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IJEFM
10,1
2 University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Received 20 February 2018
Revised 17 June 2018
19 September 2018
Accepted 29 September 2018
International Journal of Event and
Festival Management
Vol. 10 No. 1, 2019
pp. 2-16
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1758-2954
DOI 10.1108/IJEFM-02-2018-0015
Seeking and escaping in a
Saudi Arabian festival
Faten Alshammari and Youn-Kyung Kim
Department of Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management,
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether visitors’ seeking and escaping motivations
influence the cognitive evaluation of a non-traditional festival in Saudi Arabia, which in turn leads to the
sense of joy and subsequent word-of-mouth publicity. In Saudi Arabia, leisure and tourism opportunities
are limited and many Saudis have a strong desire for new leisure experiences. Although the government
and event organizers have made efforts to provide visitors with unconventional experiences at
non-tradition-based festivals, these festivals have not attracted many Saudi Arabian visitors.
Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative methodology was used based on the on-site data
collected from 458 visitors attending the Abha summer festival in Saudi Arabia. A structural equation
modeling was used to test the relationships among seeking motivations, escaping motivations, cognitive
evaluation, sense of joy and word-of-mouth.
Findings – The result reveals that two seeking motivations (i.e. food and entertainment) and two
escaping motivations (i.e. diversion and escape) influence cognitive evaluation, which in turn influences their
sense of joy and ultimately word-of-mouth. However, novelty, a seeking motivation, does not influence
cognitive evaluation.
Research limitations/implications – The authors limited the study of seeking and escaping motivations
to one non-traditional festival in Saudi Arabia. Further studies can use multiple festivals to increase
generalizability to non-traditional festivals in Saudi Arabia. Another extension of this study would be to
examine these motivations in both traditional and non-traditional festivals in Saudi Arabia to assess to what
extent visitors’ seeking and escaping motivations are fulfilled in each type of festival.
Practical implications – Diversion motivation is the most important factor for non-traditional festival
organizers to consider in developing strategies to attract more visitors in Saudi Arabia.
Originality/value – This paper is the first that applies Iso-Ahola’s motivation theory and the cognitive
appraisal theory of emotion in the non-traditional festival setting in Saudi Arabia.
Keywords Festival, Cognitive appraisal, Joy, Escaping, Seeking
Paper type Research paper
Saudi Arabia has significantly fewer leisure opportunities and tourist venues in comparison
to many other countries. As one of the world’s most conservative nations with many social
restrictions based on religious and cultural standards, Saudi Arabia used to ban
entertainment sectors, such as cinemas, musical events, comic shows and sporting events.
In this environment, even the notion of fun was frowned upon as going against
Saudi’s beliefs (Alkhudair, 2018). However, Saudi Arabians are increasingly embracing
non-traditional activities and interests such as attending concerts and soccer games and
sitting next to the opposite gender in public places. Furthermore, driven by economic
development opportunities in non-traditional sectors, the government and society have
become more flexible and less restricted about developing entertainment sectors. This will
encourage further development of festivals in Saudi Arabia in the future. In response to this
trend, Saudi Arabia’s government has been looking to festivals as a significant sector that
can generate several benefits, such as providing recreational and leisure opportunities and
diversifying its economy (Mumuni and Mansour, 2014).
Generally speaking, the festivals in Saudi Arabia can be divided into two categories
based on their themes: traditional and non-traditional (Cudny, 2016). Traditional festivals
reflect the cultures that are connected with the beliefs and traditions of local tribes and the
named social groups. Specifically, traditional festivals have been related either to
celebrating religious and cultural events that are characteristic of a subculture or to Saudi Arabian
commemorating events that have occurred in the society. Visitors are drawn to such festival
festivals to enjoy traditional food and songs, which are presumed to teach them the values
and practices of their community (Houston, 2007). These visitors become highly motivated
to gain experiences via traditional food, songs, dancing, poetry, crafts and learning how
people lived in the “old days” (Klenosky, 2002). As such, religious and cultural festivals have
been successful in Saudi Arabia and they are often marked in the national event calendar. 3
On the other hand, non-traditional festivals are not connected to a specific place or
community; they are held at different locations and can be global. In this sense, they do not
refer to specific nationalities or cultural groups. By employing modern elements such as
fireworks, circus performances, jazz and contemporary dancing, non-traditional festivals
provide a particularly important element, entertaining experiences. There are serval
non-conventional festivals in each region in Saudi Arabia. Among the examples are:
Tollah festival, the largest carnival, which includes a showroom of perfumes and other
activities and entertainment; Shafa summer festival, a social and marketing festival, which
includes a marketing tent, a theater, popular shows and games, and other entertainment
events; and Shopping festivals, which showcase shopping tents with a variety of activities,
games and entertainment areas, shops, and an open theater. These festivals run for several
weeks mostly during summer.
The growth of non-traditional festivals reflects Saudi’s increased desire to attend a
festival as a pleasurable experience (Alghenaim, 2013; Bogari et al., 2003). It is also in line
with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims to: develop the social and economic policies
that are designed to free the kingdom from dependence on oil exports and build a
prosperous and sustainable economic future by focusing on the country’s strength and
policies, and contribute to improving the lifestyle and social cohesion among the
Saudi Arabian communities and remove some conservative restrictions in society
(Vision 2030 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2016). As one of the pillars of the Saudi
Government’s Vision 2030 in creating a vibrant nation, the General Entertainment
Authority has been established to organize the entertainment sector in providing exciting
entertainment options and tailored experiences to meet the needs of citizens from different
backgrounds. In fact, Comic-Con pop festival and a jazz performance were hosted in 2017 for
the first time in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the Saudi Government allowed cinemas to open
in April 2018 after 35 year-long ban (Carey, 2018). In the past, Saudis have traveled abroad
to see shows and visit entertainment hotspots due to the lack of leisure opportunities in their
country. By offering more recreational opportunities in Saudi Arabian lifestyle,
non-traditional festivals are expected to stimulate the domestic economy.
Furthermore, Saudi Arabians’ attitude toward spending leisure time has shifted,
especially among the young generation. According to General Authority for Statistics
(2016), 70 percent of Saudi Arabians are under age 30. Compared to older generations, this
demographic is less conservative and more open to new experiences (Forster, 2017).
Although this trend is pronounced in younger generations, Saudi Arabians, in general, are
increasingly seeking unique and novel experiences unlike their routine life (Al Dossry, 2012).
Non-traditional festivals may offer these unorthodox experiences to the more than 8m
foreign workers who do not feel emotionally attached to Saudi Arabia’s traditional festivals
(General Authority for Statistics, 2016). These emerging non-tradition-based festivals are
viewed by Saudi Arabians as an opportunity to enrich their lives (Cudny, 2016).
Given the growing interest in avant-garde experiences among Saudi Arabians, the
government and event organizers have made efforts to provide visitors with unique
experiences at non-tradition-based festivals. However, these festivals have not attracted
many Saudi Arabian visitors, despite many Saudis showing a strong interest in new leisure
experiences (Alghenaim, 2013). Thus, understanding what factors influence visitors to have
IJEFM positive experiences at non-tradition-based festivals will yield useful information to festival
10,1 planners and organizers ( Johnson and Stewart, 2005; Watson and Spence, 2007).
This research builds on Iso-Ahola’s motivation theory, which introduces two
motivations, seeking and escaping. Seeking is the desire to obtain intrinsic rewards while
visiting a festival, such as fun, novelty and excitement, while escaping is the desire to escape
from a routine environment (Snepenger et al., 2006). These two motivations are particularly
4 relevant to people in Saudi Arabia who are actively seeking venues, in which to experience
changes in their everyday lives (Al-Rasheed, 2013). This study posits that these two primary
motivations – seeking and escaping – affect visitors’ evaluations of the festival experience.
This research also builds on the cognitive appraisal theory of emotion, which proposes
that emotions are extracted from individuals’ appraisals (i.e. evaluations, interpretations,
and expectations) of events (Lazarus, 1982). In this study, it is proposed that visitors’
cognitive evaluations of a festival influence their emotional responses to it. To this end,
this study investigates whether and which motivations play an important role in cognitive
evaluation, which in turn affects customers’ emotional responses (i.e. a sense of joy) and
ultimately word-of-mouth publicity in the setting of a Saudi Arabian non-traditional festival.

Theoretical framework
Iso-Ahola’s motivation theory
Motivation refers to a psychological condition that orients an individual toward
achieving a desire (Bromley, 1990) and is promoted by an individual’s need to visit a
shop, a restaurant, or a festival (Mook, 1996; Moutinho, 2000). Thus, motivations can be
driving forces that determine a consumer’s decision making and influence his evaluation of
an experience (cognitive appraisal) (Deci and Porac, 1978). Iso-Ahola’s motivation theory
identifies two central motivational components that drive a person’s pursuit of leisure
activities, recreation and tourism. These motivations are “seeking” intrinsic rewards and
“escaping” routine environments.
Seeking motivation. The seeking motivation as it applies to tourism is identified as “the
desire to obtain psychological (intrinsic) rewards through travel” (Crompton and McKay,
1997, p. 4). In a festival context, seeking can be identified as a person’s motivational force to
acquire something, such as enjoying the festival’s food and entertainment and experiencing
a unique event. Crompton’s (1979) study identifies six seeking motivations for tourism
travel: “self-exploration,” “relaxation,” “prestige,” “regression,” “kinship-enhancement” and
“social interaction.” The study concludes that these six seeking motivations are not related
to a destination’s attributes but instead constitute a satisfiable state of need.
Several other researchers have identified seeking motivations toward festivals as well. In
the study of Uysal et al. (1993), visitors’ motivations for attending the Corn festival in South
Carolina, USA, consist of four seeking motivations: “event novelty,” “excitement/thrills,”
“socialization” and “family togetherness.” Smith et al. (2010) find that visitors’ satisfaction in
attending a culinary event in Memphis, Tennessee was affected by their seeking
motivations, which included the “desires for foods,” “event novelty” and “socialization.”
Similarly, in examining visitors’ motivations for attending an Efes Pilsen Blues festival in
Turkey, Özdemir (2011) identifies five seeking motivations comprising “cultural
exploration,” “family togetherness,” “novelty,” “event attractions” and “socialization.” The
study confirms that loyalty is indirectly (via satisfaction) influenced by visitors’ seeking
motivations. Finally, Savinovic et al. (2012) identify six seeking motivations for visitors
attending the Fešta Croatian Food and Wine festival in Adelaide, South Australia. These
motivations are “community support,” “knowledge/education,” “food, wine, and
entertainment,” “novelty,” “family togetherness” and “socialization.” Their study reveals
that these motivations directly influence the attendees’ overall satisfaction and repeat visits.
 As such, several seeking motivational factors explain individuals’ motivations to attend Saudi Arabian
festivals in a range of geographical and cultural settings. Because the festival under festival
consideration (i.e. the Abha festival) reflects a wide range of entertaining features (e.g.
modern music and dancing, and fireworks) in comparison to those of traditional festivals,
this study selects three seeking motivations to attend non-tradition-based festivals in
Saudi Arabia: food, entertainment and novelty.
Escaping motivation. The escaping motivation is “the desire to leave the everyday 5
environment behind oneself” (Crompton and McKay, 1997, p. 4). Escaping can be identified
as a desire for diversion from the daily routine, to emotionally refresh oneself, to
alleviate daily stresses and to improve one’s life quality (Crompton and McKay, 1997;
López-Mosquera and Sánchez, 2011; Snepenger et al., 2006; Thyne, 2001). Savinovic et al.
(2012) identify two escaping motivations – diversion and escape – for attending Fešta
Croatian Food and Wine festival. Özdemir (2011) also identifies the same escaping
motivations in a festival experience and find that these motivations indirectly influenced
satisfaction and loyalty through perceived festival performance.
Because a non-traditional festival provides new experiences via elements such as
motorcycle shows, water light and laser show flying, many people can utilize this
opportunity to relieve their boredom or daily stress and have an enjoyable time with family
or friends away from their typical environment. While traditional festivals have been more
prevalent until recently in Saudi Arabia, attending non-traditional festivals provides unique
opportunities for escaping and diversion experiences.

Cognitive appraisal theory

The cognitive appraisal theory of emotion was first introduced by Lazarus (1982), who
proposed that a person’s evaluation of whether an experience is positive or negative can
determine the person’s emotional reaction to the experience. That is, the cognitive process
influences the individual’s perception relative to the experience, and this cognition shapes
the emotional response. Johnson and Stewart (2005) view the cognitive appraisal approach
as “an especially relevant approach for understanding the emotional responses of
consumers in the marketplace” (p. 3).
Several researchers have noted that goal congruence is a primary factor that influences
cognitive appraisal. Goal congruence refers to the extent to which a situation is consistent with
what the person desires or the extent to which the situation facilitates personal goals (Frijda,
1986; Scherer, 1984; Smith and Ellsworth, 1987). That is, when an individual’s goal in a specific
situation is met, his evaluation of the experience becomes positive, yielding a positive emotional
response (Bagozzi et al., 1999; Johnson and Stewart, 2005). For example, when a visitor sees
the festival experience supports his goals of having fun and excitement, his evaluation is more
likely to be positive, leading to positive emotions such as happiness and joy.

The research model and hypotheses

Consumer choice and action results from an emotional process, which is a reaction to the
cognitive process (Moors and Scherer, 2013). The evaluation of whether a person’s
experiences with festival elements (e.g. food, programs) meets his seeking and escaping
motivations can determine his emotional response, the sense of joy. As illustrated in
Figure 1, seeking and escaping motivations are posited to influence cognitive evaluation,
which influences the sense of joy and eventually word-of-mouth.

Seeking motivations→Cognitive evaluation

Researchers have discussed the role of “seeking” or “push” motivation in consumers’
experience as well as their choices about attending festivals (Crompton and McKay, 1997;
IJEFM Food
H1a
10,1

SEEKING H1b
Entertainment
MOTIVATION

6
H1c Cognitive H3 H4
Novelty Sense of Joy WOM
Evaluation

H2a
Figure 1. Diversion
Conceptual model:
ESCAPING
sense of Joy at a
MOTIVATION
non-traditional festival H2b
in Saudi Arabia Escape

Gelder and Robinson, 2009; Lee, 2000; Lee et al., 2004). The term “seeking motivation” refers
to the need that drives visitors to engage in food-related activities (e.g. enjoying a cooking
show, food display), entertainment and novelty activities (Mason and Paggiaro, 2009).
According to Mason and Paggiaro (2012), food and entertainment motivations stimulate
visitors to use their mental operations, which affect their evaluation of festival experiences.
Thus, while attending a festival, visitors’ interactions with festival food and entertainment
activities influence their cognitive evaluation, that is, whether this interaction fulfills their
initial needs.
Researchers suggest that a visitor’s positive evaluation of a festival experience results
from the interactions between the visitor and the environmental inputs or “festivalscape,”
such as food, entertainment programs and novelty activities (Batra and Ahtola, 1991;
Chitturi et al., 2008; Dhar and Wertenbroch, 2000). Similarly, other researchers argue
that planning amusing programs and providing visitors with enjoyable local food
affect visitors’ assessments of the festival experience (Lee et al., 2008; Mason and Paggiaro,
2012). Specifically, Yuan and Jang (2008) and Axelsen and Swan (2010) argue that a
unique experience is one of the most important motivations that affect visitors’ behavior
toward a festival.
In a non-traditional festival setting in Saudi Arabia, the seeking motivation for food can
be fulfilled by enjoying different or local foods and cooking techniques. The seeking
motivation for entertainment can be fulfilled when festival-goers enjoy the exciting events
and atmosphere. Finally, the seeking motivation for novelty can be met when their curiosity
is satisfied by participating in new and varied activities. These experiences will enhance
visitors’ positive evaluation of the festival. Therefore, we proposed the following hypothesis:
H1. Seeking motivations such as food (a), entertainment (b), and novelty (c) will lead to a
positive cognitive evaluation of the festival experience.

Escaping motivation→Cognitive evaluation

Non-traditional festivals seem to provide visitors with an outlet for diversion from everyday
schedules, allowing festival-goers to find a change of pace from the routine. In Saudi Arabia
where leisure opportunities such as cinemas and nightlife are limited (Clark, 2016), diversion
motivation can be strong among all demographics. As Mathwick et al. (2001) stated, the
sense of engagement during the festival can bring about feelings of fantasies and diversion.
Further, Saudi Arabian visitors see non-traditional festivals as escape opportunities to Saudi Arabian
spend time with family and friends away from daily responsibilities (Alghenaim, 2013). festival
According to Baloglu (2000), travelers’ motivation to escape from their environment
influences their cognitive evaluation (i.e. beliefs and knowledge) of the place. Similarly,
Dweck and Leggett’s (1988) study reveals that motivational processes produce patterns of
cognition, affect and behavior. Hence, it can be postulated that when festival-goers
experience the feeling of diversion or escape, they will assess that the festival meets their 7
need. Therefore, we proposed the following hypothesis:
H2. Escaping motivations such as diversion (a) and escape (b) will lead to a positive
cognitive evaluation of the festival experience.

Cognitive evaluation→Sense of joy

It has been acknowledged that the cognitive appraisal process is essential for understanding
emotional responses (Bagozzi et al., 1999; Johnson and Stewart, 2005). Some researchers find
that visitors’ cognitive evaluations influence their emotional responses, which affect
consumer behavior (Moors, 2013; Nyer, 1997; Watson and Spence, 2007). For example, Nyer
(1997) concludes that emotion is a consequence of the cognitive appraisal of goal
congruence, based on the findings that goal-congruent situations lead to positive emotions
while goal-incongruent situation leads to negative emotions. Watson and Spence (2007) also
argue that cognitive appraisal is capable of provoking specific emotions, affecting consumer
behavior. Moors (2013) states that the cognitive evaluation process prepares the consumer’s
mind and body for action and shapes his feelings. As these studies illuminate, it is apparent
that a visitor’s cognition about the festival experience influences his sense of joy. Therefore,
the following hypothesis proposed:
H3. Cognitive evaluation will lead to the sense of joy.

Sense of joy→Word-of-mouth
Researchers have demonstrated that positive emotions such as happiness and joy will lead
to behavioral outcomes. Furthermore, an important determinant of behavioral intention is
not satisfaction but the emotional response to the experience (Bartl et al., 2013; Koo et al.,
2014). Specifically, emotions such as interest and joy can determine consumers’ behavior
and create memories, which tend to have a significant influence on word-of-mouth
promotion and intention to revisit (Kuenzel and Yassim, 2007; Oatley and Johnson-Laird,
1987; Oh et al., 2007). Specifically, Oatley and Johnson-Laird (1987) state that positive
emotions such as happiness and joy will encourage a consumer to decide to revisit and to
recommend the experience to friends. Therefore, we proposed the following hypothesis:
H4. The sense of joy will lead to positive word-of-mouth.

Methods
Sample and data collection
Attendees in non-traditional festivals in Saudi Arabia constituted the population of this
study. Via convenience sampling, the sample was obtained from visitors who attended the
non-traditional Abha summer festival in Saudi Arabia. Abha is located at 2,200 meters
above sea level in the fertile mountains of southwestern Saudi Arabia. As a well-known
tourist destination in summer, Abha has a mild climate although other parts of Saudi Arabia
are extremely hot during that season. The Saudi Government has been actively promoting
Abha as a tourist destination and has created non-traditional events, such as the Abha
IJEFM festival during summer, to attract visitors to the city and its surroundings. The Abha
10,1 summer festival has an entertainment theme by offering fun activities such as live
performances and games, displays of arts and crafts and cafes and restaurants along with
business networking facilities. It is organized by Star Group Company and runs for two
weeks with around 3,000 visitors per day (Alhatla, 2016). The festival as the research site of
this study was held from July 20 to August 4 in 2016 and the data were collected during late
8 evenings for three days in the middle of this event.
For data collection, two researchers approached visitors who stayed on the tables to
watch the live performance activities to participate in the survey regarding the festival
motivations and experience. Respondents were required to be visitors who stayed at least
5 h per day at this festival to ensure that they had sufficient experiences to be able to answer
the survey questions. To determine whether the respondent stayed at least five hours, we
asked visitors “What time did you arrive at the festival?” From a total of 500 surveys that
were obtained, 458 surveys were used in the data analysis after eliminating incomplete and
unusable responses. Table I shows the demographic profile of the respondents.

Instrument
The scales used in the survey were adapted from prior studies. They consist of seeking
motivations (food, entertainment and novelty) and escaping motivations (diversion and
escape), cognitive evaluation, sense of joy and word-of-mouth. Food scale items were
adapted from Kim et al. (2010); entertainment, from Dabholkar (1994); novelty and diversion,
from Lee et al. (2004); escape, from Crompton and McKay (1997); cognitive evaluation, from
Babin et al. (1994); the sense of joy, from Williams and Aaker (2002); and word-of-mouth,
from Brüggen et al. (2011). Because the literature does not provide the cognitive evaluation
scale in the context of consumption experiences, it was necessary to reinvent the items for
this scale. According to Rummel and Feinberg (1988), cognitive evaluation occurs when
intrinsically motivated individuals’ performance or experience leads to their feeling of

Demographic variable Frequency Percent

Gender Male 180 39.3

Female 278 60.7
Ethnicity Native Saudi Arabia 414 90.4
Other 44 9.6
Age 18–25 139 30.3
26–35 234 51.1
36–45 84 18.4
46–50 1 0.2
Marital Status Married 198 65.1
Single, never married 160 34.9
Education High school or less 99 21.6
Bachelor’s degree 277 60.5
Associate degree 10 2.2
Graduate degree 72 15.7
Employment Work full-time 238 52.0
Work part-time 81 17.7
Do not work 139 30.3
Household income Less than $16,000 139 30.3
Table I. $16,000–25,999 63 13.8
Demographic $26,000–38,999 172 37.6
characteristics $39,000–51,999 78 17.0
of the respondents $52,000 or more 6 1.3
competence and meaningful feedback. Therefore, we adopted the utilitarian value scale Saudi Arabian
items from Babin et al. (1994), which alluded cognitive evaluation of a consumption festival
experience, and then made a major modification to reflect the conceptualization of cognitive
evaluation. Face validity of the scale items was confirmed by academic experts in the
tourism discipline. All items were measured using a five-point Likert scale (1 ¼ strongly
disagree, 5 ¼ strongly agree).
9
Data analyses and results
For data analyses, structural equation modeling with LISREL 8.80 was employed with
parameters being estimated using a robust-maximum likelihood method. The two-stage
analysis involved validating the measurement model using confirmatory factor analysis
(CFA) and testing hypotheses with the structural model. The model fit was tested via
comparative fit index (CFI), non-normed fit index (NNFI) and root mean square error of
approximation (RMSEA) (Hair et al., 2009).

Measurement model
To test the measurement model, we ran CFA on eight constructs (i.e. food, entertainment,
novelty, diversion, escape, cognitive evaluation, sense of joy and word-of-mouth) with
24 observed variables. The results showed a satisfactory model fit: χ2 (224) ¼ 900.385,
CFI ¼ 0.940, NNFI ¼ 0.926 and RMSEA ¼ 0.081. Table II shows means, standard deviation,
skewness, kurtosis, factor loadings of the measurement items, construct reliabilities and
average variance extracted (AVE) of the measures.
The construct validities of the latent constructs were evaluated by both convergent and
discriminant validity. Convergent validities of all constructs were confirmed by the AVE
values greater than the threshold value of 0.50 (Fornell and Larcker, 1981) (Table II).
Discriminant validity was also confirmed by the AVE for each construct larger than the
shared variances (i.e. squared correlation coefficients) between all possible pairs of
constructs (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). Thus, the construct validities of all latent constructs
were found to be satisfactory.

Structural model and hypotheses testing

The structural model was constructed to examine the hypothesized relationships between
five exogenous variables (food, entertainment, novelty, diversion and escape) and three
endogenous variables (cognitive evaluation, sense of joy and WOM). The model showed
good fits to the data: χ2 (235) ¼ 1,024.051, CFI ¼ 0.925, NNFI ¼ 0.912 and RMSEA ¼ 0.086.
As illustrated in Table III, cognitive evaluation was positively influenced by two seeking
motivations (i.e. food and entertainment), but not by novelty. Thus, H1a and H1b were
supported, but H1c was not. Regarding escaping motivations, both diversion and escape
motivations positively influenced cognitive evaluation, supporting H2. In turn, cognitive
evaluation led to sense of joy, supporting H3, and sense of joy led to word-of-mouth,
supporting H4.

Discussion and implications

This study examined the impacts of seeking and escaping motivations on cognitive
evaluation and emotional responses for visitors who attend non-tradition-based festivals in
Saudi Arabia. This study is the first to apply Iso-Ahola’s motivation theory and cognitive
appraisal theory of emotion to a Saudi Arabian festival. The research model that
incorporates these two theories can be further employed for cross-cultural analysis, which
can utilized by both scholars and practitioners in determining the degree of cultural
adaptation for increasing international travelers.
IJEFM Measurement Mean SD S K FL CR AVE
10,1
Food 0.76 0.53
To try different and new foods 4.25 0.71 −0.56 −0.33 0.84
To enjoy local foods 4.51 0.58 −0.75 −0.04 0.84
To enjoy the interesting processes of cooking or food preparation 4.34 0.66 −0.49 −0.72 0.41
Entertainment 0.82 0.60
10 To enjoy the entertainment 4.15 0.64 −0.20 −0.43 0.81
To enjoy the festival mood 4.36 0.58 −0.24 −0.72 0.78
To have fun 4.44 0.56 −0.31 −0.92 0.74
Novelty 0.84 0.64
To experience new and different things 3.86 0.78 0.12 −1.08 0.82
To have a unique experience 4.06 0.69 −0.16 −0.60 0.83
To satisfy curiosity 3.75 0.82 0.06 −0.83 0.74
Diversion 0.91 0.77
To escape my routine 4.46 0.58 −0.62 −0.20 0.74
To have a change of pace from everyday life 4.41 0.59 −0.48 −0.29 0.94
To relieve daily stress 4.34 0.64 −0.50 −0.43 0.93
Escape 0.84 0.64
To spend time with my family away from home 4.41 0.55 −0.18 −0.94 0.95
To spend time with my friends away from work 4.41 0.57 −0.31 −0.79 0.89
To get away from responsibilities and have quality time with
my family/friends 4.22 0.72 −0.70 1.48 0.50
Cognitive Evaluation 0.82 0.61
I felt this festival trip was successful 4.12 0.62 −0.13 −0.18 0.68
I felt smart about the way I planned this festival trip and how it
turned out 4.33 0.67 −0.54 −0.55 0.96
While at this festival, I got the information and service that
I needed 4.64 0.52 −1.04 −0.03 0.67
Sense of Joy 0.85 0.66
I felt happy 4.33 0.59 −0.25 −0.64 0.63
I felt joyful 4.63 0.50 −0.71 −1.10 0.91
I felt delighted 4.28 0.55 −0.06 −0.06 0.86
Word-of-mouth 0.94 0.84
I am likely to say positive things about this festival to other people 4.33 0.57 −0.30 0.16 0.80
I am likely to recommend this festival to friends, coworkers
or neighbors 4.16 0.64 −0.30 0.03 0.98
I am likely to encourage friends, coworkers or neighbors to
Table II.
Measurement items attend this festival 4.13 0.64 −0.27 0.05 0.96
and CFA result Notes: S, Skewness; K, Kurtosis; FL, factor loading; CR, composite reliability; AVE, average variance extracted

H Structural paths Standardized estimate SE t-value

H1a Food → Cognitive evaluation 0.281 0.041 4.857***

H1b Entertainment → Cognitive evaluation 0.157 0.053 2.385**
H1c Novelty → cognitive evaluation −0.066 0.041 −1.054
H2a Diversion → Cognitive evaluation 0.327 0.053 6.031***
H2b Escape → Cognitive evaluation 0.159 0.039 3.213**
Table III. H3 Cognitive evaluation → Sense of Joy 0.457 0.055 8.875***
Hypotheses H4 Sense of Joy → WOM 0.254 0.068 5.417***
testing results Notes: Significant at **p o 0.01; ***p o 0.001, resepectively
The results display that both seeking (food and entertainment) and escaping motivations Saudi Arabian
(diversion and escape) play significant roles in cognitive evaluation for visitors, while festival
novelty (a seeking motivation) was not significant. Comparing the paths among constructs,
we found that diversion (an escaping motivation) has the highest path coefficient, followed
by food (a seeking motivation). Thus, diversion motivation is the most important factor for
non-traditional festival organizers to consider in developing strategies to attract more
visitors in Saudi Arabia. The reason that novelty was not significant can be attributed to the 11
fact that non-traditional festivals were not popular and had social restrictions in 2016 when
the data were collected. Due to the limited offerings and activities in the festival, the
participants may have not experienced novelty as much as they would today.
The positive effect of diversion on cognitive evaluation indicates that Saudi Arabian
visitors see a festival as a retreat for escaping daily routines and relieving boredom.
Non-traditional festival organizers can implement creative and innovative ideas to attract
those who crave new and exciting experiences. One of the most interesting programs in
festival markets is “Turning Guests into Artists,” which gives visitors an opportunity to
paint on a designated area in the festival. By the end of the day, the event’s items including
comforters, couches, rugs, and lampshades are covered with beautiful designs and
meaningful messages. This special program can add a memorable, unique experiences to
visitors and allow them to post their personalized designs on social media (Hoffman, 2017).
Also, events can organize a fashion design competition, such as a free-style design
competition for emerging fashion designers, tailors and stylists, as fashion interest has been
steadily growing among Saudi Arabian women (Upadhyay, 2016). In sum, this diversion
experience will influence their emotional response positively and affect their behavior such
as revisit and word-of-mouth intentions.
Reflecting on the positive effect of escape on cognitive evaluation, organizers can also
develop a framework that encourages visitors to spend quality time with family and friends
away from the home and work environment. To accomplish this goal, festival activities can
be organized to meet the needs of all ages (for family) or age groups (for friends).
For example, offering appropriate activities for a family to spend a great time together such
as PlayStation tournaments and water splash activity can influence their cognitive
evaluation and see a festival as a place for family gatherings. In Saudi Arabia, PlayStation is
usually played in private places such as a friend’s house. Thus, when a festival offers an
opportunity to bring family or friends together, visitors can enjoy pastimes away from the
usual environment. Also, water splash is an appealing activity in Saudi Arabia due to hot
weather, especially for families with children (Leon, 2014). These activities will influence
visitors to perceive a non-traditional festival as exciting diversion from the everyday bustle.
Based on the finding of the significant influence of food on cognitive evaluation, festival
organizers can develop a strategy that provides an opportunity for every visitor to enjoy
new foods as well as learning about the process and techniques of food preparation. Since
people in Saudi Arabia are now more attracted to healthy menus and diverse recipes
(Dumanovsky et al., 2010), event organizers can encourage food vendors to offer creative
menus or ethnic specialties in addition to healthy traditional foods. They can arrange a chef
showcase with chef interaction and food preparation demonstrations. Recently, the chamber
of commerce has permitted unemployed Saudi Arabian people to operate food truck
businesses, aiming at reducing the unemployment rate among the younger generation. This
new trend of business has become successful because the tracks’ foods are good quality,
reasonably priced and favored by locals wishing to support the young generation
(Abdullah, 2017). Thus, incorporating a variety of food trucks into a festival can be a good
strategy to attract more visitors and enhance their experiences.
Given that entertainment significantly influenced cognitive evaluation, festival
organizers can plan a festival that provides visitors with opportunities for fun
IJEFM experiences, and enjoyment of the festival mood. Reflecting a quiet revolution in Saudi
10,1 culture that affected a shifting attitude for citizens in how leisure time is spent, an
opportunity exists for live entertainment events, many of which have been banned for an
extensive time in Saudi Arabia. Events can include rapper performances, audience
participation games, kids’ activity areas and magic and comedy shows.
In developing strategies for enhancing experiences related to food and entertainment,
12 however, non-traditional festival planners and organizers should not ignore conventional
cultural elements, as visitors did not perceive novelty as a factor of cognitive evaluation. In
fact, many Saudi Arabian people are conservative about their culture; thus, festival inputs
should not extend far beyond their tradition. For this reason, merchandise, displays, setups
and ambiance at non-traditional festivals in Saudi Arabia can reflect a combination of
modern elements and traditional tastes.
In developing these strategies for non-traditional festivals, event organizers need to be
aware of their opportunity to build community spirit, increase local interest and
participation and strengthen cultural values and traditions. Event organizers and local
people should collaborate to develop a shared vision for the festivals; event organizers,
community groups and local businesses can work together to create an event tailored for the
whole community. This cooperation will attract visitors to non-traditional festivals and help
facilitate sentiments that these festivals can be a significant part of community,
strengthening group connectedness, belonging, and support, all of which are valued in the
Saudi Arabian culture (Small, 2007).
Our research has some limitations that lead to our suggestions for future research.
We limited our study of seeking and escaping motivations to one non-traditional festival
in Saudi Arabia. Further studies can use multiple festivals to increase generalizability to
non-traditional festivals in Saudi Arabia. Another extension of this study would be
to examine these motivations in both traditional and non-traditional festivals in
Saudi Arabia to assess to what extent visitors’ seeking and escaping motivations are
fulfilled in each type of festival. This kind of study will allow future researchers to
compare the two festival types in their impact on satisfying visitors’ motivations.
Furthermore, studies can investigate whether the model presented in this study
can be applied in other cultures, to determine its feasibility across cultures. Given the
rapid changes in Saudi society, updating this research is critical to provide timely and
useful information to festival organizers and managers in Saudi Arabia. Nonetheless, this
study is the first that has examined whether and how festival-going motivations affect
cognitive and emotional responses and ultimately behavioral intentions in a Saudi
Arabian setting.

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IJEFM About the authors
10,1 Faten Alshammari is PhD candidate in the Department of Retail, Hospitality and Tourism
Management, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. She is interested in emotional
satisfaction with festivals, tourism management, women entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia.
Youn-Kyung Kim (PhD) is Professor in the Department of Retail, Hospitality and Tourism
Management, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. She published a book,
Experiential Retailing: Concepts and Strategies That Sell and articles in Journal of Business Research,
16 Journal of Advertising Research, Psychology & Marketing, European Journal of Marketing and
Journal of Vacation Marketing. Youn-Kyung Kim is the corresponding author and can be contacted
at: ykim13@utk.edu

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