Economy

Music tourists contribute £136m to Northern Ireland economy

Published

1 year ago

July 19, 2023

People travelling to attend concerts in Northern Ireland contributed £136m to the local economy last year, a new report suggests.

UK Music figures suggest around 270,000 “music tourists” travelled within or to Northern Ireland for live music.

Music tourism is defined as travelling to another city or town for a performance or festival.

Big names to play in Northern Ireland in 2022 included Billie Eilish and Ed Sheeran.

Iron Maiden, Westlife, Biffy Clyro, Little Mix and Sister Sledge also played in Northern Ireland last year.

According to UK Music’s just-published “Here, There and Everywhere” report, over one million people came to the UK from overseas in 2022 to attend a concert.

Another 13m music tourists travelled within the UK to attend gigs.

But the industry body’s report also includes a breakdown of music tourism in the different regions and nations.

It said that 250,000 people travelled to a different city or town within Northern Ireland to attend a live concert or festival in 2022, while 20,000 travelled to the country for music.

The report estimated that activity contributed £136m to the Northern Ireland economy and sustained around 1,280 jobs.

The UK Music study also highlighted other tourism connected to music including the Belfast Music Walking Tour.

The report also includes details of the methodology used by UK Music for their findings.

A domestic music tourist, for instance, is someone who “has travelled at least three time the average commute” to go to a concert or festival.

In the UK as a whole, that means a music tourist as someone who has travelled around 35 miles to attend a gig.

In Northern Ireland UK Music estimated that – on average at each concert – around two-thirds of attendees had travelled less that 35 miles while around 30% had travelled further than that.

They were then classed as “domestic tourists,” while the remaining 3% of the audience were foreign tourists.

The economic estimates in the UK Music report cover both direct and indirect spend.

“This includes ticket sales, food and beverage sales, merchandise, venue parking, camping fees, accommodation, travel, and additional spending outside of venues while visiting the UK for a live music event,” the report said.

In 2021 Belfast was awarded Unesco City of Music status by the United Nations – only the third city in the UK after Liverpool and Glasgow to receive the recognition.

But UK Music said there were also concerns for the live music industry going forward, with festivals and venues still hit hard by the aftermath of restrictions introduced during the Covid pandemic.

Separately, some bands and performers from the UK have also previously warned that the cost of touring Europe has increased post-Brexit.

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Economy

S&P/TSX composite gains almost 100 points, U.S. stock markets also higher

Published

19 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.

The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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Economy

Statistics Canada reports wholesale sales higher in July

Published

1 day ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.

The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.

The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.

The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.

In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.

Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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Economy

S&P/TSX composite up more than 150 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published

2 days ago

September 12, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.

The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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