Nearly $50 Million Spent By DPAC Visitors

Of the 417,180 tickets sold at DPAC in the 2011-12 fiscal year, an estimated 300,000+ were used by visitors.  And those visitors racked up a whopping $49.1 million in sales at everything from restaurants and hotels to retail stores, gas stations and more.

"DPAC is one of many great reasons visitors come to Durham," according to Shelly Green President & CEO of the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau.

"Their legendary service and great programming continue to spur impressive accolades, such as the recent one from Pollstar Magazine ranking DPAC #1 (America) and #2 (Worldwide) in ticket sales among reporting venues."

DPAC also received a Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel and destination website.

According to Green, "The overall value added of DPAC to Durham's economy is more than $27 million."  That's the net amount Durham gained to its bottom line.  This includes spending by only those visitors who would not be in Durham except to visit DPAC.  It also takes out the leakage that occurs when products and  services bought in Durham aren't made in Durham, such as when you buy a t-shirt that was made in Indonesia."

These visitors also dropped about $2.4 million in tax revenue for local government.  "Any way you look at it, DPAC's contributions to Durham are huge," commented Green.