Our Utopia: Take a look at Austin and let's evolve the Savannah tourism economy

Donny Slater
·2 min read

This piece is part of a bi-monthly column titled "Our Utopia". The columns are written by Donny Slater, a partner at Club Hous Works, a multimedia company with a marketing agency, podcast network, and record label. Contact him at 912-224-5580 or donnyslater.com

With the 2023 edition of Savannah St. Patrick's Day behind us, we must ask ourselves what the future of Savannah’s tourism economy holds.

When we look at the kind of tax revenue and economic growth that two annual festivals, South By Southwest (SXSW) and Austin City Limits Festival (ACL Fest), have generated for the city of Austin, we get a glimpse into the future of economic and cultural development.

Direct bookings by the SXSW website independently generated more than $1.8 million in hotel occupancy tax revenues for the City of Austin. According to the Austin American Statesmen, SXSW had a $280 million economic impact on Austin in 2022, and ACL Fest had a $369 million economic impact on Austin in 2021. That’s $649 million in revenue from 18 days of education and cultural activities in the calendar year.

Our Utopia: Why can't Savannah be a major hub for the independent creator economy?

More:SXSW had $280 million economic impact on Austin in 2022, study finds

Savannah Music Festival leaders: 2023 festival allows us to 'celebrate music and be together'

Millennials are becoming the dominant spending class –– look at the incredible surge of food and fashion influencers, and first-generation entrepreneurs. Grand View Research valued the fashion influencer market size at $1.5 billion alone, and this economy will expand at a compound annual growth rate of 35.7% over the next four years.

Fabiana Fragiacomo, of Sao Paolo, Brazil, charges her phone while a festival goer naps beside her at the Austin Convention Center at South by Southwest on Thursday March 16, 2023.
Fabiana Fragiacomo, of Sao Paolo, Brazil, charges her phone while a festival goer naps beside her at the Austin Convention Center at South by Southwest on Thursday March 16, 2023.

The future tourists of Savannah will enjoy a weekend of binge drinking and stumbling up the stairs of River Street, but also want a week of networking with multimillionaire entrepreneurs and creators from other regions, buying high-end or rare fashion pieces at competitive prices, and learning how to make millions with just the use of their phone and online presence.

Savannah houses emerging world-class stores like Meredith Barfield’s Edition, Whitney Hall’s sneaker boutique, Hall of Sneakz, and the team at PennyKix. We also have  festivals and conferences like Pote Day and GRIT Conference.

It won’t impact the city’s revenue today or in the next five years. Still, as the digital world grows and younger people become the new customers, we must think about how the city champions and empowers these events, businesses and experiences to lead our beloved hostess city into the future.

Savannah, do we want to thrive in the post-pandemic world or be forgotten in history?

Donny Slater is a partner at Club Hous Works, a multimedia company with a marketing agency, podcast network, and record label. Contact him at 912-224-5580 or donnyslater.com

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: SXSW, Austin City Limits could be blueprints for Savannah GA tourism