Stratford Festival’s economic impact pegged at $276.7M in 2023

A Stratford Festival-commissioned study pegged the organization’s economic impact to the city, province and country at $276.7 million in 2023.

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“I’ve always felt it was a bit understated, so I’m not surprised, but I’m pleased to get this verification of the economic impact the Festival has had,” Stratford Festival executive director Anita Gaffney said. “We felt it in COVID with the absence of activity the Festival generates when we weren’t operating in 2020. It’s nice to put a number beside it.”

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The Stratford Festival was founded in 1952 to provide stimulus to a struggling local economy, one suffering from the closure of its main industry, rail repair. Many questioned Tom Patterson’s vision that a Shakespearean festival could revive an economy, but the Stratford Festival has since welcomed more than 29.7-million visitors and sold more than $1 billion worth of tickets since the first season in the summer of 1953.

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This past season, the not-for-profit charitable organization commissioned its first economic impact study since 2017 to gain an accurate picture of just how much it contributes to the economy of its home city, province and country. Undertaken by Sport Tourism Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Tourism Research Institute and the Conference Board of Canada, the study found the Festival’s economic impact was slightly double what it was estimated to be in 2017. That impact in 2008 was estimated to be $125 million .

The economic impact data tracks direct visitor spending and does not include the residual impact to industries like construction. For instance, the building of the new Tom Patterson Theater and the construction and renovation of hotels and other services would add to the economic impact but were not measured in this study.

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In 2023, the Festival generated local spending of $147.3 million, an 11 per cent bump from the previous study. Some highlights of Festival visitor spending include:

• Restaurants: $24.4 million;
• Other food and groceries: $2.4 million;
• Accommodations: $12.3 million;
• Retail/Shopping: $10.5 million; and
• Non-Stratford Festival entertainment and recreation: $8.5 million

The Festival also supports 1,466 full-time-equivalent jobs, with 1,038 of those in Stratford, and the total of local wages and salaries is approximately $95.3 million. The national total for salaries and wages is pegged at $121.7 million.

Unlike Niagara-on-the-Lake, which has the Shaw Theater but also a multi-million dollar wine industry, the Stratford Festival stands alone in terms of local tourist attractions.

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“It is a unique situation in Stratford,” Gaffney said.

The study found that 46 per cent of out-of-town attendees stayed overnight in Stratford, and the average stay was three nights. The overall importance of the Festival in influencing a visit to Stratford was 9.7/10, with 83 per cent of attendees indicating the Festival was their sole reason for visiting the city.

The study also found that the Festival supported roughly $46.2 million in federal, provincial and local taxes through direct and spin-off effects throughout Canada in 2023.

“These numbers come as no surprise to me,” Stratford and District Chamber of Commerce operations manager Shannon Stewart said. “Our city thrives on the strength of its diverse industries, which are the cornerstone of our city’s success. However, it is indeed the Stratford Festival theater that makes Stratford sparkle.”

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Gaffney said the study’s data would not only benefit the Festival when dealing with government partners but also businesses looking to expand or relocate.

“The recent economic impact study vividly illustrates the festival’s monumental contribution to our local economy, underscoring its status as a cornerstone of our community’s prosperity,” Stewart said. “By boosting sectors from hospitality to retail through visitor spending, the Stratford Festival not only enriches our cultural landscape but also drives significant economic activity.

“Benefiting a wide array of businesses and sectors within our community and supporting thousands of jobs, the Festival exemplifies the powerful synergy between the arts and economic development.”

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