An independent report undertaken by The Murray Consultancy Ltd has revealed that 2016’s International Mersey River Festival has been the most successful to date.
The executive summary from the report is available to read below.
“From Friday the 3rd to Sunday 5th June, the 2016 International Mersey River Festival took place attended by, it is estimated, 250,000 festival goers (Source: Liverpool City Council). The Murray Consultancy Ltd. was commissioned to evaluate the financial impact, inter alia, the event had on the local economy by carrying out face-to-face interviews amongst a representative random sample of festival goers differentiating between local Liverpool City residents and visitors to the City do so to evaluate the true impact of visitor expenditure.
Of the 250,000 festival goers, over 200,000 were visiting the city – 135,000 of whom were travelling from outside the city region. Of these 76,000 were travelling from outside the North West of England, 10,000 of whom from overseas locations. This year’s festival was more of a family occasion compared with last year with average group size being three members compared with 2.1 in 2015.
Hotel usage was significantly higher than in 2015 with two in three of those requiring overnight accommodation booking into a hotel compared with just over half in 2015. In four out of five cases, the hotel was located within the city of Liverpool.
Awareness of the festival was more likely to have been created by a mix of websites, social media and on site banners and signage rather than the more ‘traditional’ media. Campaign planning needs to commence at least two months in advance of the start of the festival.
Festival goers were dissatisfied with signposting and publicity for the event. To an extent parking is also a concern. However, all things considered, festival goers were very satisfied with the event.
The Festival grossed just under £13 million from visitors to the city with the added value of Liverpool residents spending an additional £844K. Over £4 million was spent on food and drink, £3 million on accommodation and £2 million on shopping during the course of the event. In 2015 it was reported the total visitor spend was just under £8.5 million in total. Reasons for this significant increase in expenditure were attributable to higher attendance levels, more visitors travelling in from outside the North West, increased group size and greater need for hotel accommodation. It is debatable about whether travel spend really benefits the Liverpool economy, but revenue generated can be viewed three ways:
- Total Spend at River Festival: £13.745 million
- Total Visitor Spend at Festival: £12.901 million
- Visitor Spend Excluding Transport: £10.958 million
Upon reflection, visitors criticised the lack of publicity, lack of information about the programme and timings of events and signposting, but commended their experience of the event.“
