The three-day Outside Lands Music Festival may draw dozens of the world’s top musical artists to one spot — San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park — but its economic impact extends well beyond the city’s limits.
A new study said the annual event sinks $75 million into the Bay Area economy. The report, conducted by Marin Economic Consulting (MEC) and commissioned by Outside Lands organizers Another Planet Entertainment and Superfly, states the festival “increased incomes by $32.6 million, created the equivalent of 700.4 full time year-long jobs, and paid $9,465,668 in state and local taxes.”
Researchers reached those numbers by using data gathered from on-site and online surveys. The surveys gathered such factors as demographics and spending patterns of festival attendees and estimated their overall economic impact. With the data, researchers estimated that “total direct expenditures from Outside Lands within San Francisco were $29,995,144. Spending in the Bay Area outside of San Francisco was estimated at $2,596,099. This resulted in total direct expenditures in the entire Bay Area of $32,591,244.”
The study added, “41,448 hotel nights were booked in the Bay Area that are closely linked to the Festival, approximately 41,309 of which were in San Francisco.”
“When visitors stay in San Francisco hotels, they help support an industry that sustains tens of thousands of working families,” said Ian Lewis, Research Director of UNITE HERE Local 2, in a statement. “This study highlights how events like Outside Lands – 60% of whose guests stay in local hotels – contribute to our region’s economy.”
The festival returns to Golden Gate Park for its 11th installment August 10-12 and includes headliners The Weeknd, Florence + The Machine and Janet Jackson. Tickets are available here.
