Raleigh, N.C., Oct. 21, 2014 - In what has now become a Raleigh tradition, bluegrass musicians and music fans - some familiar with bluegrass and those hearing their first notes of the music - flocked to downtown Raleigh during the International Bluegrass Music Association's (IBMA) World of Bluegrass, Sept. 30 - Oct. 4, 2014. The Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (GRCVB) announced today that the week-long event generated an estimated $10.8 million in direct visitor spending for Raleigh and Wake County and welcomed more than 180,000 people.

It is important to note that the $10.8 million is a conservative estimate that does not include local spending, nor does it include a multiplier of indirect or induced impacts. It represents direct visitor spending only, which is new money coming into the local economy.

The World of Bluegrass Week included: the three-day IBMA Business Conference, the International Bluegrass Music Awards Show, Bluegrass Ramble and the two-day PNC presents Wide Open Bluegrass, which partnered with the N.C. Whole Hog Barbecue State Championships.

Bluegrass By The Numbers:
World of Bluegrass week (Sept. 30-Oct. 4) / Wide Open Bluegrass (Oct. 3-4)

Total Attendance for IBMA Business Conference, Bluegrass Ramble and Awards Show: 9,251
Total Attendance for PNC presents Wide Open Bluegrass (Street Fest & Red Hat Amp. shows): 171,580
Total Attendance for entire World of Bluegrass Week (Sept. 30-Oct. 4): 180,831
Estimated Number of Visitors from outside of Wake County: 88,000
Estimated Number of Hotel Room Nights during entire week of World of Bluegrass: 23,000
Total Direct Economic Impact from Visitors for World of Bluegrass Week: $10.8 million

"Events of this size and scope take a significant amount of planning and collaboration, and I think the attendance and economic impact numbers show that once again World of Bluegrass is a successful and stable event for our area," said Loren Gold, executive vice president of the GRCVB and co-chair of IBMA's Local Organizing Committee. "But, it's not only the facts and figures that are important, it is also solidifying Greater Raleigh's reputation as the state's leading destination for live music."

In addition to the visitor spending, IBMA's World of Bluegrass also produced $3.6 million in media value for Greater Raleigh. This figure was researched and calculated using data provided by Meltwater News, a division of the San Francisco-based monitoring and analytics firm Meltwater Group. Meltwater uses readership data to compute the $3.6 million media value for IBMA's World of Bluegrass, based on domestic and international media impressions from a variety of mediums.

"World of Bluegrass is a perfect example of how all parts of the business community can come together to successfully host a city-wide, multi-venue event," said Laurie Okun, director of sales and marketing at the Raleigh Convention Center and co-chair of IBMA's Local Organizing Committee. "Raleigh offered fans and dabblers a superior experience -- in terms of a stellar convention atmosphere, unique activities, unparalleled hospitality and of course, phenomenal music."

IBMA - the International Bluegrass Music Association - is the professional trade organization for the global bluegrass music community. The organization's six-year stay in Raleigh is the result of a partnership with the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau, PineCone-The Piedmont Council of Traditional Music, the City of Raleigh and a local organizing committee.

The Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau, as the official destination and marketing organization of Raleigh and Wake County, accelerates sustainable economic growth and development by increasing visitor and convention business. Through its website www.visitRaleigh.com and other tools, the GRCVB assists local visitors in a variety of ways.

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