Small-scale tourism events can support destination development, community participation and off-peak tourism activity while avoiding many of the infrastructural burdens associated with large-scale events. However, they still involve concrete resource flows linked to mobility, food provision, materials, waste, water and local services. This paper develops a conceptual framework for applying circular economy thinking to the management of small-scale tourism events. Using a focused narrative review of literature on circular economy in tourism, sustainable event management, sport-event tourism, environmental assessment, local supply chains and stakeholder coordination, the paper translates circular principles into a staged, service-oriented framework. The framework shows how circularity can be introduced across the event lifecycle through early planning and resource reduction, visible and usable practices during event delivery, and post-event recovery, evaluation and learning. Its contribution is to position circular event management as a practical management process connected with service delivery, visitor experience, local collaboration and destination learning. The paper argues that small-scale tourism events can serve as manageable settings for testing circular practices and transferring them to wider sustainable destination strategies.

JEL Classifications: L83, M10, Q01, Q56, Z32