Arts and tourism gurus have been doing a good job calculating the economic impact of things like last weekend’s FestivALL in Charleston. The Gazz did a nice write up of the impact of the third year of the festival.

Other festivals such as Culturefest Music & Arts Festival and the Appalachian String Band Festival bring many diverse people from around the country and world to the state on a regular basis (over 20 countries and 40 of 50 states represented so far for the String Brand Festival, according to the WV Vision of Culture and History), generating income and positive buzz about WV as a tourist destination. The Gazz article tells the story of  New York couple who made a point to map their route through Charleston for FestivALL on their way South based on the recommendations of friends.

Most of the economic development reports focus on the revenue generated by the festivals themselves, which can be significant if the event is a success. However, how many organizers or supporters within the business community see these for what else they are – first dates for potential out-of-state entrepreneurs or talented workers considering a place to live?

We seem to be just scratching the surface for integrated thinking about this. The University of New Mexico did a study measuring “The Qualitative Analysis of Relations Between Arts and Cultural Industries and Other Sectors of the Santa Fe Community.” It provides some early insights into whether the arts scene in Santa Fe does its part in attracting talent to the area.

It’s interesting to note that even within one of the world’s best known and revered arts cities, they feel like they have a long way to go in breaking down silos between the arts community and business/technical communities in order to strengthen this correlation.

I know our friends in the WV Commerce Department are thinking more about this, and we encourage them to be innovative in finding ways to think of West Virginia’s tourism industry as a subtle (yet powerful) audition for talent and new business.

If you have any ideas for them, feel free to post.