Since 2005, ARA has conducted a survey of attendees at the annual Festival covering all types of ticketed and free events including screenings, panel discussions, red carpet premieres, and the Family Festival Street Fair. We have identified the local spending of out-of-town visitors specifically drawn to New York City to attend the Festival and, combined with the Festival’s own New York City production and labor expenses as well as local sponsor-activated expenditure. Using this data, we calculated the annual economic and tax impacts on the City of New York.
Since its founding, the Festival has attracted over two million attendees from the U.S. and abroad, and has generated more than $425 million in economic activity for New York City.
Working with the Festival’s sponsorship team, ARA has measured the incidence of ownership of products and usage of services at the nexus of entertainment and technology. These studies of habits and lifestyles have helped the Festival identify and respond to world-class sponsors who want to be connected with this entertainment-savvy audience. The research showed that the Festival audience offers a unique opportunity to sponsors trying to reach cutting-edge, financial-empowered individuals.