Drumroll please…
The numbers are in: ESSENCE Festival Of Culture 2024 generated $346.3 million for the New Orleans economy during its landmark 30th anniversary celebration.
Our annual homecoming brought record-breaking crowds to the city, with Black women leading an unprecedented economic surge in the Big Easy. Because when we do it, we do it right. Okay?!
A new economic impact study from Dillard University researchers shows that our community means business, and it’s shown by the increase in nearly $30 million from the previous year. Festival attendees spent an average of $3,135 during their time in New Orleans, dropping $847 per day on everything from luxury hotel stays to Black-owned restaurants to some well-deserved retail therapy. That spending created a wave of opportunity across the city, supporting 2,642 jobs and generating $113.7 million in income for local workers.
Hotel revenue saw particularly dramatic gains. During ESSENCE Festival week, New Orleans hotels outperformed every other major U.S. market, with occupancy rates climbing 15.5% compared to the previous year. Revenue per available room also jumped an impressive 56.1%, while average daily room rates increased by 35.1%.
And we were everywhere throughout the city during that week. The festival’s impact reached far beyond the tourist hotspots. Restaurants, bars, transportation services, and retail stores all felt the love from our ESSies, with the study tracking spending across twelve different categories, from flights to food to cultural attractions.
When they say men lie, women lie, but numbers don’t — this is what they mean. Because today, ESSENCE Festival Of Culture stands as one of the most impactful cultural events in America.
And if there’s one thing our audience is going to do, it’s show up ready to invest in the full ESSENCE experience. The data confirms what we already knew – Black women (82% of attendees) were the driving force behind this economic powerhouse. Most visitors (84%) turned their festival weekend into an extended stay, with three-quarters choosing hotels and others opting for short-term rentals or staying with family. The average attendee was 44 years old and made New Orleans home for nearly four days.
Direct spending of $198 million generated another $148 million in economic impact as those dollars circulated through the local economy. The festival also contributed nearly $50 million in tax revenue across federal, state, and local governments.
From the couldn’t-miss performances at Caesars Superdome to the empowering conversations at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, this year’s expanded footprint spread Black dollars throughout downtown New Orleans. Headline performances kept the Superdome packed out all weekend, while free daily empowerment seminars featuring speakers like Vice President Kamala Harris (and at the time, presidential hopeful) reminded us why this is truly a party with a purpose.
Just like everything, there’s still room to grow. About $70 million in potential economic activity left the region through imported goods and services. That’s an opportunity for local businesses, particularly Black-owned enterprises, to capture more festival-related spending in the years ahead. But grow, indeed we will.
This success builds on nearly three decades of growth, paused only by Hurricane Katrina in 2006 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021. As ESSENCE Festival Of Culture enters its nearly fourth decade, its impact on New Orleans will only continue to expand, creating opportunities that extend far beyond the festival weekend. And that’s on the 92%.
