Understanding the Impact of Cultural Tourism in Cornwall ...€¦ · Final Report Understanding the Impact of Cultural Tourism in Cornwall EKOS Consulting (UK) Ltd 4 1 Introduction

Understanding the Impact of Cultural Tourism in

Cornwall

307231

A report to The Cornwall Arts Partnership and Arts Council England

June 2008

EKOS

Southernhay Court,

Southernhay East,

Exeter, EX1 1NX

Final Report Understanding the Impact of Cultural Tourism in Cornwall

EKOS Consulting (UK) LtdFinal Report

Contents

1 Executive Summary ......................................................................................................... 11.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................................11.2 Range of Cultural Events in Cornwall.......................................................................................11.3 Who attends cultural events?...................................................................................................11.4 What is the direct economic impact of cultural tourism in Cornwall?........................................11.5 The Wider Economic Benefits of Cultural Tourists in Cornwall ................................................21.6 Other benefits Cultural Tourism Brings to Cornwall .................................................................21.7 What else is contained in the report?.......................................................................................3

1 Introduction and Methodology........................................................................................ 41.1 Background to the study ..........................................................................................................41.2 The Study Method....................................................................................................................41.3 The Events...............................................................................................................................51.4 Report Structure.......................................................................................................................6

2 Cultural Events in Cornwall............................................................................................. 72.2 Identifying events .....................................................................................................................72.2.1 Location of Events..............................................................................................................8

2.3 Selection of events ................................................................................................... 92.4 Response rates for the survey .................................................................................................92.5 Home location of attendees ...................................................................................................10

3 Audience characteristics............................................................................................... 123.1 Home location ........................................................................................................................123.2 Age profile..............................................................................................................................133.3 Gender ...................................................................................................................................133.4 Income ...................................................................................................................................143.5 Nature of trip ..........................................................................................................................143.6 Accommodation .....................................................................................................................153.7 Mode of Transport..................................................................................................................163.8 Knowledge of, and plans to attend, other cultural events.......................................................17

4 Profile and Perceptions ................................................................................................. 184.1 Perceptions of Visitors to Cornwall.........................................................................................184.2 What attracts Visitors to Cornwall ..........................................................................................184.3 Importance of this cultural event in driving the reason for this visit ........................................194.4 View on the cultural event attended .......................................................................................204.5 Frequency of visits to Cornwall by cultural tourists ................................................................20

5 Economic Impact ........................................................................................................... 225.1 Economic Impact Assessment ...............................................................................................225.2 Overall Attendance.................................................................................................................235.3 Attendance and Visitor Spend Day-trippers ...........................................................................235.4 Attendance and Visitor Spend – overnight visitors.................................................................255.5 Total Gross Spend..................................................................................................................265.6 Total Net Spend......................................................................................................................27

5.6.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................275.6.2 Displacement....................................................................................................................275.6.3 Additionality ......................................................................................................................27


EKOS Consulting (UK) LtdFinal Report

5.6.4 Multipliers .........................................................................................................................295.6.5 Net Impact over the 6 events............................................................................................29

5.7 Potential Return Visits............................................................................................................295.8 Local Visitor Purchases..........................................................................................................305.9 Comparison with mainstream tourism....................................................................................31

6 Stakeholder Consultations............................................................................................ 336.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................336.2 Consultation with key stakeholders........................................................................................336.3 Views of local businesses ......................................................................................................35

7. Learning from elsewhere........................................................................................................38

8. Conclusions.................................................................................................................... 41

Appendix 1: Cultural Events in Cornwall 2007 ...................................................................... 1

Appendix 2 – Visitor survey responses by event.................................................................. 1

Appendix 3 – Events – by art form ......................................................................................... 2Appendix 4: Learning from elsewhere ..............................................................................................3A.4.1 Introduction.........................................................................................................................3


EKOS Consulting (UK) Ltd 1

1 Executive Summary

1.1 Introduction

This short executive summary provides a guide to reading the report, and some of the keymessages it contains. Full details are found within each of the chapters.

1.2 Range of Cultural Events in Cornwall

In chapter 2 we present details of the wide and diverse range of cultural events that take placein Cornwall. Some of the key messages from the chapter are that:

99 stand alone events took place between May 2007 - November 2007, covering a rangeof art forms including theatre, dance, music and contemporary visual arts;

Cultural events and festivals are a growing market. Evidence shows that the number ofevents taking place has increased significantly over that last five years. Attendance at theseven events that were able to provide data since 2004 suggested that the total number ofattendees grew by more than 25% between 2004 and 2006.

1.3 Who attends cultural events?

In chapter 3 we highlight some of the key characteristics of the audiences who attend culturalevents. Some of the key messages from that chapter are that:

Of the 6 events at which visitor surveys were carried out, more than 43% of all attendeeswere visitors to the county, with some festivals attracting 2/3rds of their visitors fromoutside Cornwall;

Overseas visitors accounted for 7% of all visitors to cultural events in Cornwall;

49% of all visitors were aged between 45-64, and 15% were aged under 35. There weretwice as many women attending cultural events as there were men;

Cultural events attend to attract people with above average incomes; just over a fifth ofthose surveyed had an annual average income of in excess of £60,000, while a further21% had an annual income in excess of £40,000.

1.4 What is the direct economic impact of cultural tourism in Cornwall?

In chapter 5 we present evidence of the economic impact of the six events at which informationon visitor expenditure was gathered. The key messages include:

In total more than 62,000 people attended the six events at which visit expenditure datawas captured;

In total we estimate that for these six events the net economic impact of the events was inthe region of £17 million. The six events were; Projectbase/Newlyn, Exchange launch,



Open Studios, Wildworks, St Ives September Festival, Bude jazz festival, Hidden ArtDesign Fair and Godolphin;

Given that the research focused on only six events and the mapping exercise identifiedover 100 events taking place, we are confident that the overall economic impact of culturaltourism in Cornwall is considerably greater that the £17 million that the report lays claim to.

1.5 The Wider Economic Benefits of Cultural Tourists in Cornwall

Throughout the report we made reference to some of the wider economic benefits that touristsbring and how these differ from mainstream tourism:

Cultural events are a key driver in influencing people to visit Cornwall – 49% of thosequestioned stated that attending the event was their primary reason for being in Cornwall.This is compelling evidence of the ability of cultural events to attract people into Cornwallwho otherwise would not have come;

Cultural tourists, on average spend more than ‘mainstream’ tourists. Spend per head bycultural tourists on food and drink and shopping is around twice that of mainstreamtourists;

Cultural tourist spend more on accommodation - on average cultural tourists spend £24per head on accommodation compared to £16 per head by ‘mainstream’ tourists;

In addition to spending in local shops and restaurants, cultural tourists are also likely toseek out and purchase local Cornish products. Almost half of those questioned alsoplanned to purchase or had purchased a cultural product during their stay;

Most cultural tourists interviewed stated they intended to make a further visit to Cornwall toparticipate in a similar event the following year, with 84% stating they were likely to do so.Allowing for an optimistic bias, this could generate a further economic impact of around£9.6 million;

Cultural tourists were also likely to make out of season visits - around 20% of thoseinterviewed had made visits in the last five years to Cornwall in the winter or spring.

1.6 Other benefits Cultural Tourism Brings to Cornwall

Finally the report identified a number of other benefits that cultural tourism brings to Cornwall.The key messages included:

Cultural tourism has the potential to contribute significantly to the sustainable growth of thetourism industry in Cornwall. There is strong evidence that it is a growth market andcultural tourists spend more and stay longer;

Cultural events and festivals are perceived to make in important contribution to the overallimage of Cornwall as a vibrant place in which to live and work;

By acting as a motivator for first time visitors, cultural events and festivals can act as ashop window for the county to encourage people to think about moving to live and work inCornwall.



1.7 What else is contained in the report?

The report also contains a range of other useful information which may be of interest to thosewith an interest in cultural tourism, tourism in Cornwall and/or those working in the tourismindustry:

In chapter 6 there is a review of stakeholder’s views of the importance of cultural tourismin Cornwall

In appendix 1 there is a list of the cultural events identified in the mapping exerciseundertaken by the EKOS team

In appendix 2 there are details of the responses achieved by the visitor survey by event

In appendix 3 there is an analysis of cultural events in Cornwall by Art Form

In appendix 4 there is a review of research into the economic impact of cultural events inother parts of the UK.



1 Introduction and Methodology

1.1 Background to the study

In May 2007, EKOS Consulting was commissioned by the Cornwall Arts Partnership and ArtsCouncil England to undertake a research study to gain an understanding of the impact ofcultural tourism in Cornwall. The study brief identified a number of research objectives, asfollows:

to evaluate the value of cultural tourism to the local economy including:

o visitor expenditure

o direct spend on culture by art form

o spend on accommodation, by type and location

o return visits

to identify the characteristics of cultural tourists visiting Cornwall including:

o age

o gender

o home location

o propensity to return

to identify the contribution that cultural tourism makes to sustaining and diversifyingthe tourist economy

to identify the contribution that cultural tourism makes to improving perceptions ofCornwall as a place to live, work and visit

to explore the wider regeneration and community benefits brought about by culturaltourism

to integrate this research with earlier work carried out by Cornwall Enterprise, HERDAand Wildworks

to generate insights and learning that will inform the Region of Culture campaign

1.2 The Study Method

The consultants undertook a wide ranging work programme including:

undertaking a mapping exercise of cultural events taking place in Cornwall over Mayto November 2007

gathering visitor number information on cultural events and festivals

carrying out detailed primary research into audience characteristics and economicimpact as a selection of those events

consulting with key stakeholders and businesses to assess some of the qualitativeimpacts of cultural tourism

reviewing evidence of the economic impact of cultural events and festivals elsewherein the UK

The methodology undertaken is summarised in the diagram overleaf:



Figure 1.1: Study Methodology

Inception Meeting

Strategic MappingExercise

Consultations

StakeholderBusinessesCommunity

Learning from Elsewhere

Consultation with keycontacts from Highlandsand Islands

Reporting

Presentation

Inception Report

Visitors Survey

Face to face interviewsSelf completionquestionnairesOnline survey

1.3 The Events

The original proposal for the study envisaged carrying out a series of face to face visitorinterviews at four events:

Open Studios;

Wildworks;

Port Eliot LitFest; and

Project Base

For a variety of reasons, including the timing and delivery of Open Studios and not beinggranted permission to undertake face to face surveys at some events this was not possible.The consultants instead suggested an alternative method for the collation of visitor data whichincluded face to face interviews being conducted at three additional events, and a mix of faceto face interviews and self completion questionnaires being distributed at the original fourevents. The table below details the events targeted and survey methods adopted.



Figure 1.2: Survey Method

Face to FaceInterviews

Self CompletionQuestionnaire

Online Survey

Open Studios

Project Base

Wildworks

Port Eliot LitFest

Hidden Art

Bude Jazz Festival

St Ives September Festival

Turquoise Thinking was commissioned to manage the visitor survey element of the researchacross all seven events in Cornwall between May and September.

1.4 Report Structure

The remainder of the report is structured as follows:

Chapter 2 presents the findings from the mapping exercise and outlines the eventsselected for further research;

Chapter 3 presents details of the characteristics of the audiences attending theselected events;

Chapter 4 presents details of cultural tourists’ perceptions of Cornwall as a place tovisit;

Chapter 5 presents a detailed economic impact assessment of the selected events;

Chapter 6 presents the key messages from the stakeholder consultations;

Chapter 7 presents a summary of the review of evidence on Cultural Tourism fromelsewhere in the UK;

Chapter 8 presents our conclusions and recommendations;

Appendix 1 provides details of the cultural tourism events identified through themapping exercise;

Appendix 2 presents a summary of the responses to the visitor survey by event;

Appendix 3 outlines a review of selected cultural events by art form; and

Appendix 4 presents an extended review of learning from elsewhere.



2 Cultural Events in Cornwall2.1 Introduction

This chapter details the process undertaken in identifying and mapping cultural events inCornwall, how we selected events for further research, and also provides some details on theevents surveyed.

2.2 Identifying events

EKOS carried out a mapping exercise to identify the range of cultural events and festivalstaking place in Cornwall over the period May – November 2007. The data was sourced from anumber of event guides and listings, local websites and consultation with the client. Thepurpose of the database was to identify events that might attract cultural tourists and holdinformation on the scale and nature of their audiences

In total the mapping exercise identified almost 100 stand-alone events taking place in theCounty. These events covered a wide range of art forms including theatre, dance, music, thevisual arts, literature and arts and crafts. Full details are given in appendix 1 to this report.

Analysis of the database confirmed that these events formed part of the programmes of 22individual festivals or venues. A short questionnaire was sent to these 22 festivals and venuesrequesting details of visitor numbers for the last three years and any visitor profiling informationthey may have collated. 13 venues and events completed and returned the questionnaire(table 2).

Figure 2.1: Visitor numbers for period 2004 – 2006

Event / Venue

2004 2005 2006 Change 04 – 06(%)

FestivalsPort Eliot Literature Festival 1,161 1,247 1,554 33.9Lowender Festival 2,000 2,000 2,000 0.0Hidden Art Cornwall Design Fair 0 0 3,000 -Open Studios Cornwall 3,370 2,908 4,952 46.9Lafrowda Festival 4,000 4,500 5,000 25.0Bude Jazz Festival 12,000 13,000 14,000 16.0Newlyn Fish Festival 15,000 16,000 17,000 13.3Total Events 37,531 39,655 47,506 +26.5%VenuesAcorn Arts Centre 17,630 18,732 19,292 9.4Falmouth Art Gallery 49,712 43,731 45,949 -7.6Minack Theatre 90,924 90,139 93,350 2.7Royal Cornwall Museum 97,097 102,322 105,820 9.0Hall for Cornwall 178,713 177,559 188,853 5.7Tate Gallery 220,343 210,938 225,639 2.4Total Venues 654,419 643,421 678,903 +3.7%



The table highlights some important messages:

almost 680,000 visits were made in 2006 to the six cultural venues that responded tothe questionnaire – and the number of visits made to those cultural venues increasedby around 3.7% between 2004 and 2006;

in total there were just over 45,000 visitors in 2006 across the seven cultural eventsthat responded to the questionnaire – and over the last two years the number ofvisitors had increased by more than a quarter; and

even accounting for the introduction of the Hidden Arts Festival as a new event in2006, the growth in attendances remains impressive – with Open Studios attendancesincreasing by 46.9% and attendance at the Port Eliot Festival increasing by 33.9%over the period 2004 to 2006.

Again it is important to note that these visitor numbers will represent only a proportion of thetotal number of visitors to cultural events in Cornwall over the last three years, this is because:

only half of the stand alone festivals responded to the survey;

not all cultural venues responded to the survey; and

there is evidence that the number of cultural events has increased over the last threeyears.

2.2.1 Location of Events

The following map shows the location of 17 of the cultural events and venues identified throughthe study (the remaining 5 events and festivals took place in a number of venues). The mapconfirms graphically that there is a broad geographical spread of cultural events and festivalstaking place across Cornwall.

Figure 2.2: Geographical distribution of events

Original Map Source: http://www.cornwalls.co.uk/maps/cornwall-map.htm



2.3 Selection of events

In discussion with the clients, 7 events identified through the mapping exercise were selectedto take part in the detailed visitor survey.

In selecting the events a number of factors were taken into consideration:

the primary focus of the research was to be on cultural events, rather than culturalvenues – a key reason for this was to establish the extent to which events act as adraw for visitors. Visitors attending venues might be attending the venue for a rangeof reasons not related to the art form (such as a bookshop, a café or to visit an iconicbuilding);

the selection should include cultural events that

o took place throughout the summer, not only those in peak season

o cover a range of art forms

o were based in different parts of the County

o were of different scales

Figure 1.3: Events selected for Economic Impact StudyEvent Primary Art Form Date Held Estimated attendees 2007

Open Studios Visual Arts 26th May – 3rd June 4,952

Project Base Visual Arts 7th July – 2nd Sept 17,500

Wildworks Theatre 13th July – 4th Aug 6,043

Port Eliot LitFest Festival 21st – 22nd July 1,554

Hidden Art Visual Arts 25th – 27th Aug 3,000

Bude Jazz Festival Festival 25th Aug – 1st Sept 14,000

St Ives September Festival Festival 8th – 22nd Sept 20,000

All - - 67,049

Based on returns from the event organisers, we would estimate that these events wereattended by around 67,000 people, with the largest events being Project Base, Bude JazzFestival and the St Ives September Festival. It is important to note that this selectionrepresents only a small sub-set of the range of the 100 cultural events identified in the mappingexercise

The timing of Open Studios, which took place a week after the study commenced, meant thatonly a rudimentary questionnaire was deployed at this event. For the remaining six events afull economic impact questionnaire was developed and agreed with Cornwall Arts Marketing.This was deployed using a mix of face to face interviews and self completion surveys. Theseevents would be used to generate information on audience characteristics and economicimpact.

2.4 Response rates for the survey

Figure 2.4 presents details of the response rates to the visitor survey. Response rates as aproportion of the total audience attending were by necessity restricted given the range ofevents covered and the limited budget for the research. Nevertheless more than 760 peopleresponded to a visitor survey and of this more than 330 were from outwith Cornwall.



Figure 2.4: Number of respondents

Number of respondents covered in surveyEstimated attendees2007

Cornwall NonCornwall

Total Responserate

Open Studios 4,952 106 45 151 3.0Project Base1 17,500 111 40 151 0.9Wildworks 6,043 23 33 56 0.9Port Eliot LitFest 1,554 15 28 43 2.8Hidden Art 3,000 22 19 41 1.4Bude Jazz Festival 14,000 62 74 136 1.0St Ives September Festival 20,000 104 79 183 0.9TOTAL 67,049 443 331 761 1.1

The visitor survey achieved varying response rates ranging from an estimated 3.0% in thecase of Open Studios to just under 1% for three events. The coverage achieved through thestudy is broadly comparable with, and in some cases better than, that achieved in similareconomic impact studies.

Figure 2.5: Visitor survey response rates: comparator studies

Study Total attendees Visitor Surveyrespondents

Response rate

Glasgow Events Impact study 187,000 1,598 0.85%Cultural Festivals in East Midlands 250,000 4,700 1.9%Cultural Events in Yorkshire 225,000 1,800 0.8%

2.5 Home location of attendees

The survey of visitors was designed to provide data that was compatible with the Sport UKmethodology of assessing the economic impact of events. As a result a screening questionwas asked in each of the surveys to establish whether the respondent was resident in Cornwallor otherwise2. The detail of this analysis (see Appendix 1) has been used to estimate the totalnumber of attendees at each of the events from outwith Cornwall (Figure 2.7).

2 The Sport UK methodology discounts net economic impact from those people who are normally resident in thearea being considered.



Figure 2.6: Cornwall and non Cornwall attendees at the selected events

Event Estimatedattendees 2007

Attendees fromCornwall

Attendees from outwithCornwall

No % No %

Open Studios 4,952 3,476 71.2% 1,475 29.8%

Project Base 17,500 12,864 73.5% 4,635 26.5%

Wildworks 6,043 2,481 41.1% 3,561 58.9%

Port Eliot LitFest 1,554 543 34.9% 1,011 65.1%

Hidden Art 3,000 1,610 45.6% 1,390 54.4%

Bude Jazz Festival 14,000 6,383 53.7% 7,617 46.3%

St Ives September Festival 20,000 11,367 56.8% 8,633 43.2%

All 67,049 38,724 56.5% 28,322 43.5%

The table highlights that, across all seven events just over two-fifths (43.5%) of all attendeeswere normally resident outwith Cornwall. Events that were relatively well attended by peoplefrom outside the County include the Port Eliot LitFest which attracted two thirds of its visitorsfrom outside Cornwall and Wildworks and Hidden Art which attracted 58.9% and 54.4% of theiraudiences from outwith Cornwall respectively.



3 Audience characteristicsThis chapter brings together the attendance data collated through the visitor surveys at theseven events in terms of audience characteristics. The chapter reviews a number of key issuesincluding:

home location of attendees;

analysis of the age profile of those attending;

details of gender of attendees;

income of attendees;

the nature of their trip to Cornwall;

how they travelled to Cornwall;

the sorts of accommodation that they used while staying in Cornwall; and

their awareness of, and plans to attend other, cultural events while in Cornwall

It should be noted that this analysis focuses solely on the views of those attending theevents who were from outwith Cornwall.

3.1 Home location

The majority of those attending the events from outside Cornwall were resident in other partsof the UK (87.2%). Overseas visitors were the next largest group, accounting for around 6.7%of all visitors from outwith the County. The most common overseas places of residencementioned included Germany, USA, Canada and Denmark, although in total visitors from morethan 14 overseas countries responded to the survey. Overseas visitors were most likely toattend three of the events: Project Base, Open Studios and the Bude Jazz Festival, where theyaccounted for around 10% of respondents.

Scottish Visitors accounted for around 3.7% of all visitors. Visitors from Northern Ireland andWales accounted for less then 3% of all visitors.

Figure 3.1: Home location of visitors from outside Cornwall

86%

2% 4% 1% 7%

England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland Overseas

Of those visiting from England, the South East and South West were the key marketsaccounting for three quarters of all English based visitors. Smaller numbers of visitorstravelled from the other counties in England. Over half of the visitor attending Hidden Art andOpen Studios were from the South East of England, as were nearly half of Port Eliot LitFest



and Project Base’s visitors. The table below details the number of respondents travelling fromdifferent English regions by event.

Figure 2.2: Home location of visitors from England (excluding Cornwall)

StIv

esSe

ptem

ber

Fest

ival(

n=71

)

Wild

work

s(n

=29)

Bude

Jazz

Fest

ival(

n=58

)

Proj

ectB

ase

(n=2

9)

Hidd

enAr

tsFa

ir(n

=19)

Port

Elio

tLite

rary

Fest

ival(

n=28

)

Ope

nSt

udio

s(n

=19)

Nots

pecif

ied

(n=6

)

Tota

l(n=

259)

South East 37% 28% 33% 45% 53% 43% 53% 33% 39%

South West 23% 45% 31% 34% 37% 54% 26% 67% 34%

East Anglia 8% 0% 10% 7% 0% 4% 5% 0% 6%

North West 15% 3% 5% 0% 0% 0% 5% 0% 6%

West Midlands 7% 0% 12% 0% 11% 0% 5% 0% 6%

Yorkshire 6% 14% 2% 14% 0% 0% 0% 0% 5%

East Midlands 4% 10% 7% 0% 0% 0% 5% 0% 4%

Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Total Sample: 259 (including Open Studios)

3.2 Age profile

Nearly half of all visitors were aged between 45 – 64. The table below offers a breakdown ofthe age of visitors against each event. Open Studios, Project base and Port Eliot LitFest had ahigher proportion of visitors from slightly younger categories 25 – 44. Of those surveyed thehighest proportion of visitors aged between 55 – 64 and over 65 were for the Bude Jazzfestival and St Ives September Festival.

Figure 3.3: Age Profile of visitors

Income

Ope

nSt

udio

s(n

=45)

Proj

ectB

ase

(n=4

0)

Wild

work

s(n

=33)

Port

Elio

tLitF

est

(n=2

8)

Hidd

enAr

t(n=

19)

Bude

Jazz

Fest

ival

(n=7

4)

StIv

esSe

ptFe

stiva

l(n=

79)

NotS

pecif

ied

(n=1

3) Total(n=331)

18 - 24 4% 0% 3% 7% 11% 0% 3% 15% 3%

25 - 34 24% 23% 12% 25% 5% 3% 5% 8% 12%

35 - 44 33% 25% 15% 29% 32% 5% 13% 0% 18%

45 - 54 31% 13% 52% 18% 26% 7% 28% 23% 23%

55 - 64 2% 20% 18% 21% 16% 38% 39% 23% 26%

65+ 0% 15% 0% 0% 11% 47% 13% 8% 16%

Not Spec 4% 5% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 23% 2%

TOTAL 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%


3.3 Gender

Women accounted for just under two thirds of respondents at 62%, with men at 35%, 3% werenot specified. Findings presented in the table below indicate that for all events therepresentation of females is higher in all cases, with Hidden Arts (84%), Open Studios (73%)



and Port Eliot LitFest (75%) attracting a significantly higher proportion of females. The figurespresented in the table below should be viewed with some caution as the questionnaire onlynoted the gender of the respondent and not of all members in their party. As such the figurescould be somewhat distorted.

Figure 3.4: Gender

Men Women Not Specified TOTAL

Open Studios (n=45) 24% 73% 2% 100%

Project Base (n=40) 40% 55% 5% 100%

Wildworks (n=33) 42% 55% 3% 100%

Port Eliot LitFest (n=28) 21% 75% 4% 100%

Hidden Art (n=19) 16% 84% 0% 100%

Bude Jazz Festival (n=74) 45% 54% 1% 100%

St Ives SeptemberFestival (n=79) 35% 63% 1% 100%

Total % (n=318) 35% 62% 3% 100%


3.4 Income

Respondents were asked about their average annual income. The responses suggested thatthe cultural events were well attended by those with relatively high incomes. Just under a fifthof respondents reported an average annual income in excess of £60,000, while a further 21%had incomes well above the national average, at more than £40,000 per annum. Port Eliotand the Hidden Art Fair were the events most likely to attract attendees with above averageincomes.

Figure 3.5: Income of visitorsIncome

Proj

ectB

ase

(n=3

4)

Wild

work

s(n

=32)

Port

Elio

tLi

tFes

t(n=

27)

Hidd

enAr

t(n

=18)

Bude

Jazz

Fest

ival(

n=49

)

StIv

esSe

ptFe

stiva

l(n=

61)

Not

Spec

ified

(n=7

) Total(n=228)

< £10,000 6% 3% 4% 6% 10% 3% 14% 6%

£10,000 - £20,000 15% 6% 11% 0% 27% 26% 14% 18%

£20,001 - £30,000 38% 16% 15% 6% 33% 25% 0% 24%

£30,001 - £40,000 3% 13% 19% 17% 16% 13% 43% 14%

£40,001 - £50,000 18% 19% 22% 11% 4% 13% 14% 14%

£50,001 - £60,000 6% 9% 7% 17% 4% 8% 0% 7%

£60,000 > 15% 34% 22% 44% 6% 11% 14% 18%

Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Total Sample: 228 (not including Open Studios or those who did not specify an income bracket)

3.5 Nature of trip

Holidays (+4 days) and short breaks (1-3 days) are the most popular reason to visit Cornwall,with two thirds of respondents stated they were staying in Cornwall on Holiday. Visiting familyand/or friends was also a popular choice amongst respondents. The highest proportion ofvisitors to all events, with the exception of Port Eliot LitFest, were staying on a holiday. Over a



third of visitors to Port Eliot LitFest stated they were on a short break. One reason for this couldbe that the festival took place over a weekend and included in the ticket price was up to 3nights camping. Those visitors attending Wildworks were quite evenly spread between holiday(33%), short break (33%) and visiting friends and/or family (27%). Nearly all visitors to the StIves September Festival and Bude Jazz festival were on holiday. The table below details a fullbreakdown of the percentage of visitors against each event.

Figure 3.6: Nature of Trip

Holiday(4+ days)

Shortbreak (1 –

3 days)

Day Trip Visitingfamily&/or

friends

Work /business

Total

Open Studios(n=45)

40% 20% 2% 38% 0% 100%

Project Base (n=40) 33% 23% 8% 15% 23% 100%Wildworks (n=33) 33% 33% 6% 27% 0% 100%Port Eliot LitFest(n=28)

25% 39% 18% 7% 11% 100%

Hidden Art (n=19) 74% 11% 0% 16% 0% 100%Bude Jazz Festival(n=74)

84% 4% 7% 5% 0% 100%

St Ives SeptemberFestival (n=79)

90% 8% 0% 3% 0% 100%

Not specified (n=13) 77% 8% 8% 8% 0% 100%Total (n=331) 62% 16% 5% 13% 4% 100%


3.6 Accommodation

The highest proportion of all respondents stayed in self catering/apartments, while staying withfriends/relatives was the second highest category. Hotels and camping/caravans were alsoquite popular. Half of all visitors to the Bude Jazz Festival stayed in either a hotel or bed andbreakfast. Of those visitors attending Open Studios, Project Base and Hidden Art, between30% and 50% were staying with friends and/or relatives. The table below shows a fullbreakdown for each event.

Figure 3.7: Accommodation type

Ope

nSt

udio

s(n

=45)

StIv

esSe

ptem

ber

Fest

ival(

n=79

)

Wild

work

s(n

=33)

Bude

Jazz

Fest

ival

(n=7

4)

Proj

ectb

ase

(n=4

0)

Hidd

enAr

tsFa

ir(n

=19)

Port

Elio

tLitF

est

(n=2

7)

Nots

pecif

ied

(n=1

3)

Tota

l(n

=330

)

Hotel 18% 9% 6% 31% 18% 5% 4% 23% 16%Bed & Breakfast/ Guest House 16% 13% 6% 19% 18% 11% 4% 31% 14%

Self catering /apartment 4% 52% 9% 14% 15% 21% 7% 23% 22%

Camping /Caravan 9% 8% 24% 20% 5% 5% 56% 8% 16%

Hostel 0% 1% 3% 4% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2%Staying withfriends /relatives

38% 9% 15% 4% 30% 47% 4% 8% 17%

Not stayingovernight 2% 1% 6% 7% 8% 0% 11% 8% 5%



I own a house /holiday home /Family home

13% 4% 6% 0% 5% 5% 4% 0% 5%

House swapwith friends 0% 1% 0% 0% 0% 5% 0% 0% 1%

Friend hasproperty 0% 3% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 1%

Not specified 0% 0% 24% 1% 3% 0% 11% 0% 4%Total % 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%


3.7 Mode of Transport

The most frequently used mode of transport of visitors to Cornwall was the car with 82%selecting this option. A full breakdown is shown in the chart below.

Figure 3.8: Transport mode by type

6, 2%

234, 82%

5, 2%7, 2% 34, 12%

Train Bus Car Air Not specified

Although the car was the most popular mode of transport across all events, the train was usedby a quarter of those attending Project Base and by 14% - 15% of visitors to St IvesSeptember Festival, Port Eliot LitFest and Wildworks. This reflects the location of these eventsand proximity to public transport provision.

Figure 3.9: Mode of Transport by events

Train Bus Car Air Notspecified total

St Ives SeptemberFestival (n=79) 14% 4% 81% 1% 0% 100%

Wildworks (n=33) 15% 0% 79% 0% 6% 100%Bude Jazz Festival(n=74) 5% 1% 85% 5% 3% 100%

Projectbase (n=40) 25% 3% 68% 5% 0% 100%Hidden Arts Fair (n=19) 0% 5% 95% 0% 0% 100%Port Elliot LiteraryFestival (n=28) 14% 0% 82% 0% 4% 100%

Not specified (n=13) 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% 100%Total (n=286) 12% 2% 82% 2% 2% 100%

Total Sample: 286 (not including Open Studios)



3.8 Knowledge of, and plans to attend, other cultural events

Respondents reported that they had visited multiple events during their stay in Cornwall. Thiswould indicate that the diversity of events on offer, coupled with the reason why they werevisiting Cornwall is a key selling point of the County. The survey asked visitors if they ‘hadheard of’, ‘have attended’ or whether they ‘planned to attend’ a number of events taking placein Cornwall between May and September. The table below is split in to two sections with thefirst focussing on the seven events targeted and the second half including all events mentionedin the questionnaire. Not surprisingly the Tate St Ives, Minack Theatre and Eden scoredhighest of the events that had been ‘heard of’. Of those respondents who ‘had attended’ anevent the Tate St Ives (19%), Minack Theatre (11%) and Bude jazz Festival (11%) scoredhighest and of those events which respondents who ‘planned to attend’ an event, again thehighest number of respondents selected Tate St Ives (17%) and the Minack Theatre (14%),with the St Ives September Festival at 11%.

Figure 3.10: Knowledge of other cultural events and plans to attend

Have heard of Have attended Plan to attend Total

Open Studios 54 26 28 108

Project Base 31 18 7 56

Wildworks 34 31 3 68

Port Eliot LitFest 29 25 10 64

Hidden Art 34 18 14 66

Bude Jazz Festival 57 79 25 161

St Ives SeptemberFestival

81 69 46 196

Sub-Total 320 266 133 719

Acorn Arts Centre 59 37 25 121

Falmouth Art Gallery 103 57 49 209

Hall for Cornwall 72 35 23 130

Royal Cornwall Museum 51 31 13 95

Sterts Theatre Company 26 12 6 44

Tate St Ives 137 140 72 349

Minack Theatre 124 78 59 261

Eden Sessions 116 60 37 213

Lafrowda Festival 10 3 2 15

Falmouth Regatta Week 72 11 10 93

Sub-Total 770 464 296 1530

TOTAL 1090 730 429 2249




4 Profile and PerceptionsThis chapter brings together the attendance data collated through the visitor surveys at theseven events and supporting information provided by the events organisers. The followingsub-sections present data on the profile and perceptions of visitors to Cornwall and the eventsattended.

4.1 Perceptions of Visitors to CornwallVisitors were asked to rate on a scale of 1 – 5 (where 5 means they “strongly agreed”) theirperception of Cornwall against a number of statements. The chart below shows the combinedresults for all events, the figures detailed on the chart indicate the actual number of responsesagainst each statement. Over three quarters of respondents either tended to agree or stronglyagreed that ‘Cornwall is a family holiday destination’, ‘that there’s a lot going on’ and that‘Cornwall has a thriving arts scene’. Responses for all the other statements were alsoencouraging with respondents either tending to agree or strongly agreeing, with the exceptionof the perception of Cornwall as a bucket and spade destination. Nearly two thirds ofrespondents either strongly disagreed or tended to disagree with this statement, which wouldsuggest the historic image of Cornwall is changing, but may also reflect the particular nature ofthe sample.

Figure 4.1: Perceptions of Visitors to Cornwall

4

3

3

5

4

56

4

11

18

14

8

25

110

10

43

56

44

73

66

43

31

110

125

125

108

136

44

148

107

66

92

75

38

9

69

11

18

8

17

17

24

24

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Cornwall has a thriving arts scene?

Cornwall is a cultural destination?

There's a lot going on in Cornwall?

You'll find a strong sense ofcommunity in Cornwall?

Entertainment and leisure facilitiesin Cornwall are good?

Cornwall is mainly a bucket andspade holiday destination?

Cornwall is a family holidaydestination?

Strongly disagree Tend to disagree Neither agree nor disagree Tend to agree Strongly agree missing


4.2 What attracts Visitors to CornwallArts/Cultural Events, Landscape and Beaches were identified amongst respondents as the ‘topthree’ reasons as to what attracts visitors to Cornwall. For the audiences at the events themost often cited reasons were:

to attend arts or culture events (mentioned once by 80% of all respondents); Cornwall’s landscape (71%); the beaches and seaside (69%); Cornwall’s heritage (35%); and Cornwall’s clean air (27%).

A full breakdown is shown overleaf.



Figure 4.2: Respondents top three reasons for visiting Cornwall

35%

80%

71%

66%

25%

11%16%

27%

Heritage Arts / Cultural Events Landscape BeachesGardens Water sports Restaurants Clean air


4.3 Importance of this cultural event in driving the reason for this visitFor nearly half of the respondents, attending a cultural event was the main reason for thembeing in Cornwall. Nearly a third indicated that although they were visiting Cornwall for otherreasons the event they were attending was the kind of thing they like to do whilst on holiday.Nearly all those attending the Bude Jazz Festival were there solely for the festival, which issimilar for Port Eliot LitFest, although as this was a ticketed weekend event the likelihood ofattending on-spec would be quite remote.

Figure 4.3: Importance of the cultural event as the reason for making this trip.

StIv

esSe

ptem

ber

Fest

ival(

n=79

)W

ildwo

rks

(n=3

3)

Bude

Jazz

Fest

ival(

n=74

)

Proj

ectb

ase

(n=4

0)

Hidd

enAr

tsFa

ir(n

=19)

Port

Ellio

tLi

tera

ryFe

stiva

l(n

=28)

Nots

pecif

ied

(n=1

3) total(n=286)

Attending the event is the main reason Iam visiting Cornwall at the moment 16% 33% 88% 53% 16% 75% 38% 49%

Attending this event and visiting othercultural and arts venues has been a bigfactor on my decision to visit Cornwall

14% 3% 4% 8% 0% 4% 23% 8%

I am visiting Cornwall for other reasons,but this event is the kind of thing I liketo do on holiday

39% 42% 3% 28% 58% 21% 8% 27%

I am visiting Cornwall for other reasonsand I found this event by chance 28% 12% 4% 10% 26% 0% 23% 14%

Not specified 3% 9% 1% 3% 0% 0% 8% 3%

Total 100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100% 100%




4.4 View on the cultural event attendedThe majority of respondents felt the events attended were either ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, with onlya very small number stating they were poor. The table below shows a full breakdown for eachevent.

Figure 4.4: Rating of the cultural event attended

VeryPoor Poor Neither /

Nor Good Excellent Total

St Ives September Festival(n=75)

0.0% 0% 19% 47% 35% 100%

Wildworks (n=28) 0.0% 4% 0% 29% 68% 100%

Bude Jazz Festival (n=59) 0.0% 2% 5% 42% 51% 100%

Projectbase (n=40) 0.0% 5% 8% 35% 53% 100%

Hidden Arts Fair (n=18) 0.0% 0% 6% 28% 67% 100%

Port Elliot LitFest (n=25) 0.0% 0% 0% 52% 48% 100%

Not specified (n=12) 0.0% 8% 25% 33% 33% 100%

Total (n=257) 0.0% 2% 9% 40% 48% 100%Total Sample: 257 (not including Open Studios)

Respondents were asked if they felt the event attended was a good use of their time. Notsurprisingly, with 88% of respondents above saying the events were either good or excellent,only three respondents felt the event they attended was not a good use of their time. All threerespondents were attending the St Ives September Festival, with the following reasons given:

“would have liked to have been informed by hotel – would have liked to have knowntime and booked tickets in advance”;

“bad acoustics, expensive”; “would like to have seen more going on in the pubs – more fringe events”

4.5 Frequency of visits to Cornwall by cultural touristsNearly half of the respondents visit Cornwall ‘more than once a year’. This increases to threequarters of respondents when those who visit Cornwall ‘once a year’ are included. Half ofrespondents attending Bude Jazz Festival and a third attending the St Ives September Festivalattend once a year, which would suggest this may be a regular annual holiday. Findings wouldsuggest that those attending Wildworks, Project Base, Hidden Arts and Port Eliot LitFestevents are more regular visitors, with at least two thirds in all cases visiting the county at leasttwice a year.

Figure 4.5: Visits to Cornwall – frequency of visit

3timesa year

ofmore

Twicea year

Oncea year

Onceeverytwo tothreeyears

Lessoften

This ismyfirst

visit toCornw

all

Notspecifi

edTotal

St Ives SeptemberFestival (n=79) 16% 19% 32% 11% 14% 6% 1% 100%

Wildworks (n=33) 36% 27% 18% 12% 0% 3% 3% 100%

Bude Jazz Festival(n=74) 14% 15% 51% 7% 7% 5% 1% 100%



Project Base (n=40) 40% 13% 15% 10% 10% 13% 0% 100%

Hidden Arts Fair(n=19) 42% 26% 16% 11% 0% 5% 0% 100%

Port Elliot LiteraryFestival (n=28) 50% 21% 7% 18% 4% 0% 0% 100%

Not specified (n=13) 15% 46% 0% 15% 8% 8% 8% 100%

Total (n=286) 26% 20% 28% 11% 8% 6% 1% 100%Total Sample: 286 (not including Open Studios)

Respondents who stated they visited Cornwall more than three times a year were asked toindicate how many visits a year they made to the county. The chart below shows the numberof respondents, 72 in total, in orange and the number of visits in blue. The majority ofrespondents, 52, made between 3 and 6 visits to Cornwall each year, a total of 236 visits. Theremaining 20 respondents although smaller in number did in fact visit Cornwall more frequently,302 visits in total.

Figure 4.6: Visits to Cornwall – number of visits

12 13 14 13

2 1

5 42 1

31 1

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Number of visits a year Number of respondents

Respondents were asked to indicate in what seasons during the last five years they visitedCornwall. Not surprisingly the highest number of visits were made during the summer months,with the lowest number of visits being made in the winter months. When the average numberof visits is calculated per season based on the number of respondents who answered eachelement of the question the figures alter slightly. When the average figures are reviewed thenumber of visits made per respondent is slightly higher for spring and winter than summer andautumn. The table below presents the findings in full.

Figure 4.5: Visits to Cornwall – by season

Number ofrespondents

Number ofvisits Average

Winter (Dec - Feb) 112 506 4.52

Spring (March - May) 133 632 4.75

Summer (June - Aug) 217 961 4.43

Autumn (Sept - Nov) 153 625 4.08

Total 615 2724 4.43Total Sample (not including Open Studios)



5 Economic ImpactThis chapter presents the analysis of the economic impact of visitors at the six events targetedfor the economic impact research.

5.1 Economic Impact Assessment

The economic impact assessment is based on the data gathered through the visitor surveysregarding their expenditure at a) the cultural events they were attending and b) whilst staying inCornwall. Assessing the economic impact of cultural tourism in Cornwall involved a two stageprocess outlined in the diagram below.

Figure 5.1: Economic Impact Assessment: Methodology

This two stage process covered:

an assessment of the gross spending associated with the events for both day-trippersand those staying for at least one night, including accommodation, food & drink,entrance fees, shopping, transport and other expenditure as well as the total spend atthe events

an assessment of the net spending associated with the events, taking into accountthe displacement effects on the economy, the additionality of the visits and widermultiplier benefits



5.2 Overall AttendanceThe 7 events under study attracted 67,000 visitors in total in 2007, with 56% of attendees fromwithin Cornwall and 44% coming from outwith Cornwall.The largest event, in terms of attendance, was the St Ives September Festival, which attractedaround 20,000 visitors. Project Base (17,500) and the Bude Jazz Festival (14,000) eachattracted over 10,000 visitors, while the smallest event, in terms of visitor numbers, wasHidden Art, which attracted 3,000 people.

In terms of the type of visitors the Port Eliot LitFest attracted almost two thirds of attendeesfrom beyond Cornwall, while 55% of those attending Hidden Art were from beyond Cornwall.The visitors to Project Base and Open Studios were largely from Cornwall (74% and 71%respectively).

Figure 5.2: Overall Attendance at Events

Event Estimatedattendees 2007

Attendees fromCornwall

Attendees from outwithCornwall

No % No %

Open Studios 4,952 3,476 71.2% 1,475 29.8%

Project Base 17,500 12,864 73.5% 4,635 26.5%

Wildworks 6,043 2,481 41.1% 3,561 58.9%

Port Eliot LitFest 1,554 543 34.9% 1,011 65.1%

Hidden Art 3,000 1,610 45.6% 1,390 54.4%

Bude Jazz Festival 14,000 6,383 53.7% 7,617 46.3%

St Ives September Festival 20,000 11,367 56.8% 8,633 43.2%

All 67,049 38,724 56.5% 28,322 43.5%

5.3 Attendance and Visitor Spend Day-trippers

The 6 events under study attracted around 36,843 day-trippers (those from Cornwall or furtheraway but not staying overnight) to Cornwall in total in 2007. The two largest events – ProjectBase (13,200) and St Ives September festival (11,500) – attracted almost two thirds of thevisitors on their own. The smallest event, in terms of day-trippers, was the Port Eliot LitFest,which attracted around 700 day-trippers to the event. More generally though, attendance washealthy with over 1,000 attendees at each of the remaining events up to almost 7,000 at theBude Jazz Festival.

Day visitor spend data was based on the results from the survey of those staying overnight,recalculated to take account of the differences in spend between those who stay for a day andthose who stay for at least one night. This factor was developed from the Value of Tourism2005 Report on Cornwall3 and was applied to the results from the survey of visitors to theevents under study.

Results from this analysis suggest that the single largest spend category was food & drink,amounting to an average spend across the events of £5.41. This ranged from a high of £6.17at the Port Eliot LitFest to a low of £4.43 at Wildworks.

Visitor spend across the other categories was largely around the £1 mark per person onaverage, with the Hidden Art and St Ives September Festival getting a higher average spendon shopping and other spend than the other events.

3 The factor was arrived at by dividing day visitor spend by overnight visitor spend – for shopping, food & drink,attractions and travel.



Figure 5.3: Attendance and Average Visitor Spend of Day-trippersNumber

ofAttendees

Averageexpenditure

– food &drink

Averageexpenditure –entrance fees

Averageexpenditure -

shopping

Averageexpenditure –

transport


other

ProjectBase 13,233 £5.06 £0.13 £0.74 £0.88 £0.74Wildworks 2,902 £4.43 £0.23 £0.68 £0.26 £0.60Port EliotLitFest 724 £6.17 £0.76 £0.97 £0.86 £1.18Hidden Art 1,610 £5.71 £0.44 £1.57 £1.08 £2.07Bude JazzFestival 6,898 £5.08 £0.60 £0.41 £0.12 £0.35St IvesSeptemberFestival 11,476 £5.99 £0.26 £2.37 £0.50 £1.00TOTAL 36,843 £5.41 £0.40 £1.13 £0.62 £0.99

Applying the level of spend across each of the main categories and for each of the differentevents forms the basis of the gross visitor estimates generated from day-trippers. The differentlevels of spend from each of the events are applied to the total number of attendees togenerate the total gross impacts of the events.

In total the 6 events generated a gross impact of £304,000 in 2007. The St Ives SeptemberFestival and Project Base generated the greatest amounts of expenditure from day-trippers.The Port Eliot LitFest generated the smallest impact from day-trippers, with just over £7,000 ofexpenditure generated.

Looking at where the impacts came from across the events reveals that the purchase of food &drink was the single biggest contributor to the expenditure generated. In total purchases offood & drink accounted for around two thirds of all spending at the events. Expenditure onshopping was the next largest contributor, though some way behind food & drink, amounting toan impact of £45,000. Entrance fees accounted for the lowest impact across each of thedifferent categories.

Figure 5.4: Total Spend of Day-trippers by Category

Totalexpenditure –food & drink

Totalexpenditure –entrance fees

Totalexpenditure- shopping

Totalexpenditure –

transport

Totalexpenditure –

other

Total

Project Base £66,921 £1,740 £9,802 £11,601 £9,786 £99,850Wildworks £12,850 £657 £1,977 £744 £1,741 £17,969Port Eliot LitFest £4,471 £551 £706 £624 £857 £7,209Hidden Art £9,198 £712 £2,531 £1,743 £3,330 £17,514Bude Jazz Festival £35,033 £4,149 £2,850 £835 £2,401 £45,267St Ives SeptemberFestival £68,756 £3,001 £27,143 £5,782 £11,482 £116,164TOTAL £197,229 £10,810 £45,009 £21,328 £29,596 £303,972



5.4 Attendance and Visitor Spend – overnight visitors

The figures above covered the impact of day-trippers attending the events. However, the keygroup, in terms of impact, are those people attending events and staying for at least one night.In total there were 25,300 overnight visitors to the 6 events, ranging from 830 overnight visitorsat the Port Eliot LitFest to 8,500 at the St Ives September Festival.

In order to fully assess the impact of overnight visitors it is necessary to understand theduration of their visit as this has implications for their spending patterns. Data on this wascollected from the survey and suggests that the average stay of overnight visitors was around8 days. This ranged from 5 days at the Port Eliot LitFest to 10 days at Wildworks. The keyissue though is that overnight visitors are staying in the area for around a week, so increasingtheir overall economic impact.

Overnight visitor spend was based on the survey conducted on site at each of the events andcovered expenditure on accommodation, food & drink, entrance fees, shopping, transport andany other expenditure. The results show that average expenditure per person was highest foraccommodation at £24, though this ranged from £14 at Wildworks to £30 at Project Base andHidden Art each. Food & drink accounted for the next largest average spend at £20 perperson per day, followed by expenditure on shopping at £13 per person per day.

Figure 5.5: Attendance and Average Visitor Spend of overnight visitors

Numberof

Attendees

Averagelengthof Stay


accommodation

Averageexpenditure

– food &drink

Averageexpenditure– entrance

fees

Averageexpenditure- shopping

Averageexpenditure– transport

Averageexpenditure

– other

ProjectBase 4,266 6.2 £30.44 £18.73 £2.63 £8.23 £7.97 £4.93

Wildworks 3,140 10.1 £14.37 £16.40 £4.53 £7.57 £2.33 £4.00

Port EliotLitFest 830 5.3 £15.45 £22.87 £15.22 £10.83 £7.84 £7.89

Hidden Art 1,390 8.6 £30.13 £21.16 £8.84 £17.47 £9.84 £13.79

Bude JazzFestival 7,102 8.5 £26.70 £18.81 £12.03 £4.59 £1.10 £2.32

St IvesSeptemberFestival

8,524 9.7 £26.16 £22.19 £5.23 £26.28 £4.58 £6.67

TOTAL 25,253 8.1 £23.88 £20.03 £8.08 £12.50 £5.61 £6.60

The process for assessing impact is broadly similar to that for day-trippers; with spend acrosseach of the categories being applied to the number of attendees at events. Where thecalculation differs is in the addition of impact across the duration of the visitors stay. This isassessed based on the results from the survey and averaged out across each of the events.The final stage is to apply this average to the spend per person per day figure worked outabove to generate the total gross impact of the event.

Using this methodology the 6 events under study generated a total gross impact of £16.5million in 2007. The largest impact came from the St Ives September Festival at £7.5 million,with the Bude Jazz Festival generating a further £3.9 million. In addition, the Project Base andWildworks events generated over £1 million in expenditure each.

Looking at where the impacts came from across the events reveals that:



accommodation was the single biggest contributor to the expenditure generated (£5.5million)

purchase of food & drink was the next largest category generating a total impact of£4.3 million

shopping generated a total gross expenditure of around £3.2 million

These 3 categories combined amounted to around 80% of the total visitor spend generatedthrough the events.

Figure 5.6: Total Spend of Overnight Visitors by Category

Totalexpenditure -

accommodation

Totalexpenditure

– food &drink

Totalexpenditure– entrance

fees


Totalexpenditure– transport

Totalexpenditure

– other

Totalexpenditure

ProjectBase £805,114 £495,394 £69,561 £217,677 £210,800 £130,395 £1,928,940Wildworks £455,730 £520,110 £143,664 £240,075 £73,894 £126,856 £1,560,329Port EliotLitFest £67,965 £100,605 £66,953 £47,641 £34,488 £34,708 £352,360Hidden Art £360,174 £252,947 £105,673 £208,836 £117,627 £164,846 £1,210,103Bude JazzFestival £1,611,799 £1,135,503 £726,215 £277,085 £66,404 £140,051 £3,957,057St IvesSeptemberFestival £2,162,982 £1,834,731 £432,431 £2,172,904 £378,687 £551,494 £7,533,230TOTAL £5,463,763 £4,339,289 £1,544,498 £3,164,218 £881,900 £1,148,350 £16,542,019

5.5 Total Gross Spend

In order to generate a full assessment of the total gross impact of the visitor impacts it isnecessary to add together the total spend generated by day-trippers and overnight visitors.

The total gross spending generated through the 6 events in 2007 was £16.8 million. This takesaccount of the significant impact generated from those staying for more than one night and thesmaller impact generated through day-trippers attending the events.

Figure 5.7: Total Gross Spend by Visitors to Cornwall Cultural Tourism Events

Totalexpenditure -

accommodation

Totalexpenditure

– food &drink

Totalexpenditure– entrance

fees


Totalexpenditure– transport

Totalexpenditure

– other

Total Grossexpenditure

Project Base £805,114 £562,314 £71,302 £227,479 £222,401 £140,180 £2,028,790Wildworks £455,730 £532,960 £144,322 £242,052 £74,637 £128,597 £1,578,298Port Eliot LitFest £67,965 £105,076 £67,504 £48,347 £35,113 £35,565 £359,568Hidden Art £360,174 £262,145 £106,385 £211,368 £119,370 £168,176 £1,227,618Bude Jazz Festival £1,611,799 £1,170,536 £730,364 £279,934 £67,238 £142,452 £4,002,324St Ives SeptemberFestival £2,162,982 £1,903,487 £435,432 £2,200,047 £384,469 £562,976 £7,649,393TOTAL £5,463,763 £4,536,518 £1,555,308 £3,209,226 £903,229 £1,177,946 £16,845,991



5.6 Total Net Spend

5.6.1 Introduction

The expenditure impacts outlined so far amount to the total gross expenditure generated fromthe events. In order to full understand the benefits of the events on the Cornwall economy it isnecessary to understand the extent to which the benefits are additional to the economy.

This essentially involves three broad stages:

Understanding the displacement effects on the wider economy. This is the extent towhich the spend made at events has simply replaced spend on something else in theCornwall area

Assessing the additionality of the spend. This is the extent to which the events havebeen the primary reason for visiting Cornwall

Drawing out the extent to which the spending has resulted in wider economic benefits,amongst the suppliers of those who receive the spend and the wider spending of theirstaff in the economy

5.6.2 Displacement

Displacement is assessed based on the home location of those attending events, withspending made by those from Cornwall being excluded from the net impact total. This isbased on the UK Sport Economic Impact Methodology which suggests that they would havespent the money elsewhere in Cornwall if they were not attending the event.

Displacement only applies to a small proportion of the day-trippers as overnight visitors allcame from beyond Cornwall. This means their spending is not considered to be displacing anyspend from elsewhere in the area and is therefore included in total without needing to take offany displacement effects. Having taken these factors into account the impact of the event lessdisplacement amounts to £16.5 million.

Figure 5.8: Gross Impacts less Displacement

Gross Expenditure Gross Expenditure less Displacement

Project Base £2,028,790 £1,931,044Wildworks £1,578,298 £1,561,582Port Eliot LitFest £359,568 £353,197Hidden Art £1,227,618 £1,210,103Bude Jazz Festival £4,002,324 £3,958,721St Ives September Festival £7,649,393 £7,533,865TOTAL £16,845,991 £16,548,513

5.6.3 Additionality

Additionality is assessed by asking respondents at events about the importance of the event intheir decision to visit Cornwall. Responses for each of the respondents at events were thengiven a score – either 0%, 25%, 75% or 100% based on the importance of the event in theirvisit to Cornwall (in effect no additionality to 100% additionality). The gross impact from eachevent was therefore split into each of the categories, depending on the proportions ofrespondents who fitted into each group. The additionality score (i.e. 0%, 25%, 75% or 100%)for each category was then applied to the gross impact for that category to arrive at a grossfigure less displacement and additionality.

Across all the events the average additionality scores suggest that:



50% of the visitors were attending events that were their primary reason for visitingCornwall, suggesting complete additionality (100%)

A further 8% were classified as high additionality, with the event being a large part oftheir reason for their visit

Around one quarter were low additionality, in effect not visiting for the event butmotivated to visit cultural events generally

Finally, 15% of visitors were classed as non additional, in effect at the event purely bychance and visiting Cornwall for other reasons.

The level of additionality varied across the events. The Bude Jazz Festival and the Port EliotLitFest were major drivers for visitors attending events (in effect high additionality), with 89%and 75% of visitors respectively being their specifically as a result of these events. Wildworksand Hidden Art had more visitors who were not visiting for the event, but who enjoy doingcultural activities (in effect low additionality).

The key issue from this analysis is the high proportion of visitors who were visiting the areabecause of the events, or largely motivated by the events. This group amounted to over half ofall attendees. In addition, just 15% of those attending the events would be classed as nonadditional. This means that the majority of the expenditure generated was additional to theeconomy.

Figure 5.9: Additionality Scores for the Events

No Additionality(0%)

Low Additionality(25%)

High Additionality(75%)

100%Additionality

Project Base 10% 28% 8% 54%Wildworks 13% 47% 3% 37%Port Eliot LitFest 0% 21% 4% 75%Hidden Art 26% 58% 0% 16%Bude Jazz Festival 4% 3% 4% 89%St Ives September Festival 29% 40% 14% 17%TOTAL 15% 27% 8% 50%

Applying these factors to each of the events, and overall, results in a gross impact figure lessdisplacement and additionality of £10.1 million from the 6 events in 2007.

Figure 5.10: Gross impacts Less Displacement minus Additionality

Gross Expenditure lessDisplacement

Gross Expenditure lessDisplacement and Additionality

Project Base £1,931,044 £1,293,800Wildworks £1,561,582 £796,407Port Eliot LitFest £353,197 £294,037Hidden Art £1,210,103 £369,082Bude Jazz Festival £3,958,721 £3,671,714St Ives September Festival £7,533,865 £3,671,714TOTAL £16,548,513 £10,096,752



5.6.4 MultipliersHaving made an assessment of the additionality and displacement effects, it is necessary toestimate the wider multiplier effects, or positive downstream effects, of the expenditure. Themultiplier used for this analysis is the Hotels, Catering and Pubs multiplier from the InputOutput Tables for the UK.

Using this multiplier, which acts as proxy for the tourist sector, the net impact of the eventsamounts to £17.2 million across the 6 events.

Figure 5.11: Total Net Impact of the Events

Gross Expenditure lessDisplacement and Additionality

Tourism Multiplier Total Net Expenditure

Project Base £1,293,800 1.7059 £2,207,093Wildworks £796,407 1.7059 £1,358,590Port Eliot LitFest £294,037 1.7059 £501,597Hidden Art £369,082 1.7059 £629,616Bude Jazz Festival £3,671,714 1.7059 £6,263,576St Ives September Festival £3,671,714 1.7059 £6,263,576TOTAL £10,096,752 1.7059 £17,224,049

5.6.5 Net Impact over the 6 eventsHaving accounted for displacement, additionality and multipliers, the 6 events under studygenerated a total net impact of £17.2 million in 2007.

5.7 Potential Return Visits

The survey of those attending the events included a question on the likelihood that they wouldcome back to Cornwall to attend a similar event in the future. Taking this into account it ispossible to assess the potential spend arising from return visitors. It is important to recognisethat not all this impact can be attributed directly to the events, as some people would havecome back to Cornwall anyway. It is possible thought to use the responses in this area toassess potential future impact from return visits.

The survey showed that around 84% of those questioned were either very likely or quite likelyto come back to Cornwall in the next year to attend a similar event. This breaks down as:

29% who were likely to come back again

56% who were very likely to come back again

Assuming that the visitors come back for the same length of time and spend broadly the sameamount of money they could generate an impact of at around £9.6 million of net impact. Thisis based on the assumption that 55% of current visitors will return next year.

A more positive interpretation would suggest that next year returning visitors could generatearound £14.5 million of net impact. This is based on the more positive assumption that 84% ofthose at events this year come back next year (in effect those who stated that they were eithervery likely or likely to come back in the next year in the visitor survey).

The key issue is that it is likely that the events held this year could lead to return visitorscoming back and generating a further economic impact in the next year.



5.8 Local Visitor Purchases

In addition to drawing out the overall economic impact of visitor spend on the Cornwalleconomy, the study also looked at the extent to which visitors were purchasing local productsusing results generated from the survey.

Nearly half of respondents purchased local produce from cafes and restaurants. Take awayestablishments serving local produce were also very popular with a third of respondentsmaking purchases. There was an equal split between respondents buying local products fromfarm shops and farmers markets. The chart below provides a full breakdown of where peoplewere buying local products.

Figure 5.12: Purchasing of local products by cultural tourists

44%

27%

13%

8%8%

Cafes / restaurants serving local produceTake away serving local produceFarm shopsFarmers marketsOther

Total Sample: 523 - more than one option could be selected (not including Open Studios)

When you cross-reference where people were buying local produce against which event theywere attending, key findings emerge. Over half of those visiting cafes/restaurants and takeaway establishments were visitors to the St Ives Sept Festival and Bude Jazz Festival. Ofthose visiting farm shops and farmers markets, a third at each were also visitors to St IvesSept Festival.

Figure 5.13: Purchase of Local Good & Services by Event

Cafes /restaurantsserving local

produce(n=231)

Takeaway

servinglocal

produce(n=139)

Farmshops(n=69)

Farmersmarkets(n=41)

Other(n=43)

St Ives September Festival 30% 29% 32% 27% 28%Wildworks 12% 11% 13% 5% 5%Bude Jazz Festival 25% 33% 12% 20% 21%Projectbase 13% 9% 16% 20% 14%Hidden Arts Fair 7% 6% 16% 12% 9%Port Elliot Literary Festival 7% 9% 9% 15% 21%Not specified 5% 3% 3% 2% 2%Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Total Sample: varied as detailed under each column heading

Around half of respondents either planned to purchase or had purchased a ‘cultural’ productduring their stay. Interestingly when the survey findings are analysed at an event level, thesplit is quite varied across the events. The majority of visitors to Hidden Art either planned to,or had made a ‘cultural’ purchase, equally high were those attending the St Ives Sept Festival.



A reason for this could quite simply be the availability of ‘cultural’ product at those events, asopposed to Port Eliot for example where the purchase of such products was very limited due tothe nature of the event.

Figure 5.14: Purchase of a Cultural Product During Their Stay by Event

Yes No Notspecified total

St Ives September Festival (n=79) 63% 34% 3% 100%Wildworks (n=33) 45% 52% 3% 100%Bude Jazz Festival (n=74) 42% 57% 1% 100%Project Base (n=40) 50% 48% 3% 100%Hidden Art (n=19) 84% 11% 5% 100%Port Eliot LitFest (n=28) 36% 61% 4% 100%Not specified (n=13) 31% 69% 0% 100%Total 51% 47% 2% 100%


Respondents were asked to comment on how much they had spent, or planned to spend, on‘cultural’ products during their stay. The total figure, based on 107 respondents who answeredthe question, was £21,738, and average figure of £203 per respondent. Caution should betaken however, as some responses provided were very high for example one respondentindicated they would spend £6,000 and two that they would spend £2,000 each.

Respondents were also asked about the use of cultural ‘services’ during their stay, focusedaround attendance at galleries and museums. Nearly three quarters of all respondents hadeither visited, or planned to visit, a gallery or museum. Nearly all visitors attending bothHidden Art and Project Base intended to either visit/or had visited a museum or gallery. Thenumber of attendees was much lower for those attending Bude jazz Festival and Port EliotLitFest.

Figure 5.15: Attendance (planned or had) at Museums and GalleriesYes No Not specified Total

St Ives September Festival (n=79) 87% 11% 1% 100%Wildworks (n=33) 73% 24% 3% 100%Bude Jazz Festival (n=74) 39% 51% 9% 100%Project Base (n=40) 95% 3% 3% 100%Hidden Art (n=19) 100% 0% 0% 100%Port Eliot LitFest (n=28) 46% 54% 0% 100%Not specified (n=13) 62% 38% 0% 100%Total 70% 27% 3% 100%


5.9 Comparison with mainstream tourismThe study has also involved an analysis of the spend data generated from the survey incomparison with spend associated with more traditional mainstream tourism. This was to testthe extent to which cultural tourists were spending more money over the period of their visitthan mainstream tourists.

Comparing spend per head of mainstream tourism (in Cornwall4) against the spending ofvisitors to the 6 events under study shows that on each of the categories of spend culturaltourism outperforms mainstream tourism. An analysis of the two suggests that:

Spend on food & drink per head by cultural tourists (£20) is over twice as much as athat of a mainstream tourist visitor (£10)

4 The Value of Tourism 2005, Cornwall



Spend on Shopping per head by cultural tourists (£12.50) is over twice as much as amainstream tourist visitor (£6)

Spend on accommodation per head by cultural tourists (£24) is one and a half timesas much as a mainstream tourist visitor (£16).

Figure 5.16: Comparison of Cultural Tourism Spend with Average Tourism Spend

Cultural TourismSpend

Average TourismSpend

Ratio

Accommodation £23.88 £15.89 1.5

Shopping £12.50 £6.25 2.0

Food & Drink £20.03 £9.55 2.1

Attractions £8.08 £4.73 1.7



6 Stakeholder ConsultationsThis chapter presents the findings of the consultation exercise undertaken with keystakeholders and businesses in Cornwall and the South West.

6.1 IntroductionA thorough consultation exercise was undertaken with specific groups of individuals in order tocapture valuable information and gain a broader perspective of the impact of Cultural Tourismin Cornwall.

The diagram below details the key personnel consulted with through face to face or telephoneinterviews:

Figure 6.1: Consultation process

6.2 Consultation with key stakeholders

6.2.1 Introduction

A number of face-to-face and telephone consultations were carried out with a range of keystakeholders with an interest in cultural tourism to add some wider perspectives on thecontribution of cultural tourism in Cornwall. The discussions were wide ranging and targetedon the particular interests of the organisation or individual being consulted. This section aimsto draw together some of the key themes that were raised in these discussions.

6.2.2 Defining cultural tourism

The consultations revealed that there was no single view on what constituted ‘cultural tourism’.For some of the consultees, cultural tourism was indistinguishable from mainstream tourism. Inessence the culture of an area, which was defined as either its landscape, its history, and itspeople were all integral parts of a region’s attractiveness and all stimulated interest andmotivation to visit an area.

At the other end of the scale others perceived cultural tourism to have a much narrowerdefinition, based around participation in events with a strong artistic and cultural focus. Forsome of this group, cultural tourism was almost viewed as a pejorative and restrictive termwhich carried unhelpful connotations of elitism. One consultee argued that the term might beoff-putting to some visitors.



We were mindful of the fact that it was not an aim of this study to define a clear boundary forwhat constituted ‘cultural tourism’. Nevertheless this [almost invariable] precursor to each ofthe consultations did prove useful. It provided an opportunity to state that, whether or not theconsultees view on cultural tourism aligned with the events that were being researched as partof the study, the discussion on the potential wider impacts of ‘cultural tourism’ andopportunities for growth should be focussed on the specific events that were being covered inthe study. This was broadly acceptable to all of the consultees.

One other important issue was raised about ‘cultural tourists’ (however they were defined).Most consultees noted that the culture would have different importance in the motivation ofdifferent cultural tourists. One consultee raised a distinction between ‘dedicated culturaltourists’ who would base their decision to visit an area solely on participating in a cultural eventand ‘accidental cultural tourists’ who chose to visit an area for other reasons, but participated ina cultural event, because it was taking place during their visit. There was broad support for thefact that the visitor survey acknowledged these differences and sought to distinguish betweenthese different types of ‘cultural tourists’.

6.2.3 The role of culture in the wider Cornwall tourism offer

There was a general recognition that the Cornwall tourism offer is distinctive and varied.People choose to visit the area for a range of reasons, including Cornwall’s landscapes,beaches and seascapes, the climate, the food, the opportunity to participate in extreme sportsand the breadth of the cultural offer. Historically recent investments in Cornwall’s culturalinfrastructure such as the Tate Gallery in St Ives and the Eden Project were seen as importantattractors to visitors.

It was generally noted however that no one of these themes dominated the Cornwall tourismoffer – indeed many consultees argued that no one element should dominate. Locations whichare successful in attracting visitors do so because they offer a range of choices andopportunities for visitors. Maintaining the diverse mix on offer in Cornwall was therefore seenas important. In that context cultural tourism was seen as a key component of the Cornwalloffer. Continued support for the promotion of cultural tourism was often justified in terms ofsaying that the whole of the Cornwall offer is greater than the sum of the parts. Take one partof that away and there was a perception that the attractiveness of Cornwall as a whole wouldbe diminished.

There was also a clear perception that cultural events have the potential to contributesignificantly to sustainable growth in the tourism economy. Tourism in Cornwall remainsconcentrated in the peak summer months and this brings with it problems of congestion, lack ofsupply and overcrowding. There was a recognition that growing the number of cultural eventsand festivals, which in themselves are often strong motivators for visitors, could make asignificant contribution to encouraging more people to visit in off peak and shoulder months.

Finally there was also a view that there were opportunities to develop more explicit linkagesbetween the cultural offer and other elements of the tourism offer in Cornwall. Somesuggestions included:

developing cultural festivals which aligned with other elements of the Cornwall offer,for example, Art and Surfing in Newquay

developing branded offers for visitors for example, purchasing tickets to a specificcultural event providing discounted access to other attractions or other cultural events.



6.2.4 Links with the wider economy

The cultural events and festivals were also perceived to make an important contribution to theoverall image of Cornwall as a vibrant place in which to live and work. Cornwall Enterprisenoted that in their testimonials from individuals and small businesses who had chosen torelocate to Cornwall, the presence of a vibrant and accessible cultural life was seen as acontributor to the decision to move to Cornwall. While it is important not to overplay the impactthat cultural events have, and to recognise that people moving to Cornwall will take a range offactors intro account in relocating it is equally important not to ignore the contribution of culturalevents.

There was also a perception that the presence of cultural events, especially those that act as amotivator for first time visitors, can act as a shop window for all that Cornwall has to offer as aplace in which to live and work. Anecdotal evidence suggests that enquiries to CornwallEnterprise regarding support for relocation peak shortly after the peak tourist season, whenvisitors return home from short breaks and holidays in Cornwall.

A wide range of vibrant cultural events were perceived to be an important part of attractingstudents to study in Cornwall and in retaining young people in the County. The range ofcultural, sporting and other activities that students can participate in, along with the provision ofworld class education, are seen as key selling points for the Combined Universities inCornwall.

Consultees also spoke of the contribution that the cultural events and festivals make to thewider economy. The most obvious, and indeed a large focus of this research, was onexpenditure generated by visitors to these events. This would generate additional takings foraccommodation providers, restaurants, bars and shops.

There was also a perception that the events themselves would help support artists andexhibitors. Generating sales through events such as Open Studios was often a major sourceof income for some artists and allowed them to remain living in Cornwall.

6.3 Views of local businesses

6.3.1 Introduction and Business Characteristics

As part of the stakeholder consultation, a short telephone survey was undertaken with hoteland restaurant owners / managers to understand their views and experiences of the widereconomic, community and environmental benefits of cultural tourism. Participants in thesurvey were invited to take part by either letter or email and then contacted by telephone to beinterviewed. In total 15 surveys were undertaken with businesses from across Cornwall.These included four hotels, one restaurant and ten businesses that operated as both a hoteland restaurant. The businesses were of varying sizes, with full time employee numbersranging from 0 to 60 and part-time / seasonal employees ranging from 0 to 40.

6.3.2 Awareness of Cultural Events

We initially asked each participant about their awareness of cultural events. Respondentswere firstly given a list of cultural events and asked to indicate which events they were awareof. Businesses were most often aware of the Bude Jazz Festival (10) followed by the St IvesSeptember Festival (8). In contrast, none of the businesses spoken to were aware of‘Wildworks’ or the Port Eliot LitFest. Each participant was then asked whether they wereaware of any other cultural events A variety of events were mentioned including the Daphne



du Maurier Festival, Penzance Mazy Day, Falmouth Festival of Literature and Art and theFalmouth Oyster Festival.

6.3.3 Impact of Cultural Events

Each participant was asked about the impact of local cultural events on their business inrelation to both increases in visitor numbers and turnover levels. Two thirds of businesseswitnessed an increase in the numbers of visitors to their restaurants and hotels during culturalevents. Nearly half experienced an increase in turnover during these periods, with turnoverincreases ranging from just 3-4% in one case to up to 50% for several others while themonetary value of these increases ranged from £1500 per week to £20,000 per week. Theincrease in turnover was generally attributed to accommodation bookings which were said toaccount for between 60% and 100% of any increase. For most businesses it was notnecessary to take on additional staff during these periods or purchase any additional goods ofservices.

6.3.4 Promoting Cultural Events

The survey also included questions relating to the promotion of cultural events by restaurantsand hotels. Just over half of those businesses participating said that they undertook specificmarketing to attract visitors who were attending cultural events in their area. The marketingundertaken took a number of forms that mainly related to internet-based advertising and theuse of brochures / newspapers. Nearly half of the businesses undertook specific marketing totarget groups of people. These targeted regular customers, international groups (e.g. coachparties) and groups attending themed weekends. Most businesses did not work in partnershipwith any events or venues in Cornwall. However when they did, promotion and marketingincluded joint promotional offers with local cultural attractions, joint advertising and theprovision of event sponsorship.

All businesses were asked to say how they felt the marketing of cultural events in Cornwallcould be improved in general. A range of answers were given which most often related to theneed for marketing to occur outside the county both at a national and international level. Mostof the marketing that was undertaken was felt to be too localised. One respondentcommented;

‘The Daphne du Maurier festival used to be supported by the DailyTelegraph. If you look at the Hay on Wye Festival they have got massivePR support through TV and The Guardian while the Daphne du Maurierfestival has no PR or press behind it at all…there is no marketing in placeto draw people in from further afield .’

That said, several businesses thought that county-wide marketing could also be improved asmany Cornish people were felt to be unaware of the breadth of events that take place in thecounty. Comments related to the need for both local and county-wide marketing;

‘I think the marketing of events in Cornwall is very localised. I know whatgoes on in Bude but not further afield.’‘We need there to be more posters or leaflets around town – more of thesein the local area will make sure that locals actually know what is going on.’

Respondents also felt that the marketing of cultural tourism in Cornwall needed to be morecoherent. Several businesses suggested launching a website which brought togetherinformation on all cultural events in Cornwall while one individual felt there to be a need for acounty-wide newspaper that could bring together all cultural information.



6.3.5 Significance of Cultural Tourism

Finally, respondents were asked two key questions which were designed to indicate howsignificant they felt cultural tourism to be to their business. Each business was asked toindicate the extent to which they agreed with the following statement; ‘Cornwall has a vibrant‘cultural offer’ that adds value to your business’. In general respondents agreed with thisstatement (7 of the businesses agreeing and 3 strongly agreeing) suggesting that culturaltourism is felt by a good proportion of restaurants and hotels to add value to their business.

Respondents were also asked to indicate how reliant their business was on cultural touristsvisiting Cornwall. Answers were given on a scale of ‘1’ to ‘5’ with ‘1’ being ‘A lot’ and ‘5’ being‘A little’. A range of responses were given indicating that participants in this survey had mixedviews on the extent to which their businesses were reliant on cultural tourists. Six participantssaid that their businesses were only reliant on cultural tourists ‘a bit’ while the remainder werefairly evenly split between those who were ‘somewhat’ reliant and those that were reliant ‘a lot’on cultural tourists. Interestingly several respondents were keen to point out that theirbusiness was reliant on the tourism sector in Cornwall but not necessarily on the culturalaspect of this sector.



7. Learning from elsewhere

7.1 Introduction

This study forms part of a growing body of research literature on the economic impact ofcultural and other Festivals across the UK and beyond. As part of the study we carried out acomparative review of three other studies which looked at the economic impact of other sets ofcultural festivals. The three studies included assessments of the economic impact of culturalfestivals in:

Yorkshire;

East Midlands; and

Glasgow.

Full details of this review are given in appendix 3 to this report. In this short chapter wehighlight some of the key messages from the review to compare the findings from this studywith those from elsewhere in terms of:

the audiences who attend cultural festivals;

the scale and nature of economic impacts achieved; and

contributions to social and community pride.

7.2 Audiences attending festivals

7.2.1 Attracting audiences from outwith the region

The evidence from elsewhere suggests that, with one or two notable exceptions, the majority ofcultural and arts festivals attract a primarily local or sub-regional audience. Less than 25% ofattendees to Yorkshire Festivals travelled more than 25 miles to attend the event, while in EastMidlands the figure was around 17%. In Glasgow the figure was slightly higher with around30% of visitors travelling more than 25 miles.

In this respect the cultural festivals in Cornwall perform relatively well, with over 43.5% ofvisitors coming from outwith the County. In one respect it is to be expected that people comingfrom outwith the County will travel greater distances, given the relative peripherality ofCornwall, this remains, in our view an impressive performance, and provides strong evidencethat the Festivals are acting as a key attractor for visitors from elsewhere.

7.2.2 Audience characteristics

By and large, cultural and arts festivals are most likely to be attended by women as opposed tomen. In this respect the Cornish Festivals are little different to those elsewhere, with womenaccounting for 62% of all attendees.

In Cornwall more than two-thirds of attendees were aged over 45. This is broadly similar toboth the East Midlands and Yorkshire, where the cultural events and festivals are more likely tobe attended by older age groups.



The Glasgow experience however suggests that there is a market for Festivals that areattractive to younger audiences. Interestingly both the East Midlands and Yorkshire identifiedthese age groups as a potential growth market and identified a lack of Festivals attractive tothis age group as a barrier to growth at the moment. There may be opportunities to encouragearts and cultural festivals in locations where younger age groups already form an important partof the local tourism market (such as, for example, Newquay).

7.3 Economic Impacts

7.3.1 Scale of economic impacts

Direct comparison of the scale of economic impacts on Cornwall with elsewhere is problematic,given the range of approaches and methodologies that have been used in the studies. TheYorkshire study did not make an attempt to quantify visitor spend, while the East Midlandsstudy employed (in our view) over ambitious multipliers, and took little account of displacementand additionality.

Nevertheless the study has provided some important messages. Festivals and events aresignificant small businesses in their own right and are a small, but important source of directemployment, and when considered as ‘businesses’ generate significant income in relation totheir scale. For example the Festivals in East Midlands directly employed around 25 people,and generated a combined income in excess of £1,000,000.

The major economic impact of arts and cultural festivals however is generated through theexpenditure of visitors attending the event. A number of factors will contribute to the scale ofthe economic impact including:

the number of visitors attracted to the event – more equals a greater potential impact;

the proportion of over-night visitors attracted to the event – overnight visitors willspend money on accommodation and generally spend more on other goods andservices while visiting;

the spending characteristics of the audience – those with higher disposable incomeswill generally spend more;

the length of stay that overnight visitors make – again the longer the stay, the greaterthe economic impact;

the importance of the event as a motivator for attending – where the event is the mainreason for visiting, additionality is greater.

In terms of scale it is clear that there are few of the very large events attracting in excess of40,000 visitors that take place in other, more urban settings. Nevertheless other events inCornwall are broadly comparable in terms of scale than those that take place elsewherethroughout the UK.

The net economic impact generated by the 6 Cornish events covered in this researchgenerated an estimated net economic impact in the region of £17million over the summer of2007. This is a much larger figure than that for any of the other sets of festivals reviewed inother research. We would argue that this figure is down to the Cornwall Festivals out-performing other festivals in a number of ways that contribute to economic impact. In short:



they are more likely to attract visitors from outwith the County – contributing to lowerdisplacement;

they are better at attracting overnight visitors – and crucially these overnight visitorsstay for longer;

the events themselves are strong motivators, especially in comparison to eventselsewhere, for being in the local area;

there is some evidence that cultural festivals attract people who spend more moneythan either cultural festivals elsewhere or ‘mainstream’ tourists to Cornwall.

This is an impressive performance and lends weight to the oft asserted claim, that in economicterms at least, cultural events and festivals carry a significant quantitative benefit in terms ofeconomic impact.

7.4 Contribution to social inclusion and community pride

In a number of the research reports considerable emphasis was placed on the contribution thatcultural festivals make to community pride and community engagement. Significant referencewas also made to how cultural events and festivals help to broaden participation in the arts andcivic life and help overcome barriers that lead to exclusion. Finally some cultural events havespecifically targeted the delivery of employment benefits, through for example giving localpeople opportunities to gain work experience or new skills through participating in theorganisation and delivery of events. Volunteering in particular plays an important role.

These issues were all identified as being relevant to Cornwall festivals through the stakeholderconsultations. Interestingly in arts and cultural festivals elsewhere they were often used as thebasis for securing buy-in and in some cases financial support from development agencies andlocal authorities. This seemed less likely to be the case for the Cornwall festivals.



8. Conclusions

8.1 Introduction

The research study has involved a wide ranging work programme. In this final section of thereport, we summarise some of the key findings from the study, with a particular focus on theeconomic impacts of cultural tourism.

8.2 Range of cultural events in Cornwall

In Chapter 2 we presented details of the mapping of cultural events in Cornwall. Some of thekey messages from the chapter were that:

there were almost 100 stand alone cultural events planned to take place over the periodMay 2007 – November 2007, covering a wide range of arts forms including theatre,dance music and the arts

cultural events and festivals appear to be a growing market. Anecdotal evidencesuggests that the number of events taking place has increased significantly over the lastfive years.

furthermore attendance at the seven events that were able to provide data since 2004suggested that the total number of attendees grew by more than 25% (almost 10,000people) between 2004 and 2006

cultural events and festivals take place all over Cornwall and as a result bring visitors tolocations right across the County

Who attends cultural events?

In chapter 3 we highlighted some of the key characteristics of audiences at cultural events.Some of the key messages from that chapter were that:

of the events at which visitor surveys were carried out, more than 43% of all attendeeswere from outwith the County, with some Festivals attracting around 2/3rds of theirvisitors from outwith Cornwall

the key markets for cultural events in Cornwall were the south east and south west ofEngland, accounting for 39% and 34% of all non Cornwall based visitors. A further20% were from the rest of England

overseas visitors accounted for 7% of all visitors to cultural events in Cornwall

nearly half of all visitors were aged between 45-64, but less than 15% were agedunder 35. There were twice as many women attending cultural events than therewere men

cultural events tend to attract people with above average incomes: just over a fifth ofthose surveyed had an annual average income in excess of £60,000, while a further21% had an annual income in excess of £40,000.



What is the economic impact of cultural tourism in Cornwall?

In chapter 5 we presented evidence of the economic impact of the six events at whichinformation on visitor expenditure was gathered. The key messages include:

in total more than 62,000 people attended the six events at which visitor expendituredata was captured

in total we estimate that for these six events, the net economic impact of the eventswas in the region of £17million.

the majority of this spend was attributed to two events: the Bude Jazz Festival and theSt Ives September Festival, which lasted for one week and two weeks respectively

ProjectBase and Wildworks, which were both active for a long part of the summermonths also made significant contributions to the economy of Cornwall of around£2.2million and £1.3million.

the Port Eliot LitFest and Hidden Art Fair which took place over a single weekendmade significant contributions of £500,000 and £630,000 respectively

given the lack of detailed information on visitor numbers and spend characteristics atthe other cultural events identified through the mapping exercise it is difficult to bedefinitive about the economic impact of all cultural events

however given that the research focussed on only six events, and the mappingexercise identified over 100 events taking place, we are confident that the overalleconomic impact of cultural tourism in Cornwall is considerably greater than the£17million that this report lays claim to.

What other benefits does cultural tourism bring to Cornwall?

Finally the report identified a number of other benefits that cultural tourism brings to Cornwall.The key messages included:

successful locations are those which have the ability to attract visitors for a range ofreasons. In that light cultural tourism is an integral part of the attractiveness ofCornwall, which also includes choose landscapes, beaches and seascapes; theclimate; food and drink; and extreme sports.

cultural tourism have the potential to contribute significantly to the sustainable growthof the tourism industry in Cornwall. There is strong evidence that it is a growth market,and that cultural tourists spend more, and stay longer

cultural events and festivals are perceived to make an important contribution to theoverall image of Cornwall as a vibrant place in which to live and work

by acting as a motivator for first time visitors, cultural events and festivals can act as ashop window for the County and encourage people to think about moving to live andwork in Cornwall.



Appendix 1: Cultural Events in Cornwall 2007

Event Duration Location Art Medium Type of Event

Stuff Art - an exhibition of stuff and clutter 5 May - 30 June Falmouth Art Gallery Visual Arts ExhibitionUCF Textile Design Show 9 - 12 May The Poly, Falmouth Visual Arts ExhibitionDaphne du Maurier Festival 10-19 May Fowey and the surrounding area Festival Festival

Street Performances (Bash Street Theatre) at Daphne Du MaurierFestival

12-May Fowey and the surrounding area Festival Festival

Nederlands Dans Theatre 2 15 & 16 May Hall for Cornwall, Truro Theatre / Dance PerformanceIf Everybody had a Ocean - Brian Wilson: An Art Exhibition 16 May - 23 Sept Tate Gallery, St Ives Visual Arts ExhibitionSpace 50 (Niki McCretton) theatre/dance 18-May Acorn Arts Centre, Penzance Theatre / Dance PerformanceSeven Ages of Man - Kepow Theatre Company 20th May - 2 June Various across the County Theatre / Dance PerformanceThe Government Inspector 21 - 25 May Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance PerformancePierre Bensusan music 22-May Acorn Arts Centre, Penzance Music PerformanceRoy Harper music 25-May Acorn Arts Centre, Penzance Music PerformanceFaith Brown 25-May Hall for Cornwall, Truro Theatre / Dance PerformanceUCF Foundation Show 25 - 31 May The Poly, Falmouth Visual Arts ExhibitionClare Teal 26-May Hall for Cornwall, Truro Theatre / Dance PerformanceOpen Studios Cornwall 26 May – 3 June throughout Cornwall Visual Arts ExhibitionMan of La Mancha 28 May - 1 June Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance PerformanceTosca - Duchy Opera 30 May - 1 & 2 June Hall for Cornwall, Truro Theatre / Dance PerformanceIsland Slices - Tom Napper and Tom Bliss 1 - 3 June Various across the County Music PerformanceRetelling the Winter's Tale 4 - 5 June Events Square, Falmouth Theatre / Dance PerformanceRobin Hood 4 - 8 June Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance PerformanceVivaSanta music 08-Jun Acorn Arts Centre, Penzance Music PerformanceIOU persents Waylaid 8 - 9 June Events Square, Falmouth Performance



Event Duration Location Art Medium Type of EventShakespeare's A Winters Tale - Sterts Theatre Co 8 June - 6 Sept - various

datesSterts Theatre, Liskeard Theatre / Dance Performance

Waylaid 12-Jun Looe Community School Theatre / Dance PerformanceThe Grimm's Tales 12 - 15 June Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance PerformanceGasping - Forthwall theate Co 14 & 15 June Sterts Theatre, Liskeard Theatre / Dance PerformanceInvisible Bonfires (Forkbeard Fantasy) theatre 16-Jun Acorn Arts Centre, Penzance Theatre / Dance PerformanceWatercolour painting by HRH the Duke of Cornwall 16 - 21 June Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro Visual Arts ExhibitionGolowan Festival 16 - 24 June Penzance Festival FestivalMurdock Weekend 16 - 17 June Redruth Festival FestivalPolperro Festival 16 - 24 June Polperro Festival FestivalLord Arthur Savile's Crime 18 - 22 June Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance PerformancePam Ayres 20-Jun Hall for Cornwall, Truro Theatre / Dance Performance3 Wishes Faery Festival 22 - 24 June Colliford Lake, Bodmin Moor Festival FestivalSolitare, Take Five, Pineapple Roll - Birmingham Royal Ballet 22 & 23 June Hall for Cornwall, Truro Theatre / Dance PerformanceMazey Day 23-Jun Penzance Festival FestivalSaltash Regatta 23 - 24 June Saltash Regatta RegattaPrince of the Buring Sun 25 - 29 June Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance PerformanceThe Scarlet Pimpernel - Roast 25 - 30 June Hall for Cornwall, Truro Theatre / Dance PerformanceLiskeard Carnival Week 25 - 30 June Liskeard Festival FestivalShakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew - Miracle Theatre Co 28-Jun Sterts Theatre, Liskeard Theatre / Dance PerformanceGaGa music 30-Jun Acorn Arts Centre, Penzance Music PerformanceThe Magic of Michael Foreman 30 June - 8 Sept Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro Visual Arts PerformanceEden sessions - James Morrison 02-Jul Eden, St Austell Music PerformanceOf Mice and Men 2 - 6 July Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance PerformanceGroove Lounge music 06-Jul Acorn Arts Centre, Penzance Music PerformanceLowender Festival 6 - 8 July Colliford Lake, Bodmin Moor Festival FestivalThe Witches - Sterts Theatre Co 6 July - 31 Aug - various


Projectbase Social Systems - Superflex and regina Moller 7 Jul - 2 Sept Tate Gallery, St Ives Visual Arts ExhibitionProjectbase 7 Jul - 2 Sept Newlyn Art Gallery Visual Arts Exhibition



Event Duration Location Art Medium Type of EventProjectbase 7 Jul - 2 Sept The Exchange, Penzance Visual Arts ExhibitionMiro's Constellations… and other Cornish stars 7 July - 15 Sept Falmouth Art Gallery Visual Arts ExhibitionThe Madness of George III 9 - 13 July Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance PerformanceEden sessions - Rufus Wainwright 10-Jul Eden, St Austell Music PerformanceWildworks 13 - 15, 17 - 22, 24 - 29 July

& 1 - 4 AugDulcoath Mine, Cambourne Theatre / Dance Performance

Lafrowda Festival 14-21 July St.Just in Penwith Festival FestivalStithians Show 16-Jul Stithians Communuity EventA Busy Day 16 - 20 July Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance PerformanceEden sessions - Amy Winehouse 17-Jul Eden, St Austell Music PerformanceEden sessions - Lily Allen 18-Jul Eden, St Austell Music PerformanceRomeo & Juliet - Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on Tour 18 - 20 July Sterts Theatre, Liskeard Theatre / Dance PerformanceThe Gruffalo's Child 18 - 22 July Hall for Cornwall, Truro Theatre / Dance PerformanceZambula music 20 & 21 Jul Acorn Arts Centre, Penzance Music PerformancePort Eliot Literature Festival 20-22 July Port Eliot estate in St.Germans Festival FestivalBoconnoc Steam Fair 20 - 22 July Boconoc Fair/Rally FestivalWhitefield Open Air Music Festival 20 - 22 July Stoke Climsland Festival FestivalEden sessions - Bright Eyes 21-Jul Eden, St Austell Music PerformanceCamborne Show 21-Jul Camborne Festival Communuity EventEden sessions - Pet Shop Boys 22-Jul Eden, St Austell Music PerformanceCarmen 23 - 27 July Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance PerformanceLooe Carnival Week 29 July - 4 Aug Looe Festival FestivalPeer Gnynt 30 July - 3 Aug Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance PerformanceReturn to the Forbidden Planet 3 Aug - 1 Sept - various


The Truse Story of Martin Guerre 6 - 10 Aug Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance PerformanceFalmouth Week 11 - 18 Aug Falmouth Regatta RegattaThe Tempest 13 - 17 Aug Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance Performance52nd West of England Steam Rally 17 - 19 Aug St Agnes Fair/Rally FestivalHis Dark Materials (Parts 1 & 2) 20 - 24 Aug Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance Performance



Event Duration Location Art Medium Type of EventBash Street Bobbies - - Bash Street Theatre 22-Aug Trevarno Gardens nr Helston Theatre / Dance PerformanceCliffhanger - Bash Street Theatre 22-Aug Trevarno Gardens nr Helston Theatre / Dance PerformanceCornwall Folk Festival 24-27 Aug Wadebridge Festival FestivalMorval Vintage Rally 25 - 27 Aug Morval, near Looe Fair/Rally FestivalBude Jazz Festival 25 Aug- 1 Sept Bude Festival FestivalHidden Art Cornwall Design Fair 25 – 27 Aug Fair/Rally ExhibitionNewlyn Fish Festival 27-Aug Newlyn Festival Communuity EventThe Scarlet Pimpernel 27 - 31 Aug Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance PerformanceThe Taming of the Shrew (Miracle Theatre) theatre 30-Aug Acorn Arts Centre, Penzance Theatre / Dance PerformanceSt Endellion Music Festival 31 Aug - 10 Sept St Endellion, Port Isaac Festival FestivalTwelfth Night 3 - 7 Sept Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance PerformanceSt.Ives September Festival 8 – 22 Sept St Ives Festival FestivalH.M.S. Pinafore 10 - 15 Sept Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance PerformanceProms at the Minack 22 & 23 Sept Minack Theatre Theatre / Dance PerformanceMarkey and friends 22 Sept - 24 Nov Falmouth Art Gallery Visual Arts ExhibitionCornwall Food and Drink Festival 28 - 30 Sept Truro Festival FestivalSam Brown music 17-Oct Acorn Arts Centre, Penzance Music PerformanceLowender Peran Festival 17 - 21 Oct Perranporth Festival FestivalFaery, Angel & Healing Fayre 27 - 28 Oct Penzance Fair/Rally FestivalCamborne Music Festival 12 - 17 Nov Camborne Festival FestivalCotehele Winter Food Fair 17 - 18 Nov Cotehele Fair/Rally Festival



Appendix 2 – Visitor survey responses by event

Event Numberof

surveysissued

Number ofvisitors

asked toparticipatein a face toface survey

Number ofpostcardsgiven outfor online

survey

Total number ofresponses received

Total number ofresponses from non-Cornwall residents

% of nonCornwall

Residents

OpenStudios 500 n/a n/a 151 45 29.8%

ProjectBase 350 200 n/a 151 40 26.5%

Wildworks 300 n/a 2,000 56 33 58.9%

Port EliotLit Fest 300 n/a 1,000 43 28 65.1%

HiddenArts 350 n/a n/a 41 19 46.3%

Bude JazzFestival 150 62 n/a 136 74 54.4%

St IvesSeptemberFestival

- 183 n/a 183 79 43.2%

TOTAL 2100 445 3000 761 331 43.5%



Appendix 3 – Events – by art form

Event Art MediumTheatre Dance Festival Music Visual

ArtsLiterature

Arts &Crafts

Acorn Arts Centre Bude Jazz Festival 3 Wishes Faery Festival Lowender Festival Wildworks Eden Falmouth Art Gallery Daphne du Maurier Festival Hall for Cornwall Minack Theatre Newlyn Fish Festival Golowan Festival Port Eliot Literature Festival Projectbase – Newlyn Art Gallery Royal Cornwall Museum Lafrowda Festival Sterts Theatre Tate Gallery Open Studios Cornwall Cornwall Folk Festival Hidden Art Cornwall Design Fair

5 5 9 11 6 2 6



Appendix 4: Learning from elsewhere

A.4.1 Introduction

The majority of the research ocused specifically on the impact of cultural tourism in Cornwall.There is however a wide body of research into the economic and social impacts of culturalfestivals elsewhere in the UK. As part of the study we carried out a desk review of this materialto inform and place in context the research in Cornwall. In this appendix we have includedevidence from:

Yorkshire

East Midlands

Scotland

Direct comparison of the findings from these reports is difficult due to the range of approachesand methodologies adopted. However the review of learning from elsewhere has attempted,as far as is possible to take a consistent overview and focuses on four key issues:

the background to the study – to provide some context for the festivals under review

evidence of economic impacts

social and other impacts (where available)

lessons learned for sustaining cultural festivals and increasing their impact on localcommunities.

A.4.2 Arts Festivals in Yorkshire

Background to the study

Arts Council England, Yorkshire, commissioned a research report in February 2006 whichaimed to:

assess the scale of arts festival activity in the Yorkshire region

identify the development needs of the sector through a series of case studies

assess the audience characteristics of audiences in the case study festivals

identify the contribution that arts festivals make in a number of areas includingeducation, cultural diversity and social inclusion

The study identified around 92 arts festivals that were delivered across Yorkshire, the majorityof which took place between May and October. Of these 92 Festivals 8 were selected fordetailed case study. Those selected for the case studies included a major combined artsfestival in Bradford, a Jazz Festival in Hull, an Open Studios event in a rural setting and aLiterature Festival. A survey of attendees was carried out and over 1,800 responses werereceived (although more than half were from one Festival).



Evidence of economic and social impacts

The report identified some limited data on audience characteristics and the economic andsocial impact of the eight case study Festivals:

Who attends cultural festivals in the Yorkshire?

the Festivals were characterised by diverse audiences, covering a mix of age rangesand ethnicities and gender.

almost two-thirds of attendees at the festivals were women, and more than two thirdsof all attendees were over the age of 45

less than a quarter of people travelled more than 25 miles to attend the festivals,suggesting that in the main the Festivals were serving a local and sub-regional market

30 Festivals responding to a request for audience figures suggested that the eventswere attended by around 270,0000 people

Economic impact of the festivals

the research did not attempt to gather robust evidence of the economic impact ofwither the case study festivals, nor the wider body of festivals identified in themapping study. Nevertheless some key messages were highlighted:

30 festivals were contacted to provide details of staffing, and turnover. The researchsuggested:

o the 30 festivals between them employed 23 people on a full time basis and49 people part time

o during the Festivals period of operation, the employment figure rose to 40 fulltime staff and 193 part-time staff

o over 3,500 artists were engaged or paid by the Festivals for the production ofthe Festivals

o the combined turnover of the Festivals approached £2.8 million

only one festival undertook any work to establish the value of visitor spend – theBradford Festival. This data was insufficiently robust to provide estimates ofeconomic impact

Delivering sustainable growth

The report made a number of recommendations on how the sustainability and growth of artsand cultural festivals could be achieved. Key messages included:

the need for increased integration and networking between the different arts andcultural festivals – particularly ion marketing and overcoming management and skillsbarriers

that many Festivals remain reliant on public support to underwrite the planning anddelivery of their programmes

that funding is however limited, and therefore competitive, but that the Arts Counciland others funders lacked a coherent basis for prioritising the allocation of funding



support. The report suggested that those that have developed a national andinternational reputation would be more likely to justify support in economicdevelopment terms

the ability of Festivals to contribute to the social inclusion agenda has typically beenunder-valued – and this might be an appropriate way of engaging with the agendas ofRegional Development Agencies and those involved in overcoming social inclusionthrough volunteering

engagement between arts festivals and tourism promotion agencies was generallyweak - there are significant opportunities for aligning the diversity of festivals with thewider brand of the Yorkshire region.

A.4.3 Cultural Festivals in the East Midlands


Arts Council England and the East Midlands Development Agency commissioned a majorstudy to assess the economic and social impact of cultural festivals in the East Midlands. Thestudy examined in the operation of eleven cultural festivals over a 12 month period and had awide ranging brief including:

gathering evidence that would help identify to social and economic impacts of thefestivals

identify the factors that would encourage and support sustainable growth, and betterregional connectivity within the festivals network

make recommendations about future policies (and agency roles) in support of thedevelopment of the Festivals sector.

The scale of the study was more extensive than that commissioned in Cornwall. In total:

the eleven festivals covered attracted more than 250,000 visitors

surveys were completed by more than 4,700 attendees (representing a response rateof 1.9%)

more than 50 face to face interviews were carried out with Festival Organisers,funders and other stakeholders

The key messages from the study are highlighted below.

Economic and social impacts

The report identified a wide range of data on the economic and social impact of the elevenFestivals:

Generation of income

in total the eleven festivals generated income of almost £1,000,000 – of which morethan 40% was generated through direct ticket sales. The remainder of income fromthe Festivals was generated through a variety of routes including:



o public funding – which accounted for around 40% of all income – and wassourced from Arts Council England (24%) and local authorities)

o business sponsorship (about 9% of income)o donations from Charitable Trusts and individuals (around 10% of income)

in addition volunteer help was estimated to be worth between £150,000 - £200,000across all Eleven festivals

Direct Expenditure

The Festivals themselves generated expenditure in the region of £980,000. Keyitems of expenditure included:

o artists / performers costs – around 50% of all expenditureo staff costs – 17%o marketing and publicity costs – 13%o production costs – 11%o education and outreach programmes – 3%

the research concluded that, before taking into account the effect of audiencesexpenditure – the Festivals directly supported around 80 FTE jobs in the EastMidlands Region.

Who attends cultural festivals in the East Midlands?

the Festivals were characterised by very diverse audiences, covering a mix of ageranges and ethnicities and gender.

having said that, the ‘average’ festival goer was more likely to be a woman (nearly58% of all attendees were female), aged over 45 (55% of attendees fell into this agegroup) and (where employed) working in a professional occupation

in the case of the East Midlands Festivals – the audience served was in the main sub-regional or local with people generally travelling less than 25 miles to attend theFestival, and more than half travelling less than 5 miles to attend.

Expenditure by audiences and their economic impact

The Festivals, with a total audience of 250,000 people were estimated to generate agross visitor expenditure of around £7million

taking into account multiplier effects and displacement (i.e. by discounting visitorexpenditure from ‘local attendees’) the net economic impact of the 11 Festival’s wasaround £5.2million.

this equates to an impact of around £20 of visitor spend ‘per visitor’ or, put in otherterms a return in investment of around £12 for every £1 invested by public sector instaging the events.

Views of stakeholders – social and other impacts

Local Businesses



local businesses generally had a positive attitude towards the festivals and saw themas ‘good for local communities’ (93%); make a good contribution to the developmentof tourism (85%) and enhance the image of the area as a place to live (84%)

evidence of impact on business performance was less clear cut – while 33% ofbusinesses surveyed in the East Midlands stated that they experienced turnover orcustomer benefits, 45% did not see them as a source of new business, while 20% ofthem viewed festivals as ‘disruptive to existing customers’.

Chambers of Commerce

a number of Chambers of Commerce were engaged in the study, and one BusinessLink were consulted around their engagement with and perceptions of culturalfestivals.

the consultations suggested that Chambers of Commerce were typically not wellengaged with the development and delivery of many of the cultural festivals covered inthe study

critically through the Chambers of Commerce perceived that they could pay two keyroles in supporting Festivals:

o acting as a source of advice and guidance in terms of business planning anddelivery

o acting as a conduit to engage local businesses in the planning and delivery ofFestivals – a route which could over time create opportunities for increasedbusiness sponsorship, or joint marketing activity

Arts Organisations

unsurprisingly there was a general shared view that arts and cultural festivals were a‘good thing’ which delivered a number of social and economic benefits for theircommunities. These included:

o creating a vibrant local cultural life in local communitieso contributing to the social inclusion agenda, by directly providing job

opportunities and by improving access to serviceso increasing local pride in an area and improving perceptions of areas as

places to liveo creating a positive image for visitors and encouraging tourism


The study identified a number of areas in which the continued growth of the cultural festivalscould be supported:

marketing and publicity of the Festivals was generally undertaken on an individualbasis – there were opportunities to promote cultural festivals as a ‘regional offer’ andalso to integrate marketing with that of other tourist attractions. This has the potentialto bring economies of scale and increase impact in terms of scale of marketing andattracting to a wide range of audiences

similarly there were opportunities for integrating marketing and publicity with thatundertaken by local businesses. Engaging local businesses in the planning and



delivery of Festivals could also bring some benefits – such as ensuring businesseswere ‘geared up’ to capture customers attending Festivals or by extending businessopening hours.

better regional networking between Festivals could play an important role in helping toovercome shared barriers to growth, particularly around the management andorganisation of Festivals, and to learn lessons (and avoid potential pit-falls)

the investment from the public sector in the hosting and staging of the events seemsto generate significant returns – however there was generally low awareness amongstfunders of the ‘success’ in economic terms, that they create. Overcoming this lack ofawareness was seen as a key barrier to unlocking future targeted investment

A.4.4 Evidence from Scotland


Glasgow City Marketing Bureau commissioned a major review of the economic impact of anumber of events and festivals that took place in Glasgow in 2005. The brief for the study tooka much wider definition of arts and cultural events, and typically focussed on events that wereof significant scale. These included: the Glasgow River Festival (celebrating the history andregeneration of the Clyde); Glasgow Piping Live; The World Pipe Bands Championship;Gourmet Glasgow; Proms in the Park; Merchant City Festival; the BLOCK Architecture Festivaland the Glasgow Film Festival. The research included an extensive programme of consultationwith visitors to the events and included coverage of social impacts and an analysis of thefinancial sustainability of the events.

In total the events attracted over 187,000 attendees, of whom 125,000 were classed as‘visitors’ i.e. originating from outwith the boundaries of Glasgow City. Interviews were carriedout an a random basis at the events and achieved 1,460 face to face responses and anadditional 138 survey responses, giving an effective response rate of around 0.9%.

The report identified a wide range of data on the economic and social impact of the elevenFestivals:

Generation of income and expenditure

the report did not provide details of how income was generated by the events. Anumber of the events were free to attend (notably the Glasgow River Festival, TheWorld Pipe Band Championships and the BBC Proms in the Park) however a numberof the others will have generated significant entrance fees for shows and events thatformed parts of Festivals.

the total cost of running 7 events was estimated to be just over £1,100,000. Of thistotal Glasgow City Council contributed £587,000 of direct funding (or just over 53% ofcosts). In addition the City Council supported the BBC Proms in the Park with£95,000.

Who attends cultural festivals in Glasgow?

there were significant differences in the audiences attracted to the events, particularlyin terms of the home area of residence. Two events, the World Pipe BandChampionships and the Glasgow Piping Live Festival attracted significant numbers of



overseas visitors (21% and 39% respectively), and around half of their attendees fromoutwith Scotland.

typically the other events served a much more local and sub-regional market place –with around 60-70% of attendees coming from the Glasgow or Greater Glasgow area(a rough radius of 25 miles from the city)

as a whole the Festivals attracted a diverse range of age groups – but were generallymore attractive to younger age groups. More than half of the attendees at the WorldPipe Band Championships, the Glasgow Film Festival and the Block ArchitectureFestival being aged under 35. On average only 22% of all attendees were aged over55.

women slightly outnumbered men in term of attendees, accounting for 53% of allthose attending the events

around two-thirds of all attendees to the events were day trippers, with the remaindermaking an overnight stay. Again there were significant variation by event, with morethan 50% of attendees at the World Piping Championships and almost 60% of thoseattending Piping Live making an overnight stay.

Expenditure by audiences and their economic impact

the festivals and events, with a total audience of 187,000 people were estimated togenerate a net economic impact of around £6,000,000. This was estimated to supportthe equivalent of around 98 Full Time jobs in the City of Glasgow

in total the City Council invested £682,000 in delivering the events. An analysis ofreturn on investment suggested that for every £1 the City Council invested, the Coty’seconomy received a net return of £8.71. This varied across the Festivals, withtypically, those events attracting significant proportions of overnight stayers,generating bigger returns.

Social and other impacts

Improving visitors’ perceptions

there was strong evidence that attendees at the events developed a positive image ofGlasgow through attending the events. Glasgow was rated as very good byattendees in terms of “receiving a friendly welcome” (74%), “being a vibrant city”(65%); as “a place for a holiday or short break (59%) and as “a place in which to liveand work (49%)

the events themselves contributed a lot to “the enjoyment of [the] trip to Glasgow(62%); to the likelihood of making return trips to Glasgow (50%); and the likelihood ofrecommending Glasgow as a place to visit (55%).

the events also helped to attract over 5,500 first time visitors to Glasgow.


The study brief did not require the provision of recommendations to strengthen theperformance of, or the sustainability of events.

Documents

Understanding the Impact of Cultural Tourism in Cornwall ...€¦ · Final Report Understanding the Impact of Cultural Tourism in Cornwall EKOS Consulting (UK) Ltd 4 1 Introduction