Bluesfest Injects $150M

Bluesfest in Byron Bay injected nearly $150 million into the economy of New South Wales over 2012-13, according to an economic impact report by Lawrence Consulting.

The report found that the festival – which drew close to 100,000 over five days at Easter – also swelled the economy of the immediate Byron Shire by $61 million and the larger Northern Rivers region by more than  $14 million.

An estimated contribution to Gross Regional Product (GRP) of $27.1 million in Byron Shire represents 2.1 percent of the total GRP for the shire.

Bluesfest also created 379.3 full-time equivalent employment positions in Byron Shire, 515.9 in the Northern Rivers and 831.4 in NSW.

An estimated total income boost of wages and salaries was $10 million for Byron, $15 million in Northern Rivers and $31.38  million in NSW.

“We knew 2013 was a huge year but it was still great to see a boost in both employment positions and income and an increase in our overall contribution to GRP from 2011, also a bumper year for us,” said festival director Peter Noble.