Process and stakeholder relations in the development of city festival to stimulate the creative economy : the case study of Chiang Mai Blooms

Abstract

Festivals relate to the creative economy in diverse ways, in which collaboration and relationships of stakeholders in the festival development process are significant factors that lead to positive impact of the festival. The aims of this paper are to examine the development process of the Chiang Mai Blooms as a city festival, the relationship of the stakeholders involved in the festival to promote the creative economy, and the factors promoting collaboration among festival stakeholders to drive the creative economy. The qualitative data was collected by conducting interviews and using questionnaires, and the secondary data was gathered from the related news and articles. The results of this study were analyzed by using thematic analysis, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), and Gephi for Social Network Analysis (SNA). It was illustrated that the development of Chiang Mai Blooms was divided into 3 stages, in which the level of involvement and relationships among the stakeholders were at a low level. In addition, the stakeholders considered that the factors promoting collaboration were mainly tourism and economic development. By strengthening the relationships of stakeholders and promoting the involvement of the stakeholders in the festival development process, it will lead to positive impacts of the festival, as well as improvement of products and services which further stimulate the creative economy.