The growing popularity of indie films coupled with more aggressive marketing efforts by the state film commission and Sundance Institute has yielded dividends.

This year, the 11-day Sundance Film Festival attracted 52,850 visitors who spent a whopping $61.5 million, according to a study conducted by the University of Utah and the Sundance Institute, which was released Tuesday. That compares with 46,771 visitors who spent around $42.8 million in 2005.

"The Sundance Film Festival is very much a festival of discovery, and there's definitely an increase in the number of people interested in viewing independent films," said Jill Miller, managing director of the Sundance Institute. "The strong marketing efforts of the state and the Utah Film Commission in sponsoring the film fest and pushing for tourism helps too. The more we can tie Utah with the Sundance Film Festival, the more it will benefit both parties."

Sundance Resort

This year, the study found Sundance Resort captured $1 million of the $61.5 million spent by festival-goers. Of the $1 million, a total of 593 resort visitors spent $619,559 on lodging, $213,040 on food, $146,520 on discretionary items and $31,235 on transportation.

The resort tends to attract more well-heeled festival-goers, who typically spend more on its higher-end accommodations and services, compared with visitors at Park City and Salt Lake City. At the Sundance Resort, the average festival-goer spent $437.81 per day on lodging, meals, transportation and discretionary spending, compared with $252.20 in Park City, and $119.01 in Salt Lake City.

Of the 593 visitors to Sundance Resort, more than 75 percent were from outside Utah, and the out-of-state festival-goer spent an average of $525.61 per day, compared with $303.57 elsewhere in Utah.

Tuesday's study also found more people skied at Sundance compared with Park City. "That's because many patrons at Park City are there to see films, while Sundance Resort offers a more destination-type experience," Miller said.

Steve Densley, president of the Provo-Orem Chamber of Commerce, says the resort, which had only 70 percent occupancy at its screening room for this year's festival, could attract more festival-goers if a proposed community guide of family-friendly films was marketed more aggressively. This year, local officials and the Sundance Institute launched a guide of 13 family-friendly films to woo Utah County businesses and visitors.

"But most people just weren't aware that these films were shown at the Sundance Resort," he said.

Study methodology

Overall, the economic impact of the 11-day film fest has more than tripled in the last decade to $61.5 million, up from $17.4 million in 1997, while attendance also tripled in the same time frame, up from 17,240 in 1997, the study said.

Miller also attributed this year's higher visitor spending to a change in the study's methods of calculating lodging and transportation expenses.

This year, the study captured visitors' spending on ground transportation vehicles including auto rentals, airport shuttles and taxis. It also broadened its scope to include visitors' spending in Utah County and Ogden.

"But we're still conservative in capturing the economic activity numbers, and each year, we continue to refine our methodology to ensure the numbers are accurately reflecting the economic activity," she said.

"For instance, we still do not include any of the spending by Sundance Institute to put on the festival, which comes to about $7 million annually. Not all of that is spent in Utah, but a significant portion is. We also don't include air fares and what's spent by film industry companies on high-end entertainment at the festival," Miller said.

More out-of-state visitors

Of the nearly 53,000 festival-goers this year, 37,500 were from out of state, up 6,100 from last year, said the study.

That's partly due to a strong economy and the growing popularity of independent film worldwide and nationwide, said Alan Isaacson, a research analyst with the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the David Eccles School of Business.

He cited the Sundance Institute's outdoor film festival which runs from July through September in Salt Lake City at the Gallivan Center, in Park City and at an outdoor amphitheater at the Sundance Resort.

"That helps keep the Sundance festival in the public's mind year-round," he said. The addition of the 12,000-seat Rose Wagner Theater in Salt Lake City as well as a hospitality suite at the Panache Cafe in downtown Salt Lake City helped accommodate increased attendance. Sundance films are shown at six theaters in Park City, four in Salt Lake City, one each at Sundance Resort and in Ogden.

The Sundance Film Festival is one of Utah's most visible and biggest tourism draws, but it doesn't generate as much revenue as national parks and ski resorts, said Mike Deaver, deputy director of tourism with the Governor's Office of Economic Development. "Utah's total tourism impact is about $5 billion, and the biggest contributor is spending by travelers to state parks and ski resorts."

But he stressed the film festival is a very important branding tool for the state. "People know Utah for the greatest snow on earth, national parks and the Sundance Film Festival. We're looking to change perceptions of Utah with the festival, to get film production companies to see Utah as a film location."

"If we can market our new slogan, 'Life Elevated!' to out-of-state visitors through the Sundance film fest, that will help generate more repeat tourism to Utah."

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D6.