The 2009 Festival was held from April 3, 4 and 5, 2009

During the Festival, the Office of tourism Analysis, Department of Hospitality & Tourism Management at the College of Charleston conducted an intercept survey among festival attendees to gather information on the demographics and spending patterns of attendees to the festival as well as to help determine overall attendance. Attendees were intercepted around various locations during the festival.

The first step in performing the study was to estimate the number of attendees to the Festival. The attendance estimates are based on the number of tickets sold for both food and rides. Attendance estimates were then calculated by the average number of tickets sold according to the data collected in the intercept surveys. The 2009 study concurs with prior estimates that the total attendance to the Festival was 200,000(+/- 10%). Once the survey results were tabulated, the summary results were used as inputs to the econometric model of the region developed by REMI of Amherst, MA.

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Survey Results

The survey was conducted over all three days of the Festival. Demographic, geographic, and spending questions were asked of those surveyed. The following sections summarize the results of the survey.

Demographics

1. Origin by Zip Code

Of the respondents 40% were defined as "locals" from the Summerville area, 39.1% lived in the tri-county area, and a total of 20.9% were out of town visitors.

2. Demographics

Of Festival attendees, 69% are female and 31% are male. Of the 39% of respondents that reported brining children with them, the average number of children in the party was 2. Marital status of the respondents were as follows: 5% are divorced, 59% are married, 31% are single, and 4% are widowed.

3. Age, work status and Average Income

The average age for the respondents was 39 years old, the median age was 37. 46.4% of the respondents are employed full time or self employed. 8.4% work part time, 16.2% were students, 12.8% were retired, and 12.3% were homemakers. Only 1.7% indicated they were unemployed. See below for average
annual household income.

4. Trip Characteristics and Overall Festival Rating

Over half 53% of those staying overnight decided to attend the Festival after they arrived in the area; 43% decided on the way.