When a festival fills a small town: a good atmosphere can easily turn into a bad weekend without an accommodation and return plan
A concert, wine festival, gastronomic weekend or local festival can, in just a few hours, change the rhythm of a place that for the rest of the year is used to slower traffic, free tables and accommodation that can be booked without rushing. For visitors, such events often look simple: buy a ticket, check the programme and set off. But precisely that gap between the festival schedule and real logistics is the reason why a good event can end with an expensive overnight stay, a long wait for a taxi, a closed road or a return home much later than planned. The original problem is not in the festival itself, but in the fact that its effect often spreads far beyond the stage, tent or main square.
According to UN Tourism data, international tourism in 2024 almost returned to pre-pandemic levels, with an estimated 1.4 billion international tourist arrivals worldwide. Eurostat data for the European Union further show that in 2024 more than three billion nights were spent in tourist accommodation, the first time since such statistics have been monitored at that level. Such a recovery and growth in travel means that even smaller events compete with a much wider tourism market: concerts, sports meetings, weddings, fairs, congresses and school holidays may overlap on the same weekend. When this happens in a place with a limited number of beds, parking spaces and evening public-transport lines, the pressure is felt immediately.
Why small towns feel the impact of a large event the fastest
Small towns and tourist places often have exactly what attracts visitors: a compact centre, recognisable squares, local restaurants, wine roads, promenades and an ambience that cannot be moved into a large hall on the outskirts. But such an advantage is at the same time also a logistical limitation. If the main road is also the access route to the festival, a promenade, a delivery route and a place for pedestrians, closing one street can change movement through the whole place. If most accommodation is located in a small circle around the centre, several hundred additional guests can mean that the nearest rooms disappear long before the programme begins to be seriously advertised.
UN Tourism, in its guidelines for destination management, emphasises that a destination is not only an attraction but a system that includes accommodation, transport, signage, public services, visitor information and the relationship with the local community. This is especially important at festivals because a visitor does not come only to a concert or tasting, but needs to arrive, find parking or a station, leave luggage, eat, move between locations and return to accommodation or to another place. If one of these elements fails, the overall impression can be poor even though the programme itself was well organised. For local authorities and organisers, this means that a festival weekend should be planned as a temporary enlargement of the town, and not only as cultural or entertainment content.
The European Parliament, in a study on overtourism in European destinations, warned back in 2018 that visitor pressure is not measured only by the total number of arrivals, but also by their concentration in time and space. A festival is exactly such an example: the load does not necessarily last the whole season, but it can become compressed into a few hours before the start of the programme and into a short period after its end. That is why, in practice, most problems appear at the same points: entrances to the town, parking lots, taxi ranks, bus stations, ATMs, public toilets, hospitality terraces and narrow pedestrian zones. A visitor who does not take this into account often underestimates how long an ordinary arrival can take.
Accommodation is not searched for after the ticket, but in parallel with it
One of the most common mistakes is buying a festival or concert ticket without checking available accommodation. In smaller places, overnight prices do not depend only on the general season, but on specific dates. If a popular festival, a large wedding, a sports tournament or a wine event is held on the same weekend, prices may rise, and accommodation within walking distance of the event may disappear first. The Croatian Bureau of Statistics, in data on commercial accommodation in Croatia for 2024, states that holiday and other short-stay accommodation facilities recorded the largest number of nights among accommodation groups, which shows the importance of apartments and similar capacities in the structure of tourist stays.
For travellers, this means that it is not enough to check whether there is a hotel in town. It is important to check how far the accommodation is from the event venue, whether there is night transport, whether arrival on foot is possible, whether the facility has its own parking and what the cancellation conditions are. Accommodation that is a few kilometres cheaper can become more expensive if there are no buses after midnight, if a taxi is unavailable or if the road towards the centre is closed. Special care should be taken with properties that look close in the listing but are separated from the festival location by a bypass, a hill, a poorly lit road or an area without pavements.
Good planning also includes a backup option. If travelling in a group, it is useful to agree in advance what happens if someone wants to return earlier, if part of the group stays until the end of the programme or if the mobile network becomes congested. At larger events it is not unusual for messages to be delayed, transport apps to work more slowly, and calls not to go through immediately. That is why the meeting point after the end of the programme and the approximate departure time should not be left for agreement in the crowd. This may sound excessive for a weekend trip, but it is precisely small agreements that most often decide whether the return will be calm or nervous.
Traffic closures should be read as part of the programme
Organisers often publish the performance schedule, the list of performers and the locations of stands, but for visitors, notices about temporary traffic regulation are equally important. Closed streets, changed bus routes, special parking areas, stopping bans and pedestrian zones are not a technical addition, but a practical part of the festival experience. The British Health and Safety Executive, in its event-safety guidance, states that organisers, after a risk assessment, should prepare a crowd-management plan, including a response to accidents and emergencies. Although such guidelines refer to organisers, they clearly show why the movement of people and vehicles cannot be left to improvisation.
For visitors, the most important thing is to check the official announcements of the town, tourist board, organiser and local transport operator. Navigation apps can help, but they do not always have to show temporary bans, special pedestrian corridors or parking areas opened only for the event in time. In practice, it is often smarter to arrive earlier, park farther from the centre and complete the last part of the route on foot than to try to get as close as possible to the entrance. Such a decision reduces stress on arrival, and it is even more important on departure, when hundreds or thousands of people try to leave the same area at the same time.
A particular risk is represented by returns by car after a long day, a late concert or a tasting programme. If the event includes wine, beer or other alcoholic content, a return plan must exist before arrival. This may mean an overnight stay, a designated driver, an organised shuttle, public transport or an official taxi operator. Relying on the assumption that “something will turn up” after the programme ends is most often the most expensive and least safe option. If the organiser offers special bus lines or transport to remote parking areas, that information should be checked in advance, including the time of the last departure.
Restaurants and local services fill up before the concert starts
A festival fills not only accommodation but also restaurants, cafés, shops, petrol stations and ATMs. In smaller places, hospitality capacities are often sized for ordinary weekends or seasonal peaks, but not necessarily for the concentrated arrival of a large number of people at the same time. This means that a dinner table, which would be easily available on an ordinary weekend, should be reserved in advance during an event. The same applies to tastings, guided tours, excursions, bicycle rental and other activities that visitors often add to the main event.
The OECD, in its report Tourism Trends and Policies 2024, points out that more sustainable tourism requires a better data basis, policy coordination and management of pressures on the workforce and destinations. During a festival weekend this is seen very concretely: a restaurant may have full tables, but insufficient staff; a taxi service may have increased demand, but a limited number of vehicles; a shop may extend opening hours, but cannot increase stock endlessly. Visitors should therefore expect service to be slower, queues longer and improvisation more expensive. This is not necessarily a sign of poor organisation, but a consequence of a sudden peak load.
A good approach is simple: reserve a meal before the main programme, bring water if the event rules allow it, check whether cards are accepted and have a plan if the ATM runs out of cash or a queue forms around it. At outdoor events, the weather forecast should also be checked, because rain, heat or a sudden change in temperature additionally changes visitors’ consumption, movement and mood. If arriving with children, elderly people or pets, the entry rules, availability of seating and distance from quieter zones should be checked in advance. Such information often does not decide whether one will go to the festival, but it does decide how pleasant the stay will be.
A good event must also take residents into account
Festivals and local events can bring direct benefits to small communities. Visitors spend on accommodation, food, transport, local products and additional activities, and the place gains visibility that it would be difficult to achieve through classic promotion. Specialist literature on festival and event tourism emphasises that events can be attractions, drivers of spending and an important part of a destination’s image. But the benefit is neither automatic nor evenly distributed. Residents may simultaneously have higher turnover for their businesses and greater pressure on everyday life: noise, closed streets, occupied parking spaces, crowds in shops and more difficult access to their own homes.
UNESCO, in texts on sustainable tourism, warns that a balance must be sought between economic benefits, regulation and the wellbeing of the local community. This is an important note because discussion about festivals is often reduced to two extremes: some see them exclusively as a development opportunity, others as a source of disorder. In reality, both outcomes are possible. An event that has clear traffic instructions, communicated times of street closures, a cleaning plan, available information and an agreement with local services more easily gains community support. One that brings visitors but does not direct them creates frustration both among guests and among residents.
For visitors, this means that responsible behaviour is part of the journey, not a moral footnote. Parking on private driveways, leaving rubbish, returning loudly through residential streets and ignoring temporary rules can damage the relationship between the event and the place that hosts it. If the festival is held in an old town centre, vineyard, nature park or historic area, caution is even more important. A good weekend is not measured only by photos from the event, but also by whether the space remains functional for the people who live there after the stage is dismantled.
The most expensive part of the trip is often getting out of the crowd
Planning arrival is usually easier because it takes place gradually. People arrive at different times, some arrive earlier because of accommodation, some because of dinner, and some immediately before the start of the programme. Departure is different. When the main concert, fireworks or final tasting ends, most visitors want to leave the area in the same short period. That is when it becomes clear the fastest whether the return was truly planned or relied on luck. Exit queues, crowds in the parking lot, lack of taxis and congested roads are not an exception but an expected scenario at popular events.
That is why the return should be planned just as seriously as the ticket. If using a car, one should check whether there are several exit routes and whether any road will be closed after the programme. If using public transport, one should know the time of the last departure and where the temporary stop is if the regular station has been moved. If counting on a taxi or transport app, the order should not be left until the moment when everyone else is doing the same. If sleeping in a nearby place, one should check whether the night road is safe for driving, whether there is lighting and how long the journey really takes once queues are included.
In practice, the best plan is often not the most complicated one. Sometimes it is enough to stay half an hour longer, walk to a more distant parking lot, arrange departure with organised transport or choose accommodation that allows a return on foot. Sometimes it is smarter to sleep over and leave in the morning than to join a line of tired drivers after midnight. Such decisions do not reduce the spontaneity of travel, but preserve the impression for which one set off for the event in the first place. A festival that fills a small town can be the best weekend of the season, but only if the ticket, bed, table and return are viewed as parts of the same plan.
Sources:
- UN Tourism – data on the recovery of international tourism and the estimate of 1.4 billion international arrivals in 2024. (link)
- Eurostat – data on the record number of tourist overnight stays in the European Union in 2024. (link)
- Croatian Bureau of Statistics – data on tourist arrivals and nights in commercial accommodation in Croatia in 2024. (link)
- UN Tourism – practical guide for tourism destination management and coordination of destination elements (link)
- European Parliament – study on overtourism in European destinations and management of visitor pressure (link)
- OECD – Tourism Trends and Policies 2024, overview of trends and policies for more sustainable tourism management (link)
- Health and Safety Executive – guidelines for risk assessment and crowd management at events (link)
- UNESCO Courier – text on sustainable tourism, the balance of regulation, local communities and economic benefits (link)