Cultural tourism saw its greatest gains ever, and jobs in arts, cultural and scientific organizations have reached pre-great recession levels, according to the new Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) Economic Activity Study of Metro Denver Culture. The study was released on October 5 with a breakfast event at the Seawell Grand Ballroom at the Denver Performing Arts Complex. Download the full report or read it online.
The study, conducted every two years, assesses economic and social contributions made by arts, cultural and scientific organizations across the Denver metro area. The 2016 study showed the cultural community’s continued consistent impact on injecting new dollars into the region’s economy, creating jobs and providing extensive outreach to metro area schools.
“Since 1992, when we began the study, the arts have shown a significant and sustained impact on our local, state and regional economy,” said Deborah Jordy, executive director of CBCA.
While total economic activity was flat due to less capital investment than in the previous year, arts, science and cultural organizations injected a half a billion new dollars into the regional economy. Jobs and payroll in the industry saw a boost. Cultural tourism, measured by dollars spent at cultural organizations by people from outside the metro area, contributed $367 million – the highest total recorded to date.
The continued success of the arts is due in great part to the taxpayer-supported SCFD, which since 1989 has distributed funds from a sales and use tax to cultural facilities throughout the seven-county metropolitan area. A public vote for reauthorization of SCFD will be on the November ballot.
CBCA would love to present this study to your Board of Directors, staff, volunteers or community group. Contact them at 720-428-6720 or [email protected] to schedule a presentation.
