultural techniques.
The local businesses that are present in the area will also flourish due to the visitors that will be attracted towards the place. The major impact will be that they will get to interact with the foreign tourists and understand their culture as well. The local residents also contribute in making Ekka a successful event, as they provide the necessary items that will be required in the event. The local involvement also helps in building up of relationships with the leaders of the business along with the citizens who are visiting the area for the first time. The use of the local people in the events also helps in providing volunteers towards the events so that it can help Ekka to become successful (Getz et al., 2014 pp- 19).
Potential Impact
Media plays an important role in the success of the event. Ekka is supported through many media channels, which streams the activities that are taking place to the other parts of the country. This helps in drawing more number of visitors in the following years as well. The visitors also give their opinion regarding Ekka, which is covered using the media channels along with the regular updates that are given so that the people are informed regarding the progress of the event. They also provide the timings at which the activities will be starting so that the visitors can visit the place before the show is being started (Getz, 2013 pp- 20).
The use of the cultural events help in attracting large number of tourists from different parts of the world so that it can help in gaining experience with respect to their different culture and activities. This type of tourism is one of the fastest growing types that helps in attracting more number of people from across the planet. It also helps in generating better level of revenue, as the foreign exchange of the place increases to a great extent. The rate of community festivals have increased to a great extent on a global manner, which is influenced mainly on through the cultural aspects that are present (Brown et al., 2015 pp- 142). Most of the people who are attending the event are due to the ease of accessibility and the performance along with the activities that they will get to see in the event. This helps in attracting more number of customers towards the event as well. Through the perspective of marketing, it will result in boosting the economy to a great extent, as the products and services that will be available in the event can be purchased by the people. This will also result in boosting the the development of the tourism and help in establishing a positive image in the place where the event is taking place (Andersson & Lundberg, 2013 pp- 103).
The success of the event also helps in improving the image of the destination. This is due to the fact that the organizers make it a point to use the destination marketing strategy that will help in boosting the economy of the place. The destination image can be stated as the set of impressions, ideas and behaviour of the people with respect to the event that is taking place in the area. This helps the visitors in choosing their destination in a better manner. The Australian government is also taking measures in improving the tourism of the place by heavily advertising regarding the events that are taking place in the country. This is helping in attracting more number of customers to the place (Duffy, 2013 pp- 15).
Observable Impacts
The impact through an event that is taking place at a particular area is immense, as it results in many positive and negative things. This year the event was conducted in a greener manner. This was due to the fact that it helped awareness regarding the problems that were related to pollution. The event had introduced the two-bin system so that it can help in differentiating the wastes that are being thrown away. The bins were all made of cardboards so that it can be eco-friendly in nature (Andersson, Getz & Mykletun, 2014 pp- 104). The organic materials that will be collected as wastes such as straws, sawdust and animal wastes will be recycled so that it can be used in gardening and landscaping projects. This will also help in providing fertilizers to the gardens that are present in the city of Brisbane. The caterers who were providing the food products were encouraged to use recyclable packaging methods so that it can help in keeping the environment cleaner (Mertens, 2014 pp- 24).
Another factor was that the event had helped in generating huge amount of revenue by selling products to the foreign tourists. It also resulted in increasing the level of employment, as large number of local people were employed in the event as volunteers. The revenue that was collected form the taxes also helps the government in addressing the issues that are present in the city with the amount that has been generated. The expenditure for the capital setup was also covered through the taxes that were collected through the sale of the products and services that were available in the event (Dima et al., 2014 pp- 101).
It also helped in improving the image of the destination as well. The area will be attracting more number of visitors in the following years due to this event, which will also result in increasing the revenue of the place. Media will also help in covering the event so that it can be popular with respect to the other events that are being held in the world. This will help in placing Ekka as one of the major attraction in Australia. The visitors were also able to interact with the local citizens and get a better knowledge regarding the culture that is present so that relationships can be built in a proper manner (Bathrinarayanan et al., 2013 pp- 167). The tourism image of the place will also gain due to Ekka, as it will attract more number of visitors from all around the place.
Discussion and Conclusion
The event has also helped in developing the infrastructural facilities of the place, which is also a major attraction among the tourists. The facilities are maintained in a proper manner with the help of local people and the government staffs so that it can help the event to be conducted every year (Getz & Page, 2016 pp- 598).
There are negative impacts as well from Ekka, as it results in increasing the opportunity cost. The transportation facilities charge extra prices due to the happening of the event. This makes the visitors to pay extra for going to the event. Another factor is that the ground could have been used for agricultural purposes that would have helped in increasing the level of agricultural production of the country as well. It also causes vandalism of the public properties along with traffic congestion and noise pollution (Lee et al., 2014 pp- 514). These problems cause lot of damage with respect to the environmental aspect.
The local residents are also deprived from availing the local facilities, which hampers their livelihood to a great extent. Another major negative impact is that there is a threat of terror attack in the place of event. This is due to the fact that the terror organizations target these areas so that they can create the maximum impact on the lives of the people. This may affect the foreign tourists who are visiting the place to enjoy the event (Mallen & Adams, 2013 pp- 12).
The environmental impacts are also huge due to the event, as there are lots of wastes and rubbish that gets created for the activities that are taking place. The fireworks that take place in the night affects the quality of air as well, which results in causing problems in the health of the local citizens. The natural resources are also depleted to a great extent, as they are used up to a great extent in these events. The carbon footprint of the area also increases to a great extent due to the various types of activities that takes place. This affects the lives of the local citizens in a negative manner. Ekka also houses many farm animals in the event that may cause the spread of deadly bacteria and affect the normal lives of the citizens to a great extent. This may also contaminate the environment around Brisbane and the quality of life may also get affected (Theodorakis, Kaplanidou & Karabaxoglou, 2015 pp- 90).
Discussion and Conclusion
The transactional cost theory needs to be followed by the event parties so that it can help in understanding the cost differences that are present. The event can only expand with the help of introducing new activities and by utilizing minimum amount of resources so that the cost can be cut down to a great extent. The events are outsourced to major organizers so that they can look after the operations of the activities in a smoother manner. This also results in the overall success of the event. The transaction costs are all related to the factor of opportunities that are present within the event as well as the risks that are present in conducting it (Dima et al., 90).
The use of the agency theory will help the corporate governance mechanism to take over the event so that it can be conducted in an efficient manner. This will result in increasing the engagement of more persons so that the services can be done in a proper manner. It will also help in taking the decisions so that the work can be done effectively and the activities can be carried out smoothly. It also results in monitoring the event and increasing the engagement so that the work can be done properly (Getz & Page, 2016 pp- 600).
The major impact on the stakeholders is that they need to build up a proper relationship with the suppliers so that the raw materials along with the resources that are being supplied can be provided at a cheaper rate. This will result in improving the level of efficiency for the event, as the dependency on the resources can be met properly. The government needs to oversee that Ekka is being conducted in a successful manner so that it can ensure that the right people are being assigned the right kind of job. The local residents need to be encouraged in joining the event, which will help in providing volunteers and increasing the level of employment in that area till the end of the event (Mertens, 2014 pp- 45).
Therefore it can be concluded that Ekka has been performing in a proper manner in the Australian economy and the number of visitors are also increasing every year. This is due to the fact that they are marketing and promoting the activities that are taking place in an efficient manner. The organizers also have to increase the participation of the local residents so that their business can also flourish while the event is taking place in Brisbane. The stakeholders have to look after the proper functioning of the event so that the visitors who are coming to the place can gain a better level of experience. This will help in increasing their rate of visitors in the following years. The event is also educative in nature, as the farmers from other parts of the country can come and understand the latest technologies that are present with respect to farming. This will help them in applying the technologies, which will result in increasing the level of productivity. The cattle that are being exhibited in the event needs to be quarantined so that it does not cause any outbreak of the diseases.
Reference:
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