Sundance Institute Brings $86.4 Million to Utah with 2014 Sundance Film Festival 10-Day Event Generates $6.9 Million in State and Local Tax Revenue, Supports 1,434 Jobs, Attracts Worldwide Media Exposure Valued at $65.1 MillionPosted May 15, 2014
Park City, Utah Sundance Institute today announced that the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, which took place in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah in January, generated an overall economic impact of $86.4 million for the State of Utah, according to the independent annual economic and demographic study conducted by the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the David Eccles School of Business (BEBR).
The Economic Report, posted in full on the Sundance Institute website, also found that the 2014 Festival: supported over 1,434 jobs; generated over $65.1 million in international media exposure; provided nearly $6.9 million in tax revenue; and was attended by more than 45,300 people. At least 69 percent of festival attendees traveled from outside of Utah, including more than 3,500 visitors from 29 international locations, and more than 36 percent of tourist attendees indicated that they intend to visit Utah again during the next year.
Over the last five years, Sundance Institute, through its annual Sundance Film Festival, has brought Utah more than $369.8 million dollars in economic activity, $31.1 million dollars in tax revenue, more than 7,500 jobs and more than 225,048 festival attendees. Over the last ten years, the Festival has generated in excess of $500 million in economic activity for Utah. The Festival is the state's largest annual international event, bolstering tourism and attracting worldwide media attention.
Laurie Hopkins Co-Managing Director of Sundance Institute, said, Over the last 30 years, our primary goal with the Sundance Film Festival is to provide a platform for audiences to connect with independent filmmakers and their work. Through the research conducted by the University of Utah, we are able to see the tremendous financial impact our event has also had on the Utah economy, particularly the small businesses and local vendors who help put on the Festival.
The consistent economic benefit to our state from the Sundance Film Festival is the perfect example of cultural tourism shaping a strong and diverse economy, said Gov. Gary R. Herbert. Beyond the tax revenue, tourism dollars and global exposure, the cultural benefits to hosting the Sundance Film Festival in Utah leave a lasting impact in our classrooms and communities.
Sarah Pearce, Co-Managing Director of Sundance Institute, said, The consistent attendance numbers from out-of-state visitors year over year shows that audiences and industry professionals make their visit to Utah a priority. We are proud to partner with the State of Utah, The Governor's Office of Economic Development and the Utah Film Commission to showcase Utah's culture, gorgeous landscape and business-friendly climate.
More than 14,000 Utah residents participated in special community screenings and events as part of this year's Festival. The annual Salt Lake Galaand world premiere screening of the documentary MITT by director Greg Whiteley was attended by Governor Herbert, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his family, Utah legislators and community leaders. In the Governor's welcoming remarks, he commented on the Festival's cultural and economic value in Utah. Also, the Festival's student screening programs reached more than7,000college and secondary students, who discussed with filmmakers the art of storytelling and an array of social and cultural issues. Over 600 complimentarytickets were given to 72 Utah-based non-profit and community leaders to attend Festival screenings via the Institute's Outreach Ticket program. An additional 1,300 local residents attended Festival Community Outreach film screenings in Park City, Salt Lake City and Utah County. The Festival also welcomed Hill Air Force Base for a special screening at Ogden's Egyptian Theatre. Upon the conclusion of the Festival, 5,300 Utah locals attended Best of Fest, free public screenings of the Festival's award-winning films.
Building Audiences at Home and Abroad
Between the announcement of the film program in December 2013 through wrap-up articles in February 2014, Sundance Institute generated more than 48,100 print and online articles and more than 1,600 television pieces about the Festival. In total, publicity value from the Festival totaled more than $65.1 million. Over 940 registered press from 30 countries attended the Festival, including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Hungary, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain and Sweden.
Sundance Institute's social media and website content strategy continues to expand to reach new audiences across the world. From December 1, 2013 to February 28, 2014, the Institute's website, Sundance.org, had more than 20 million page views and 9 million unique visitors from 218 countries. Top countries outside the United States included the United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany. In addition, the Festival now has nearly 1.5 million fans and followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, Pinterest and Google+ platforms.
Economic Report Methodology
The Economic Report findings were generated using an economic impact model known as RIMS II, developed by the U.S. Department of Commerces Bureau of Economic Analysis. The economic impact study measures the impact of the Sundance Film Festival on jobs, wages, and value-added (or gross state product) on the state of Utah during a ten day period in January 2014. It also provides an estimate of the fiscal impacts
