South African Cultural Observatory
South African Festival Economic Impact Calculator

SOUTH AFRICAN FESTIVAL ECONOMIC IMPACT CALCULATOR (SAFEIC)

South African Festivals Economic Impact Calculator (SAFEIC) Report

Tourism events attract ‘new money into the impact region and create direct and indirect impacts through re-spending of the initial injection. Economic impact studies, and calculators, attempt to answer the question: “If the event had not taken place, what would the loss of economic activity to the impact area have been?”. The results presented in this report were produced using the South African Festival Economic Impact Calculator (SAFEIC), a free online tool developed by the South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) specifically for cultural festivals and events.

SAFEIC is designed to provide credible, conservative estimates of the economic impact of festivals and events – and is open to all organisers of events and festivals from small to large However, the reliability and validity of results rely, crucially, on data entered by the person or organisation using the SAFEIC. This data included:

  • Defining the impact area;
  • Attendee numbers; and
  • Organiser data on non-local sponsorship and earned income.

Based on the entered data and the underlying model, SAFEIC results show that:

  1. Total spending on accommodation by festival visitors in the host economy was R
  2. The total amount spent by festival organisers in the host economy, not including local sponsorship, was R .
  3. Taking into account outflows and the multiplier effect, the total economic impact of the festival on the host economy was R .

The economic impact figure represents the additional expenditure that the host economy would lose if the festival or event had not taken place. As such, it does not include spending by local residents (who are likely to have spent the money in the town or city, even if the event had not taken place), or spending by organisers that was sourced from local sponsors.

This report is by no means a comprehensive economic impact study, however, it uses critical elements and quantitative data to generate a conservative impact estimate based on the figures inputted by the event organiser.  The three main outcomes outlined above are the results of those inputs.

Disclaimer for printed South African Festivals Economic Impact Calculator (SAFEIC) Report

Please note that this report is not a comprehensive economic impact assessment (EIA) nor should it take the place of a full EIA. The sole purpose of the South African Festivals Economic Impact Calculator (SAFEIC) Report – a free online tool for basic assessments of events and festivals – is to provide a provide credible, conservative estimate of the economic impact of festivals and events, based on data input into the SAFEIC by the event/festival organiser. Therefore the reliability and validity of results is solely dependent on the data entered by the person or organisation using the SAFEIC. As a result the South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) takes no responsibility for either the inputs or the results generated from usage of the SAFEIC; nor can the SACO be held legally or otherwise responsible for the information generated by the SAFEIC. The SACO accepts no liability for the information generated by the reports or the presentation of its results to interested parties as the SACO is unable to independently verify the initial input data.

Information, ideas and opinions expressed on this report should not be regarded as professional advice or information nor the SACO’s official opinion. Calculator reports supplied are for indicative values only, and the SACO shall not be responsible nor liable for any inaccuracies or miscalculations arising out of defects or incorrect use.

A. DESCRIPTION OF EVENT

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In this section you focus on some of the fundamentals of your event. You need to enter the number of days, and the size of the population of your impact area (which you can get from Statistics South Africa online census data).

The impact area you choose (for example, a city or town, or a municipality, or a municipal district) will make a big difference to the economic impact. Spending by local residents, producers and sponsors (that is, people and organisations in the impact area) is not counted as part of economic impact. This is because their spending does not represent “new” money coming into the area, and if the festival or event had not taken place, their spending is still likely to have occurred, albeit on something else.

Main Event: Number of Days  
Supplemental Days Pre and Post in Impact Area  
Total Event Days Combined    
Avg. Visitor Length Of Stay Not in Paid Accommodation  
Nos. of Nights Stay of Avg. Paid Accommodation Visitor  
Population of Local Community  
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B. Description of the Audience

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This section takes a deeper look at the profile of your visitors and audiences, how many came to the event, how many were local and how many came from outside the impact area.

The only data you have to enter, and which is very important to get right for the reliability of the results, is the total number of attendees who came to the event. If you have data from a visitor survey on other things (such as the percentage of visitors from outside the impact area, you have the option of entering this data.

If you did not run a visitor survey, SAFEIC will use estimates based on the population size of the impact area and data from previous research.

Total number of attendees  
Percent Attendees Non-Local   %
Total number of Non-Local Visitors    
Percent Visitors Staying in Paid Accommodation   %
Total number of Visitors Staying in Paid Accommodation  
% Visitors in Hotel/Paid Accommodation Primarily for Event   %
Total number of Paid Accommodation Visitors DUE to Event    
Total Visitor Paid accommodation Room Nights    
Percent Visitors not In Paid Accommodation   %
Total Visitors not staying in Paid Accommodation    
% Non Paid Accommodation Visitors Primarily for Event   %
Total non-paid accommodation Visitor Days    
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C. Visitor Non-Ticket Spending/Day

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We also need to know what your visitors spend on an average day of attending your festival or event.

Spending is divided into two categories: Spending per person per night on accommodation (for those who stayed over in paid-for accommodation) and spending on other things (such as food and drinks, shopping and souvenirs).

Note that spending on tickets is not included here – it is counted as part of organiser earned income later on.

If you ran a visitor survey, you can enter the average spending figures per person per day from the survey. If you did not run a visitor survey, you can use averages for each province calculated from the South African Domestic Tourism Survey that are available here

 

Average Paid Accommodation Room Rate/Night/Person R
Non-Accommodation Per Person Spending/Day R
Per Person Spending/Day Paid Accommodation Visitors R  
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D. Visitor Non-Ticket Total Spending

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This section will automatically update based on all the information inputted into the calculator already – and as you will see gives you the total spending over the festival or event period for accommodation, daily expenditure on food, travel, drinks, souvenirs and a combined figure.

You don’t have to do anything here except see some early results. Some stakeholders, such as accommodation providers, may be interested in seeing the impact of the event on their sectors.

Total Paid Accommodation Visitor Spending for Accommodation R  
Total Paid Accommodation Visitor Non-Accommodation Spending R  
Paid Accommodation Visitor Total Combined Spending R  
Non-Paid Accommodation Visitor Total Spending R  
Total Visitor Non-Ticket Spending R  
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E. Non-Local Artist and Producer Spending

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If you have information on non-local (that is, from outside the impact area) artists and other cultural producers who performed at your festival or event, you can fill in their data here.

However, if all your performers were local, or if organisers covered all their costs, then you should leave this section blank.

# of Non-Local Artists and Producers  
Average Length of Stay of Artists  
% of Non-Local Artists etc. in Paid Accommodation   %
Number of Artist Visitor Non-Paid Accommodation Days    
Number of Artist Visitor Paid Accommodation Days    
Per Day Spending Artists not in Paid Accommodations R
Per Day Spending for Paid Accommodations by Artists R
Total Spending by Artists not in Paid Accommodations R  
Total Spending by Artists for Paid Accommodations R  
Total Other Spending by Paid Accommodation Artists R  
Total Spending by Artists and Producers R  
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F. Non-Local Media Visitor Spending

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Larger festivals and events may attract media representatives (reporters for newspaper, TV, radio and online publications). Sometimes, media representatives are required to register with festival organisers. If you have information on non-local (that is, from outside the impact area) media representatives who performed at your festival or event, you can fill in their data here.

However, if media representatives were local, or if you don’t have information on the number of non-local reps, then you should leave this section blank.

Number of Non-Local Media Personnel  
Average Length of Stay of Visiting Media  
% of Visiting Media Staying in Paid Accommodations   %
Number of Media Non-Paid Accommodation Days    
Number of Visiting Media Paid Accommodation Days    
Per Day Spending by Non-Paid Accommodation Media R
Per Day Spending for Paid Accommodation by Media R
Per Day Non-Accommodation Spending by Paid Accommodation Media R
Total Spending by Media Not in Paid Accommodation R  
Total Spending by Media for Paid Accommodation R  
Total Other Spending by Paid Accommodation Media R  
Total Visiting Media Spending R  
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G. Total Visiting Spending Totals

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You don’t have to do anything in this section, except see your results and various inputs come to life as total visiting spends.

See how the visitor, artist/producer and media spending all adds up to a grand total amount of non-ticket spending at your event.

Total Paid Accommodation Visitor Spending for Paid Accommodation R  
Total Paid Accommodation Visitor Non-Paid Accommodation Spending R  
Total Combined Spending for Visitors with Paid Accommodation R  
Total spending for Visitors with Non-Paid Accommodation R  
Total Spending by Artists and Producers R  
Total Spending by Visiting Media R
Total Visitor Non-Ticket Spending R
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A. Total Direct Impact

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This section is critically important and starts to track the total impact of your event. You will see some figures pulled through from your earlier inputs. Now you are required to include information about organiser spending such as the amount of funding and sponsorship, and earned income from things like ticket and programme sales.

SAFEIC will automatically calculate the proportion of organiser spending from non-local sources that stays (or is “captured”) in the impact area. It is assumed that organiser income (earned and sponsorship) is equal to organiser spending on the event. If this is not the case, you can override the calculated value with actual organisers spending amounts.

 

Non-Local Sponsorship Funding from outside impact area R
Total Earned Income R
Earned income from (non-local) visitors and producers R
Total non-local organiser revenue R  
Total Organiser Spending on Event (from non-local sources) R
Percent Organizer Revenue Spent Locally  
Total Organiser Amount Spent Locally R  
Total Visitor, Producer & Media non-ticket spending R  
Local Capture Rate for Visitor, Producer & Media Spend    
Net Visitor, Producer & Media spending R  
Total captured Spending in Impact Area R  
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B. Indirect Multiplier Effect Impacts

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Here are your Economic Impact Results! SAFEIC will use an output multiplier (based on the size of the impact area you have chosen) that captures the re-spending of the new money in the host economy, and the data you have entered to calculate the total economic impact of your event.  This figure answers the question: If the festival or event had not taken place, what is the financial loss that the impact area would have suffered?

Economic impact will be biggest for festivals and events that attract a high proportion of the visitors, performers, media representatives and sponsors from outside the impact area, and that have large host economies.

Remember that economic impact does not capture the cultural and social values of the event, so it is a partial valuation.

It may be that the economic impact of your event is much less than you anticipated. If so, please consider other ways of measuring and expressing the impact and value of your event. SACO has produced a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, with examples, to guide you through this process.

Local Output Multiplier  
Total Economic Impact R
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Event Information

Please complete the form below in order to print out your results. Please note that SACO does not save or store your financial data or inputs, which we regard as confidential.  However, we have asked you to enter the name of your event and contact details so we can monitor usage of the calculator.

Event name *
Event logo
Name *
Company
Contact number
Email address *
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Comments / feedback

Disclaimer for South African Festivals Economic Impact Calculator (SAFEIC) Usage

Please note that the South African Festivals Economic Impact Calculator (SAFEIC) – a free online tool for basic assessments of events and festivals – is not a comprehensive economic impact assessment (EIA) nor should it take the place of a full EIA. The sole purpose of the SAFEIC is to to provide a credible, conservative estimate of the economic impact of festivals and events, based on data input into the SAFEIC by the event/festival organiser. The reliability and validity of results is solely dependent on the data entered by the person or organisation using the SAFEIC and the South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) takes no responsibility for either the inputs or the results generated from usage of the SAFEIC; nor can the SACO be held legally or otherwise responsible for the information generated by the SAFEIC. The SACO accepts no liability for the information generated by the reports or the presentation of its results to interested parties as the SACO is unable to independently verify the initial input data. Calculator reports supplied are for indicative values only, and the SACO shall not be responsible nor liable for any inaccuracies or miscalculations arising out of defects or incorrect use. Usage is at the person/organisation’s own risk.


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