NAFA pumps $4.1 million into Townsville economy, analysis shows
Townsville’s inaugural North Australian Festival of Arts pumped more than $4 million into the economy, five times what the council spent to put it on, as the mayor reveals plans for its future >>
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TOWNSVILLE’S inaugural North Australian Festival of Arts pumped more than $4 million into the economy, nearly five times what the council spent to put it together, new figures have revealed.
Townsville City Council’s economic analysis of the event, released to the Townsville Bulletin, found a total of $4.1 million was injected into the gross regional product and hotel occupancy rates spiked by 8.6 per cent in July.
The event cost a total of $1.6 million to put together, with the council contributing $850,000 from its existing budget and the remainder of the cost met by box office ticket sales, sponsorships, grants and food and beverage revenue.
Mayor Jenny Hill said NAFA was a “world-class event” and confirmed it would return in July 2020.
It is understood the timetable may be tweaked to accommodate the Supercars.
“Over 1000 people provided feedback once NAFA was over and the results were overwhelming with 96 per cent of those people rating it as good or excellent,” Cr Hill said.
“Townsville really voted on how they felt about NAFA with ticket sales reaching over $530,000 and our free events were incredibly well attended too.”
Light and sound installation HALO, which lit up Castle Hill, was not included in the overall spend and analysis as it was funded by the Federal Government through the Castle Hill Activation Plan and requires separate reporting.
An estimated 102,200 people visited NAFA’s two main sites at Queens Gardens and Strand Park.
According to a council survey, 96 per cent of attendees rated NAFA as either excellent or good, with more than a quarter of those questioned coming to Townsville specifically for the event.
Hotel occupancy rates in Townsville were up 8.6 per cent compared to July 2018, although hoteliers have said statistics in the city at the time could be skewed by the floods.
Community and Cultural Development Committee chairwoman Colleen Doyle said more than 90 per cent of the people involved in pulling NAFA together were local.
“The impact of major events is far-reaching and while there were over 1200 people directly involved in NAFA, we also supported 81 suppliers and vendors,” she said.
“That’s what really matters when we host major events like this – how can we provide an event that draws people in from not only Australia but all over the world and share those benefits with the community.”
Wonderland Spiegeltent owner Colin Davis said the delivery of the inaugural festival was a “great achievement”.
“I can honestly say that in 30 years of being involved in the event industry throughout this country, I have never witnessed a new event work as well as NAFA did this year,” he said.
Council is seeking funding support from both the State and Federal Government to help host NAFA next year.
Originally published as NAFA pumps $4.1 million into Townsville economy, analysis shows