In the season in which EXIT was the first major festival in the world to be held a year and a half after the start of the pandemic, the entire contribution of our largest festival to the domestic economy has exceeded 200 million euros, thanks to some crucial parameters, such as a majority foreign visit high consumption.
The research conducted by “TIM Center” from Novi Sad every year during the festival this summer showed that EXIT brought new 18.8 million euros to the tourist economy of Novi Sad and Serbia at the celebration of its two decades. Since its establishment until today, the domestic economy has achieved over 200 million euros of economic benefits from Exit, while the amount of international promotion of the city and the entire country can be added to this amount.
The last edition of the EXIT festival had an exceptional 61 percent of foreign visitors, which equates the record with 2009. Audiences from Western Europe (23.5 percent) took precedence over visitors from Eastern Europe (10.6 percent) and from other continents (8.1 percent). During the four days, more than 180,000 visitors from 70 countries passed through the festival gates, with most foreign guests arriving from France, Germany, Hungary, Turkey, the USA, Italy, as well as from the countries of the region. It is interesting that there was an increase in the number of visitors from France by almost 1,000 percent, and that there were about 2,000 of them, which took over the primacy from visitors from Great Britain, who were less this year due to travel restrictions.
As in previous years, over 90 percent of visitors came to Novi Sad exclusively because of the festival, while as many as 97 percent of visitors said that their impression of the city improved (47.8 percent) or remained the same (48.5 percent), which is proof of the direct influence of Exit on the image and tourism of the destination of Novi Sad and Serbia.
The entire festival was rated with a record high score of 4.53. The audience gave ratings for as many as ten aspects of the organization – from the stage, program and organization of the entrance (with Covid measures) to cleanliness, cash system, offer of drinks, food and entertainment, as well as traffic regulation and signalization. It is interesting that foreign visitors rated EXIT with as much as 4.83 out of a maximum of 5.
During the festival in Novi Sad and Serbia, visitors spent an average of 451 euros, which is a jump compared to the spending from 2019, which amounted to 420 euros. The guests from other continents spent the most money – on average as much as 755 euros (an increase of 150 euros compared to 2019), followed by guests from Western Europe with about 679 euros per person. This figure in the research included only the costs that remain for companies in Serbia (accommodation, food, travel expenses in the country, tickets, etc.). Compared to previous festivals, the growth trend of renting private apartments has continued, ie 46 percent of the total number of all types of accommodation (a jump of almost 10 percent).
The average age of visitors in this survey was 26.1 years, which is a decrease compared to the average of 27 years from the previous survey. Highly educated visitors, including students, made up 80 percent of the audience, while 58 percent of them were employed this year.
More than half of EXIT respondents visited for the first time, with more than 70 percent of premier arrivals coming from foreign visitors. The main reason for coming is the music program of the festival, while more than one third stated as motives and desire to experience EXIT and visit Novi Sad and Serbia.
Part of the survey is also dedicated to the burning topic of the extremely negative impact of the pandemic on the mental health of young people. Here you can see how many music festivals can be a key ally in that fight. To the question “Does coming to EXIT affect your mental health?” As many as 82 percent of respondents said yes. Visitors also answered questions about seeing the social dimension of Exit.
As many as 78 percent of respondents believe that music festivals can make social changes, but they strongly oppose the inclusion of Exit in political-party activities – as many as 89 percent of them, of which a high percentage of 92 percent of domestic visitors expressed such an attitude. Of the various topics on which the audience would like to focus Exit’s social activism, the topic of development and support for young people received the most votes, followed by the promotion of peace in the Balkans, support for the domestic music scene and promotion of Serbia’s positive image abroad.
The research was conducted by the Novi Sad “TIM Center”, and it was done on a representative sample of 1162 visitors to the festival, during its duration. Only visitors who bought a ticket were interviewed, while participants, workers, representatives of the media, sponsors and other institutions were excluded from the survey, Blic reports.
