Attendance at the Park City Kimball Arts Festival in 2022 remained depressed compared to the pre-pandemic era, materials released by City Hall show, indicating the event has significant progress to make before it returns to 2019 levels.
According to numbers compiled in anticipation of a Park City Council meeting scheduled on Thursday, the attendance in 2022 was 29,059. The tally was up from the 26,853 counted in 2021 but still trailed the two festivals immediately before the pandemic by wide margins. The event drew 53,550 in 2019 and 49,921 the year before. The summertime festival was canceled in 2020 out of concern for the spread of the coronavirus.
The numbers show the stark impact of the pandemic stretching into the summer of 2022 even as Park City’s broader tourism-heavy economy continued at a solid clip. Park City’s tourism industry emerged from the early months of the pandemic with strength in the summer, the fall and the ski season.
Even with the depressed attendance numbers, the event’s economic impact climbed toward pre-pandemic numbers in in 2022. The numbers indicate the overall economic impact in 2022 hit nearly $23.3 million, a sharp increase from the nearly $14.1 million recorded the year before. The 2019 festival generated nearly $26.4 million in overall economic impact while the 2018 event generated a little more than $23.3 million.
The improvement in the economic impact between 2021 and 2022 is almost certainly welcomed in industries like lodging, restaurant and transportation, which normally enjoy strong numbers during large events like the arts festival. The materials did not provide a detailed breakdown of spending categories, though.
The average spending per person was $1,208 in 2022, down from the $1,521 in 2021. Both years, though, were up considerably from the $492 in 2019 and the $915 in 2018.
The arts festival is believed to be one of Park City’s most lucrative three-day stretches and is an event that boosts the private sector and City Hall itself. The materials show the 2022 event generated an estimated $442,363 in taxes for Park City, the most of the four years that were included.
Utah was the top state for attendance in each of the years covered in the materials. The four following Utah were California, Texas, Florida and Arizona, with the placement of the states changing slightly between the four years.
The materials did not include economic or attendance estimates for the 2023 event.
The information was released as the Thursday meeting approached. Park City leaders and the Kimball Art Center at the meeting are expected to discuss a multiyear agreement to hold the festival on Main Street. The City Council is not scheduled to vote on Thursday, but the discussion will likely provide an indication of the level of support or concern about an agreement.
The Thursday meeting is slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Marsac Building. It will also be broadcast online. More information is available on the municipal website, www.parkcity.org. The direct link to the meeting information is: https://www.parkcity.org/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/39007/15.