Attendance Data Collection

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Overview

To help us accurately assess the impact of the event/project, applicants are required to provide an estimate of total attendance, including a breakdown of local and out-of-town visitors. This data is crucial to evaluate the success of a new event/project and to determine the return on investment (ROI) for recurring events/projects and is mandatory to remain eligible for future funding. Visit Haywood reserves the right to deny future funding for low-performing events/projects. 

Definitions

Local: Resident of Haywood County.
Visitor – Daytrip: Resides 50-150 miles away from Haywood County.
Visitor – Overnight: Resides more than 150 miles away from Haywood County.

Examples of Estimation Methods:

Provide Supporting Evidence: Briefly explain the method(s) used and share any relevant data or calculations used to reach your estimate.

Ticket Sales Data: HCTDA subscribes to the Economic Impact Calculator and can calculate event impact for grant awardees if they provide the data. See more information in the Economic Impact Calculator section below.

Surveys: Conduct intercept surveys at the event or online to gather participant demographics, including residence location.

Lodging Data: If applicable, work with local hotels or tourism partners to obtain data on non-local guests during the event period.

Visual Counts and Sampling: For free events, estimate attendance using visual counts at entry points and consider sampling techniques to estimate local/out-of-town breakdown.

Past Event Data: If you have data from previous years’ similar events, use it as a reference point while acknowledging potential differences.

Economic Impact Calculator (EIC)

HCTDA subscribes to the Event Impact Calculator (EIC) and can calculate event impact on behalf of event organizers who provide the required attendance and visitor data.

An Economic Impact Analysis traces changes in economic activity resulting from some action. This is specific for tourism & destination organizations and analyzes the nuances of different types of events.

The Economic Impact Calculator measures the economic value of an event and calculates its return on investment to local taxes – new money coming into the community (NOT total spending, which includes local/residential spending). It uses metrics such as business sales, jobs supported, taxes generated, ROI, and visitor demand.

The EIC requires several inputs in order to calculate the value of an event:

  • Location
  • Start and end dates
  • Type of event
  • Visitors/attendees
  • Room rate

This information can often be obtained through ticket sales combined with zip code data, or gathered directly through attendee surveys. If possible, we also recommend using a short visitor survey to improve accuracy. Helpful questions include:

  • Are you a: Local / Daytrip visitor / Overnight visitor?
  • If overnight, how many nights are you staying?
  • Where are you staying? (Hotel, short-term rental, with friends/family, etc.)
  • How many people are in your travel party?

Sample Heat Map

Summary Data Template

Ticket Sales Example Spreadsheet

For questions about the Economic Impact Calculator, contact Corrina Ruffieux, Executive Director, at Corrina@visithaywood.com