Determining the key factors contributing to children's theatre ticket purchases at Afrikaans arts festivals in South Africa

In South Africa, the popularity and rapid expansion of festivals are resulting in festivals competing for revenue and visitors’ leisure time. Many Afrikaans arts festivals in SA are experiencing declines in ticket sales and/or visitor numbers, thereby threatening the sustainability of this attendee market. However, another concern is the ageing of this attendee market. Festival organizers/marketers should therefore not only have a good understanding of the needs and preferences of their attendee market; but they should also ensure that their future markets (namely younger generations) are secured. It is evident that exposing children to the arts increases their love for and likelihood to support the arts in adulthood. It is therefore vital to ensure that the key factors contributing to children's theatre ticket purchases at South African Afrikaans arts festivals are determined. Although children's theatre is incorporated into these festivals’ programmes, attendance is often poor. The aim of this study is therefore to determine the key factors that contribute to children's theatre ticket purchases at Afrikaans arts festivals in South Africa. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed at the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival (KKNK), Vryfees National Arts Festival, and the Aardklop National Arts Festival among the parents attending children's theatre productions with their child/ren. The research is exploratory in nature, whereby an exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the aspects contributing to the purchasing of these tickets, followed by ANOVAs for more in-depth analysis of the factors. Five factors, namely Parent–Child Activity, Production Credentials, Supporting the Arts, Value and Marketing and Media were identified. The results will help festival organizers develop strategies to attract more children and increase children's theatre ticket sales at arts festivals; thereby better securing this future market and ultimately the sustainability of arts festivals in South Africa.