San Sebastian film festival generated €48 million economic impact in 2024

The San Sebastián International Film Festival’s 2024 edition generated an economic impact of €47.9m according to a study commissioned by the festival.

The economic impact marks a significant return on the festival’s budget of €11m, 50% of which came from public funding, with the rest from sponsorships and ticket sales.

Talking to Screen International, the director of San Sebastian, José Luis Rebordinos said: “One of the most relevant findings of the study has to do with the narrative concerning public funding of cultural activities like the festival. It shows that more than funding we should use the term investment, investment in cultural and social terms, but also economic investment looking at the return.”

The study, carried out by Basque consultancy group Ikertalde, found that a direct impact of €18.3m was generated by spend from the festival and other institutions and companies on staffing and contracts with 523 companies, 249 of them located in the Basque country and the rest in Spain and abroad. It also stemmed from accomodation and travel spending by people delivering the festival.

Another €13.7m of indirect impact of was generated by ticket sales and spending on items such as accommodation, travel and food by festival attendees and tourists travelling to the city to enjoy the festival.

The breakdown of data provided by Ikertalde’s study also adds €15.9m in induced economic impact, the economic uplift generated through wage-spending effects, including €8.4m generated in tax revenue.

The only previous study of this kind commissioned by the festival was made for the 2012 edition which estimated the economic impact at €27.3m.