This year's Alexandra Blossom Festival is thought to have generated about $400,000 less for the local economy than the 2007 festival, which pulled in about $1.4 million on its opening day.
Financial statistics from the September festival were discussed at a Vincent Community Board meeting on Monday.
Figures were based on the spending of people who completed questionnaires during the festival's opening day on Saturday September 27.
The Central Otago District Council received 244 survey forms, representing the views and spending of 716 people.
CODC staff calculated final figures of the festival's economic impact by adding what was spent by each person according to survey forms, and then averaging and multiplying the number to represent the estimated 8500 people who attended events on the day.
An average of just over $50 spending was calculated for each festival attendee, covering costs of accommodation, food, beverages, retail, and entertainment.
The findings indicated $647,042 was spent during the opening day, $307,230 of which went directly into the local economy.
In comparison, the same figures for the 2007 festival indicated $1,408,610 was spent, $705,952 of which was directly injected into Central Otago's economy.
Possible contributing factors to the decrease in spending included bad weather and unpopular entertainment.
A $30,000 loss was recorded against the festival budget due to poor sales for the Contact Alex Live Concert on the evening of the opening day.
It was estimated 11,000 people attended the opening day of 2007's festival, and spent on average about $86 compared with $50 spent by 8500 people this year.
CODC business development manager Jonathan Gadd said smaller crowds and tighter individual spending habits made the most impact on the festival.
"It still brought in almost two-thirds of a million dollars," he said.
Blossom festival committee chairman Steve Battrick met other committee members last night to discuss the committee's own survey, as well as the appointment of a project manager for next year's festival.
