WICHITA, Kansas, Apr. 24, 2007 -- The River Festival is just weeks away. It's a great event that showcases Wichita. Tonight on the KSN Business Beat, Don Grant looks at the economic impact of our annual spring event.

"If we have great weather and attendance like we had last year, we could be pushing an economic impact of $28 to $30 million," says Janet Wright, president and CEO, Wichita Festivals, Inc.

While $30 million sounds great, what do those numbers really mean? Economists use a 'multiplier'. They say River Festival dollars are passed around about five times. So, divide $30 million by five. That means we could see about $6 million new dollars from the festival. And the source of the money is very important.

"The more attendees you have from outside, the bigger the economic impact is, otherwise you're just shuffling money around between businesses within town," said Janet Harrah, economist, Wichita State University.

"We estimate, based upon studies that we've done, that 15% to 20% of the total attendees for the festival are from out of town," said Wright.

Whether the River Festival is bringing in dollars from outside the community or just recycling local money, every time a dollar is spent it creates tax revenue. What many people don't realize is that Festivals Inc, the group that puts on the River Festival, is not funded by the city. They don't get any tax money. So, when they put on the River Festival, it creates a huge amount of tax revenue for the city.

No one has taken the time to track the exact amount of tax revenue created. We need to consider sales and income taxes on $6 million changing hands five times. But the benefits are about more than just money.

"Companies are looking for communities where they can attract labor," said Harrah. "What brings people to a community is a good quality of life. It really is integral to the growth of the economy."

Related links:
Wichita River Festival website