A Framework for Assessing Direct Economic Impacts of Tourist Events: Distinguishing Origins, Destinations, and Causes of Expenditures

Abstract

This article outlines a standardized method for assessing direct economic expenditures and impacts associated with tourist events. The method addresses critical and often overlooked methodological issues that distinguish analysis of impacts from tourism in general and analysis of impacts from tourist events. These issues involve a common failure to account for sources, origins, destinations, and causes of expenditures. The corresponding errors in impact estimation will carry through into subsequent input-output or multiplier models and are of particular significance when one considers impacts of tourism events in regions dominated by other tourist sites or attractions, such as heavily visited coastal communities. Implications of the framework for impact estimation are illustrated using examples drawn from recent Rhode Island tourist events, including the 1997 Newport Folk Festival.