Economic impact studies have been used to value goods with the characteristics of both public and private goods, such as arts festivals, and have been useful in providing a quantifiable monetary estimate of their worth and, more accurately, of the impact of such events on a specific region. This paper provides just such a valuation, using economic impact analysis conducted on surveys of visitor and organiser spending at the 2009 Cape Town International Jazz Festival. On the basis of the survey data and event budget, a social accounting matrix (SAM) for the Western Cape Province was used to estimate the economic value of the festival to the province’s economy (using the classic SAM’s multiplier approach). The results of the analysis show that the festival generates approximately R158 million via visitor and organiser spending, and that 1059
jobs depend on it.