Papadopoulos K. Dimitrios[1] & Dimitriadis D. Efstathios[2]

ABSTRACT

The intercultural festival Cosmopolis is organized at Kavala town (Greece) the last 8 years.¶ It is estimated that 70 thousands people visit it every year.¶ Lee, Petrick and Crompton (2007) suggest that the organizers of festivals must increase the quality in order to earn mach more visitors.¶ The aim of this research was the creation of a valid and reliable instrument to measure the quality of festival Cosmopolis.¶ Additionally, was evaluated the quality of festival Cosmopolis and was examined the relation among perceived quality, total satisfaction and behavioral intension.¶ Ιn order to achieve the aims of this study, an empirical research with the use of structured questionnaire was performed.¶ The final sample size consists of 326 visitors of festival Cosmopolis.¶ The results show the overcoming of expectation of visitor in the quality area and height level of satisfaction and behavioral intension.¶ Additionally, the results support that the perceived quality and total satisfaction are related with the behavioral intension.¶

Keywords: festival Kosmopolis, perceived quality, satisfaction, behavioral intension.

INTRODUCTION

In the frame of benefit of services the interest for the quality constitutes a remarkable research approach, because many researchers have supported that the quality of services is related positively to the maintenance of customers and their faith towards the providing organization (Baker and Crompton, 2000; Zeithaml and Bitner, 2000). At the same time, it is thought that a customer with a positive perception for the quality of the offered services, is most likely to present high levels of satisfaction (Caruana, 2002; Spreng and Chiou, 2002; Spreng and McKoy, 1996; Cronin and Taylor, 1992; Woodside et al., 1989). The satisfaction has also been positively related to the intention of faith towards the supplying organization (Petrick 2004; Choi and Chu 2001; Tam 2000; Dabholkar and Thorpe, 1994).

The cross-cultural festival of Cosmopolis has been organized in Kavala in the summer since 2000. The organizers of the festival believe that they carry out a philosophical-political vision that dominated the Macedonian kings in the 4th century, when it was consolidated that the cultural affinity exceeded the limits that the genealogical relations and the government owned borders placed. In the frame of this festival traditional musical and dancing groups from different countries of world are invited. The events take place mainly in a traditional and picturesque settlement of the city. Other than the music and dances the guest participants present characteristic traditional flavors from their country and also expose and sell to the visitors’ different types of popular art. The duration of festival is 5 days and admission is free of charge, while a symbolic price is required to focus on the traditional foods of the participating countries. The organizational institution of the festival is the municipal developmental company which is supported each year by 300 volunteers, while it is visited by 70 thousands people from Kavala and other cities.

The festivals last for short time and are based on a particular subject (Baker and Crompton, 2000). Gursoy et al. (2004), support that the festivals and the special organizations create more social profits, than social costs. Not only the organizers of the festivals but also the rest of the people who provide recreation services, aim to provide high quality experiences and satisfaction that the customers will appreciate as high value. The aim of the organizers is not only for the visitors to the festival to revisit it in the future but also to recommend it in their social circle (Lee et al., 2007).

The construction of quality, as it is conceptually interpreted in the bibliography of services, is focused on the perceived quality. The perceived quality is a type of attitude related, even though it is not always identified, with the satisfaction that results from the comparison of expectations to the perception for the output (Parasuraman et al., 1988). The definition that is adopted in the frame of this work for the quality of services is that of Parasuraman et al. (1988) that supports that: "… quality of services is the degree of the difference between the pattern expectations of customers from a service and their perception for its output ".

Kotler (2000) defines the satisfaction as: "…the feelings of pleasure or disappointment of an individual, which result from the comparison of attribution of a service, in relation to the expectations ". As it results from the definition, the satisfaction constitutes an interrelation of the perceived output of the service and the expectations of the consumer. The relation of quality and satisfaction is considered not to be linear, because a lot of factors are likely to intervene in it. The relation should strongly be influenced from the personal characteristics of the consumer, such as his/her inclination for variety, the age and/or his income (Homburg and Giering, 2001), as well as from his experience. According to Johnson et al. (1995), the overall satisfaction constitutes an overall evaluation of the consuming experience. Cronin et al. (2000) support that while the perceived quality constitutes a cognitive correspondence in an offered service, the overall satisfaction is a sentimental correspondence based on a drifting opinion of the phenomenon. In the present study the significance of the overall satisfaction is used.

The faith of the consumer to the organization is recognized as a strategic point for the enterprises (Oliver, 1999; Reichheld, 1993). According to Petrick and Sirakaya (2004) the faith of the consumer constitutes a critical orientation towards the organization. Thus, the organization maintains its existing customers, averting them from seeking other organizations. Although there is a lot of disagreement regarding the significance of faith, most researching studies focus on the volitional of nature, in the behavioral intention (Guenzi and Pelloni, 2004). According to Zeithaml et al. (1996) the perceived quality of a service is related to the customer’s behavioral intention. The significance of the consumers’ faith to an organization, according to Bloemer and Ruyter (1998) and Oliver (1997), is interpreted by two basic structures, the commitment and the consequence. Zeithaml et al. (1996) claim that the favorable behavioral intention includes elements such as the suggestion of the service to others and the smaller sensitivity towards the price. These opinions are used to estimate the behavioral intention in the frame of the present study.

The aim of this study is the creation of a valid and reliable instrument for the measurement of the quality of the festival Cosmopolis. Furthermore, the aim of the study was to estimate the quality of the festival as well as the investigation of the relation between the perceived quality, the overall satisfaction of the visitors and their behavioral intention towards the festival.

MEASURING SERVICE’S QUALITY

There is a big variety of models for the measurement of quality of services in the international bibliography. The best known and widely used tool is the SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1988), which proposes the appreciation of the quality in the frame of 5 dimensions: reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy and the responsiveness. The reliability refers to the capability of the organization to attribute what it promised with reliability and precision. Safety refers to the knowledge of the personnel that provides the service and in its ability to inspire confidence. Tangibles refer to the natural environment in the frame of which it is offered service, in its equipment, in the accommodations that are provided and to the communication material. The empathy refers to willingness of the employees to personally direct their attention to the customer and finally the responsiveness refers to the willingness of the personnel to help the customers and to offer the services willingly and promptly. The model particularizes the quality estimating the difference between the customers’ expectations and their service perception.

SERVQUAL and other models deriving from it, have been used for the measurement of the quality in a variety of sectors of services of recreation such as the hotels (Ingram and Daskalakis, 1999; Oh, 1999), travelling agencies (Luk, 1997), parks (McKay and Crompton, 1990), tourist events and resorts (Bigne et al., 2001), historical destinations (Frochot, 2003) etc.

An other instrument that has been proposed is the CERM CSQ (Howat et al., 1996), that includes the four following dimensions: core term services, staff quality, general facility, secondary services. The core services refer to the organizational dimension, the information, the accuracy of implementation of the program, in the equipment and in the financial value. The staff quality refers to the knowledge and its appearance. The general accommodation refers to the safe parking and to the cleanliness. Finally, the secondary services refer to the allocated food, drinks and to the attention that is given to the children.

MEASURING ORGANIZATION’S QUALITY

Despite the fact that there are many tools for measuring the quality of services, few of them concern the appreciation of the quality of the organizations. The enjoyment and the satisfaction of the visitors of the organizations is formed by a number of interactions of the customers towards the program, the settings, the system management, the personnel, the volunteers, and also the other visitors (Getz, 1997), making the evaluation of the quality a complex and difficult work (Getz et al., 2001).

Festivals include tangible elements, such as food, drinks, and other products that are either sold or provided free of charge, but a service is essential in which are included none materialized experiences of expired duration, in a managing atmosphere. This "empirical" product that is produced and is offered simultaneously is highly heterogenic and it is difficult to be stored or to be checked. Thus, the organizations can be described as neither constant nor standardized services in which knowledge, behavior and contact with their provider constitute critical elements (Bejou et al., 1996). The meaning of service in the organizations has, according to Getz (1997), two aspects. The visitors of the organization is likely to consider the service as a tangible acceptance that is being receive from the personnel or the volunteers, because this transaction is personal, direct and important for the overall experience. However Bateson (1989) supports that a service is a bundle of utilities for their recipient via the experience that is being created for the particular recipient. For this reason, the quality of services should be calculated not only for its tangible but also for the, elements of experience (Getz et al., 2001).

The research studies for the determination of the quality of the festivals are not many. Ralston and Crompton (1988) examined the quality of the services of the Dickens festival (Galveston, Texas) based on the dimensions of: reliability, dauntless, safety, responsibility and correspondence. Their objective was to determine the high and low classification of various parameters, via a range of statements that were presented to the visitors. In their relative work in the same festival Crompton and Lobe (1995) concluded that the tangible dimension was the most important and particularly the atmosphere, the sources of information in the internet, the provided accommodations comforts, the parking and the interaction with the suppliers. However the live implementation was found to be substantially the best for sighted factor in quality. Love and Crompton (1996) once again used Dickens Festival, based on the work of Herzberg (1966), in order to test their hypothesis that certain elements constitute "factors of dissatisfaction" and could decrease the satisfaction of visitors, while some others constitute "factors of satisfaction" and could increase the satisfaction. The "dissatisfies" perhaps promoted the expected level of quality, however did not increase on their own the level of satisfaction. The researchers support that most of the natural elements, such as parking, toilets, and information constituted "factors of dissatisfies", while the atmosphere, the imagination, the excitation, the relaxation, the "ability to escape" and social associations constituted "factors of satisfaction".

DEVELOPMENT OF RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The 8 year operation of the Cosmopolis festival and the large number of visitors every year allows us to assume that:

H1: The estimation of services of the festival exceeds the expectations of its visitors, while the overall satisfaction and the behavioral intention of its visitors ranges above the average.

Homburg and Giering (2001) note that the relation of quality and satisfaction is considered not to be linear, while Parasuraman et al. (1988) supports that the perceived quality is a type of attitude related, if not always coincide, with the satisfaction. Bloemer and Ruyter (1998) point out that the judgment for the satisfaction of the recipients of services will not essentially lead to their engagement with the organization, which provides the service.

Η2: The perceived quality is related positively with the overall satisfaction.

Η3. The perceived quality influences positively the behavioral intention.

Bolton and Lemon (1999) suppose that the general satisfaction of the customers has important repercussions in the frequency, with which a service is being used. Halstead (1989) proposes that the real value of estimation of consumer satisfaction is the potentiality, which creates the prediction of consumer’s correspondence after the consumption of goods. Hallowell (1996) supports that the differences that exist in the satisfaction that customer perceive, is explained in high percentage by the differences that exist in the behavioral faith (frequency of the use of service). Furthermore, Gremler et al. (2001) point out that the general satisfaction influences positively the intention of customer’s faith towards the organization benefit of the service. Kotler (2000) supports that: "the very satisfied consumers are the least likely to abandon an organism". The high satisfaction or pleasure creates a sentimental bond with the organization, not only a reasonable preference. The result is the high faith of the consumer to the organization. Consequently it is supposed that:

Η4: The overall satisfaction positively influences the behavioral intention.

The relation of quality and satisfaction is considered not to be linear, because a lot of factors intervene in this. The first reason is that, the relation should strongly be influenced by the personal characteristics of the consumer, as his inclination for variety, age of e.t.c (Homburg and Giering, 2001). Consequently it is supposed that:

Η5: The age of visitors is related positively with the perceived quality, the overall satisfaction and their behavioral intention.

The relation of quality and satisfaction is weaker when the consumers have smaller experience or even when they do not have clarified opinions, because they proceed in judgments that are not completely processed and consequently are not well informed. Consequently, the judgment for their satisfaction will not lead essentially to their engagement with the organization, which provides the service (Bloemer and Ruyter, 1998). Johnson and Mathews (1997) support that the repeated entanglement with a service possibly increases the expectations of the users from a future entanglement with the particular service. Moreover, the expectations of a user to the services can depend on the level of previous satisfaction that was acquired from the services that were offered by the same organization. This opinion is justified, because the more familiar you are the more expectations you have in a future acceptance of services (Rodringuez del Bosque et al., 2004). Consequently it is supposed that:

Η6: The previous experience of visitors is related positively with the perceived quality, the overall satisfaction and their behavioral intention.

Finally a research question is also placed:

Ε1: Perceived quality, total satisfaction and the behavioral intention depend on the sex of the visitors;

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Sample and data collection

In order to achieve the objectives of this study a survey was realized with the use of structured questionnaire. The questionnaire is constituted by 51 items divided in three parts which measure the “quality”, the “satisfaction” and the “behavioural intention”. There are also 5 demographic questions and one that measures the number of previous visits. The questionnaires were supplemented by the visitors of Cosmopolis’ festival during their departure of the place where took place the festival. The final sample of the present survey is constituted by 383 individuals who visited the festival of Cosmopolis during the period of summer of 2007 and is considered as representative for a marginal error of 5% (Saunders et al., 2000). The average age of the visitors is more or less 30 years old, while 88,8% was Kavala’s citizens and only 11,2% were citizens of other regions of Greece or abroad. 13.0% of the visitors visited for the first time the festival, while the average number of visits was 3,59.

MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENT

Instrument for measuring the quality

Every festival has its aims and its own particularities (free entry, traditional dishes, types of popular art of other populations) and consequently was appreciated as essential the creation of a new instrument, which match the conditions of specific festival, for measuring the perceived quality.¶

For this reason were selected variables from previous studies (Lee et al., 2007; De Guzman et al., 2006; Frochot, 2004; Lentell, 2002; Getz et al., 2001; Parasuraman, et al., 1988) compatible with the nature of festival Cosmopolis.

Were added also some variables relevant with corresponding previous instruments fitted however in the specific conditions of festival (e.g estimate for the quality of traditional foods). ¶Thus, was created a base of 43 variables. ¶For the estimation of perceived quality was created a scale of 11 points, that ranges from -5 until + 5. In the centre of the scale is found the 0, which represents the identification of expectations of visitors from the quality of festival with their estimate for this. ¶Prices below zero were considered as low perceived quality, while prices above zero as high perceived quality.

Instrumentformeasuringthesatisfaction and the behavioral intention

For the estimation of overall satisfaction 3 questions were used, as they are proposed by Oliver (1980) and have been used in the past by other researchers (Kouthouris and Alexandris, 2005). ¶For the estimation of behavioural intention were used 5 questions adapted from the work of Zeithaml et al. (1996) which are related with the intention of re-supplying service in the future, with the intention of constitution of service and with the sensitivity of the price. Both ¶the estimation of overall satisfaction and the behavioural intention were recorded in a 5-point Likert scale, where 1: means the entire lack of overall satisfaction or behavioural intention, while 5: represents the absolute overall satisfaction or absolute behavioural intention. ¶

SCALE RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY

Several tests were performed to establish Content Validity, Construct Validity and Reliability of questionnaire. These tests are needed in order to ensure the appropriateness of the research instrument.

Content Validity refers on the extent to which a measurement reflects the specific intended domain of content (Carmines & Zeller, 1991). To ensure content validity primary a review of the literature on the subject of the study was made and secondly a pilot test in a panel of experts (professors and professionals) was conducted. In our study all the variables were used in similar research and considered to be valid.

The next step in the validation procedure was the construct validity test. The construct validity seeks on agreement between a theoretical concept and a specific measuring device or procedure. We have performed an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) because items from dissimilar studies are used and the structure of the factor model or the emphasised theory is not known or defined a priori.

The extraction of factors was done with the method of Principal Component Analysis using Orhogonal rotation of the axis with the use of Varimax method which is one of the most popular methods of Orthogonal rotation according to Sharma (1996) and Haier et al. (1995). In order to test if data are appropriate for factor analysis, Bartlett’s test of sphericity was performed. Furthermore, the Measure of Sampling Adequacy (M.S.A.) of Kaiser-Mayer-Olkin (K.M.O.) was used. This is the most popular diagnostic measure and it includes the degree to which some variables belong to the same factor (Sharma, 1996). Sharma (1996) suggests that K.M.O. has to be greater than 0.8. However, degrees over than 0.6 are acceptable. In order to determine the number of factors the criterion of Eigenvalue was used. Factors whose Eigenvalue is over than one are selected. Finally, for the test of significance of variables to the form of factors their loadings were checked. For a sample size of more than 150 individuals a loading more than 0.45 is considered as significant (Haier et al., 1995).

Reliability is one of the most important criteria for evaluating research instruments (Chu and Murrmann, 2006) and refers to the extent to which a variable or a set of variables is consistent in what it is intended to measure (Hair et al., 1995). The test of reliability was done with the use of Cronbach’s alpha index which measures the internal consistency among variables. Values of Cronbach’s alpha which are greater than 0.7 are considered as valid (Nunnaly, 1978).

Factor analysis for the 43 items of “quality” gave us seven distinctive factors namely “Implementation and Atmosphere”, “Correspondence”, “Facilitations”, “Tangibility” “Reliability”, “Safety” and “Information”. Three items were deleted because their loadings were less than 0.45.

The results of factor analysis are presented on tables 1 and are very satisfying as they cover the restrictions which were mentioned above.

Table 1. Results of Exploratory Factor Analysis and Reliability Analysis for “Quality”.

A second order factor analysis among the seven factors which are resulted from the first factor analysis gave us one valid and reliable factor namely “perceived quality” (Table 2).

Table 2. Results of Second Order Factor Analysis

The 3 items which were used for measuring “overall satisfaction” constitute one factor.

Finally for measuring “behavioral intention” we have used 5 items which gave us one factor.

The results of factor analyses are showed in the tables 3 and 4.

Table 3. Factor Analysis for “Overall Satisfaction”

Factor	Items	Loadings	Cronbach’s a
Overall Satisfaction	I am happy for my decision to watch the festival¶	0.903	0,900
	I do not repent for my decision to watch the festival¶	0.902
	I am satisfied from my decision to watch the festival ¶	0.935
K.M.O= 0,738 Bartlett’s test of sphericity = 716,64 Sig. = 0,000 Total Variance Explained = 83,42%

Table 4. Factor Analysis for “Behavioral Intention”

Factor	Items	Loadings	Cronbach’s a
Behavioral Intention	I intend to recommend the festival in my friends¶	0.886	0,866
	I intend to revisit the festival next year¶	0.851
	I will try to return in the festival¶	0.869
	I will inform my acquaintances for the festival ¶	0.890
	I would pay ticket in order to watch the festival	0.557
K.M.O= 0,842 Bartlett’s test of sphericity = 1101,87 Sig. = 0,000 Total Variance Explained = 68,85%

RESULTS

Hypothesis 1

For the test of the first hypothesis were calculated the mean scores and the standard deviations of the seven factors which resulted from the section “quality” (Table 5). ¶

As it results, the estimation of services in all factors exceeds the expectations of festival’s visitors. Comparatively, the higher quality is recorded in the factor “Implementation and Atmosphere” (Μ=2.197, S.D=1.791), while the lower is recorded in the factors of “Accommodations” and “Facilities” (Μ=.775, S.D=2.209).

The mean score of overall section “quality” is 1.735 with s.d of 1.620, when the identification of expectations with the estimation of service was symbolized with the 0.

The mean score of “overall satisfaction” is 3,929 (S.D=0.918), while the mean score of “behavioral intention” is 3,769 (S.D=0.922). As it results, all the factors of quality and at extension the total perception for the offered services in the festival exceeded the expectations of visitors. ¶

Table 5. Basic Statistics¶

Hypotheses 2 and 3.

For testing the 2nd and 3rd hypotheses, two regression analyses were performed. As predictor variables, in both analyses, the seven dimensions of “quality” have been used, while as dependent variable in the 1^st and in the 2^nd regression the “overall satisfaction” and the “behavioral intention” respectively, have been used. We have employed “stepwise” method for obtaining the optimal solution in both regression analyses.

Thus, as we can see in the table 6, from the first “stepwise” regression resulted a model with 3 predictor variables that explains the 35,8% of total variance of “overall satisfaction”. The predictor variables which most affect positively the “overall satisfaction” of visitors are “implementation and atmosphere”, “safety” and “informing”.

Table 6. Regression Analysis¶

The second “stepwise” regression analysis gave us a model with only two predictor variables (“implementation and atmosphere” and “safety”) which explain the 36% of the total variance of “overall satisfaction”.

The data are appropriate for both regression analyses as the F- statistic is significant and moreover there are not serious problems of autocorrelation (D.W 2) and collinearity (V.I.F < 5).

Table 7. Regression Analysis¶

Hypothesis 4.

The test of the 4^th hypothesis has been done by the use of regression analysis where the dependent variable was the “behavioral intention’ and predictor variable the “overall satisfaction”.

Table 8. Regression Analysis¶

The “overall satisfaction” of visitors explains the 67,7% of the total variation in the “behavioral intention” of visitors and thus can be characterized as a very strong predictor.

Hypotheses 5 and 6.

The hypothesis 5 examines the relationship of the “age” of visitors with “perceived quality”, “overall satisfaction” and “behavioral intention” of visitors. We have performed regression analysis where the dependent variables were respectively “perceived quality”, “overall satisfaction” and “behavioral intention” while the predictor variable was the “age”. All regression analyses gave us insufficient results which do not support the hypothesis.

The hypothesis 6 examines the relationship of the “previous experience” of visitors with “perceived quality”, “overall satisfaction” and “behavioral intention” of visitors. The dependent variables, in the regression analyses, were “perceived quality”, “overall satisfaction” and “behavioral intention” respectively, while the predictor variable was the “previous experience”. The results of regression analyses do not support the hypotheses in this case too.

ResearchQuestion

The hypotheses 5 and 6 showed that the “age” and “previous experience” of visitors do not constitute factors affecting the “perceived quality”, “overall satisfaction” and “behavioral intention” of visitors. In order to test if the “sex” of visitors affect the “perceived quality”, “overall satisfaction” and “behavioral intention” we have performed an ANOVA analysis. The results (Table 9) show that the women are more satisfied than the men (Sig. F=0,047<0,05). Also the women present better behavioral intention (Sig. F=0,013<0,05). On the other hand, the difference between women and men in perceived quality is not so clear.

Table 9. ANOVA Analysis for “gender”¶

DISCUSSION- CONCLUSIONS

The aim of this study was to create a valid and reliable instrument to measure the quality of the festival Cosmopolis. An additional aim of this study was to estimate the quality of the festival, the satisfaction and the behavioral intention of its visitors, as well as to investigate the relation between quality, satisfaction and the behavior intention concerning the festival.

An exploratory factor analysis with statistically important results supports the validity of the instrument for the measurement of the perceived quality of the festival. The reliability of the 7 factors that recommend the instrument was checked with Cronbach's Alpha index, and it was found to be satisfactory. The 7 factors also attributed a valid and reliable factor of the 2nddegree. Thus, the instrument is judged suitable for the measurement of the quality of the festival of Cosmopolis.

The measurement of the perceived quality of the festival of Cosmopolis surpassed the expectations of the visitors. The results show a very successful organizational effort. The weak factors were also determined, as for example "facilitations". Equally high to the perceived quality was determined the total satisfaction of visitors as well as their behavioral intention towards the festival.

The height of the perceived quality was related positively with the age of the visitors. That is to say, the older the visitors were the higher the perceived quality of the festival was. This discovery shows that the younger visitors of the festival may have higher expectations to the quality and are stricter critics. Nevertheless, the total satisfaction of the younger individuals and their behavioral intention did not differentiate from the corresponding older in age visitors. The numbers of the previous visits in the festival were related positively to the behavioral intention of its visitors. It appears that the quality of the festival, as well as the satisfaction that the visitors acquire from it is continuously increasing, and consequently is favorably influenced their behavioral intention.

The women visitors of the festival Cosmopolis appear to be more satisfied than the men, as they record higher behavioral intention. However there is no differentiation towards the conceiving quality. It appears that the festivals that include cultural elements, such as dancing, music, the traditional costumes and the traditional cooking are more attractive to the women.

The assessment by the visitors of the quality of the festival appears to be able to interpret the changes of the total satisfaction of the visitors. This discovery is aligned with other precedents, that support the effect of the perceived quality on the satisfaction (Caruana, 2002; Spreng and Chiou, 2002; Alexandris et al., 2001; Spreng and McKoy, 1996; Cronin and Taylor, 1992; Woodside et al., 1989). Still, the results of the research work showed that the perceived quality as well as the total satisfaction can interpret the changes of the behavioral intention in some percentage. This discovery also agrees with other previous ones (Alexandris et al., 2002; Baker and Crompton, 2000; Bloemer et al., 1999; Zeithalm et al., 1996).

However, it was not determined if all factors of quality contribute in predicting the total satisfaction nor in predicting the behavioral intention. The results of the study showed that the prediction of total satisfaction can only emanate from the factors "Implementation and Atmosphere", "Safety" and "Information". At the same time, the prediction of total satisfaction can be realized only from the factor "Implementation and Atmosphere". This virtually means that a big probability exists for someone to visit the festival in the future, if they saw unusual things or if they considered the music and the songs good quality despite the fact it did not create, good impression for the quality, for example, of the areas of hygiene. These findings distinguish, mainly, the importance of the factor "Implementation and Atmosphere" and secondly the factors "Safety" and "Communication". The importance of implementation in the frame of the festival is also indicated by Crompton and Lobe (1995). At the same time, Alexandris et al. (2002) and Zeirhaml and Bitner (2000) underline that the tangible part of the services is considered today requisite and expected and, consequently, does not influence the evaluation and the behavioral intention of the recipients of the relative services.

The factor "Implementation and Atmosphere" appears to reflect to the main motives which make someone visit a festival. Guzman et al. (2006), among other motives in visiting a festival include the cultural exploration, the attractiveness of the organization, the socialization, the originality. Therefore it appears, , that the enjoyment of the music of the songs and dances, the broadening of knowledge for the customs of other cultures, the new experiences, living the atmosphere of a festival and the interaction with other visitors constitute the more important reasons for which someone visits the festival of Cosmopolis. The perception of visitors for high quality of services in those fields influence their satisfaction, but also their intention to advertize the festival to their acquaintances and visit it again in the future. These conclusions comply with the respective ones of Crompton and Lobe (1995).

Finally, it should be pointed out that, despite the recorded perceived quite high quality of the festival and the satisfaction that the visitors acquire from it, they do not appear to be willing to pay in the future for a ticket, to the degree of their intentions to advertize it to their acquaintances or to visit it again. Perhaps, because of this contradiction, the Lee et al. (2007) excluded relative variables at the creation of the factor of behavioral intention.

The conclusions of the present study can resupply the organizers of the festival of Cosmopolis with precious information, which will contribute in the improvement of its quality and in the attendance of more visitors.

This study is subject to certain restrictions. After all each festival has different content than the other and its own particularities, it would be very difficult to use the same instrument of measurement that was used in one festival to another festival.

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