Page 18 - South Mississippi Living - May, 2017

COASTNOTES
Greg Bradley, Chevis Sweatman and Woody Bailey.
Fueling the economy
story by Lynn Lofton photos by Michael Sunderman
The figures are in, the research is complete and there’s no doubt that the 2016 Cruisin’ The Coast had a major impact on the local economy. The event’s total economic impact was $26.1 million on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The Bradley Research Group was in charge of research, data collection and compiling the results.
“This report confirms what we’ve known since Cruisin’ The Coast began 20 years ago — this event is good
for our economy,” Cruisin’ Board of Directors Chairman Chevis Swetman said. “The primary purpose of this research was to determine, with some degree of certainty, the economic impact of the 2016 Cruisin’ special event on the three Mississippi coastal counties.”
Board Vice Chairman and Cruisin’ Executive Director Woody Bailey also expressed pleasure with the analysis. “It’s gratifying to have facts to support what we believed to be a significant boost to the Coast economy,” he said. “Not only does the event bring fun and excitement to the area, it gives local businesses a shot in the arm during a traditionally slow time of year.”
The study compared the 2016 event with the 2011 Cruisin’ which had a total economic impact of $19.6 million. Visits of non residents also increased in 2016 with a total of 180,000 visit days
— a primary driver of overall spending relative to the event.
The most affected sectors included food services; lodging; amusement parks, arcades and gambling industries; retail stores; and amusement and recreation.
“We have not included the value of additional goodwill generated by the 2016 Cruisin’ The Coast,” Greg Bradley, president of the Bradley Group, said. “Also, we know that new participants are likely to return to their places of residence to report positively to their friends and family about the event and other area attractions. This word-of-mouth advertising is exceedingly valuable, yet not captured in this study.”
The impact on the state’s economy was also measured. The 2016
event had a total economic impact on Mississippi of $28.6 million compared to $21.2 million in 2011.
Dates for the 2017 Cruisin’ The Coast are October 1 though 8.
Cruisin’ The Coast
228.385.3847 | 888.808.1188 www.cruisinthecoast.com
2016 Cruisin’ The
Coast had impact of
$26.1
MILLION
18 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • May 2017
FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net