million Mexican free-tailed bats emerge for
nightly feedings.
According to an analysis of Austin’s
tourism industry commissioned by the
Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau,
nearly 20 million people visit the Austin
area each year. Annual visitor spending
totals approximately $4 billion and provides
about 38,000 jobs, with employees earning
approximately $930 million over the course
of the year.
Guitars & Songwriters: Austin’s Music Scene
Live music is part of Austin – and it
draws millions of tourists and local fans
each year. With Sixth Street, the South
by Southwest Music and Film Festival
each March, the Austin City Limits
Music Festival each September, plus other
music-related industry events like the
International Music Products Association
(NAMM) and the International Folk Alli-
ance conferences, “music tourism” is a
major industry.
SXSW draws more than 155,000 attendees
to downtown Austin for two weeks every
March, and generates an estimated $190
million in economic impact. And, the
annual Austin City Limits Music Festival,
which celebrated its thirteenth year in
2014, generates a whopping $102 million
in economic impact for the city.
Game On!: Austin’s Gaming &
Digital Media Scene
Across Texas, the gaming industry is
estimated to put $177 million into the
economy – and a lot of that is because of
what’s going on right here in Austin.
With hundreds of gaming and digital
media companies here, it’s an exciting
sector of the entertainment industry that’s
also one of the fastest growing. It’s no
surprise that the Interactive segment of
the annual South by Southwest Festival
has grown by leaps and bounds since the
festival began.
In fact, Austin’s billion-dollar gaming
industry is home to more than 130 game
developers- including the industry’s biggest
names: Disney Interactive’s Junction
Point, and Electronic Arts’ subsidiaries
Pogo.com and BioWare. There are also
more than 100 startup companies, and
they all combine to create thousands of
interactive games, iPhone applications,
console games, massive multiplayer
Internet games, and much more.
Ready, Action!: Austin’s Film Industry
Moviemaker.com has ranked Austin
second among its 2012 list of the Top 10
Cities To Be A Movie Maker – and for
good reason. The site says “Texas’ unofficial film capital,” has been a “thriving,
moviemaker-friendly community for years,
and home to the country’s most exciting
auteurs” – and that’s the absolute truth.
In the last 10 years, more than 600 major
features, made-for-television movies, television series’ and short films have been
produced here, in addition to hundreds
of commercials and independent projects.
Productions have included all three Spy
Kids films, The Life of David Gale, Secondhand
