Sundance economic impact tops $182 million this year

By Brice Wallace 

The Sundance Film Festival’s overall economic impact slipped a bit this year but was following a record year in 2018.

Using figures from an economic impact study conducted by Y² Analytics, the nonprofit Sundance Institute said the 2019 festival had an overall economic impact of $182.5 million on the Utah economy, off from the prior-year total of $191.6 million but ahead of the 2017 figure of $151.5 million.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

The 2019 festival, which took place Jan. 24-Feb. 3, attracted more than 122,000 attendees (down from 124,900 in 2018), generated over $18.6 million in state and local tax revenue (down from $19 million), and supported 3,052 jobs (down from 3,323).

For the past five years, the festival has had an overall economic impact of $681.5 million, with more than $66.7 million in state and local tax revenue generated and over 11,900 jobs supported, the institute said.

“Since its founding, the Sundance Film Festival has become an important part of the cultural and economic fabric of Utah,” said Gov. Gary Herbert. “Utah is a great destination for tourists year-round, but during the festival we really get to engage in the worlds of film and the arts. We appreciate our ongoing partnership with Sundance Institute.”

“Each year, the full breadth of the unique benefits provided to the state of Utah and our business community by the Sundance Film Festival become more apparent,” said Brad Wilson, speaker of the Utah House of Representatives. “We look forward to many more years of great success through our ongoing collaboration between Sundance Institute and the state.”

Attendees came from 48 states. Of the more than 122,000 attendees this year, over 43,500 came from out-of-state, contributing $170.6 million of the total impact. Twenty-one percent of the out-of-state visitors indicated this was their first visit to Utah and 88 percent of them said they would likely visit Utah again within the next year.

Per-person spending for out-of-state visitors averaged $3,410 with an average stay of five days. Lodging continued to be the largest expense for them and generated a total of $69.9 million in attendee spending. The next-largest expenses were in recreation/entertainment, with $39.9 million, and meals, with $36.6 million.

This year’s festival also attracted more than 1,300 attendees from outside the U.S., coming from at least 35 nations.

“Sundance is often one of the first things international business and government leaders know about Utah,” said Miles Hansen, president and CEO of World Trade Center Utah. “Sundance opens doors for Utah far beyond the arts and film by serving as a cultural and economic beacon for Utah that is seen in all cultures and corners of the globe.”

“On top of our exciting screenings and live programming, the Sundance Film Festival is proud to bring an increasingly wide and diverse audience from around the globe to Utah each year to support both our artists and our home state,” said Betsy Wallace, the Sundance Institute’s managing director. “We’re grateful for our audiences’ dedication, as well as the wide-ranging benefits that they bring, especially in allowing us to showcase the state of Utah to the world.”{/mprestriction}

The festival also has proven to be a publicity machine. Between the announcement of the film schedule in late November 2018 through wrap-up articles in early 2019, the festival generated more than 62,325 stories in print, online and on television in over 60 countries. The festival’s publicity value reached an all-time high of $120.2 million, up $27 million from 2018. More than 1,175 press members from 29 countries were accredited to attend and cover the festival in-person.

The festival also now has over 2.5 million fans and followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Tumblr. Over 24 million impressions were produced during the festival on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter alone.