Foreign guests to this year’s Iceland Airwaves music festival spent around ISK 1.1 billion (USD 8.7 million, EUR 6.7 million), according to a survey conducted on behalf of Iceland Music Export.
From Iceland Airwaves.
The survey is based on responses from 434 foreign guests who attended the festival from October 31 to November 4.
Foreign guests spent around 66 percent more than in 2011, or around ISK 800 million (USD 6.3 million, EUR 4.9 million) in Reykjavík. If expenses for travel outside of the capital area are included, this number increases to ISK 1.1 billion.
Festival goers stay in Iceland an average of 6.7 days and spend on average ISK 29,268 (USD 232, EUR 180) per day.
The largest group of guests comes from the United States, or 18 percent. Germany and the United Kingdom follow with 11 and 9 percent, respectively. The survey also found that around 86 percent of guests were attending Airwaves for the first time.
This is the first time that foreign guests outnumber locals at the festival, or 4,076 of a total of 7,543.
Click here to read a review of this year’s Airwaves festival.
ZR
