By: Jenn McEwen
During the first year of work for the Office of Cultural Affairs, we engaged with Americans for the Arts to facilitate its Arts and Economic Prosperity Study for Hilton Head Island. We spent most of 2018 surveying 41 non-profit organizations that provide arts and culture programming on the island and their audiences. The study analyzes the economic impact of these organizations and their audiences. The Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 is Americans for the Arts’ fifth study and documents the economic contributions of the arts in 341 diverse communities and regions across the country, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
By conducting our own economic impact study for Hilton Head Island’s arts and culture community, we are able to see where we stand compared to this national snapshot. The results are promising. The total economic impact for the industry is $39.1m, almost eight times the national median for communities our size.
Any time money changes hands, there is a measurable economic impact. What makes the economic impact of arts and cultural organizations unique is that, unlike most other industries, they induce large amounts of event-related spending by their audiences. For example, when patrons attend a performing arts event, they may purchase dinner at a restaurant, eat dessert after the show, or pay the babysitter. The model established by Americans for the Arts for quantifying the economic impact is a more conservative model than many economists use and does not include the use of a multiplier. A multiplier is an estimate of the number of times a dollar changes hands in the community, e.g. a theatre pays an actor who buys groceries and the grocery store pays the cashier, etc. Using a multiplier often results in an overestimation of the economic impact.
What we see in the study of Hilton Head Island’s arts-goers is that compared to national averages, our residents and visitors are spending significantly more on these expenditures and having a positive and measurable impact on the economy. On Hilton Head Island our residents spend $35.34 per event, or 66% more than the national average, and our visitor spends $82.62, or 57% more than the national average. Another interesting fact is that 37% of our arts & culture event attendees are nonresidents. Each of the nonresident survey respondents were asked about the purpose of their trip and 33.2% percent indicated that the primary purpose of their visit to Hilton Head Island was “specifically to attend this arts/cultural event.” I feel that this shows great opportunity to grow the number of cultural tourists visiting our island. And this report is just focused on the impact of the nonprofit arts and culture community. Our for-profit arts businesses aren’t included in this snapshot. So add in the restaurants offering live music, the art galleries, and other for-profit cultural offerings like the Gullah Heritage Tours and the impact only grows. Perhaps that study is next.
You can read the full report online at CultureHHI.org or pick up a printed copy at Town Hall.