Unveiling economic impacts: The role of the Niyogyugan Festival in enhancing local economies
Carlos Keneth M. Dimaano, Kurt Rakan D. David & Madonna A. Ursolino
Abstract
The study investigated the economic impact of the Niyogyugan Festival on the municipality of Candelaria, Quezon, highlighting both its direct and indirect contributions to the local economy. Specifically, it explored how the festival stimulates economic growth through increased visitor arrivals, support for local businesses, and strengthened community engagement. Additionally, the study examined the pivotal role of Local Government Units (LGUs) in the festival's success, including their provision of funding, logistical support, and transportation arrangements for participants. Data were collected using a mixed-methods approach from a total of 180 respondents: 100 festival participants, 70 event attendees, and 10 LGU representatives. The findings revealed that the Niyogyugan Festival significantly boosted local business revenues, promoted the preservation of cultural heritage, and fostered collaboration between local authorities and community members. Overall, the results demonstrate that the festival not only sustains local culture and economic activity but also contributes to the long-term sustainable development of Candelaria.
Keywords
Niyogyugan Festival, economic impact, direct and indirect contributions, community engagement, local government unit initiatives
Author information & Contribution
Carlos Keneth M. Dimaano. Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management, Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation-Candelaria, Inc.
Kurt Rakan D. David. Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management, Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation-Candelaria, Inc.
Madonna A. Ursolino. Corresponding author. Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation-Candelaria, Inc. Email: donnaursolino@gmail.com
“All authors equally contributed to the conception, design, preparation, data gathering and analysis, and writing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.”
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Funding
This work was not supported by any funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical guidelines set by Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation-Candelaria, Inc. The conduct of this study has been approved and given relative clearance by MSEUF University Ethics Review Committee with Ethics Review Board Reference Number: BS-2025-051.
AI Declaration
AI tools were not used in writing this paper.
Notes
Acknowledgement
References
Abbas, M. (2023). The cultural significance of festivals around the world. Medium. https://medium.com/@mohsinabbaskhan3909
Baloch, Q. B., Shah, S. N., Iqbal, N., Sheeraz, M., Asadullah, M., Mahar, S., & Khan, A. U. (2023). Impact of tourism development upon environmental sustainability: A suggested framework for sustainable ecotourism. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(3), 5917–5930. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22496-w
Bauer, M., et al. (2024). How important is sustainability for visitors of rock and pop festivals? Insights from a broad audience analysis in Germany. Agora International Journal of Economical Sciences, 18(2). https://doi.org/10.15837/aijes.v18i2.6937
Baxter, L., Burton, A., & Fancourt, D. (2022). Community and cultural engagement for people with lived experience of mental health conditions: What are the barriers and enablers? BMC Psychology, 10(71). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00775-y
Cabras, I., Lorusso, M., & Waehning, N. (2020). Measuring the economic contribution of beer festivals on local economies: The case of York, United Kingdom. International Journal of Tourism Research, 22(6), 739–750. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2369
Colston, K. (2025). The importance of feedback & follow-up meeting after events. Endless Events. https://helloendless.com/importance-follow-up-meeting-after-events/
Doona, J. (2020). Political comedy engagement: Identity and community construction. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 23(4), 531–547. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549418810081
Dwyer, L., & Jago, L. K. (2018). Valuing the impacts of festivals. In The Routledge handbook of festivals (pp. 72–84). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315186320-5
Fluxx Team. (2024). The impact of grants on local economies. Fluxx. https://www.fluxx.io/blog/the-impact-of-grants-on-local-economies
Gao, X. (2024). Research on the impact of cultural festivals on urban regeneration: A case study of Edinburgh as a festival city. Highlights in Art and Design, 6(3), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.54097/8823wf92
Gesare, D. (2024). The role of public art in community identity and urban development. International Journal of Arts, Recreation and Sports, 3(4), 14–26. https://doi.org/10.47941/ijars.2068
Güneş, E. (2023). Contributions of local festivals in the context of sustainable tourism. Journal of Tourism & Gastronomy Studies, 10(1), 39–51. https://doi.org/10.21325/jotags.2022.976
Ikwumezie, A., Alugbuo, C. C., Okoro, C. U., & Igbojiekwe, P. (2020). Measuring the contribution of specific cultural festival to growth of Nigeria’s GDP through average tourists’ spending. International Journal on Integrated Education, 3(12), 7–15. https://doi.org/10.31149/ijie.v3i12.905
Jaccard, L. (2023). Post-event engagement: Boost success with 12 key strategies. Braindate. https://www.braindate.com/post-event-engagement/
Jackson, L. A. (2025). Community-based tourism: A catalyst for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals One and Eight. Tourism and Hospitality, 6(1), 29. https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp6010029
John, D. (2023). How festival creates boom in the economy. Oregon State University Blogs. https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/piperde/2023/06/19/how-festival-creates-boom-in-the-economy/
Kang, S., Hill, R., & Thilmany, D. (2024). Assessing economic impacts of Mile High 420 Festival in Colorado. Tourism and Hospitality, 5(3), 521–536. https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp5030032
Kostopoulou, S., Vagionis, N., & Kourkouridis, D. (2013). Cultural festivals and regional economic development: Perceptions of key interest groups. In Á. Matias, P. Nijkamp, & M. Sarmento (Eds.), Quantitative methods in tourism economics (pp. 275–289). Physica. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-2879-5_10
Lee, D. (2023). Sustainability front of mind for festival-goers. CGA Strategy. https://cgastrategy.com/sustainability-front-of-mind-for-festival-goers/
Lestariningsih, N., Syahputra, M. A. P., Tinus, T., Rezeki, E. R., Yanti, R., Ardiansyah, A., … Sumantri, L. S. (2024). Development and promotion of the agro-tourism park in Bangun Harja village through social media. Sasambo: Jurnal Abdimas (Journal of Community Service), 6(2), 270–283. https://doi.org/10.36312/sasambo.v6i2.1698
Li, X., Kim, J. S., & Lee, T. J. (2021). Contribution of supportive local communities to sustainable event tourism. Sustainability, 13(14), 7853. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147853
Liu, A., Qin, Y., & Lin, V. S. (2024). Local leaders’ promotion pressure and tourism development: Evidence from China. Journal of Travel Research, 64(6), 1464–1479. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472875241253008
Mair, J., & Duffy, M. (2024). The contribution of community events to sustainable urban tourism. In Geography, planning and tourism 2024 (pp. 248–259). Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781803926742.00026
Muradov, A. (2021). Regulation of lifelong education and its economic, social benefits. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education, 12(6), 1298–1310. https://doi.org/10.17762/turcomat.v12i6.2470
Nunez, J. (2019). The benefits of fiesta in the Philippines. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6865491
Nyandoro, M. (2024). Influence of cultural festivals on local economic development in Zimbabwe. International Journal of Sociology, 8(3), 48–59.
Preeti Singh, Vats, Y., Vats, A., & Vats, R. (2023). Promotion of events and festivals in the digital era. In International Conference on Smart Engineering for Renewable Energy Technologies (Vol. 387). EDP Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202338704006
Rosilawati, Y., Rafique, Z., Habib, S., & Nurmandi, A. (2020). Cultural psychology, social identity, and community engagement in world heritage conservation sites. Utopía y Praxis Latinoamericana, 25(Esp. 7), 81–93. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.400960
Rutagand, E. (2024). The role of cultural festivals in promoting social cohesion and cultural understanding. International Journal of Humanity and Social Sciences, 3(2), 13–25. https://doi.org/10.47941/ijhss.2077
Singh, A. (2025). Public relations and environmental sustainability. Prandlattes. https://prandlattes.com/public-relations-and-environmental-sustainability/
Streimikiene, D., Svagzdiene, B., Jasinskas, E., & Simanavicius, A. (2021). Sustainable tourism development and competitiveness: The systematic literature review. Sustainable Development, 29(1), 259–271. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2133
UN Tourism. (2017). Tourism and culture. UNWTO. https://www.unwto.org/tourism-and-culture
Varghese, B. (2022). Editorial: Sustainability & tourism business. Atna Journal of Tourism Studies, 17(2), v–xiv. https://doi.org/10.12727/ajts.28.0
Wang, X. (2024). The promotion of common wealth through tourism industry development: The mediating role of tourism professionals. Applied Mathematics and Nonlinear Sciences, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.2478/amns-2024-0596
Wood, E. (2015). An impact evaluation framework: Local government community festivals. Event Management, 12(3–4), 171–185. https://doi.org/10.3727/152599509789659768
World Bank. (2019). Small and medium enterprises finance. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/smefinance
Zoleta, M. (2025). Philippine Star post. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/100064616655120/photos/1234244905406053/?fpr=1
Cite this article:
Dimaano, C.K.M., David, K.R.D. & Ursolino, M.A. (2025). Unveiling economic impacts: The role of the Niyogyugan Festival in enhancing local economies. Journal of Hospitality, Tourism & Cultural Research, 1(3), 18-41. https://doi.org/10.53378/jhtcr.353256
License:
![]()
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) International License.
Most read articles
- Social media usage and the academic performance of Filipino junior high school students
- Exploring the factors influencing commuters’ satisfaction and the use of public utility buses in Quezon City, Philippines
- A narrative exploration of romantic experiences and ideal relationship standards among Filipino Gen Z
- Students’ exposure to social media and their radical involvement on the societal issues in the Philippines
- ChatGPT integration significantly boosts personalized learning outcomes: A Philippine study
- Tiktok made me book it: The impact of Tiktok on tourism destination selection of generation Z and millennials in Manila
- Senior high school students’ awareness and literacy on computer software applications
- Self-perception of ABM students towards their academic, social and emotional college preparedness
- Enhancing financial literacy among Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries
- Emotional intelligence and leadership efficacy of university student leaders





