PORT ANGELES — A survey of 2005 Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts attendees found that the 13-year-old festival has surpassed $1 million in direct and indirect economic impact in the Port Angeles area.
“We’re extremely excited about that result,” said Anna Manildi, the festival’s executive director.
“It’s something we were anticipating.
“You can say your event has a major economic impact but it’s all guesswork unless you go the extra mile for a legitimate survey. So that’s why we decided to do that.”
The four-day performing arts festival takes over two blocks of Fourth Street and several venues around town in late July. It drew an estimated 15,000 visitors last year.
The festival’s principal sponsor is the Peninsula Daily News.
$1 million milestone
Manildi said a similar survey conducted in 2000 produced a $750,000 economic impact, so the festival is growing.
“We were told $1 million is a milestone and something to be extremely proud of,” she said.
“One of our missions is to increase the economic impact and make the festival have an impact on the local economy.
“It’s been a success on all those counts.”
The survey also revealed that more than 45 percent of festival attendees said the Juan de Fuca Festival was “very important” in their decision to visit the Port Angeles area.
Almost one-quarter of festival attendees came from more than 50 miles away, according to the survey.
Visitors who stay on the North Olympic Peninsula solely because they want to attend the festival also spent more than $150,000 in the Port Angeles area, the survey said.
“One thing I found interesting was a good percentage of the visitors have been here three to five times,” Manildi said.
“That’s wonderful because it means people are returning. Our challenge is just getting them here, because once they are here they are probably hooked.”