“Our festival, Their festival”: the local perceptions of festival sustainability in Zanzibar festival portfolio

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore local residents' perceptions of sustainability of different festivals making festival portfolio in Zanzibar.Design/methodology/approachThe study used multiqualitative methods and comparative case analysis that made use of in-depth interviews, observation and focus group discussion as the data collection techniques. Thematic content analysis was used to describe festivals from residents' point of views.FindingsThe results indicate residents to perceive two broader types of festivals: Ours and Theirs that have different impacts on sustainability of the festivals.Research limitations/implicationsThe ours and theirs dichotomy of festivals from residents' perspectives extends the conceptualization of festivals. In line with the event portfolio framework, the emerged types of festival aid event planners with understanding and managing the events with the aim of making the festival and the destinations sustainable.Originality/valueThe bifurcated perception of festival ownership provides a complimentary theoretical lens that can be applied to explain the festival workings and management that emphasize the need for places to have festival portfolio catering for different segments.