Measuring the economic impact of museums, exhibitions and festivals

How is a museum’s economic impact measured?

Estimate how many visitors the museum actually brings to the area, how many are non-residents, how long they stay and what they spend on accommodation, food, transport and other services. This additional spending must then be translated into local economic value without double counting. Sociometrica combines museum analysis and economic impact expertise in models for cultural institutions.

Sources: Sociometrica — Report e studi

How much is a museum worth to a city’s economy?

Far more than its turnover when the museum is a reason to visit the city. Its value includes spending outside the museum and the institution’s reputational effect on the destination. Measurement must distinguish visitors who would have come anyway from those genuinely attracted by the museum. This distinction enables the move from audience figures to economic impact.

How do you measure an exhibition’s economic impact?

Start with the proportion of non-resident visitors who travelled or extended their stay because of the exhibition. Then measure length of stay and additional spending, identifying genuinely incremental effects. Indirect and reputational effects can be added, but should not be confused with initial spending. Sociometrica combines visitor research with economic impact methods in this field.

How do you measure a cultural festival’s impact?

You need to know visitors’ origins, reasons for visiting, length of stay, spending and the proportion who would have been in the area anyway. A festival with 100,000 local attendees may have a smaller tourism impact than one with 20,000 visitors from elsewhere and more overnight stays. Audience size does not automatically equal economic value generated.