Indie Fests Boost Economy

Data from the Association of Independent Festivals show that last year visitors to its member festivals spent £213 million.

The AIF, which now has 44 member festivals including Bestival, Stockton Weekender, Larmer Tree, Kendal Calling and Secret Garden Party, also reckons at least half of fans would rather visit a UK festival than take holiday abroad.

Last year AIF festivals pulled 557,000 total fans, with each spending about £382.49 apiece.

This average spend is a drop per capita from the last two years (2011 was £461.58) but, despite actually spending less, the AIF claims festival fans aren’t feeling the recession as hard as in recent years.

The numbers show the difference is only marginal.

This year, 69 percent said the recession affected their spending on general entertainment, while last year it was 72 percent.

Purely on spending on festivals, 53 percent said they felt the pinch in 2012, down from 56 percent in 2011.

In what may be a drive to attract more males to its festivals, the AIF is also suggesting the majority of its annual festival crowd is female.

It says that 54 percent of those taking part in the survey were female.