Demographic profile of stakeholders

This section discusses the race, gender, age, level of education and employment status/

occupation of event attendees and residents. A comparative analysis follows.

4.2.1 Race and gender

Figure 4.3 demonstrates the historical racial classification of the event attendees to the Festival (n=322), showing the makeup of the three historical racial categories of event attendees. The majority of respondents were white (68.0%), the second highest were coloured (30.1%), followed by African (1.9%). This is a clear indication that most respondents who attended the Festival were white. These findings support the results of Tassiopolous and Haydam (2006:58) who conducted a study of adventure tourism attendees using the BOWF as a case study. This study was carried out in 2004 and 2005 with the aim of establishing the profile and perceptions of attendees at the BOWF. It further wished to

establish whether adventure tourism could be used as a tool to distinguish the Breedekloof region from other destinations through a unique feature/niche area (adventure tourism). The BOWF at the time (2004 and 2005) was largely viewed as a sport and outdoor lifestyle event, setting the basis for the study. This study revealed that most attendees at the BOWF in 2004 and 2005 were white (83.5%) followed by coloured (15.5%) and African (0.5%).

There was a discernable decrease in white respondents at the BOWF and an increase in coloured and African attendees in 2013. The event has grown over the years, gaining popularity and attracting diverse historical racial classifications.

Figure 4.4 demonstrates the historical racial classification of local residents. The majority were coloured (81.0%), supported by statistics provided by Statistics South Africa (2013c) that coloureds constitute the predominant population in the town (81.0%). The second highest was the white population (10.4%), followed by the African population (8.3%), other (foreign nationals) (0.3%) and lastly Indian/Asian (0%). The sample reflected the demographic profile of the residents in the area.

In terms of the gender of respondents at the Festival, 52.8% were male and 47.2% female;

hence there were slightly more males in attendance. Tassiopolous and Haydam (2006:64) found that in 2004 and 2005, 57.4% females and 42.6% males were included in the sample.

The gender of residents from Rawsonville was nearly equally split, with 50.8% males and 49.2% females that participated in the study.

Figure 4.3: Historical racial classification of event attendees (in %, n=322) 1,9

68

30,1

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

African White Coloured

Historical racial classification

Figure 4.4: Historical racial classification of residents (in %, n=374)

4.2.2 Age

The Festival was mostly attended by event attendees between the ages of 21–30 years (39.8%). This reflects that the Festival offers activities that lure this particular age category.

Interestingly, Dodd et al. (2006) reveal that generally the majority of consumers who drink wine are approximately 40 years of age. This study shows that most respondents who attended the event were younger than 40. Dodd et al. (2006) therefore note that events that lure younger attendees present a platform to educate this market about wine, thus altering their behaviour and choices and increasing wine sales. Event attendees in the following age ranges were also in attendance: 41–50 (18.3%), 31–40 (16.8%) and 18–20 (16.1%) with an average age of 32.67 years. Tassiopolous and Haydam (2006:64), on the other hand, discovered that the event was mostly attended by event attendees between the ages of 36 and 50 years (36.7%) followed by 26–35 years (28.4%) and 18–25 (20.7%). Evidently, as the event grew post 2005, it began to attract a younger market and fewer mature respondents.

Figure 4.5: Age categories of event attendees (in %, n=322) 8,3

Among the residents, there were mixed age categories. Most were from 41–50 years (27.3%) followed by 21–30 years (24.6%) and 31–40 years (21.1%), with an average age of 41.11 years.

Figure 4.6: Age categories of residents (in %, n=374)

4.2.3 Level of education

Most event attendees‟ (28.9%) highest level of education was Grade 12, which is a direct reflection of the highest employment category (student/scholar) in Figure 4.9. The certificate/diploma category follows closely (22.0%). It is evident that most festival attendees (85.6%) have completed school (28.9%), have at least a certificate/diploma (22.0%), an undergraduate degree (18.9%) or a postgraduate degree (15.8%). Only a few of the event attendees (14.3%) have either completed partial primary school (2.5%), primary school (10.9%) or have no formal education (0.9%). This suggests that most visitors to the Festival are educated and have professional careers with a greater likelihood of a disposable income.

Local residents, on the other hand, had mixed educational backgrounds. Most had completed only primary school (34.8%), followed by secondary school (21.7%). The number of those with a tertiary education (20.0%) is very low in comparison with those respondents that either completed school or had some schooling (71.5%). This suggests that most residents leave or complete school and then remain unemployed or search for work, instead of continuing their education at tertiary level.

According to Statistics South Africa (2013b), most residents in Rawsonville have only some primary school education (32.1%) and some secondary school education (27.5%). A total of 8.0% have completed primary school and 9.5% secondary school. Only 2.3% have completed higher education, while 6.5% have no formal schooling.

The results of the study confirm the statistics of Statistics South Africa as most residents in Rawsonville only completed primary school partially or high school partially (59.6%)

2,9

24,6 21,1

27,3

15,5

6,4 2,1

0 10 20 30

18-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 >70

Age categories

compared with those that indeed completed their secondary and primary level education (17.5%).

Figure 4.7: Highest education level completed by event attendees (in %, n=322)

Figure 4.8: Highest education level completed by residents (in %, n=374)

4.2.4 Employment status/occupation

It is evident from Figure 4.9 that event attendees were mostly students/scholars (27.3%).

This is due to the nature of the Festival and the activities that entice this particular market segment. It is followed by respondents with professional careers (23.3%) as it provided this market with an opportunity for entertainment and socialisation. This is a contributing factor for mostly whites attending the event, and not many locals, who are coloured. The Festival therefore particularly attracted attendees (professionals) with a disposable income and extra

0,9

money to spend on recreational activities. A disposable income refers to the outstanding amount after the deduction of taxes from the overall gross income (DaveManuel.com, 2014).

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2011:24) mentions that a “disposable income can be seen as the maximum amount that a unit can afford to spend on consumption goods or services without having to reduce its financial or non-financial assets or by increasing its liabilities”. However, it is also important to note that 14.0% of attendees were unskilled, which reflects lower levels of disposable income as well.

As the results in Figure 4.8 confirm, 8.6% of the local residents had no formal education, 15.0% completed only partial primary school and 34.8% completed primary school, it is understandable that most respondents as illustrated in Figure 4.10 are employed as labourers/unskilled workers (37.4%), and that 22.2% of respondents are unemployed. It is also apparent that among the respondents that completed secondary school and continued to a tertiary level (41.7%), there were 20.1% of the respondents that had professional occupations.

As shown in Figure 4.9, the Festival was mostly attended by those with professional careers who were white, but not by many locals who were coloured. This is evident in Figure 4.10 as most local residents are labourers/unskilled workers (37.4%) followed by those with professional careers (20.1%). As the Festival mostly attracted attendees with professional careers, they most likely have a disposable income and extra money to spend at the event.

Figure 4.9: Employment status/occupation of event attendees (in %, n=322) 2,2

Figure 4.10: Employment status/occupation of residents (in %, n=374)