Things We Learned From The 2014 Oregon Brewers Festival

, Things We Learned From The 2014 Oregon Brewers FestivalCraft beer’s emergence as an economic force and its growing popularity today has led to major events that can benefit entire communities. The Oregon Brewers Festival (OBF), held in Portland last July, was a perfect example of this.

In recent years, the OBF has worked with Jeff Dense, Professor of Political Science at Eastern Oregon University, to gauge the economic power of events such as theirs on a region, and Professor Dense just issued his analysis of this year’s festival.

Working with a team of students and volunteers who administered 759 on-site interviews at this summer’s festival, Professor Dense secured data that he inputted into a software package for analysis. Respondents were queried on demographic factors, along with estimates of OBF-related expenditures in tourism-related categories (including transportation, lodging, meals, gasoline purchases, non-beer related recreation, beer purchased to take home, and expenditures at the OBF) – and what they learned was fascinating.

Here’s our take on some of the study’s findings…

  • Have beer, will travel – In yet another example of the incredible growth of craft beer tourism, a majority (56.8%) of the festival’s patrons were out-of-town visitors.
  • Craft beer tourists are willing to go the distance to attend something worthy – Visitors from Washington, California, and Canada comprised 30.6% of total OBF patrons.
  • Craft beer continues to attract new fans – 41.1% of respondents were attending OBF for the first time.
  • Craft beer fans come from all age groups, but younger demos dominate – Of the OBF attendees, 25.4% were 50 years or older.
  • A craft beer festival can generate big bucks for a community – The average out-of-town visitor spent $674 (not just at the festival -but all over the region).
  • Even the most committed craft beer drinker needs to rest – Lodging ($9.1 million) accounted for the largest share of OBF expenditures.
  • What’s good for the Geese is good for the Gander – The state and local government received $1.87 million in indirect business taxes.
  • You don’t want to drink and drive – It also sucks being a designated driver at a great craft beer event, but a smart 42.3% of OBF patrons utilized mass transit to attend the festival.
  • Craft beer is a growing economic juggernaut – This was the fourth year of the study; the , Things We Learned From The 2014 Oregon Brewers Festival2011 study estimated the economic impact of the festival at $23.2 million, 2012 came in at $30 million, and 2013 showed $31.2 million.
  • Women Rule – One of the most interesting findings of the study is the increasingly important role that women are playing in the craft beer industry; nearly half (44.8%) of this year’s OBF attendees were female.

 

 

 

 

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