The economic impact of the Birdsville Races

Events and festivals can provide substantial benefits to host communities however they can also result in costs unless properly managed. In order to manage an event, organisers need to have a good understanding of the needs and behaviours of visitors. This paper provides the results from a self-completion questionnaire of visitors administered at the Birdsville Races over two days resulting in a total of 221 useable responses covering approximately 773 people. It is clear a relatively large majority of visitors would not have visited Birdsville had it not been for the Races and that they spend a substantial amount of money while in the town.