Satisfacao e engajamento de visitantes a festivais: analise empirica de uma Oktoberfest
Objective of the study: To analyze the relationship between satisfaction and online engagement of visitors to the 34th Oktoberfest in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil, held in 2017. Methodology/approach: An exploratory, documentary, and descriptive research was carried out, with a quantitative approach, through a survey with a questionnaire, applied during the month of October 2017 at Oktoberfest Blumenau, which resulted in 215 valid questionnaires. Originality/Relevance: The use of festivals as promoters of tourism in destinations has been massively used. However, with its growth, there was a need to find strategies to keep the visitors satisfied and engaged with its realization. Thus, seeking to maintain of its attractiveness and intention to revisit such an event. Oktoberfest is the main German cultural festival held across the country, and Blumenau has the largest edition in Brazil in number of audiences. Therefore, it is evident the need to assess how the visitor is perceiving the festival and how much she/he feels engaged with it, seeking to maintain the quality and appreciation of the typical German culture demonstrated through the Oktoberfest. Main results: Among the main findings, it is highlighted that women were more satisfied with the Tangibility dimension, while men with the Empathy dimension. It was also possible to identify that visitor's satisfaction is not related to online engagement. Theoretical/methodological contributions: The study contributes to the academic literature by advancing research related to festivals and engagement, mainly through the use of Oktoberfest as an object of study. This festival has been used as a tourist product all over the world, however, researches that identify how it has been developing and whether it is in fact representing culture in a satisfactory way has not reached yet a significant space in the academic environment. Social/management contributions: The results presented here provide important results for the management and marketing not only of Blumenau's Oktoberfest, but also for other cultural events, where it shows that there are significant differences in relation to personal factors and their perception of engagement and satisfaction.