Harvest Media Center
Happy Patrons Make Harvest Jazz & Blues
Good for Business
March 20, 2009
A new study confirms what music fans, restaurants and hotels in Fredericton have already known for years. The Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival is a significant contributor to the economy and helps extend the peak tourism season for the Capital City. According to a new study released today, the Festival has a total economic impact of $5.8 million.
"Anecdotally we've heard over the years from local businesses like downtown restaurants that Harvest weekend is one of their biggest weekends of the year. And we know it can be awfully difficult to find a hotel room that weekend. So this study confirms once again that cultural events like Harvest can be major drivers of economic activity," says Patti Graham, chair of the Festival.
The study was conducted with support from the Province's Tourism and Parks Department and Fredericton Tourism. It used the Conference Board of Canada's Tourism Economic Assessment Model and interviewed a sample of attendees to determine the impact figures.
The Festival also got high marks from attendees on the calibre of performances, with a average score of 9.1 out of 10, a remarkable satisfaction number for any business and a source of pride for local organizers. Even better for Fredericton tourism operators, just over 30 per cent of attendees came from outside the City.
"We were able to piggyback the economic impact survey with questions to our patrons on their festival experience. Overall, it confirms we're offering a great product and patrons are very pleased with our programming. The survey also gave us a couple of areas to look at in the future like increasing our seating to enhance overall patron comfort.
According to the study, average attendees took in two days and nights of the festival and frequented five performances at three venues. More than 65 per cent took in the Festival's free shows and 79 per cent had attended the Festival in the past.
The study estimated that visitors and local residents directly spent $512,000 on tickets and passes, $130,000 on transportation, $210,000 on hotel rooms, more than $100,000 on local retailers, and $328,000 on food and beverage at local bars and restaurants.
"This is phenomenal data that we can use to make the case for funding with our government and corporate partners. It allows us to build support using solid numbers from a known and accepted impact model," says Graham.
Total provincial tax impacts were estimated at $324,561, while municipal tax impacts were estimated at $91,192.
