Edinburgh Napier University

  The prevalent focus on hard-nosed economic impacts within the ‘event tourism discourse’ in festival research (Getz, 2010) has meant that, until recently, the development of an understanding of the social and cultural benefits of festivals in regional contexts has been somewhat neglected. This is the main rationale upon which the book ‘Music Festivals and Regional Development in Australia’ builds. While the number of studies that consider the triple-bottom line of events (Hede, 2008) is slowly increasing, authors tend to put the spotlight on benefits brought to urban areas by major events. This book therefore fills an important thematic and contextual gap by offering in-depth holistic insights into the contribution of smaller-scale events to rural communities and economies.