The final tourism numbers are in for the South by Southwest festival for 2014 and things are looking good for the city of Austin, TX. The SXSW organization released findings that Billboard reports to be in the range of $315.3 million brought to the city itself as a result of the event (that number doesn't include money spent on tickets bought by registrants).
Obviously that's a ton of money but readers who saw our coverage of the Electric Daisy festival in Las Vegas know that event brought in $322 million over its one weekend. Shouldn't a nearly two-week event such as SXSW be able to top that? For one, Austin doesn't have as many casinos as Vegas and for two, South By is just hitting its stride with regards to profits garnered by the city. This year's earnings were nearly $100 million more than 2012's $218 million haul, a 44.6 percent increase. For an event that's been going on more than 27 years, that's a heck of a jump. Don't expect a similar rise next year but numbers in the range of $315 million should happen again.
Where did that money come from? For one, many attendees needed lodging. An estimated 60,450 hotel room nights were booked, at an average of 4.3 nights per attendee. Average room prices in Austin are at $287 (from personal experience, we recommend Travelocity when shopping festival lodging.
"From entertainment venues that employ local bands to hotels to retail establishments and all the support industry that provides services that visitors require to the many innovative businesses that have relocated or started up here because of exposure Austin gained during SXSW, this event has helped drive the thriving economy in Central Texas," said Austin Chamber of Commerce president Michael W. Rollins. "The fact is that all Austinites benefit from SXSW as the City of Austin has collected millions of dollars in taxes through the years that can be directly attributable to SXSW."
It doesn't hurt to host event like Austin City Limits either. The Texas capital is making its money.
