In the spirit of Mardi Gras, I found this article, http://abcnews.go.com/Business/BusinessTravel/story?id=4262856&page=1 .
It talks about how the many festivals that occur around the world are major sources of income for certain cities or countries. Just as the Mardi Gras festival is religiously celebrated in New Orleans, cultures across the world have their own festivities to look forward to, such as Rio Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Oktoberfest in Munich, and The Running of the Bulls in Spain.
Even though New Orleans' Mardi Gras is nowhere near the size it was pre-Katrina, the traditional celebration still brought in an estimated billion dollars. Rio de Janeiro earns over $500 million each year during Rio Carnival, much of which comes from the 700,000+ tourists that poor into the city. The 17-day Oktoberfest gains approximately $1.4 billion as the city of a million caters to the six million visitors.
Tourists do not have to purchase huge, extravagant items to provide these cities with such an added income. Much of the money is earned through the purchase of food and alcohol, along with simple souvenirs. If the city is willing to prepare for and clean up after thousands, even millions of tourists, it will certainly reap the rewards. People will come from miles around to experience a renowned celebration, bringing their money with them.
6 comments:
This still seems like it would have to be a gamble for some of the smaller cities. The drunken crowds on State Street during Halloween can cause enough damage to counteract the cheeseburger they bought for lunch. The celebrations that can breathe life into the bigger cities could be a huge concern for those of a more modest size.
Are enough people going to come flooding back to New Orleans now that the hurricane has been through? I understand tradition, but a lot of the traditional buildings and areas are still kind of being renovated, as far as I had heard. Do enough people find the "tradition" worth it all? I guess I'm pretty much asking if the opportunity cost of going there is higher than it would be to celebrate Mardi Gras in some smaller, yet closer and cheaper and less destroyed city. Either way, though, I guess the city could benefit even if it got some patronage (not a zero-sum game... so some money is better than nothing... just like the costs of those people starting up a company and not making enough income to cover their costs, right?)
I think that if people have enough extra money laying around to spend on extravagant souvenirs, etc., then perhaps they have enough money to simply donate to the reconstruction of the city, or invest somewhere and in turn provide capital for businesses. Incentives are fascinating.
Holy crap, you guys...what were you doing up at 4:24 am doing this? Seriously...I'd rather offer an extension than force you to do something like that...
Anyway - these huge bashes (bash's?) bring in SOOOooo much revenue to these cities, it's crazy. And even if you consider Vegas (hey, you didn't know that I like Vegas, right?) - just imagine the money running through those casinos. Holy cow.
Great point on State Street. Many of those business owners (non-bar owners) have asked that the city do something to control that party/move it/ban it/whatever. The university and the Tavern League of WI always win that fight. It was...3 years ago? that the city agreed to start cracking down on it a little more. That was the year of the huge amounts of vandalism. But yeah - it can hurt those smaller towns.
Most of the areas really used during Mardi Gras (the French Quarter & Downtown) were relatively unhit by the hurricane. A lot of people have been scared away by the idea of the increase in crime since Katrina, but the French Quarter itself really had no damage. What a great place - if any of you ever get the chance, go there. It's awesome. Wait until you're 21, though. Just like Vegas, you'll have more fun, because you'll be able to hit a lot more places (it really has more to do with access than alcohol).
Incentives are amazing things...you'd think people would be willing to donate, especially in a case like Katrina. And yes, of course that did happen. BUT...the places that got the most donations were the ones with the "I helped fight Katrina" t-shirts, etc. Crazy, hey?
You wouldn't think that buying those souvenirs would do that much, but I have to say - going through those totally tacky souvenir shops is fun. And yes, overpriced. But that money does go back into the economy - and in a case like New Orleans, it really makes people feel good to "help" in such a manner.
Jeez, my naturally sarcastic nature just doesn't come across in typing...
Huge cities can afford these big festivals because they have the personal to clean up afterward. Yes, these festivals make billions of dollars and it's a good way to expose people to new cultures and traditions. I personally do plan on going to Mardi Gras at least once before I die just for the experience of going. The cost of the these festivals is high I'm sure but the amount of money they make more than recopes the money spent. Smaller cities (like Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay) can't properly handle these events simply because they don't have the personal to do so. Halloween on state street requires many officers from other places to connect up with Madison officers in order to try and handle the crouds.
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