How Do Festivalscapes Impact Visitors’ Flow Experience and Life Satisfaction? The Moderating Role of Social Media

The bottom-up spillover theory posits that overall life satisfaction, positioned at the top, is influenced by satisfaction in various life domains at the middle level and specific events at the bottom. However, few studies have explored the relationship between festivals, as specific events, and overall life satisfaction. This study utilizes a mixed methods approach with two main objectives: 1) to examine festivalscapes in the social media era, focusing on how the atmosphere and quality of experience that define the festival environment are perceived from the perspectives of both organizers and visitors; and 2) to apply the bottom-up spillover theory to explore how social media influences the relationship between festivalscapes, flow experience, and life satisfaction. Study 1, using content analysis, identified eight salient dimensions of festivalscape: performance, creative interaction, food, exhibition sales, festival atmosphere, staff service, layout/design, and security. Study 2, using partial least squares modeling (PLSSEM), revealed that festival atmosphere, layout/design, safety, creative interaction, and food in festivalscapes have a significant positive impact on flow experience, and a significant positive correlation exists between flow experience and visitors’ life satisfaction. The results demonstrated that social media usage and engagement moderated relationship between flow experience and life satisfaction. Our findings can help organizers leverage social media to design festivalscapes that enhance visitors’ life satisfaction.