The relationship between special events and visitor behavior on the central shopping street of a provincial core city

Abstract

Central shopping streets of provincial core cities need to provide a lively environment that contributes to the formation of a positive atmosphere for the local community hubs. To create such an environment, events are considered an effective tool. This study aims to identify the relationship between event availability and details, such as event content, spatial organization, and visitor behavior on the central shopping street in Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The main results are as follows: 1) The shopping street where events were held had more visitors and diverse activities than street where events were not held. 2) "Conversation" and "interacting through shopping," which contribute to a lively environment, were more prevalent at events where the distance between booths exceeded three meters.