SXSW, ACL, F1 festivals boost Austin's economy by billions

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- New numbers out Thursday show how much of an impact South by Southwest (SXSW), and other festivals, have on our local economy.

"We are looking at billions of dollars of economic impact," Matt Patton of Angeloueconomics said.

On the heels of Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Fest and F1, Austin is wrapping up one of the busiest times of its year for tourism.

Numbers released Thursday show SXSW is giving a healthy boost to the economy as well -- $377 million for 2024 alone.

"This isn't just money circulating Austin," Patton said. "We're seeing Austin vendors and small businesses benefit, and certainly the community benefits."

While ACL brought in just shy of $500 million in 2023 and F1 $481 million, as of last year which are the most recent numbers available, it's really less about the dollar amount and more about what each event does.

"Folks coming into Austin from outside the region, outside the state, outside of the country and those dollars are being spent here," Patton explained.

SXSW said there were more than 10,000 hotel room reservations during its two-week festival in the Austin area, bringing in $2.3 million for the city's Hotel Occupancy Tax.

While the big events draw a lot of people, the money goes far outside physical city limits.

"We have a lot of events that speak to different niche audiences," Patton said. "We just had an Asian American Music Festival in Round Rock, and there's a smaller music festival headed to Georgetown."

The one thing they all have in common? People who are spending money, and lots of it.