La Notte della Taranta under the shadow of Covid-19

During Covid-19 pandemic, the tourism and leisure industry faced one of the hardest-hit. Among the targets of the restrictions, most summer gatherings and cultural events were canceled, postponed, or adjusted to the health situation. Little is known about hosts' perception regarding extraordinary changes in the value proposition, as a consequence of such contingencies. To shed light on this aspect, we collected data at the dates and places of the 2020 and 2021 La Notte della Taranta, one of the most notable European festivals of folk music. This event was partially canceled in 2020 and adjusted to the health situation in 2021. Our analysis explores the role of generic behavioral traits and festival-specific features in determining hosts' attitudes on the matter. More precisely, we focus on two main perspectives of hosts: the agreement with the measures taken by organizers in 2020 and 2021; and the perception of tourists' behavior in the last regular edition of 2019. Findings highlight the role of the objective danger of Covid-19. Interestingly, preferences toward ambiguity arise as a consistent and significant determinant for both research questions. This shows that leveraging on generic behavioral traits appears relevant when making extraordinary organizational decisions during an unexpected contingency.