Tacoma reaps economic benefits from tall ships festival

Posted on 17 September 2008

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Tacoma, Wash., benefited from more than $19 million in economic impact as a result of the Tall Ships Tacoma festival this summer, according to a recently released study.

Completed by the festival and event consulting firm Birchhill Enterprises LLC, the study offers an in-depth look at the festival's impact on the local economy, as well as a demographic profile of the visitors attracted to the Foss Waterway during the five-day event.

Highlights of the study include:

• more than $19 million benefiting the local economy
• 300,000 visitors to the revitalized Foss Waterway
• $1,089,523 in state sales tax revenue
• $229,047 in sales tax revenue that stayed in the Tacoma area
• 16 percent of festival attendees traveled more than 50 miles to attend, staying an average of 2.6 days in the Tacoma area
• 78 percent of attendees said they would attend future tall ship-themed events in Tacoma.

Click here for the complete release.