List of figures
1 Introduction
2. Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
2.1. Meaning and general facts
2.2. Historical background
3. Opportunities and threats analysis
3.1. Part of the SWOT analysis
3.2. Meaning of the opportunities and threats
3.3. Opportunities of Coachella’s tourism
3.4. Threats of Coachella’s tourism
5. Coachella – For our planet
6. Climate change in the Coachella Valley
7. Conclusion
List of references
Figure 1: Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Figure 2: Coachella stage map 2019
Figure 3: Paul Tollett
Figure 4: SWOT analysis
It is the most famous music festival of the year. Tickets sold out for months, the heat of California, only the best artists, and other celebrities among the audience – this is the order of the day. We‘re talking about the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio. And apart from music, it means to be seen and seen to which the most unusual outfits in bohemian-inspired styles contribute. Coachella attracts people worldwide and has a major influence on tourism two weekends every April. In 2019 Coachella invited 99,000 visitors every day.1 The festival “(…) offers a wide range of artists and bands from different genres of music from Electronic Dance to Indie.“2 It is an unforgettable experience that is on many to-do lists of different people around the entire world no matter which gender, sexuality, or culture. But festivals “(…) have [also] been important to the music industry, for economic growth, exposure and artistic enhancement.“3
But every company, as well as the music industry, is influenced both positively and negatively by many factors as a result of increasing tourism. To know these effects, to eliminate the threats or even convert them into opportunities, is necessary. Therefore, the focus of this paper is on the opportunities and threats analysis based on various effects of tourism in the Valley. In connection with the environmental impacts, it will be discussed how the Coachella festival acts more sustainable and environmentally friendly to minimize them. Finally, a look at how climate change influences local tourism is taken.
Figure 1: Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Editor’s note: This image was removed due to copyright reasons.
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The well-known Coachella (cf. Fig. 1) is “[a]n indie music festival held annually during Spring in Indio (Coachella Valley), California.“4 According to Billboard, “ [i]t is the most popular music festival in the world“5 and the largest festival in North America. It was originally “(…) created by Goldenvoice (…)“6 and “(…) features some of the best artists in the music industry.“7 It “(…) marks the start of the entire festival season and, of course, to summer in golden Southern California.“8 Since 2012 Coachella has offered precisely the same line-up during two separate weekends in April. The reason for the expanding change was an extremeley high demand as a result of a lack of capacity.
Until now the demand continues to increase, which is ensured by VIPs9 like Leonardo DiCaprio.10 It also “(…) features art installations (…)“11 and except of the celebrities who want to hang out at the location, the performing artists are the world’s most famous ones. In addition, Coachella “(…) plays out across five main stages: the Coachella Stage, Outdoor Theater, Gobi Tent, and the Sahara Tent.“12 (cf. Fig. 2) “Nevertheless, Coachella has always focused on music, artists, and genres that don’t get as much attention or have as much pull in the popular media on the radio.“13 Moreover, the biggest headliners are kept for the end of the day, while smaller bands delight the audience during the day. But no matter how amazing the festival is, you shouldn’t underestimate the heat in the Valley. Temperatures over 87,4°F aren’t unusual and heat strokes are inevitable if you save on expensive drinks while dancing in the crowd without any shade14 15. When talking about the price, it should be mentioned that a weekend pass is not in everybody‘s budget. “General admission passes are $429, plus fees, while the Festival Pass and Shuttle Combo is $504 plus fees. VIP Festival passes [costs] $999 plus fees, and Preferred Parking is $140 plus fees.“16
Editor’s note: This image was removed due to copyright reasons.
Figure 2: Coachella stage map 2019
https://coachellavalley.com/wpcontent/uploads/2018/04/FB_IMG_1523433831513.jpg
“The first-ever Coachella was held in October 1999 at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, California.“17 It all started with a duration of only two days.18 But every beginning is difficult and even if the festival is nowadays one of the most famous ones in the world, it all began with difficulties. That is the reason why it was skipped in 2000 after just one year. Even if you can no longer imagine it “(…) the festival was initially not profitable in its first few runs. Tickets were ridiculously cheap in comparison to how much they cost now (…).“19 A single-day ticket, which is not available anymore, costs only $50 which is a huge difference. But even if it was cheap, the acts were of very quality. “The amount of extremely famous acts that the organizers were intent on booking was actually one of the reasons why they couldn’t manage to put it in 2000, since the costs were so high.“20 21 Since 2001 the annual event “(…) has been extended to three days and moved to April in an attempt to avoid the intense heat.“22 Camping also followed later and became a part in 2003 with mixed success. This addition “(..) includes karaoke, movies, a general store and showers (…).“23
But what is the real idea behind the Coachella? Honestly, the festival has a pretty interesting background story. The plan for a brand new festival came up by Paul Tollett (cf. Fig. 3), the Goldenvoice promotor. His idea was to book the Empire Polo Club “(…) for a Pearl Jam concert because the group had refused to play in L.A.24 where Ticketmaster surcharges were high.“25 The location, not surrounded by a major city, was amazing and was perfect to create a music festival like no other. “This is the origin of descending into the desert into a space that is unaffected and uninterrupted by busy city life. [It has not only] become a journey into nature, but also the philosophy of the entire event that festivalgoers take with them when they leave.“26 27 28
Figure 3: Paul Tollett
Editor’s note: This image was removed due to copyright reasons.
https://www.kcrw.com/music/shows/morning-becomes-eclectic/paul-tollett/@@images/rectangular_image/page-header?v=1399978020.34
First of all, it should be mentioned that the opportunities and threats analysis is the primary part of the SWOT analysis (cf. Fig. 4). The method “(…) is designed to facilitate a realistic, fact-based, data-driven look at the [influence of] an organization, its initiatives, or an industry.“29 This method is immensely important for every company to develop a complete awareness30. The “(…) SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis) is a framework for identifying and analyzing the internal and external factors that have an impact on the viability of a project, product, place or person [including the contemporary and future potential31 ].“32 The model is one of the first that consider “(…) the external environment of an organization.“33 The multidimensional tool is primary used for strategic analysis.34 It “(…) has become one of the most useful tools for business owners to start and grow their companies.“35 Knowing the positive and negative aspects is beneficial to communicate more effectively during the planning process “(…) and determine what new leads to pursue.“36 37 It should be mentioned that opportunities can be transformed into weaknesses and inversely.38 Today the method is primarily used in the marketing departments of larger businesses.39
Figure 4: SWOT analysis
Editor’s note: This image was removed due to copyright reasons.
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Opportunities and threats are both external factors, but opportunities are those “(…) in your business environment that are likely to contribute to your success.“40 In contrast, threats are potentially harmful and you have no control over them.41 42 Opportunities usually arise from circumstances outside your business and provide information about what could happen in the future. They can make use to improve competitive position and progression.43 “Being able to spot and exploit [them] can make a huge difference to your organization’s ability to compete and take them in your market.“44 Equally important is to watch out for changes in the government policy concerning to your specialized field as well as changes in lifestyles, social patterns and population profiles.45 It is also possible to “(…) take advantage of opportunities and protect against threats, but you can’t change them.“46
Threats are the final element of the SWOT analysis, begin to exist from the external environment of a business like shortage of recruitments or problems with the supply chain.47 48 49 The act of finding them out is often a “(…) result of traditional strategic work.“50 Therefore it is vital to anticipate them to take action before they jeopardize your company connected with the growth and success.51 52
Based on this analysis, the next chapters deal with various effects of the festival’s tourism.
First of all, it is primarily important to show which opportunities emerge from the fetival’s tourists. Resulting from the increasing number, strict emission requirements would be revised and improved. The plan contains criteria like ozone, air pollutants and particulate matter to protect the environment. Furthermore, the city Indio “(…) requires toxic air thresholds and odors from portable sanitation facilities to be monitored, efforts be made to reduce dust, and holistic emissions reports.“53 It helps to minimize the long-term impacts on the Valley’s residents and that is definitely an opportunity. Even if the emissions continue to rise over the decades, it now prompts the operators to consider sustainability strategies.
Of course a lot of the opportunities are caused by the participants from all over the world and Indio with its 88,000 residents is influenced positively.54 One example is the manager of Denny’s 24h restaurant, Suzie Netzley. It is the meeting spot for the attendees from different countries and even continents like Australia or Europe. This influx of tourists has a significant positive impact, especially on smaller local businesses.55
21.8% of the society live under the poverty line. This is one of the reasons why the attendees are mainly important. Even the image of Indio has transformed into something great. With the nicknames “The Date Capital of the United States“ and “The city of Festivals“, the city takes sizeable pride and describes two of the most important industries.56 Another opportunity is that tourists from all over the world can help to understand other societies because of the cultural and religious exchange. That can lead to widen cultural interests and promote the appreciation of foreign food and drinks. Besides the increasing social media presence of visitors can be used that the world becomes aware of the festival and artists. This could be a stepping stone for many artists in their careers and attract more people as possible participants.
“It has a huge support on a city level. It really impacts our community greatly.“57 This statement comes from the Indio city manager, Dan Martinez. After all, it is no secret that tourism has positive economic effects. Because of the importance, these benefits are now examined more closely. Luxury spas, the natural beauty, boutiques, restaurants and obviously tourism represent the key components of the Valley’s economy.58 Coachella’s tourism has a major potential to acquire “(…) money for cash-strapped local governments, boost sales at local businesses, and put a city on the cultural map.“59 The festival offers the opportunity to locals to “(…) sell goods (..) and services, particularly in the accommodation sector.“60 Over the past years, employment in sectors like Entertainment, Food Service, Arts, Accommodation and Recreation has shown a powerful growth. Besides the generated employment has an economic impact on the GDP of the US. This emphasizes the meaning as a job creator and pillar of the local businesses.61 62 It should be mentioned, that the numbers from 2017 bring the Coachella Valley’s “(…) tourism industry back to where it was before the recession (…)“63 This is a significant opportunity caused by the attendees. The following table supports that tourism is the greatest employer in Palm Springs.
Table 1: Jobs by industry in Palm Springs (2017)
Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten
Source: U.S. Census, BEA, Tourism Economics
It becomes clear that tourism towers above healthcare, food and retail. It puts the sector in first place with the largest number of over 40 jobs, which is why the relevance matters a lot. In addittion, it is also estimated, that one out of four jobs in the valley is induced by the tourism sector. Another opportunity is that financial improvement positively benefits the infrastructure in Indio and surrounding communities.64 Nowadays, good infrastructural networking is primarily important and if tourism has a positive impact, the area benefits greatly from it.
[...]
1 Bostock, 2019
2 Vicalvo, 2014
3 Delamere, 2009
4 Amato, 2019
5 Gajanan, 2019
6 Vicalvo, 2014
7 Booth, 2019.
8 Pettas, 2016
9 Very important person
10 Booth, 2019
11 Ibid.
12 Ibid.
13 Pettas, 2016
14 N.N., 2020
15 Delamere, 2009
16 N.N., 2020
17 Dambrosio, 2019
18 Franko, 2019
19 Pettas, 2016
20 Pettas, 2016
21 Ibid.
22 Delamere, 2009
23 Ibid.
24 Los Angeles
25 Pettas, 2016
26 Pettas, 2016
27 Delamere, 2009
28 Dolan, 2017
29 Grant, 2020
30 Schooley, 2019
31 Scott, 2020
32 Rouse, 2019
33 50Minutes, 2015, p. 3
34 Ibid., p.4
35 Schooley, 2019
36 Ibid.
37 Ibid.
38 50Minutes, 2015, p. 7
39 Ibid., p. 3
40 Parsons, 2018
41 Ibid.
42 Grant, 2020
43 Speth, 2016, p.6 f.
44 Mind Tools, n.d.
45 Mind Tools, n.d.
46 Parsons, 2018
47 Mind Tools, n.d.
48 Shewan, 2020
49 50Minutes, 2015, p.7
50 Ibid.
51 Mind Tools, n.d.
52 Shewan, 2020
53 N.n., 2019
54 Data USA, 2020
55 Delamere, 2009
56 Delamere, 2009
57 Elliott, 2015
58 TXP Inc., 2014
59 Elliott, 2015
60 Delamere, 2009
61 Barkas, 2018
62 Ibid.
63 TXP Inc, 2014
64 Delamere, 2009
