River Festival 2010 Visitor Survey
Introduction
A survey of visitors to the River Festival 2010 was carried out to estimate the economic value of the Festival to Maidstone. Surveys were carried out by 8 Surveyors between 2 pm and 5.30pm and 6pm and 9.30 pm on Saturday 31st July. The 2 teams were located in the town centre and 2 along the river.
687 surveys were filled out. The Police estimate that during the day approximately 20,000 people visited the event.
Summary of findings:
· Just under 70% of the people surveyed said that the River Festival was the main reason for coming to Maidstone. This suggested that the event attracted (approximately) an additional 10,000 people in to the town.
· The event generated over £500,000 of visitor expenditure in shops, pubs, restaurants and other leisure activity.
· Nearly half of all visitors came from outside of the Borough.
· 45% of people drove to the event and 30% walked. Lockmeadow was the most popular car park, particularly in the evening, followed by Fremlins and Chequers. 8% of people were dropped off.
· More than half of visitors spend over 4 hours at the Festival.
· Of the non-Maidstone residents a third of visitors stated that the Festival has encouraged them to revisit Maidstone on another occasion.
Visitors were asked how much they expected to spend in Maidstone on the day of the festival. Visitors were asked to choose a spending range which most closely represented how much they had or were intending to spend. The following spending pattern was recorded.
If this expenditure pattern was replicated by all visitors who stated that the River Festival was the main reason for visiting Maidstone i.e. 70% of all Visitors, it can be estimated that the River Festival generated £513,870 of additional expenditure in the town centre. N.B The mid point of each range was used for calculation purposes and for the range Over £100, exactly £100 was used to calculate total expenditure figure. On the day many people stated that they intended to spend much more than £100.
Full Results:
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1. Which of the following best describes where you live? |
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Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
|
Maidstone |
56.6% |
388 |
|
Elsewhere in Kent |
33.7% |
231 |
|
Elsewhere in the South East (including London) |
5.4% |
37 |
|
Elsewhere in the UK |
2.9% |
20 |
|
Outside the UK |
1.6% |
11 |
|
If not in Maidstone, in which town/city do you live? |
50 |
|
|
answered question |
685 |
|
|
skipped question |
2 |
|
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2. Is the river festival the main reason for you being here today? |
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|
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
|
Yes |
69.8% |
477 |
|
No |
30.2% |
206 |
|
If no, please state what is the main reason |
123 |
|
|
answered question |
683 |
|
|
skipped question |
4 |
|
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3. Apart from the river festival where else in Maidstone do you plan to visit and spend money? (select more than one if necessary) |
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|
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
|
Restaurants and cafes |
41.2% |
278 |
|
Bar, pubs, clubs |
25.8% |
174 |
|
Shops |
50.4% |
340 |
|
Museum |
1.9% |
13 |
|
Theatre |
0.9% |
6 |
|
Cinema |
4.9% |
33 |
|
Other (please specify) |
19.9% |
134 |
|
answered question |
674 |
|
|
skipped question |
13 |
|
|
4. How much do you estimate you will spend in Maidstone today? |
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|
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
|
Under £10 |
22.0% |
150 |
|
£11-20 |
19.5% |
133 |
|
£21-40 |
25.0% |
170 |
|
£41-60 |
11.6% |
79 |
|
£61-80 |
6.5% |
44 |
|
£81-100 |
5.7% |
39 |
|
Over £100 |
9.7% |
66 |
|
answered question |
681 |
|
|
skipped question |
6 |
|
|
5. How did you travel into Maidstone today? |
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|
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
|
Boat |
3.4% |
23 |
|
Train |
5.9% |
40 |
|
Walk |
29.1% |
199 |
|
Bus |
11.4% |
78 |
|
Taxi |
1.3% |
9 |
|
Cycle |
0.4% |
3 |
|
Park and Ride |
3.7% |
25 |
|
Car |
44.8% |
306 |
|
answered question |
683 |
|
|
skipped question |
4 |
|
|
6. How long are you planning to stay in Maidstone today? |
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|
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
|
0-2 hours |
9.8% |
67 |
|
2-4 hours |
34.0% |
232 |
|
4-6 hours |
20.7% |
141 |
|
6+ hours |
35.5% |
242 |
|
answered question |
682 |
|
|
skipped question |
5 |
|
|
7. Has the river festival promoted you to consider visiting Maidstone again some other time? |
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|
Answer Options |
Response Percent |
Response Count |
|
Yes |
33.3% |
222 |
|
No |
16.8% |
112 |
|
Resident |
49.8% |
332 |
|
answered question |
666 |
|
|
skipped question |
21 |
|