Abstract
This paper is to understand and evaluate the failure of using a festival for destination branding when inconsistencies occur between the destination and a festival through the Maleny Folk Festival (currently the Woodford Folk Festival) as a case study. It is found that the lack of community support due to the damages from the festival visitors and an unmatched cultural and strategic fit between the destination and the festival was the main reason that the Maleny Folk Festival failed to contribute for building a destination image and brand.