Festival season in New Orleans brings joy and sunshine into the lives of locals here, and with so many diverse festivals, you’d be hard-pressed to find one New Orleanian that doesn’t find a way to get involved. As our tourism industry continues to thrive, festival attendance continues to grow throughout the year, and we welcome tourists from all over the world. Each visitor that attends our many festivals also brings important revenue into our city, and the number of tourists contributing has been reaching record numbers.

French Quarter Festival saw record attendance this year. (photo by javacolleen on Flickr)

High attendance at our festivals means that more and more visitors are spending in our city, and it also means that our festivals are able to continue to be able to provide world-class entertainment, in addition to growing and improving, and many are able to remain free because of visitor spending on food and beverages. Attendance numbers at our festivals in recent years are something we can all celebrate. ESSENCE Festival 2013 saw more than 540,000 attendees, and we can be sure that no less than half a million attended again this year, as well. Jazz Fest 2014 saw 435,000 attendees, an increase from 2013’s attendance, and French Quarter Festival 2014 saw a record-breaking 733,000 attendees at the fest, a significant increase over 2013’s attendance record of 560,000 people.

Great festival crowds, like this one at Jazz Fest, help support our city. (photo by dutchbaby from Flickr)

As New Orleans continues to get world recognition for our wonderful festivals, our unique, vibrant culture, and our welcoming, joyful spirit, festival attendance and quality here will only continue to grow, taking our economy to new heights with it. As we continue on in festival season in New Orleans, we can look around and appreciate so much, and as we celebrate our culture next to thousands of visitors soaking it up for the first time, we can hold a sense of pride knowing that our authenticity is one of the reasons so many people are eager to come and spend money in our great city.