Spending by Arts Audiences

The nonprofit arts, unlike most industries, leverage significant amounts of event-related spending by their audiences. Attendance at arts events generates related commerce for hotels, restaurants, parking garages, and more.

Nonprofit Arts Attendees Spend an Average of $22.87 Per Person

Non-Local Arts Attendees Spend 75 Percent More Per Person

• When governments reduce their support for the arts, they are not cutting frills. Rather, they are undercutting an industry that is a cornerstone of tourism, economic development, and the revitalization of many downtowns. When governments increase their support for the arts, they are generating tax revenues, jobs, and a creativity-based economy.
• Data collected from 40,000 attendees at a range of arts events reveal an average spending of $22.87 per person, not including the price of admission. This spending generates an estimated $80.8 billion of valuable revenue annually for local merchants and their communities.
• The findings also reveal that non-local attendees spend nearly twice as much as local attendees ($38.05 compared to $21.75), demonstrating that a community that attracts cultural tourists stands to harness significant economic rewards.

Source: Americans for the Arts. 2002.

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