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Economic impact of the arts: Theatre festivals in small Ontario communities

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Conclusions

This paper has demonstrated that visitors to professional theatre companies located in towns and villages of southern Ontario contribute to the economic well-being of the local economy. Furthermore, it has been documented that while all communities receive some monetary benefits, spatial variations are found to exist. These discrepancies are a function of differences in the average expenditures of non-local residents and the total number of visitors attending the theatre event. As expected, average expenditures appear to be highest in communities supporting a large commercial sector which are capable of sustaining a touris market. Moreover, the number of visitors attending a theatre event appears to be greatest in small communities supporting an established theratre company.

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Mitchell, C.J.A. Economic impact of the arts: Theatre festivals in small Ontario communities. J Cult Econ 17, 55–67 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02310582

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