Arts & Culture Study Underscores the Economic Impact of Arts & Culture in Pitkin County, Colorado

Aspen, CO (Nov. 20, 2020) -The Aspen Chamber Resort Association (ACRA) is pleased to announce the results of the Aspen Snowmass Arts & Culture Economic Study. This study, which was conducted by RRC Associates and the University of Colorado Boulder Leeds School of Business, summarizes the economic impacts of arts and culture in Pitkin County, Colorado during the 2019 calendar year.

Pitkin County arts and culture organizations contributed 2,831 year-round equivalent jobs in Pitkin County and generated approximately $451 million to the economy, which represents 11.6% of the county’s jobs and more than 12% of the county’s economy. Surprisingly, Pitkin County had a 33% higher concentration of jobs in arts and culture than Colorado, and a 47% higher concentration than the U.S as a whole.

“While we all know intuitively the value of the arts and culture in Aspen/Snowmass – from both an economic and an enrichment standpoint - this study highlights the incredible economic benefit to our community from these 12 organizations,” said Debbie Braun, President and CEO of ACRA. “Thank you to RRC and all of the organizations that participated in and co-sponsored this study.”

“This project was a great example of the arts and culture organizations teaming up with the Aspen Chamber Resort Association to gather data that will be useful to the organizations and the community at-large. We are grateful to the Aspen Chamber team for making this happen, and to the individual organizations that collected the data”, noted Cristal Logan, VP of Aspen Community Programs and Engagement at the Aspen Institute, and Board Chair of ACRA. 

The study was sponsored by 12 local arts, culture and environmental organizations, along with the City of Aspen, Snowmass Tourism, and the Aspen Chamber Resort Association (ACRA), which coordinated the study. The organizations included Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, Aspen Film, Aspen Historical Society, Aspen Music Festival and School, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Jazz Aspen Snowmass, The Aspen Institute, The Red Brick Center for the Arts, Theatre Aspen, and the Wheeler Opera House.

The study examines the four distinct categories of economic impactwhich directly or indirectly result from local arts and cultural activities:

1. Operations of 12 Aspen Snowmass arts and cultural organizations.
2. Audience spend in conjunction with attendance at arts and cultural programming.
3. Other businesses and organizations involved with arts and cultural production.
4. Second home purchase decisions influenced by arts and culture.

In 2019, arts and cultural activities are estimated to have directly or indirectly supported 2,831 year-round equivalent jobs in Pitkin County, and generated approximately $451 million in economic output, $274 million in value added, and $167 million in labor income.

In proportionate terms, arts and culture is estimated to have directly or indirectly accounted for approximately 12% of the Pitkin County economy in 2019, including supporting approximately 11.6% of the county’s jobs and 12.2–12.7% of the county’s economic output, value added, and labor income.

Altogether, direct wage and salary employment of the 12 participating organizations, plus employment in other establishments engaged in arts and cultural production, totaled 904 jobs. This is equivalent to 4.9% of the estimated roughly 18,324 total wage and salary jobs in Pitkin County in 2019.

By comparison, arts and cultural production directly accounted for 3.4% percent of wage and salary jobs in the nation as a whole in 2017, and 3.7% of the wage and salary jobs in Colorado. As such, Pitkin County had a 33% higher concentration of jobs in arts and culture than Colorado, and a 47% higher concentration than the US as a whole, illustrating the disproportionate importance of arts & cultural economic activity in Pitkin County – before taking into account the additional tourism and second home impacts associated with arts and culture.

In order to obtain information pertinent to the economic impact study, the research team conducted two local surveys: an arts attendee survey, with a total of 3,317 responses collected from June 2019 through February 2020, and an organizational operations survey of each of the participating organizations.

About ACRA                                                                                                                                          

Aspen Chamber Resort Association (ACRA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Aspen’s business community and enhancing the visitor experience. ACRA is a unique blend of a traditional chamber of commerce and a visitors' and convention bureau made up of approximately 750+ local businesses, a strong, diverse board of directors, and a dedicated staff. ACRA’s four departments which support the Aspen business community are Destination Marketing and Group Sales, Membership, Special Events, and Visitor Services. For more information visit www.aspenchamber.org

 

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