Examine techniques the hospitality industry can develop to overcome barriers and increase motivation to partici-pate in artistic activities

Abstract

According to McCarthy and Jinnett (2001), almost 50% of the population attend live entertainment at least once a year, with engagement in the arts almost universal if you included mediums like television. However, research suggests more regular attendance for the arts is far lower, with potential audiences often feeling that the arts is not really for them. The arts industries neglect of people’s busy lifestyles, with the arts often being in locations that take time and are costly for people to get to, alongside that people often feel priced out of buying tickets, and the peripheral product is often neglected, these factors all further re-enforce the audience’s belief that the arts is not really for them. These factors suggest the arts are ready for a revolution, that puts its potential audiences at the heart of its thinking. This thesis seeks to develop a better understanding of how to engage potential audiences into the arts, while also understanding the barriers that arts organisations face in implementing these changers, with the aim to ‘Examine techniques the hospitality industry can develop to overcome barriers and increase barriers to participate in artistic activities. This study initially interviewed ten arts practitioners who work in the industry to develop a greater understanding of what arts organisations believe are the biggest barriers to engaging in the arts, before surveying 155 potential audience members, and interviewing a further eight members. The study found that potential audiences are motivated by a several factors including the act, socialising with friends, emotional impacts, and new experience, although the in-fluence for each one varied depending on the art forms. However, the barriers remain consistent throughout, with cost, location and time being the biggest barriers to engagement, with these factors appearing to interact with each, and being related not just to the event but the whole experience of going to the arts. This provides an opportunity to create a new arts venue and business, creating a wholistic experience for the potential audience, seeking to look after them and ensure it fits easily into their busy lifestyle. This involves the long-term aim of creating a hybrid model, with a selection of permanent arts bars in local communities putting both entertainment and hospitality front and centre, allowing people to enjoy both great arts and company at the same time. Alongside the permanent venue, the business also proposes to create a touring venue, taking the entertainment in the permanent venues to those communities that find it more of a challenge to access them.

Date of Award	31 Dec 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Robert Phillips (Supervisor) & Kassandra Papadopoulou (Supervisor)